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How to Create Good Web Design

 There are a wide range of sorts of website composition, from those manufactured utilizing site layouts and 'fabricate your own' webpage building applications to complex substance oversaw and online business website architectures, for example, those utilized by large brand names like Amazon, eBay and Tesco. A few organizations, even some enormous name organizations, have amateurish looking and seriously planned sites. Some have astounding looking sites but since of their high graphical substance and insignificant content substance can take an age to stack, are not easy to understand and don't give what the guest needs. Great Website Design

Despite the fact that numerous parts of web architecture vary from webpage to website, numerous things continue as before all through most of sites on the web. Most eminently is the route or menu. The manner by which a site's menu works and looks is significant, as eventually, guests to a site are searching for specific measures that will make them either remain and collaborate or leave. This capacity for a site to keep guests intrigued is now and then alluded to as tenacity. Guests need an appealing outwardly energizing experience, however maybe more critically, they need 'convenience'. Site ease of use is a key factor for sites that need their guests to stay, make an enquiry and at last total an exchange and request an item or administration.

Simple to Use Web Design

Web clients will in general lean toward simple to utilize sites, since they would prefer not to need to figure out how to utilize a site each time they locate another one. They ought to have the option to utilize a site after just a couple of moments of checking out a landing page, any more and they will leave and peruse somewhere else. The requirement for quick client association is crucial and in this manner having a quick stacking site is likewise significant for a site to succeed. Indeed, even with quicker web associations, for example, broadband, web clients would prefer not to stick around.

Simply envision, on the off chance that you go to a shop on the high road and are completely overlooked by shop collaborators at the counter for 5 minutes, much after you have made it understood you need assistance. There is a relationship here to how a web client may feel, when they show up at a site that has been inadequately structured, is hard to utilize, threatening and delayed to stack. Ensuring that a site has been all around considered and structured in light of the client, shows an organization's one of a kind selling focuses inside effectively conspicuous eye getting calls for activity and has an unmistakable, simple to utilize menu is critical to its prosperity.

Streak Web Design

With ongoing website architecture progressions, for example, the presentation of Flash activity and top quality video content, amazing sites have been delivered to exploit a lot more elevated levels of special visualizations and cooperation. Anyway with this 'very good quality' website architecture, comes a value, as a rule, website architectures which depend vigorously upon Flash substance are regularly incredibly delayed to stack. They regularly have an advancement bar, which gradually goes over the internet browser to connote when the site will get done with stacking.

This is a lot of like the advancement bars that you might be comfortable with on the off chance that you use video altering or 3D rendering programming, or on the off chance that you use games supports where they are shown while you trust that games will stack. Web clients all in all would prefer not to sit tight 3 - 5 minutes for a page to stack regardless of whether it includes high goal pictures, activity or video. They need quick educational substance rich sites. In the event that they needed to watch an activity or video they would sit in front of the TV.

Great Flash Web Design

It is not necessarily the case that Flash movement is all terrible news and shouldn't be utilized in website composition. Whenever utilized quietly and in modest quantities it can make a site all the more outwardly engaging without easing back the heap time down something over the top. Appropriate utilizations for Flash liveliness in website composition are things, for example, Flash pennant commercials, Flash video and intuitive Flash structures for online polls or business introductions.

Utilizing Flash for an entire web architecture be that as it may, isn't such a smart thought. It eases back the client's understanding down on the grounds that they need to trust that components of it will stack. Likewise, locales completely created in Flash will in general utilize new menu structures and highlights. This can confound guests who simply need to rapidly interface with the site and not be stunned by the manner in which the menu enlivens. Because you can do these things in Flash, it doesn't mean they have any genuine working an incentive in reality. They may look pretty, yet on the off chance that they are not utilitarian and just aggravate the guest, at that point they have no genuine worth.

Streak Web Design and SEO

Another contention against utilizing Flash to make an entire site is that it drastically lessens the viability of your sites' Search Engine Optimization. Streak website compositions are comprised of one primary document inside a site page which web search tools discover hard to record. This is on the grounds that the content inside them is normally graphical content and along these lines isn't generally available via web indexes. Some ongoing advancements permit some content to be shown for web indexes in Flash sites, yet this is not even close as powerful as text content inside conventional HTML based sites.

Try not to Write Off Flash in Web Design

Albeit Flash has its restrictions it likewise has its valid statements whenever utilized accurately. For example; Flash activity is normally littler in document size than customary gif liveliness and due to the manner in which it is made the movement streams smoother than gif movement as well. Having said this, I would suggest just utilizing Flash in little territories inside a site to praise other symbolism that makes up the general plan. Finding a harmony between negligible graphical components, symbolism, Flash and great quality enlightening content is the way in to an effective easy to understand site. It is not necessarily the case that website architecture needs be exhausting. By working with quality website composition organizations there's no motivation behind why you were unable to have an outwardly energizing, all around planned, simple to utilize and fruitful site.

Outwardly Stimulating Web Design

At the point when guests initially show up at a site, they need to be intrigued and drawn in with what the site brings to the table. This will be controlled by the manners by which the website specialist has spread out the site's substance text, pictures and highlights. Orchestrating components, for example, symbolism, text, illustrations, blaze and video so as to keep the guest keen on the site is the way to great website composition. On the off chance that a site has helpless plan and doesn't catch the eye of the guest in the initial couple of moments, at that point it likely could be excused as simply one more normal site. This at last methods the guest will go somewhere else to invest their energy and, all the more critically, cash.

Great Web Design Layout

A great deal of time and cash is spent ensuring that the correct components of sites are situated in the correct spots. Organizations go through a lot of cash leading investigation into how web clients utilize their sites. This kind of exploration shows where their guests' eyes concentrate the most, which components of the site they click on first and by and large how they cooperate and utilize their sites. Most web clients will look basically from the upper left either over the page, or down the left hand side of the website page through a web program by means of a PC, cell phone or TV set.

I would risk a supposition, that they are searching for the organization's name or logo, their principle selling focuses or trademarks and afterward what the site brings to the table regarding what is included in the menu. After which their eyes are presumably drawn over the page content and over to the correct hand side. Effective website composition for the most part mulls over this and will at last influence the manner in which a site looks.

There are obviously rather acclaimed special cases to this standard for example one rather notable internet searcher has a website composition which is very unique. The fundamental concentration and center usefulness in their website architecture is found right in the focal point of the page. This notwithstanding, isn't any conventional site with tens or even many pages of items and administrations to show, its principle center is its unmistakable logo and obviously its hunt box. It does anyway highlight a little insignificant menu over the head of the website architecture, which streams from left to right. So even they have taken installed a portion of the examination embraced into web clients' propensities. On the off chance that you go taking a gander at sites subsequent to perusing this article, I can ensure that the greater part of the website architectures you'll see, will have a left hand menu and a characterized header bar with an organization logo and motto across it.

Find high quality professional web design  and search engine optimization services at the Coastal Web Marketing .

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8 Reasons Why Your Business Needs SEO Services

Marketing your business these days means online marketing. If you’ve been in business more than 10 years or so, you might remember advertising in the Yellow Pages, or depending solely on referrals. Those days are gone. To stay even or ahead of your competition, you need a business website, and you need professional SEO services.

Why? We’re glad you asked. Let’s look at the top reasons.

1.    97% of consumers do online research before making a large purchase or hiring a services firm.

You read that right. The vast majority of people do an online search before deciding what to buy or who to hire. And when they go online, they’re looking specifically for your products or services, and they’re looking for stores or providers near them.

You need to make sure they find you on the first page of search results. Unless they are searching for you by name, it’s hard to appear on the first page of results without SEO. And why is it important to appear on the first page?

Because according to HubSpot, 75% of people never make it past the first page of SERPs.

2.    Organic search results get the majority of clicks.

We’re not telling you to stop doing Google ads of Facebook ads, but it’s important for you to know that the organic search results get the majority of clicks. In fact, nearly 80% of the people who don’t have ad blocker extensions in their browsers ignore the ads and only click on organic results.

3.    It’s hard to get noticed without SEO.

Without professional SEO services, your business website may languish on page 2, or even 10 of the search engine results pages (SERPs). It all depends on how competitive your industry is. For example, if you are one of only two providers of a service in an area, you may show up on the first page without really trying.

On the other hand, if you’re a plumber or you run an assisted living facility, bigger-name companies who already use SEO may dominate the first page of search results.

4.    SEO can help increase your conversion rate.

The cool thing about SEO is it helps you attract people who are already looking for what you offer. You can’t say that about direct mail or cold-calling. By optimizing your website, you can directly market to people who need what you have to sell.

And according to BackLinko, inbound leads from an internet search have a 14.6% close rate, compared to the 1.7% close rate for outbound leads such as direct mail or cold calls.

5.    SEO helps you build your brand, and build your credibility.

SEO services also allow you to build your brand, and build your credibility. Creating informative and authoritative content sends a signal to prospective customers and Google that you know what you are doing, and can be trusted.

You’re an expert in the field – so show that with your page content, blogs, videos, etc. Adding in natural links will also build your authority.

6.    Good SEO leads to a good User Experience.

When you work with a good SEO services firm, anything and everything they do involves providing a good user experience (UX). That’s because Google’s most recent page experience update really factors in the user experience.

In addition to optimized content and meta tags, good SEO involves an easy to navigate website that loads at lighting speed.

7.    SEO is always improving, and best practices are continually updated.

This is a really crucial reason for not trying DIY SEO. You need a professional SEO services firm that stays on top of industry trends and best practices, so they can keep your website in Google’s good graces. Being proactive and making changes before a Google algorithm rollout keeps you ahead of the game.

You need to focus on your business. An SEO firm can focus on helping bring in new business.

8.    SEO services are cost effective (and relatively cheap!)

As the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. But the money you spend on SEO services gives you a great return on your investment. And think of SEO as more of an investment in your business rather than a marketing cost.

Initial project SEO services followed by monthly SEO services can be relatively cheap compared to what you spend on your other marketing efforts. So what are you waiting for?

RELATED READING

Small Business SEO: A Beginner’s Guide

How to Choose the Best Local SEO Agency for Your Small Business

Contact Us for a FREE SEO Analysis

Coastal Web Marketing provides SEO services to businesses mainly in Harford County, Cecil County, Baltimore County. If you’re looking for professional SEO services that won’t break the bank, we can help. We can provide you with a FREE SEO analysis of your website and make our recommendations.

We can also help you with a brand-new small business website built with SEO in mind, or a website redesign to refresh your brand. Just call us at 410-420-9390 or use our contact form to get in touch.

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How to Find the Best SEO Company for Your Small Business

 As a small business owner, you’re busy running your business and trying to keep customers happy. Competition is fierce, and you’re looking for ways to attract and retain new business. In today’s world, one of the best ways to market your business is through your business website.

Maybe you’ve heard of search engine optimization (SEO). It’s an online marketing strategy that optimizes your website for search engines, making it easier for prospective customers to find you online. SEO is not something most business owners have the time for or the knowledge to do.

That’s why it’s important to hire the best SEO company for your small business. By partnering with the right SEO agency, you can turn your website into a business-generating machine. Today, we’ve put together some tips to help you find the right match.

Let’s get started.

Tip#1: Develop and Define Your Goals</h2>

Do you already have a website, but it’s slow, out of date, and hard to navigate? Then maybe you need a website redesign or a new SEO-friendly website so you can start with a clean slate. If you don’t have a website at all, you’ll need an SEO-friendly website to compete.

Do you want more traffic to your website? Do you want more conversions? Do you want to rank for certain keywords? Maybe you want all three. Be prepared to discuss your goals with prospective SEO companies.

Related Reading: Small Business SEO: A Beginner’s Guide

Tip #2: Develop a Budget

Determine how much you are willing to spend on the initial SEO efforts and on the monthly efforts. SEO is not a one-and-done proposition. It may include a website redesign of your current website, or building an SEO-friendly website if you don’t already have one. It may help to look at SEO as a capital investment in your business rather than a line-item expense.

You may be able to find some ballpark figures about what to expect to pay, but you may also need to wait until you meet with SEO agencies to develop a realistic budget that will help you reach your goals.

Tip #3: Find SEO Companies

Google “SEO company near me” or “SEO company my county” and check out the top 5 listings. If an SEO agency is listed, that means they are pretty good at SEO, since they got themselves up at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs). Call or fill out their contact forms to set up a free consultation, which can include an SEO analysis of your current website.

Read their reviews and pore through their website. Do their clients have good things to say about them? Do they communicate what they do in plain English? Look for firms that have been in business for 10+ years. That shows they have a rate of success, or they wouldn’t still be in business.

You can also ask business associates (not your competitors) if they can recommend an SEO company they work with. Ask them what they like about the company, how their business has increased, and what they would do differently.

Tip #4: Set Up Interviews

After the SEO companies get back to you after your initial contact, set up interviews. These can be in-person or virtual, depending on what you’ve decided will work for you. Each company will chat with you, and make recommendations and a pitch as to why you should hire them.

Have a list of questions of your own to ask if they don’t answer them in their presentation. For example:

·       What will they do and when will they do it? Have them explain clearly.

·       How will they communicate? In-person, written reports via email?

·       What are the costs involved? Any hidden costs?

Evaluate each company and compare their answers. Who seemed to be a good fit?

<h2>Tip #5: Watch Out for Red Flags</h2>

While you’re in the interview process, listen to what each company representative has to say, and watch out for red flags. These can include:

·       They guarantee results. Back away from a company that says they will have you in the #1 spot within so many weeks. SEO is a science and can take time to implement and provide benefits.

·       They use Black Hat techniques. Google will penalize your website for using black hat techniques such as buying backlinks, keyword stuffing, hidden content, etc.

·       They outsource work to non-native English speakers. It’s totally acceptable for an SEO company to outsource work to local experts. But it’s not OK to outsource work to India – imagine what your content would look and sound like!

Related Reading: SEO Terms Business Owners Need to Know

In Conclusion

Finding the best SEO company for your small business is a serious matter and will take some effort. But once you find a reputable company that communicates clearly and helps you achieve your goals, you’ll wonder why you didn’t optimize your website sooner!

Contact Us for a FREE Small Business SEO Analysis

Coastal Web Marketing has provided small business SEO services to Harford County, Cecil County, and Baltimore County in Maryland since 2008. We know the area, and we know SEO. If you’re looking for a local SEO company with proven success, we would be happy to provide you with a FREE SEO analysis of your website and make our recommendations.

We also serve clients outside of Maryland, since most of the work we do is online and virtual meetings are so easy these days. If you need SEO or web design services for your small business, just call us at 410-420-9390 or use our contact form to get started.

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Local SEO 101: How to Respond to Online Reviews

Online reviews are a part of doing business. You can’t control what people say about your business online but you can control how you respond. And, of course, by running an honest and fairly priced business offering quality products and services, you can almost guarantee that the majority of your customers leave positive feedback.

Today we’ll offer some tips for responding to customer reviews, and explain why review responses are important for not only your online reputation but also for your local SEO efforts.

How to Respond to Positive Reviews

First, the easy part. If someone leaves you a 4-or-5-star review, you can use one of these responses, or you can be more detailed.

·       Thank you! It was a pleasure to serve you.

·       Thanks for sharing your experience. We’re glad we could help.

·       We’re glad you’re happy with our service. Thank you.

For 3-star reviews, thank them for their feedback, and ask honestly what your company could have done to make the experience better. If they respond, thank them again, and take what they say to heart for future customer interactions.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews

These responses take a little more thought and effort. Here are some tips for responding to negative feedback.

1.     Respond promptly.

2.     Stay professional. Never lash out or call names.

3.     Investigate the situation.

4.     Offer to talk it over to see if you can resolve the bad feelings.

5.     Sign your name or initials to show you’re a real person.

By responding promptly, you show that you care about customer service and customer experience. By staying professional in your response, you show prospective customers how you treat people even when they have something bad to say.

By investigating the situation, you can offer a measured response taking responsibility for a mix-up on your end.  You can also clarify what happened and lay it out for potential customers reading the review to understand how your company tried to resolve the issue that led to the review.

Offer to set up a phone call (give your phone number and extension) or give an email address to reach out to the unhappy customer to try and resolve the issue. Prospective customers appreciate that.

If you resolve the issue, you can ask the person to update their review, but you cannot ask them to take it down.

How to Respond to Potentially Fake Reviews

If you have no record of the person giving the review ever being a customer, you can say that in your response, and ask them to call or email with further information so you can look into the issue. Bad actors sometimes leave bad reviews for local businesses for the fun of it or because they favor one of your competitors.

The Importance of Responding to Positive and Negative Reviews

You can’t control what people will say in a review. But you can control how you respond to it. Ignoring your customer’s opinions and not responding is bad business. Make a point of responding to each review, whether it’s about a positive experience or a negative experience.

Your response to customer feedback gives you a chance to show appreciation or turn an unhappy customer into a repeat customer. According to Bright Local’s research, 55% of consumers say a business owner who responds to reviews makes them feel more positive about using a business.

How Reviews Figure into Your Local Search Ranking

Reviews are a big part of managing your online reputation and improving your local search ranking. According to Google, “Google review count and review score factor into local search ranking. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business's local ranking.” 

·       81% of people read Google reviews.

·       84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

·       60% of people say that the more reviews a business has, the more they trust them.

·       Reviews make up 15% of the ranking factors for your local search rank.

Furthermore, Google uses the quantity, diversity, and velocity of your reviews as part of your local search ranking.

Quantity is the overall number of reviews you have posted on your Google Business Profile

Diversity is the number or reviews you have on multiple, reputable platforms, including Facebook, Yelp, and industry review sites.

Velocity is how often you receive reviews and how new the reviews are.

So, in addition to responding to reviews, you can see that it pays to solicit reviews from satisfied customers. Don’t pay for reviews, and ask for honest reviews. Searchers don’t really believe over-the-top positive reviews.

It Doesn’t Stop with Google

And don’t think Google reviews are the only reviews you need to respond to. Keep an eye on Facebook reviews, Yelp, and other review sites. Your SEO agency can help you claim your business profile on some of these sites and even help respond to your reviews.

Get a Free SEO Audit

If you’re interested in improving your ranking in local search results, we can help. Fill out the form for a free SEO audit to get started. You can also call us at 410-420-9390 to set up a consultation.

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8 Reasons Why Your Business Needs SEO Services

Marketing your business these days means online marketing. If you’ve been in business more than 10 years or so, you might remember advertising in the Yellow Pages, or depending solely on referrals. Those days are gone. To stay even or ahead of your competition, you need a business website, and you need professional SEO services.

Why? We’re glad you asked. Let’s look at the top reasons.

1.    97% of consumers do online research before making a large purchase or hiring a services firm.

You read that right. The vast majority of people do an online search before deciding what to buy or who to hire. And when they go online, they’re looking specifically for your products or services, and they’re looking for stores or providers near them.

You need to make sure they find you on the first page of search results. Unless they are searching for you by name, it’s hard to appear on the first page of results without SEO. And why is it important to appear on the first page?

Because according to HubSpot, 75% of people never make it past the first page of SERPs.

2.    Organic search results get the majority of clicks.

We’re not telling you to stop doing Google ads of Facebook ads, but it’s important for you to know that the organic search results get the majority of clicks. In fact, nearly 80% of the people who don’t have ad blocker extensions in their browsers ignore the ads and only click on organic results.

3.    It’s hard to get noticed without SEO.

Without professional SEO services, your business website may languish on page 2, or even 10 of the search engine results pages (SERPs). It all depends on how competitive your industry is. For example, if you are one of only two providers of a service in an area, you may show up on the first page without really trying.

On the other hand, if you’re a plumber or you run an assisted living facility, bigger-name companies who already use SEO may dominate the first page of search results.

4.    SEO can help increase your conversion rate.

The cool thing about SEO is it helps you attract people who are already looking for what you offer. You can’t say that about direct mail or cold-calling. By optimizing your website, you can directly market to people who need what you have to sell.

And according to BackLinko, inbound leads from an internet search have a 14.6% close rate, compared to the 1.7% close rate for outbound leads such as direct mail or cold calls.

5.    SEO helps you build your brand, and build your credibility.

SEO services also allow you to build your brand, and build your credibility. Creating informative and authoritative content sends a signal to prospective customers and Google that you know what you are doing, and can be trusted.

You’re an expert in the field – so show that with your page content, blogs, videos, etc. Adding in natural links will also build your authority.

6.    Good SEO leads to a good User Experience.

When you work with a good SEO services firm, anything and everything they do involves providing a good user experience (UX). That’s because Google’s most recent page experience update really factors in the user experience.

In addition to optimized content and meta tags, good SEO involves an easy to navigate website that loads at lighting speed.

7.    SEO is always improving, and best practices are continually updated.

This is a really crucial reason for not trying DIY SEO. You need a professional SEO services firm that stays on top of industry trends and best practices, so they can keep your website in Google’s good graces. Being proactive and making changes before a Google algorithm rollout keeps you ahead of the game.

You need to focus on your business. An SEO firm can focus on helping bring in new business.

8.    SEO services are cost effective (and relatively cheap!)

As the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. But the money you spend on SEO services gives you a great return on your investment. And think of SEO as more of an investment in your business rather than a marketing cost.

Initial project SEO services followed by monthly SEO services can be relatively cheap compared to what you spend on your other marketing efforts. So what are you waiting for?

RELATED READING

Small Business SEO: A Beginner’s Guide

How to Choose the Best Local SEO Agency for Your Small Business

Contact Us for a FREE SEO Analysis

Coastal Web Marketing provides SEO services to businesses mainly in Harford County, Cecil County, Baltimore County. If you’re looking for professional SEO services that won’t break the bank, we can help. We can provide you with a FREE SEO analysis of your website and make our recommendations.

We can also help you with a brand-new small business website built with SEO in mind, or a website redesign to refresh your brand. Just call us at 410-420-9390 or use our contact form to get in touch.

[costalservices]

Local SEO 101: How to Respond to Online Reviews

Online reviews are a part of doing business. You can’t control what people say about your business online but you can control how you respond. And, of course, by running an honest and fairly priced business offering quality products and services, you can almost guarantee that the majority of your customers leave positive feedback.

Today we’ll offer some tips for responding to customer reviews, and explain why review responses are important for not only your online reputation but also for your local SEO efforts.

How to Respond to Positive Reviews

First, the easy part. If someone leaves you a 4-or-5-star review, you can use one of these responses, or you can be more detailed.

·       Thank you! It was a pleasure to serve you.

·       Thanks for sharing your experience. We’re glad we could help.

·       We’re glad you’re happy with our service. Thank you.

For 3-star reviews, thank them for their feedback, and ask honestly what your company could have done to make the experience better. If they respond, thank them again, and take what they say to heart for future customer interactions.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews

These responses take a little more thought and effort. Here are some tips for responding to negative feedback.

1.     Respond promptly.

2.     Stay professional. Never lash out or call names.

3.     Investigate the situation.

4.     Offer to talk it over to see if you can resolve the bad feelings.

5.     Sign your name or initials to show you’re a real person.

By responding promptly, you show that you care about customer service and customer experience. By staying professional in your response, you show prospective customers how you treat people even when they have something bad to say.

By investigating the situation, you can offer a measured response taking responsibility for a mix-up on your end.  You can also clarify what happened and lay it out for potential customers reading the review to understand how your company tried to resolve the issue that led to the review.

Offer to set up a phone call (give your phone number and extension) or give an email address to reach out to the unhappy customer to try and resolve the issue. Prospective customers appreciate that.

If you resolve the issue, you can ask the person to update their review, but you cannot ask them to take it down.

How to Respond to Potentially Fake Reviews

If you have no record of the person giving the review ever being a customer, you can say that in your response, and ask them to call or email with further information so you can look into the issue. Bad actors sometimes leave bad reviews for local businesses for the fun of it or because they favor one of your competitors.

The Importance of Responding to Positive and Negative Reviews

You can’t control what people will say in a review. But you can control how you respond to it. Ignoring your customer’s opinions and not responding is bad business. Make a point of responding to each review, whether it’s about a positive experience or a negative experience.

Your response to customer feedback gives you a chance to show appreciation or turn an unhappy customer into a repeat customer. According to Bright Local’s research, 55% of consumers say a business owner who responds to reviews makes them feel more positive about using a business.

How Reviews Figure into Your Local Search Ranking

Reviews are a big part of managing your online reputation and improving your local search ranking. According to Google, “Google review count and review score factor into local search ranking. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business's local ranking.” 

·       81% of people read Google reviews.

·       84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

·       60% of people say that the more reviews a business has, the more they trust them.

·       Reviews make up 15% of the ranking factors for your local search rank.

Furthermore, Google uses the quantity, diversity, and velocity of your reviews as part of your local search ranking.

Quantity is the overall number of reviews you have posted on your Google Business Profile

Diversity is the number or reviews you have on multiple, reputable platforms, including Facebook, Yelp, and industry review sites.

Velocity is how often you receive reviews and how new the reviews are.

So, in addition to responding to reviews, you can see that it pays to solicit reviews from satisfied customers. Don’t pay for reviews, and ask for honest reviews. Searchers don’t really believe over-the-top positive reviews.

It Doesn’t Stop with Google

And don’t think Google reviews are the only reviews you need to respond to. Keep an eye on Facebook reviews, Yelp, and other review sites. Your SEO agency can help you claim your business profile on some of these sites and even help respond to your reviews.

Get a Free SEO Audit

If you’re interested in improving your ranking in local search results, we can help. Fill out the form for a free SEO audit to get started. You can also call us at 410-420-9390 to set up a consultation.

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Top 10 Signs It’s Time for a Website Redesign

When was the last time you Googled your website and looked at it with a critical eye? Do it now. Go ahead, we’ll wait.

Oh good, you’re back. Were you impressed with your website, or were you a little embarrassed, and wondering how it got this bad? If your website is more than 5 years old, you may have noticed one or more of our top 10 signs it’s time for a website redesign.

Let’s take a look.

1.     Your Website Takes FOREVER to Load

Web users, including you. We’ll bet, are used to websites that load in the blink of an eye. How did your website do? Did you see the little spinning wheel of terror? Did images take a long time to load, bit by bit? Were you frustrated at how slow it was and wondered if something was wrong with your internet?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, you need some serious updating. Why?

Because Google takes page load speed seriously. It’s one of their biggest factors in determining if your website provides a good user experience (UX.) Slow websites get bumped down further in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

An indication your site is horribly slow is if there’s a big increase in your bounce rate. That’s because a majority of users will abandon a website if it doesn’t load in 3 seconds. How fast (or slow) does your website load? Use the Google site speed tool.

2.     The Look and Content Are Outdated

Web design has come a long way over the years. Any website built more than 5 years ago may have a clunky, out of date look and feel to it. This is especially true if you used a free website builder to create it.

Another thing to look for is if your content is outdated. Do you have product and services listed that you no longer provide? Have you changed locations but your website still refers to your previous location? Does your About page list employees who no longer work there?

If your website looks outdated and the content is no longer accurate, you need some major updates to your web design, and maybe a full website redesign.

3.     You Can’t Make Updates

We just talked about outdated content. If you or an employee are having trouble making simple updates like adding a blog post or updating a product description or adding a new image, or if you have to get a 3rd party to make those updates, you may be ready for a website redesign.

Website platforms such as WordPress make it easy to add new content and delete other content. Just be sure you keep up with WordPress maintenance.

4.     Your Website Isn’t Mobile Friendly

This is another big issue with websites built more than 5 years ago. They’re not mobile-friendly. And in Google’s book, that’s almost a mortal sin. How mobile friendly is your website? Take the mobile-friendly test.

Up until this point, we’ve talked about Google and mobile friendly. But prospective clients are even more important. With more and more people using mobile search, it’s important that you provide them with a website that looks good on all devices.

No one wants to swipe, pinch, and expand your website on a mobile phone. In fact, according to Google, if your web design isn’t mobile friendly, visitors are 5x more likely to leave and go to a competitor’s site. Whoops.

By making sure your website redesign utilizes responsive web design, you automatically have a mobile friendly website. Ta dah!

5.     Your Website Isn’t Secure

By this, we mean that your website uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Look up at the search bar on this page and you’ll see a little padlock symbol. That means our website is secure.

Try searching for and visiting your own website again. Does it say Not Secure in the search box? Is there a danger triangle symbol? Does Google throw up a warning to go back to safety? That’s the last thing you want. If users feel insecure visiting your site, they will leave and go to a competitor.

Again, it’s time to update your website to be secure.

6.     Your Website Is Complicated and Hard to Navigate

If your website has a huge number of pages that visitors never go to, or it’s hard to figure out where to find information about your services or product specifications, you may need a website redesign. A redesign can streamline things, combine pages, delete others altogether, and create clear and easy to use navigation bars.

Making your website easy to use provides a better user experience, and encourages site visitors to stay longer.

7.     You’re Not Harnessing the Power of SEO

Another sign you may need a website redesign is if you’re not taking advantage of the power of SEO (search engine optimization). It’s much easier to implement an SEO strategy on a new, mobile-friendly website with a good content management system.

It can be more costly to try and implement SEO in an existing, older site, because it can be more labor intensive due to the web platform and other factors.

RELATED READING

Small Business SEO: A Beginner’s Guide

SEO Statistics You Need to Know

8.     It Has Lots of Technical Issues

An older website is sort of like an older car. The older it gets, the more technical problems you’ll run into. And depending on what platform you use, or if the website builder you used to build your website has gone out of business, you may be spending more time on fixing issues than you do on adding new content.

And if you don’t know how to fix the issues yourself, you need to hire someone to do it. Sometimes, it’s better and more cost effective to upgrade with a website redesign.

9.     You’ve Rebranded

Some brands use the same logo and keep the same name with the same products and services for decades. Other brands go through a metamorphosis over the years. If you’ve recently rebranded, you DEFINITELY need a website redesign. Your website and all of your marketing materials need to reflect your brand as it is today – not what it was 3 years ago.

10.                        All Your Competitors Have New Websites

OK, this last one is subjective. But go ahead. Check out your main competitor’s website(s). Do they look slick (attractive)? Is it easy to get around the site? Did it load in the blink of an eye? Is it easy to use on your phone?

Now think about your own website. Does it come up short when compared to your competitors? If you think so, prospective clients think the same. Most internet users judge you based on your website. If you’re not making a good impression because your site is slow and hard to use, they’ll head on over to a competitor’s website in a heartbeat.

Schedule a Website Redesign Consultation Today

If your website needs an overhaul for one or more of the above reasons, we can help. We offer affordable websitedesign services along with local SEO services. By redesigning your website with SEO in mind, your new website will be a double threat to your competitors.

Since the majority of people go online to research companies before buying their products or scheduling their services, it’s important that your website looks good, loads fast, is easy to use, and easy for people to find.

To schedule a consultation, use the contact form or call 410-420-9390 today. We work with small businesses from all over, with a focus on central Maryland.

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How to Choose the Right Photos for Your Small Business Website

As a small business owner, you know that first impressions are important. A chance meeting in an elevator can lead to new business if you exude positivity and competence. It’s the same idea with your small business website. You want it to showcase your business and inspire confidence in your business.

Did you know that the images on your website play a huge part in instilling that confidence? According to Stanford University’s Web Credibility research, 73% of website visitors base your business credibility on what your website looks like. And other research indicates 40% of consumers value images on a website more than other design elements.

So, what do you need to do to choose the right photos for your website? First, work with a firm that provides professional web design services. Second, follow these tips.

1.    Choose High-Quality Images

This is important. Choose high-quality, high-resolution images for your website. No blurry photos allowed. That decreases your credibility immediately.

·       For header images, the photo must be at least 1024 pixels wide but ideally 2400 pixels wide by 1600 pixels height. Header images must be in Landscape orientation (horizontal). You should also select a header image where the focal point is in the center, and there is extra space at the top, bottom, left, and right side.

·       For internal pages, including Product pages and Portfolio pages, images can be either Landscape or Portrait orientation. They should be 600 pixels or higher.

·       For slide shows, the images should be 2500 pixels.

We will compress photos so that they will load quickly and not slow down your overall website speed. While we can crop photos to fit your website design, we cannot enlarge them past their original size. Doing that will decrease the quality and give the photo a stretched-out look.

2.    Choose the Right Image File Type

For the most professional-looking and appealing website images, stick with the two main file types – JPGs (JPEG) and PNGs.

JPG files are the gold standard for website photographs. This file type does well with showing color and detail even when compressed.

PNG files are good for text-heavy images, info graphics, diagrams, some graphics, and logos.

Your web design team should be able to thoroughly explain these file types if you have questions.

3.    Avoid Using Stock Photos

Your website is your chance to showcase your business products and services. So, show them. Don’t buy stock photos or use “free” photos that tons of other websites across the world are using. Be original. Show images of your products or before and after photos of your projects.

And try to include real people in your images. Smiles sell.

4.    Consider Hiring a Photographer

If you’re working with a website design firm, they may have a photographer on staff, or can refer you to someone. By spending a little money on a photographer, you get high-quality images exclusive to your brand. Schedule an hour-long photo shoot with your employees on a job site. Then send them to get images of some of your projects. If you or an employee have a good quality camera and know how to use it, you can take some of the photos yourself.

5.    Optimize Your Images for SEO

Every image on your website, whether it’s the header image, product image, blog image, or Portfolio image, it needs to be optimized for SEO. This may require you to go through your Pictures file on your computer and rename images.

If you bulk-saved images, they likely have names with a bunch of letters and numbers that don’t reflect what the image is. You need to give each image file on your website a specific name.

Here’s an example. Rename an image of the inground pool and landscaping you just installed in Fallston from IMG_3038 to Inground Pool and Landscaping Installation 1. Make sure your SEO firm then creates image alt text for each image. If you already have a descriptive file name, this is easy. The image alt text may also include the geographic location or view of the image (aerial, side view, etc.)

By renaming your image files and giving them image alt text, you help search engines index your images along with your text content. Image alt text also helps visually impaired visitors to your website know what the images are.

By following these tips, you will help your web design company create the best-looking website that showcases your brand. A great-looking website that’s informative and easy to navigate will turn visitors into customers.

RELATED READING:

·       Choosing Web Design Colors: Attract or Repel

·       17 Web Design Statistics Small Business Owners Need to Know

Get a FREE Web Design Consultation or SEO Consultation

As a small business owner, you need a website that brings in business. That’s what we do. If you don’t currently have a website, contact us for a website design consultation to increase your online presence. If you have an existing website that just isn’t bringing in business, contact us for a free SEO analysis to see how search engine optimization can help increase your bottom line. Just call 410-420-9390 or use our contact form.

Over the years, we’ve helped hundreds of Maryland small business owners with our web design services and SEO services. We primarily work with businesses in Harford County, Baltimore County, and Cecil County. 

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How to Select a Web Design Company

With regards to choosing a website composition organization for individual sites or corporate virtual locations, there are sure factors that ought to be assessed to rank one website composition organization superior to the next. Obviously, every association and business visionary wishes to procure the best organization to receive the virtual rewards to the best, however it is just conceivable if the correct determination is made. This article will assist individuals with settling on the correct choice with regards to picking their web advancement firm to build up a deliberate, simple to get to and dependable site. With regards to picking a website architecture organization, the accompanying elements must be remembered and checked:

1. Know your main concern

The perfect choice of a web advancement firm is conceivable just when business visionaries and business elements comprehend what they need from their sites. This calls for clear web promoting objectives and destinations which fill in as rules for these organizations, yet additionally help the associations in surveying the administrations and arrangements offered against them. The necessities of each organization are exceptional and may require an attention on different perspectives like:

a) ROI - degree of profitability

b) Conversion of offers

c) Building and keeping up a client database

d) Brand mindfulness and so forth.

Another significant thing to settle on before choosing the web advancement organization is the financial backing distributed for web advertising costs and web improvement specifically.

2. Arrangement of the chose website architecture organization

It is of most extreme significance that business people and business substances experience the past work of the organization. The kinds of highlights that have been remembered for building up these sites ought to be assessed against the organization needs. For those looking for help with web architecture ought not spare a moment in requesting the site tests or models that the organization has recently structured. Some significant inquiries to pose incorporate, however are not constrained to:

a) The website architecture organization's experience working in the business' connected industry

b) What procedures will be or are typically included

c) The techniques utilized for building up the site and so forth.

Additionally dependable organizations ought to be chosen which have a genuine office where a gathering can be masterminded whenever required. In the event that conceivable these workplaces ought to be visited to decrease the dangers related with misleading.

3. Client administrations offered by the website architecture organization

Building up a site may be a onetime procedure yet improving it is a progressing one. Hence those web improvement firms must be chosen that are known for offering great client administrations which includes accepting calls and reacting to the inquiries on schedule. In some cases the sites require pressing updates which is conceivable just if the website composition organizations regard to the solicitations in time and react in like manner.

This is the explanation while choosing or procuring these organizations, their venture and arranging improvement techniques must be talked about in detail. Significantly after the dispatch of a site, the website architecture organization must keep up a solid association with their customers and be engaged with the support and explanatory announcing of the substance and other online distributions.

Coastal Web Marketing specializing in web design company , social media marketing, web video, web programming, search engine optimization. Our specialized team at Bel Air, MD know how to deliver results for big brands and small businesses.

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Steps to Follow While Selecting the Best Web Designing Company

A large portion of the entrepreneurs fantasy about growing their business in the universal market. Yet, some senseless entrepreneurs trust it as a dream and never attempt to satisfy them. While some entrepreneurs are sufficiently keen to think their fantasy as their vision and pursue their vision until it turns out to be valid.

To grow a business in the worldwide market the primary thing entrepreneur ought to do is to have a site of the business. Some are reluctant to go through any cash to make their own site. They don't comprehend that for what reason should they contribute for making any site. Be that as it may, the truth of the matter is an ever increasing number of individuals invest a lot of energy online nowadays. In this way, to draw consideration of the potential clients the most grounded resource an entrepreneur could have is a site of the business he claims. Ask your site planning organization to make an expert and astounding site with the goal that you can pull in an ever increasing number of guests and transform the guests into clients.

To make your very own business site, you have to contact the best web structuring organization. There are various web structuring organizations who will fabricate a site for you. In any case, all the web structuring organizations are not a similar decent. Indeed, even a phenomenal web planning organization may not satisfy every one of your necessities. Thus, remain cautious as much as important while picking the best web planning organization that will fill in according to your essential flawlessly and capably.

Here I will exhibit you 13 basic hints to pursue while choosing a web planning organization:-

1. Store - First of all you should investigate your fund. Ask yourself that for what valid reason do you need a site. You may require a site for your online business to sell your items or you may essentially advance your business through your site. You may give all the data about your business through your site, or you may just offer some data and rest you may offer straightforwardly by means of telephone or any handout or flyer. In this way, there are various purposes for making your own site. So know about what you need and proceed to the subsequent stages.

2. Portfolio - After you get the names of some web planning organizations, you ought to ask their portfolio from them. A colossal sum arrangement of an organization will assist you with understanding that the organization is very much experienced in the field of site planning. Diverse sort of élite plans in various site made by a solitary organization shows that the organization is adaptable and consequently it can structure the precise kind of site that you need. The sites structured by the organizations requires simple route as every one of the guests of your site are very little clever in utilizing PCs and web.

3. Administration subtleties - The third point is pretty much every one of the administrations the site planning organization gives you, similar to space enlistment, web showcasing administration, website improvement, internet based life advertising, web facilitating, specialized help and so forth. In the event that your business is an online business and you sell items on the web, at that point you ought to likewise ensure that your web structuring organization gives administrations like installment passage mix, shopping basket mix, SMS and Fax reconciliation and so on.

4.Contract on site possession - Some web structuring organizations offer permit to utilize the site after they have made your business site as opposed to moving the proprietorship to you. So make it sure from the agreement paper where it is plainly expressed that the site proprietor is just you. So that in the event that you change to another specialist organization, you can take your site additionally with you.

5. ftp and facilitating control board client id, secret phrase - Try to affirm from your specialist co-op that they will outfit you with every one of the insights concerning ftp and facilitating control board login client id and secret phrase of your site. With the goal that you can change your specialist co-op whenever required.

6. Long haul relationship and retraction arrangements - Try to comprehend if the organization needs to keep up a long haul association with you, so you can modern your site if necessary. Likewise think about their agreement crossing out arrangements with the goal that you don't confront any undesirable difficulties in future.

Some web structuring organization might need to keep up a long haul association with you and thus you need to pay them on month to month or yearly premise. Be that as it may, in the event that you are not ready to up-date any new data in your site, at that point it is superfluous for you to pay on ordinary premise. So make certain about this approach too.

7. Specialized help - before you join with any organization you ought to likewise check if the organization gives any specialized help or not, so that in the event that you face any issue later on while exploring your site, the specialist co-op remains by you to address all the specialized blunders.

8. Best web structuring organization - The web planning organization ought to have a group of submitted, experienced and energetic specialists. The specialists are sufficiently certain and furnished with most web apparatuses and trend setting innovations. With the goal that they could offer the best answer for your business and put your organizations at the top. The company is a main brand in website architecture and improvement in the worldwide market.

9. On-time venture conveyance - Before you join, affirm that the organization will finish your undertaking inside your time span. A few organizations are there who will take months together to get in touch with you for basic and little subtleties and defer your venture.

10. Consumer loyalty - The web planning organization should offer need to customer fulfillment.

11. Logo and realistic structuring - It will be useful for your business if your web planning organization can make an uncommon logo and illustrations planned only for your business remembering the items you sell through your business. An amazing logo makes an enormous effect on the guest's psyche for a lifetime. For instance the "Disney World" logo huge affects our psyche since our youth days. Likewise the delightful logo of the most wanted Ferrari or Audi vehicle.

12. Request recommendations and look at them - Once you have limited the rundown of organizations according to your prerequisites you can ask proposition from the rest of the organizations. This will assist you with knowing about the careful rates, offers and the precise administrations the organization is eager to give you. Henceforth you will have the option to think about every one of the proposition and choose the most appropriate web planning organization for your business.

13. Try not to get polarized by bogus expectations - Do not become charmed by low cost and stunning offers and end up no place!! Be certain that the web planning organization you decided to work with is the best web structuring organization and furthermore a reasonable web structuring organization.

If your best Web Design Companies harford country md  provides you a clear view happily about all the points mentioned above, then feel free to go with them for a deal. It will help you to fulfill your business website need without any hassle. But if any company is not willing to give you any idea about any of the points, then just ignore the company and move to the next prospective company.

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How to Find the Best SEO Company for Your Small Business

As a small business owner, you’re busy running your business and trying to keep customers happy. Competition is fierce, and you’re looking for ways to attract and retain new business. In today’s world, one of the best ways to market your business is through your business website.

Maybe you’ve heard of search engine optimization (SEO). It’s an online marketing strategy that optimizes your website for search engines, making it easier for prospective customers to find you online. SEO is not something most business owners have the time for or the knowledge to do.

That’s why it’s important to hire the best SEO company for your small business. By partnering with the right SEO agency, you can turn your website into a business-generating machine. Today, we’ve put together some tips to help you find the right match.

Let’s get started.

Tip#1: Develop and Define Your Goals</h2>

Do you already have a website, but it’s slow, out of date, and hard to navigate? Then maybe you need a website redesign or a new SEO-friendly website so you can start with a clean slate. If you don’t have a website at all, you’ll need an SEO-friendly website to compete.

Do you want more traffic to your website? Do you want more conversions? Do you want to rank for certain keywords? Maybe you want all three. Be prepared to discuss your goals with prospective SEO companies.

Related Reading: Small Business SEO: A Beginner’s Guide

Tip #2: Develop a Budget

Determine how much you are willing to spend on the initial SEO efforts and on the monthly efforts. SEO is not a one-and-done proposition. It may include a website redesign of your current website, or building an SEO-friendly website if you don’t already have one. It may help to look at SEO as a capital investment in your business rather than a line-item expense.

You may be able to find some ballpark figures about what to expect to pay, but you may also need to wait until you meet with SEO agencies to develop a realistic budget that will help you reach your goals.

Tip #3: Find SEO Companies

Google “SEO company near me” or “SEO company my county” and check out the top 5 listings. If an SEO agency is listed, that means they are pretty good at SEO, since they got themselves up at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs). Call or fill out their contact forms to set up a free consultation, which can include an SEO analysis of your current website.

Read their reviews and pore through their website. Do their clients have good things to say about them? Do they communicate what they do in plain English? Look for firms that have been in business for 10+ years. That shows they have a rate of success, or they wouldn’t still be in business.

You can also ask business associates (not your competitors) if they can recommend an SEO company they work with. Ask them what they like about the company, how their business has increased, and what they would do differently.

Tip #4: Set Up Interviews

After the SEO companies get back to you after your initial contact, set up interviews. These can be in-person or virtual, depending on what you’ve decided will work for you. Each company will chat with you, and make recommendations and a pitch as to why you should hire them.

Have a list of questions of your own to ask if they don’t answer them in their presentation. For example:

·       What will they do and when will they do it? Have them explain clearly.

·       How will they communicate? In-person, written reports via email?

·       What are the costs involved? Any hidden costs?

Evaluate each company and compare their answers. Who seemed to be a good fit?

<h2>Tip #5: Watch Out for Red Flags</h2>

While you’re in the interview process, listen to what each company representative has to say, and watch out for red flags. These can include:

·       They guarantee results. Back away from a company that says they will have you in the #1 spot within so many weeks. SEO is a science and can take time to implement and provide benefits.

·       They use Black Hat techniques. Google will penalize your website for using black hat techniques such as buying backlinks, keyword stuffing, hidden content, etc.

·       They outsource work to non-native English speakers. It’s totally acceptable for an SEO company to outsource work to local experts. But it’s not OK to outsource work to India – imagine what your content would look and sound like!

Related Reading: SEO Terms Business Owners Need to Know

In Conclusion

Finding the best SEO company for your small business is a serious matter and will take some effort. But once you find a reputable company that communicates clearly and helps you achieve your goals, you’ll wonder why you didn’t optimize your website sooner!

Contact Us for a FREE Small Business SEO Analysis

Coastal Web Marketing has provided small business SEO services to Harford County, Cecil County, and Baltimore County in Maryland since 2008. We know the area, and we know SEO. If you’re looking for a local SEO company with proven success, we would be happy to provide you with a FREE SEO analysis of your website and make our recommendations.

We also serve clients outside of Maryland, since most of the work we do is online and virtual meetings are so easy these days. If you need SEO or web design services for your small business, just call us at 410-420-9390 or use our contact form to get started.

[costalservices]

How to Find the Best SEO Company for Your Small Business

As a small business owner, you’re busy running your business and trying to keep customers happy. Competition is fierce, and you’re looking for ways to attract and retain new business. In today’s world, one of the best ways to market your business is through your business website.

Maybe you’ve heard of search engine optimization (SEO). It’s an online marketing strategy that optimizes your website for search engines, making it easier for prospective customers to find you online. SEO is not something most business owners have the time for or the knowledge to do.

That’s why it’s important to hire the best SEO company for your small business. By partnering with the right SEO agency, you can turn your website into a business-generating machine. Today, we’ve put together some tips to help you find the right match.

Let’s get started.

Tip#1: Develop and Define Your Goals</h2>

Do you already have a website, but it’s slow, out of date, and hard to navigate? Then maybe you need a website redesign or a new SEO-friendly website so you can start with a clean slate. If you don’t have a website at all, you’ll need an SEO-friendly website to compete.

Do you want more traffic to your website? Do you want more conversions? Do you want to rank for certain keywords? Maybe you want all three. Be prepared to discuss your goals with prospective SEO companies.

Related Reading: Small Business SEO: A Beginner’s Guide

Tip #2: Develop a Budget

Determine how much you are willing to spend on the initial SEO efforts and on the monthly efforts. SEO is not a one-and-done proposition. It may include a website redesign of your current website, or building an SEO-friendly website if you don’t already have one. It may help to look at SEO as a capital investment in your business rather than a line-item expense.

You may be able to find some ballpark figures about what to expect to pay, but you may also need to wait until you meet with SEO agencies to develop a realistic budget that will help you reach your goals.

Tip #3: Find SEO Companies

Google “SEO company near me” or “SEO company my county” and check out the top 5 listings. If an SEO agency is listed, that means they are pretty good at SEO, since they got themselves up at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs). Call or fill out their contact forms to set up a free consultation, which can include an SEO analysis of your current website.

Read their reviews and pore through their website. Do their clients have good things to say about them? Do they communicate what they do in plain English? Look for firms that have been in business for 10+ years. That shows they have a rate of success, or they wouldn’t still be in business.

You can also ask business associates (not your competitors) if they can recommend an SEO company they work with. Ask them what they like about the company, how their business has increased, and what they would do differently.

Tip #4: Set Up Interviews

After the SEO companies get back to you after your initial contact, set up interviews. These can be in-person or virtual, depending on what you’ve decided will work for you. Each company will chat with you, and make recommendations and a pitch as to why you should hire them.

Have a list of questions of your own to ask if they don’t answer them in their presentation. For example:

·       What will they do and when will they do it? Have them explain clearly.

·       How will they communicate? In-person, written reports via email?

·       What are the costs involved? Any hidden costs?

Evaluate each company and compare their answers. Who seemed to be a good fit?

<h2>Tip #5: Watch Out for Red Flags</h2>

While you’re in the interview process, listen to what each company representative has to say, and watch out for red flags. These can include:

·       They guarantee results. Back away from a company that says they will have you in the #1 spot within so many weeks. SEO is a science and can take time to implement and provide benefits.

·       They use Black Hat techniques. Google will penalize your website for using black hat techniques such as buying backlinks, keyword stuffing, hidden content, etc.

·       They outsource work to non-native English speakers. It’s totally acceptable for an SEO company to outsource work to local experts. But it’s not OK to outsource work to India – imagine what your content would look and sound like!

Related Reading: SEO Terms Business Owners Need to Know

In Conclusion

Finding the best SEO company for your small business is a serious matter and will take some effort. But once you find a reputable company that communicates clearly and helps you achieve your goals, you’ll wonder why you didn’t optimize your website sooner!

Contact Us for a FREE Small Business SEO Analysis

Coastal Web Marketing has provided small business SEO services to Harford County, Cecil County, and Baltimore County in Maryland since 2008. We know the area, and we know SEO. If you’re looking for a local SEO company with proven success, we would be happy to provide you with a FREE SEO analysis of your website and make our recommendations.

We also serve clients outside of Maryland, since most of the work we do is online and virtual meetings are so easy these days. If you need SEO or web design services for your small business, just call us at 410-420-9390 or use our contact form to get started.

[costalservices]

Your Web Design and Images: Why Size Matters

Have you ever sat too close to the movie screen in a theater and everything was blurry and distorted? Have you ever tried to enlarge a picture to make it fit your computer screen? Bad things happen when you try and stretch a picture beyond its limits. You lose focus and resolution.

The resolution of a photo is measured in pixels, which is the smallest bit of information that makes up the photo. If you’ve ever zoomed far, far, in to a photo and seen tiny squares of color, that’s a pixel. There are very specific requirements for the images you use in your web design.

Let’s take a look.

Web Design Header Image/Banner Photos

First of all, the header image or banner photos on your website need to be shot in landscape format, not portrait. (Horizontally instead of vertically.) They must be at least 2000 pixels wide and at least 1000 pixels high. Otherwise, the image may be blurry in website header area. Not the first impression you want to make when someone visits your website.

In addition, when you are taking a photo, make sure the image you are capturing is in the center of the photo and you leave some space on the top, right, bottom and left in case we need to trim the photo.

Website Page Photos

These are photos within a web page, and not a banner at the top. These photos might be of products you sell, staff members, or an image related to what that page is about. Ideally, these images are at least 750 pixels in width and height – the exact specifications will depend on your website design. You want to keep your web pages uniform in appearance, so follow that concept and stick with portrait or landscape images, but not both. Most websites we have designed lately have used landscape images, but there are no set rules.

Blog Post Images

Photos size will depend on your site design. You want to keep your web pages uniform in appearance, so follow that concept. Some clients want a banner image at the top of a blog, while others want photos within the blogs.

Google Business Profile Posts

An image size like 1200 x 900 pixels is preferred but any size works above 400 pixels wide by 300 pixels tall. Try to maintain an aspect ratio of 4:3.

Photo Gallery/Portfolio Images

You’re showcasing your work on your Gallery page or Portfolio page, so you want the images to be of the highest quality. This means they should be the same size as your header image/banner photos. This means they should be at least 2000 pixels wide x 1000 pixels tall, with the same guidelines for how to frame your subject when taking the picture.

How to Tell the Size of an Image on Your Phone or Computer

We’ve talked a lot about why size matters, but not how to tell what size an image is.

On Your Computer

If you’ve ever downloaded images to your computer and saved them, you know that your computer tells you how big the image is. Or maybe you didn’t know. Depending on how you have your Pictures file view set up, you may just need to hover your mouse over an image icon to see the size.  Images taken with a digital camera will almost always have larger dimensions than one taken on a smartphone. Each image will have a number x number. The first number is the number of pixels wide, and the second number is the number of pixels high.

You can also right-click a photo and select Properties, and then select the Details tab. You can then look for the Dimensions under the Image section. (If you could use a screenshot image showing this, that might be helpful.)

On Your Smartphone

On your smartphone, for an iPhone, simply tap on a photo to open it. At the bottom, you may see a small letter i, which stands for information, just like it does in your contacts. Tap on that, and scroll down. You will see a number x number. That first number is the number of pixels wide, and the second number is the number of pixels high.

Always Save the Original of Business-Related Photos

You should always save the original of your business-related photos. We understand you may need to clear room on your phone. Consider putting everything in DropBox, or whatever Cloud service you utilize. The reason? Because those original photos are usually large. We can scale down a photo, but we cannot scale it up.

Schedule a Web Design Consultation

If you need a brand-new business website, or need website redesign of your slow and outdated website, we can help. Call 410-420-9390 or use the contact form to schedule a consultation. We work mainly with small businesses in the Baltimore area.

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How to Choose the Right Photos for Your Small Business Website

As a small business owner, you know that first impressions are important. A chance meeting in an elevator can lead to new business if you exude positivity and competence. It’s the same idea with your small business website. You want it to showcase your business and inspire confidence in your business.

Did you know that the images on your website play a huge part in instilling that confidence? According to Stanford University’s Web Credibility research, 73% of website visitors base your business credibility on what your website looks like. And other research indicates 40% of consumers value images on a website more than other design elements.

So, what do you need to do to choose the right photos for your website? First, work with a firm that provides professional web design services. Second, follow these tips.

1.    Choose High-Quality Images

This is important. Choose high-quality, high-resolution images for your website. No blurry photos allowed. That decreases your credibility immediately.

·       For header images, the photo must be at least 1024 pixels wide but ideally 2400 pixels wide by 1600 pixels height. Header images must be in Landscape orientation (horizontal). You should also select a header image where the focal point is in the center, and there is extra space at the top, bottom, left, and right side.

·       For internal pages, including Product pages and Portfolio pages, images can be either Landscape or Portrait orientation. They should be 600 pixels or higher.

·       For slide shows, the images should be 2500 pixels.

We will compress photos so that they will load quickly and not slow down your overall website speed. While we can crop photos to fit your website design, we cannot enlarge them past their original size. Doing that will decrease the quality and give the photo a stretched-out look.

2.    Choose the Right Image File Type

For the most professional-looking and appealing website images, stick with the two main file types – JPGs (JPEG) and PNGs.

JPG files are the gold standard for website photographs. This file type does well with showing color and detail even when compressed.

PNG files are good for text-heavy images, info graphics, diagrams, some graphics, and logos.

Your web design team should be able to thoroughly explain these file types if you have questions.

3.    Avoid Using Stock Photos

Your website is your chance to showcase your business products and services. So, show them. Don’t buy stock photos or use “free” photos that tons of other websites across the world are using. Be original. Show images of your products or before and after photos of your projects.

And try to include real people in your images. Smiles sell.

4.    Consider Hiring a Photographer

If you’re working with a website design firm, they may have a photographer on staff, or can refer you to someone. By spending a little money on a photographer, you get high-quality images exclusive to your brand. Schedule an hour-long photo shoot with your employees on a job site. Then send them to get images of some of your projects. If you or an employee have a good quality camera and know how to use it, you can take some of the photos yourself.

5.    Optimize Your Images for SEO

Every image on your website, whether it’s the header image, product image, blog image, or Portfolio image, it needs to be optimized for SEO. This may require you to go through your Pictures file on your computer and rename images.

If you bulk-saved images, they likely have names with a bunch of letters and numbers that don’t reflect what the image is. You need to give each image file on your website a specific name.

Here’s an example. Rename an image of the inground pool and landscaping you just installed in Fallston from IMG_3038 to Inground Pool and Landscaping Installation 1. Make sure your SEO firm then creates image alt text for each image. If you already have a descriptive file name, this is easy. The image alt text may also include the geographic location or view of the image (aerial, side view, etc.)

By renaming your image files and giving them image alt text, you help search engines index your images along with your text content. Image alt text also helps visually impaired visitors to your website know what the images are.

By following these tips, you will help your web design company create the best-looking website that showcases your brand. A great-looking website that’s informative and easy to navigate will turn visitors into customers.

RELATED READING:

·       Choosing Web Design Colors: Attract or Repel

·       17 Web Design Statistics Small Business Owners Need to Know

Get a FREE Web Design Consultation or SEO Consultation

As a small business owner, you need a website that brings in business. That’s what we do. If you don’t currently have a website, contact us for a website design consultation to increase your online presence. If you have an existing website that just isn’t bringing in business, contact us for a free SEO analysis to see how search engine optimization can help increase your bottom line. Just call 410-420-9390 or use our contact form.

Over the years, we’ve helped hundreds of Maryland small business owners with our web design services and SEO services. We primarily work with businesses in Harford County, Baltimore County, and Cecil County.

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Top 10 Signs It’s Time for a Website Redesign

When was the last time you Googled your website and looked at it with a critical eye? Do it now. Go ahead, we’ll wait.

Oh good, you’re back. Were you impressed with your website, or were you a little embarrassed, and wondering how it got this bad? If your website is more than 5 years old, you may have noticed one or more of our top 10 signs it’s time for a website redesign.

Let’s take a look.

1. Your Website Takes FOREVER to Load

Web users, including you. We’ll bet, are used to websites that load in the blink of an eye. How did your website do? Did you see the little spinning wheel of terror? Did images take a long time to load, bit by bit? Were you frustrated at how slow it was and wondered if something was wrong with your internet?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, you need some serious updating. Why?

Because Google takes page load speed seriously. It’s one of their biggest factors in determining if your website provides a good user experience (UX.) Slow websites get bumped down further in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

An indication your site is horribly slow is if there’s a big increase in your bounce rate. That’s because a majority of users will abandon a website if it doesn’t load in 3 seconds. How fast (or slow) does your website load? Use the Google site speed tool.

2. The Look and Content Are Outdated

Web design has come a long way over the years. Any website built more than 5 years ago may have a clunky, out of date look and feel to it. This is especially true if you used a free website builder to create it.

Another thing to look for is if your content is outdated. Do you have product and services listed that you no longer provide? Have you changed locations but your website still refers to your previous location? Does your About page list employees who no longer work there?

If your website looks outdated and the content is no longer accurate, you need some major updates to your web design, and maybe a full website redesign.

3. You Can’t Make Updates

We just talked about outdated content. If you or an employee are having trouble making simple updates like adding a blog post or updating a product description or adding a new image, or if you have to get a 3rd party to make those updates, you may be ready for a website redesign.

Website platforms such as WordPress make it easy to add new content and delete other content. Just be sure you keep up with WordPress maintenance.

4. Your Website Isn’t Mobile Friendly

This is another big issue with websites built more than 5 years ago. They’re not mobile-friendly. And in Google’s book, that’s almost a mortal sin. How mobile friendly is your website? Take the mobile-friendly test.

Up until this point, we’ve talked about Google and mobile friendly. But prospective clients are even more important. With more and more people using mobile search, it’s important that you provide them with a website that looks good on all devices.

No one wants to swipe, pinch, and expand your website on a mobile phone. In fact, according to Google, if your web design isn’t mobile friendly, visitors are 5x more likely to leave and go to a competitor’s site. Whoops.

By making sure your website redesign utilizes responsive web design, you automatically have a mobile friendly website. Ta dah!

5.     Your Website Isn’t Secure

By this, we mean that your website uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Look up at the search bar on this page and you’ll see a little padlock symbol. That means our website is secure.

Try searching for and visiting your own website again. Does it say Not Secure in the search box? Is there a danger triangle symbol? Does Google throw up a warning to go back to safety? That’s the last thing you want. If users feel insecure visiting your site, they will leave and go to a competitor.

Again, it’s time to update your website to be secure.

6. Your Website Is Complicated and Hard to Navigate

If your website has a huge number of pages that visitors never go to, or it’s hard to figure out where to find information about your services or product specifications, you may need a website redesign. A redesign can streamline things, combine pages, delete others altogether, and create clear and easy to use navigation bars.

Making your website easy to use provides a better user experience, and encourages site visitors to stay longer.

7. You’re Not Harnessing the Power of SEO

Another sign you may need a website redesign is if you’re not taking advantage of the power of SEO (search engine optimization). It’s much easier to implement an SEO strategy on a new, mobile-friendly website with a good content management system.

It can be more costly to try and implement SEO in an existing, older site, because it can be more labor intensive due to the web platform and other factors.

RELATED READING

Small Business SEO: A Beginner’s Guide

SEO Statistics You Need to Know

8.  It Has Lots of Technical Issues

An older website is sort of like an older car. The older it gets, the more technical problems you’ll run into. And depending on what platform you use, or if the website builder you used to build your website has gone out of business, you may be spending more time on fixing issues than you do on adding new content.

And if you don’t know how to fix the issues yourself, you need to hire someone to do it. Sometimes, it’s better and more cost effective to upgrade with a website redesign.

9.  You’ve Rebranded

Some brands use the same logo and keep the same name with the same products and services for decades. Other brands go through a metamorphosis over the years. If you’ve recently rebranded, you DEFINITELY need a website redesign. Your website and all of your marketing materials need to reflect your brand as it is today – not what it was 3 years ago.

10. All Your Competitors Have New Websites

OK, this last one is subjective. But go ahead. Check out your main competitor’s website(s). Do they look slick (attractive)? Is it easy to get around the site? Did it load in the blink of an eye? Is it easy to use on your phone?

Now think about your own website. Does it come up short when compared to your competitors? If you think so, prospective clients think the same. Most internet users judge you based on your website. If you’re not making a good impression because your site is slow and hard to use, they’ll head on over to a competitor’s website in a heartbeat.

Schedule a Website Redesign Consultation Today

If your website needs an overhaul for one or more of the above reasons, we can help. We offer affordable website design services along with local SEO services. By redesigning your website with SEO in mind, your new website will be a double threat to your competitors.

Since the majority of people go online to research companies before buying their products or scheduling their services, it’s important that your website looks good, loads fast, is easy to use, and easy for people to find.

To schedule a consultation, use the contact form or call 410-420-9390 today. We work with small businesses from all over, with a focus on central Maryland.

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Steps to Follow While Selecting the Best Web Designing Company

A large portion of the entrepreneurs fantasy about growing their business in the universal market. Yet, some senseless entrepreneurs trust it as a dream and never attempt to satisfy them. While some entrepreneurs are sufficiently keen to think their fantasy as their vision and pursue their vision until it turns out to be valid. To grow a business in the worldwide market the primary thing entrepreneur ought to do is to have a site of the business. Some are reluctant to go through any cash to make their own site. They don't comprehend that for what reason should they contribute for making any site. Be that as it may, the truth of the matter is an ever increasing number of individuals invest a lot of energy online nowadays. In this way, to draw consideration of the potential clients the most grounded resource an entrepreneur could have is a site of the business he claims. Ask your site planning organization to make an expert and astounding site with the goal that you can pull in an ever increasing number of guests and transform the guests into clients. To make your very own business site, you have to contact the best web structuring organization. There are various web structuring organizations who will fabricate a site for you. In any case, all the web structuring organizations are not a similar decent. Indeed, even a phenomenal web planning organization may not satisfy every one of your necessities. Thus, remain cautious as much as important while picking the best web planning organization that will fill in according to your essential flawlessly and capably. Here I will exhibit you 13 basic hints to pursue while choosing a web planning organization:- 1. Store - First of all you should investigate your fund. Ask yourself that for what valid reason do you need a site. You may require a site for your online business to sell your items or you may essentially advance your business through your site. You may give all the data about your business through your site, or you may just offer some data and rest you may offer straightforwardly by means of telephone or any handout or flyer. In this way, there are various purposes for making your own site. So know about what you need and proceed to the subsequent stages.2. Portfolio - After you get the names of some web planning organizations, you ought to ask their portfolio from them. A colossal sum arrangement of an organization will assist you with understanding that the organization is very much experienced in the field of site planning. Diverse sort of élite plans in various site made by a solitary organization shows that the organization is adaptable and consequently it can structure the precise kind of site that you need. The sites structured by the organizations requires simple route as every one of the guests of your site are very little clever in utilizing PCs and web.3. Administration subtleties - The third point is pretty much every one of the administrations the site planning organization gives you, similar to space enlistment, web showcasing administration, website improvement, internet based life advertising, web facilitating, specialized help and so forth. In the event that your business is an online business and you sell items on the web, at that point you ought to likewise ensure that your web structuring organization gives administrations like installment passage mix, shopping basket mix, SMS and Fax reconciliation and so on. 4.Contract on site possession - Some web structuring organizations offer permit to utilize the site after they have made your business site as opposed to moving the proprietorship to you. So make it sure from the agreement paper where it is plainly expressed that the site proprietor is just you. So that in the event that you change to another specialist organization, you can take your site additionally with you.5. ftp and facilitating control board client id, secret phrase - Try to affirm from your specialist co-op that they will outfit you with every one of the insights concerning ftp and facilitating control board login client id and secret phrase of your site. With the goal that you can change your specialist co-op whenever required.6. Long haul relationship and retraction arrangements - Try to comprehend if the organization needs to keep up a long haul association with you, so you can modern your site if necessary. Likewise think about their agreement crossing out arrangements with the goal that you don't confront any undesirable difficulties in future.Some web structuring organization might need to keep up a long haul association with you and thus you need to pay them on month to month or yearly premise. Be that as it may, in the event that you are not ready to up-date any new data in your site, at that point it is superfluous for you to pay on ordinary premise. So make certain about this approach too.7. Specialized help - before you join with any organization you ought to likewise check if the organization gives any specialized help or not, so that in the event that you face any issue later on while exploring your site, the specialist co-op remains by you to address all the specialized blunders.8. Best web structuring organization - The web planning organization ought to have a group of submitted, experienced and energetic specialists. The specialists are sufficiently certain and furnished with most web apparatuses and trend setting innovations. With the goal that they could offer the best answer for your business and put your organizations at the top. The company is a main brand in website architecture and improvement in the worldwide market.9. On-time venture conveyance - Before you join, affirm that the organization will finish your undertaking inside your time span. A few organizations are there who will take months together to get in touch with you for basic and little subtleties and defer your venture.10. Consumer loyalty - The web planning organization should offer need to customer fulfillment.11. Logo and realistic structuring - It will be useful for your business if your web planning organization can make an uncommon logo and illustrations planned only for your business remembering the items you sell through your business. An amazing logo makes an enormous effect on the guest's psyche for a lifetime. For instance the "Disney World" logo huge affects our psyche since our youth days. Likewise the delightful logo of the most wanted Ferrari or Audi vehicle.12. Request recommendations and look at them - Once you have limited the rundown of organizations according to your prerequisites you can ask proposition from the rest of the organizations. This will assist you with knowing about the careful rates, offers and the precise administrations the organization is eager to give you. Henceforth you will have the option to think about every one of the proposition and choose the most appropriate web planning organization for your business. 13. Try not to get polarized by bogus expectations - Do not become charmed by low cost and stunning offers and end up no place!! Be certain that the web planning organization you decided to work with is the best web structuring organization and furthermore a reasonable web structuring organization. If your Web Design Companies harford country md  provides you a clear view happily about all the points mentioned above, then feel free to go with them for a deal. It will help you to fulfill your business website need without any hassle. But if any company is not willing to give you any idea about any of the points, then just ignore the company and move to the next prospective company.

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5 Reasons Your Business Needs a Blog

In the vast world of online marketing, blogging has become one of the most important tools for businesses wanting to set themselves apart from the competition. Many small business owners often overlook the value of blogging for their website, but blogging is a linchpin for small business. Posting regularly on a business blog has become a necessary part of any online marketing strategy. Here we will dive into just five of the top reasons why blogging is a must for your business. Blogging is a Key Part of Your Sales Funnel According to research, companies using blogs generate 67%* more leads than companies who do not. Once someone clicks a link to your blog, even if they only scan the post, they are now on your website. The fact that they clicked the link to your blog means that they are interested in what you are selling, so you already know they are potential customers. Tip: It is important to put a call to action in or near each of your blog posts, so that potential customers are less likely to click away from your website once they’ve read your post. Give your customers the next steps you want them to take. Blogging Brings Traffic to Your Website Having a blog helps potential customers pick your website out of the 2 billion websites currently on the Internet. Blogs do this by helping you rank higher in Search Engines (such as Google). Research shows that a blog gives your website a 434%* (yes, that’s 4-3-4 percent) better chance of being ranked highly on Search Engines. In addition your blog posts can be shared on social media and through emails, raising the chances that a potential customer will click onto your website. Blogging Positions You as The Expert You are the expert in your business, but how do you communicate your years of experience, research and business savvy to your clients? Blogging is the best and most efficient way to take your industry knowledge and share it with the public. Blogging allows you to separate yourself from the herd of competitors and communicate your unique differences. It gives you the chance to show why you are the better choice in your industry and prove you know your stuff. Blog Posts are Reusable Marketing Content There is no reason to continually recreate the wheel for every piece of content you produce. As a business owner, you do not have the time to create fresh content for every component of your marketing strategy. Once you have a completed blog post, you can break it down into dozens of smaller social media posts, short videos and newsletters. Breaking a blog post into smaller content pieces allows you time to work on other priorities, as well as keeps your message consistent across all platforms. Customers crave consistency, so you will be doing them and yourself a favor. Your Blog Will Educate Your Clients For You Your blog is the best place to educate your clients on what you wish they knew. Example: Maybe in your industry there are similar products, but you know they are less effective and lower quality. Your blog is the perfect place to share this information with your clients. Blogs can also address Frequently Asked Questions so you don’t have to repeat yourself. If a customer asks you for your thoughts on a topic you’ve already blogged about, you can simply send them the link to your post – and voila – they are on your website and educated at the same time. Remember: The fact that blogs are a valuable and effective tool for your business does not mean you personally have to write every word of your blog posts. Most business owners do not have the time to sit down and write what they know into coherent sentences. Often they will briefly communicate their knowledge to a blog-writing professional (through videos, voice notes, or scribbled napkins) and let someone else write the blog posts. If you are interested in blogging for your business give us a call at 410-420-9390.