marketelements

Should small businesses be using ChatGPT?

Mon, 29 May 2023 00:15:21 GMT

It’s astonishing the internet, is talked about over business lunches and is challenging educators around the world. If you still don’t know much about it, then it’s time to find out more...

We are of course talking about ChatGPT. Touted as the next era of innovation, ChatGPT was first launched as a prototype in November 22 and quickly grew to over 100million users making it the most quickly adopted piece of software ever used. In fact it grew so fast that is it now only possible to join a waiting list for an account. It’s also currently free to use (in its basic form), although we suspect this will not always be the case. So whether you love new technology or are a late adopter it’s worth knowing more about how ChatGPT can help your business and what to look out for.

What is ChatGPT?

Before we go any further it’s important to understand what ChatGPT is, what it can do, and its limitations.

ChatGPT is the latest development in Artificial Intelligence, developed by OpenAI. It is a natural language chatbot. Unlike Siri, Google Assistant or Alexa, it is built on what is called LLM (Large Language Model). Rather than being built for one specific role (with model answers) ChatGPT is trained to generate new responses. Also unlike the chatbots of old, it is continually learning, meaning that it will take into account previous conversations and questions when it answers.

ChatGPT has been trained on a colossal amount of text from various sources, including books, articles and the internet. It has learnt to digest all that text, learning patterns and grammar to develop its understanding of language.

How can a small business use ChatGPT?

There are a couple of obvious immediate uses for small businesses, particularly if you are not a good writer. ChatGPT is a language expert with access to a huge knowledge base and can be a great place to start if you are needing to for example write a business report, or need advice on strategy or planning. Did you know you can ask ChatGPT to improve your own writing? Try asking it to plan your social media for you – ChatGPT will provide some great advice on where to start. Another obvious use is marketing content generation, for example content for your website, or blogs.

While the above are fairly obvious, there are a few other things you might not have thought of, that OpenAI are keen to suggest. Try asking ChatGPT how it can help small businesses. It will suggest that businesses should leverage ChatGPT for enhancing operations and to improve customer interactions, for instance customer support and FAQs (a more enhanced, personalised chatbot), tracking order status, product recommendations (based on previous buying habits), appointment scheduling and a virtual assistant.

What to look out for when using ChatGPT

Ok so here are the provisos! Even according to ChatGPT itself, it of course has it’s limitations. “Of course, Chat GPT is not without its limits. It might struggle with context sometimes, and you might catch it spouting out an odd answer that leaves you scratching your head. But hey, even the greatest conversationalists have their off days, right?”. Here are a few things to be aware of if you are using ChatGPT in your business:

It gets things wrong! But it sounds right… ChatGPT can generate answers that, due to its linguistic abilities, will sound plausible, but are actually hugely inaccurate, or even non-sensical. It’s really important to carefully fact check anything ChatGPT produces.
It can be biased. Language models like ChatGPT will reflect the data they have been trained on. If this data is biased or unethical this will be reflected in the response it provides.
ChatGPT is not actually connected to the internet. It has a limited knowledge of the world and world events after 2021.
ChatGPT is trained in language patterns and uses a standard structure. It’s actually quite easy to work out when someone has used ChatGPT if it’s unedited! It will structure most responses with an introduction, a middle block and a conclusion. You may even find standard paragraph starters – for instance: firstly, furthermore and additionally in the middle block.
You should also remember, that while it sounds pretty clever, ChatGPT is not human. It can’t reason, lacks real-world knowledge and doesn’t have the ability to think abstractly. It lacks basic common sense too!

Things to try for some fun with ChatGPT

We’ve been experimenting with ChatGPT and we recommend you do to! Try these for fun:

Ask it to write a bio - yours, someone famous and maybe someone you know who’s not so famous, but for whom there is a little information on the internet.
Ask it to write something in different tones. Watch how the content changes when you ask it to make it fun, or for a child. In our experience, sometimes the facts get missed, or even change in context with a different tone!

And if you are really needing something to fill your time, according to ChatGPT, “ChatGPT is like having a chatty buddy with an infinite knowledge library. It’s like having a super-smart parrot that doesn’t just repeat what you say but actually understands and responds in a way that makes your jaw drop. You can ask it questions about anything under the sun, from mysteries of the universe to the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies.”

Our recommendations

At MarketElements we have been experimenting with ChatGPT for a few months. Here are a few recommendations:

If you plan to use ChatGPT for a little help with content, be careful. ChatGPT uses existing content, including from the internet. Google does not like duplicate content. Additionally your content needs to reflect your brand. Our copy writers can massage what is produced by ChatGPT, make it unique and ensure it accurately reflects your brand.
Talk to us about keyword targeting. We can do keyword research specific to your industry and products or services and help you identify keywords worth targeting. We can review your website content and articles to make sure you have your intended keyword in the right places, and make sure it reads well for your website visitors.
Get it right! Fact check! Fact check! Fact check! Don’t take ChatGPT’s word for it! If you are too busy we can help with this as well.
Or just get us on the job. By using our knowledge of how Chat GPT works, we can avoid some common pitfalls, and take advantage of this new technology to research articles and web content more efficiently, saving you time and money. So if you are thinking of updating your web content, writing a blog or even something more adventurous – give us a call .

6 reasons why SMEs should have a company blog

Mon, 24 May 2021 04:28:44 GMT

It is becoming increasingly important for small and medium businesses to have a strong web presence and great content to engage and communicate with their customers.

It is becoming increasingly important for small and medium businesses to have a strong web presence and great content to engage and communicate with their customers. In fact, according to research, businesses that blog see a 126% higher lead growth than non-blogging businesses, 72% of online marketeers say that content creation is their most effective SEO tactic and 61% of consumers make a purchase after reading a blog recommendation. It is little wonder then that blogs are one of the three primary forms of media content strategy used today.

If you are still wondering, despite these figures, if a blog is right for your business, then read our 5 reasons why blogging is fast becoming one of the most important marketing activities.

1) Boost Search Engine Optimisation

It is every business’s wish to be on the top of any organic search . After all, the #1 result in Google’s organic search has a click through rate (CTR) of 31.7%. Search engines, Google included, crawl the internet all day, every day. It used to be enough to fill your website with great content in order to rank in the top spots on Google, but with more and more websites in every industry, the search engines are looking at other factors to decide who should stand out from the crowd. One of the things search engines love is fresh content. Blogs also allow you to have more content, and more content means more chances to rank higher.

2) Your website becomes more relevant

Additional content also allows you to turn up in search results for many more phrases, particularly when the content is keyword rich, with lots of internal links. Let’s say for example that you are a chiropractor. Your website is likely to include basic information about what you do and how to make an appointment. Obviously, you want to turn up in searches for other phrases people might use to find your services, for example spinal adjustment. By talking in more detail about what you do in your blogs you are naturally using more phrases. This in turn makes your site more relevant for more search phrases and the search engines are likely to rank you higher. There’s another advantage – if you are answering common questions then Google may even reward you with a featured snippet at the top of the search results.

3) Connect with existing and new customers

Blogs allow the opportunity to connect with customers in a much more conversational way. Offering out free advice, that answers customers questions, is a great way to build trust in your business. It might also be the difference between you and your competitor. Blogs can also become the beginning of a two-way conversation. You can use your blogs for regular newsletter content or mention them during conversations, online or otherwise, with potential and current customers. For instance, as a chiropractor, if a new patient contacts you in need of spinal adjustment, you can refer them to your blog and ask them to bring any questions to their first appointment.

Building Trust Online

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 02:03:24 GMT

In the digital world of scams and skepticism - how do you convince consumers to trust your business?

The digital revolution has handed more power to consumers by increasing choice and information. And in this revolution, it is now consumers who drive the relationship. With so much choice and information available it is no longer enough for consumers to find your site. After all, when they arrive at the website you are still no more than a stranger and there is no need to do business with strangers. In the digital world of scams and skepticism - how do you convince consumers to trust your business? We look at 6 ways you can build trust in your business online.

Customer Testimonials and Reviews

Like it or not consumers are now talking online. In fact, 93% of consumers said reviews influenced their purchasing decisions. If you can entice customers to give you a video or written review, they can provide you with one of the best trust-building forms of content available. However, these will still garner some skepticism – after all they have likely been orchestrated and edited by you. Third party reviews on the other hand are more likely to be considered real and genuine. Reviews on sites such as Google, Facebook or Trip Advisor, allow customers to define in their own words their interaction with your business. Linking these reviews to your website and social media will help to build trust in your business.

Clear and Visible Contact Information

There is nothing more frustrating than wanting to contact a company and being unable to find the information. As well as frustrating if your contact details are not clear and visible, consumers are likely to question why. Clearly displaying your phone number and email in a variety of places on your website and social media gives visitors the confidence that they will be able to contact you if necessary. Contact forms provide a convenient way for consumers to contact you, but they rely entirely on you getting back to them quickly. Having photos of staff and your address easily accessible also help to build trust in your business.

Be Human

Despite the digital revolution human contact is still a vital part of building a trust relationship with your consumers. This means returning calls quickly and responding promptly to the emails, messages on social media and forms on your website. Set up an auto reply on your forms and social media enquiries stating when you will respond and then stick to it. Never leave customers hanging, waiting for a response. Human contact is more than just a fast response – it is also about personalising the relationship. Take every opportunity to be more than just a brand, take time to answer each request properly and always remain professional.

Be Open and Honest

Let’s face it, the best way to build trust in any relationship is to be open and honest. By letting your company values shine through on your website and social media, you are showing your customers what you are really about. Additionally, offering consumers answers to frequently asked questions, easy access to returns procedures and terms and conditions on your website will help to build trust. It is also important to provide them with honest and realistic photos wherever possible. Avoid using stock photos, particularly on product or services pages.

Professional Website Design

With so many tools available it is now easy for small and medium sized businesses to build their own websites. And while this might seem like a good money saving idea at the time, a professional website is not as easy as it might sound. And 46% of consumers say that website design is the number one criterion they use to discern the credibility of a company. Good website design will:

- be easy to navigate

- represent your brand

- be easy to read and draw consumers to the most important parts

- be optimized for mobile devices

- be quick to load

- be error free

Quality Content

Providing quality, non-promotional content on your website and social media is a great way to build trust in your business. Be this via a blog, you tube channel or hosting a podcast, consumers recognize and respect that it takes time, and some passion, to produce this content. It tells them that you are willing to go above and beyond to help them solve problems or provide them with advice, without asking for a credit card.

We Can Help

At marketelements we are experts in using website design and social media to build trust online. If you would like to talk further, then give us a call .

Important Changes to the Privacy Act

Sat, 21 Nov 2020 23:55:20 GMT

How we collect, store and manage personal information is becoming increasingly important. The updated New Zealand Privacy Act comes into force on 1st December 2020. What does it mean for your business?

The Privacy Act was first put in place in New Zealand in 1993 and has not been updated until now. In the meantime, technology has developed beyond anything we could have imagined, and personal data is now collected, stored and shared around the world. Many businesses will already be acting responsibly in the way they manage personal data. However, there are some changes to the Act that you need to be aware of and now would be a good time to review how your business collects, manages and stores personal data.

There are currently 12 principles to the Privacy Act. If you are not aware of these here is where you can find out more . Below we will discuss the key changes that come into force on 1st December 2020 and how they may affect your business.

Requests for Personal Information

If a person requests to see the information you store about them, you must provide this within 20 days. This means that you need to know where the data is, be able to extract it and provide it promptly. Failure to do this will result in a compliance notice from the Privacy Commissioner. Because the Act now incorporates criminal offences the business will have time to respond but could be fined up to $10,000 for non-compliance.

New Offences

There are also some new offences that the Privacy Commissioner can issue compliance notices for. These include:

· Misleading an agency to get someone else’s personal information

· Destroying someone’s personal information when they ask for it.

Security Breaches

Not informing the Privacy Commissioner if there has been a breach in security is also an offence. Many organisations have experienced hacking attempts or cyber-attacks. Businesses must now inform the Privacy Commissioner if there is a breach that has caused, or could cause, serious harm. In order to help reporting of breaches and identification of how serious a breach is, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner have developed a tool on their website called NotifyUs.

Sharing Information Overseas

Sharing data with other companies is now commonplace, particularly with the use of outsourcing for core business activities. If you share information overseas there is a now a new principle that sets out what you need to be aware of. Overall, the overseas organisation must comply with New Zealand privacy standards.

Only collect information you need

Three of the current 12 principles have also been updated. The most important one is that a business must only collect identifying information about people, that they need for their lawful purpose.

What you need to do now

Decide who in your business will take the lead on privacy matters. This could be you, a manager or a trusted employee. They will be your privacy officer. Their duties include:

· a general understanding of how the Privacy Act relates to your business

· checking personal information is collected responsibly and stored safely

· making sure requests for personal information are handled promptly

· develop a privacy breach response plan and report any breaches of security.

Find out more

The following pages can provide you with more information about the changes:

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner

Business.govt.nz

At Marketelements

At Marketelements we take the collection, management and storage of personal information for marketing purposes very seriously. To find out more click here to send us a message.

Measuring the performance of your website with Google Analytics

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 01:48:53 GMT

You’re finished. Your new website is looking amazing. It is already published on the internet and ready to go…… now what? How do you know that it wasn’t just a waste of time and money?

Maybe the phones suddenly start ringing more? Or you start receiving hundreds more emails? The truth is it’s unlikely to have an immediate dramatic effect, especially if you are new to website building. So how do you maximise your return on investment?

Firstly, you need Google Analytics. This is a free tool and can provide you with a wealth of information to monitor your website. Using Google Analytics, you can identify traffic sources, visitor demographics, monitor user behaviour and more.

Below we will look at four key measures that will help you identify how your website is performing.

How do potential customers discover your website?

It’s all very well having a website, but how do people find it? Knowing where your traffic is coming from will help you identify how to improve your website and digital marketing strategy. Traffic to your website can come from a number of different sources:

Organic searches: this is traffic direct from a search engine, for example Google, Bing or Yahoo. In order to perform well in an organic search, in other words to appear high up the list of websites when someone searches for your products or services, your website needs to be optimised for search engines.
Referrals: this is traffic arriving at your website from another site.
Direct: traffic that has typed in your web address directly. Perhaps from a sales brochure or a personal referral.
Email marketing.
Paid advertising on for example, Google Adwords.
Social media: for example, your Facebook or LinkedIn page.

How many visitors do you have?

To understand your reach and impact you can use Google Analytics to see the number of sessions (visits to your site) and the number of users (unique visitors). Ideally you are aiming for a mix of new and returning customers – the exact mix will depend on your industry. Most importantly you are looking to continually improve the number of visitors, first or returning, to your website.

How are long are visitors browsing your website?

Time spent on your website is an important indicator of how successful your website design is. Generally, the longer the better. There are also some other key measures that will help you to understand more about time spent by your visitors browsing your site. Firstly, how fast do your pages load? Remember you have only 10-20 seconds to engage with your visitors. Secondly, bounce rate. Bounce rate is the percentage of people who visit your site and quickly leave. Obviously, you are aiming for lower bounce rates and longer session times. If visitors are bouncing quickly, they may not have found what they are looking for. Or your advertising may not be bringing the right visitors to your website.

What do visitors do when they get to your site?

This is probably the most important measure of the overall performance of your website – understanding how your visitors behave on your site. Which pages or links are your visitors viewing? Do they click through to find out more and ultimately are you converting your visitors to customers? If not, why not? What is your call to action (CTA)? Are visitors requesting quotes, calling, using the contact form or emailing? If you identify the actions you would like your customers to take on your website, you can enter these goals in Google Analytics and ultimately see how your website is performing against your goals.

By looking at all of the above information you can identify how your website is performing against your overall marketing goals, where you need to focus your digital marketing budget and how to improve the performance of your digital marketing campaign.

To find out more about how to use Google Analytics to monitor your website performance check out our article here.

If all this still seems like gobbledygook or you don’t have the time for this much detail, call Market Elements now for a free consultation.

Call us Now for a Free Consultation on 03 218 4020 or Click here to send us a message.

Why you should invest time and money in your website

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 04:29:34 GMT

2020 has changed the way we do business and the importance of having an online presence has become even more paramount. With worldwide lockdowns and social distancing there is now more focus on online trading and many businesses have turned to websites and social media to support them during this challenging time. With the help of simple tools available, online websites can be easy and cost effective to build yourself. But be aware - there is more to successful website design than you may realise. How do you get your website to perform well in searches, does your website look good on a smartphone, is your website helping or hindering client acquisition? Below we will look at why, now more than ever before, it is important to ensure your website is more than just an online sales brochure.

Your website is the first place your customers will look

It represents you and your business. It has become the first point of contact in almost every business transaction from searching for the address of a local store to making an online purchase without any direct communication with the business. And, it’s true - first impressions count. Would you interview the job applicant turning up in jeans for a senior office role? It’s the same for your website. In fact, it is widely accepted in the digital marketing industry that you have just 10 - 20 seconds to make a good impression – one that encourages customers to stay on your site, explore more and engage with your business. This means you need to clearly communicate your value proposition in a few seconds.

Your website is where your customers engage with you

There really is no point in spending your advertising budget sending potential customers to a website that doesn’t represent your brand well and doesn’t convert these potential customers into actual customers. In order to ensure your website does do these things you need to understand clearly what you want it to do – what is your goal? Is it information sharing, to get customers to call, or for them to actually make an online purchase? A good average session time on a website is 2 to 3 minutes. Not much! Don’t leave your customers guessing what they need to do to engage with you - have a clear ‘call to action’. You need to lead them easily to register, call, signup or buy and you only have minutes to do this.

Your website belongs to you

Unlike a Facebook or Instagram business page your website is yours and is fully customisable by you. It is your opportunity to tell your prospective clients about your business and products or service. How it looks and how your prospective clients interact with your website is totally up to you. Social media, on the other hand, is one standard format and you have to work within their parameters. Additionally, social media sites, like Facebook, are coming under increasing pressure to censor information and can (and do) change the rules regularly.

Social media is, however, an important part of your digital marketing campaign. Posting an article on LinkedIn will generate interest on LinkedIn. To fully work for you it needs to also direct customers to your website. Similarly with Facebook or Instagram, the goal of any post should be to direct prospective customers to your website – where you can wow them with your products, services and knowledge.

Your website needs to look good on all devices

It’s easy to forget when you are building your website on a laptop or computer that it might not look the same when your customers view it on a mobile phone or tablet. Mobiles, excluding tablets, account for more than half of worldwide website traffic. Ensuring your website looks good and performs well on all devices needs to be a priority.

Your website needs to appear in searches

Let’s face it - how potential customers find your website is fundamental. We’ve discussed being directed from other forms of digital media, but the chances are that more than half your website traffic comes from ‘organic searches’, using search engines such as Google. The way that search engines handle a search and decide which websites to rank highest in the search results is a hugely complex process. Ensuring your website is discoverable and performs well in the ranking means understanding Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) . There are many facets to SEO but they include using ‘keywords’ throughout your website, using ‘metatags’ in titles and ‘alt text’ for pictures. Keywords are the words that prospective customers will use to search for your site and in order for search engines to find you they need to appear in the right places on your website.

Using a simple website building tool yourself may seem easy and cost effective, but unless you truly understand what is important and how to make your website work for you, you could be wasting your money.

At Market Elements we are experts on website design , Search Engine Optimisation and creating content using your most important keywords. Call us Now for a Free Consultation on 03 218 4020 or Click here to send us a message.

Thinking about a Facebook business page?

Fri, 13 Apr 2018 03:04:06 GMT

We’re becoming increasingly numb to stats around Facebook. Latest estimates put monthly active user-ship at over 1.8 billion… yes, billion!

Thinking about a Facebook business page?

We’re becoming increasingly numb to stats around Facebook. Latest estimates put monthly active user-ship at over 1.8 billion… yes, billion! And each of these users spends an average of over 50 minutes a day on the platform. So it’s fair to say it’s way past time to start thinking about a Facebook business page.

One web commentator recently put Facebook into perspective this way: “For many, Facebook is the internet.” Did you notice that? Facebook and the internet are one and the same for many users - much like Google is the internet for many. Many Facebookers socialise, get news and shop on the platform. So is your business languishing in a state of denial, or have you joined the other 60 million businesses taking full advantage of the power of facebook for business? All businesses should have a profile on Facebook so, at the very least, your potential clients can get your contact details.

Facebook marketing is a huge field, but it can be approached relatively simply and business marketing on Facebook can achieve impressive levels of success.

In a nutshell, a Facebook Page is a public presence similar to a personal profile, but allows fans to “like” the business, brand, celebrity, cause, or organisation. Facebook allows a percentage of your Followers to receive content updates from the Page on their News Feed, while the business is able to raise brand awareness, deploy and track advertising, collect detailed audience insights and chat with users who seek customer service.

A quick word on Inbound Marketing

There are lots of ways to market to your audience using Facebook, but Inbound Marketing is definitely our favourite method. Inbound marketing is about being helpful and relatable to your audience, understanding their needs and helping them to overcome challenges and pain points. So it’s a good strategy to be reachable where they already spend their time - ergo, you need to be on Facebook.

Facebook tools assist with inbound marketing, help you form an authentic relationship with your audience and allow you to connect with consumers interested in your brand. It’s not about being pushy or salesy …

Setting up a Facebook business page

Pages are Facebook’s business or organisation profiles - similar to a personal profile for an individual. Pages show information specific to your business or organisation. Instead of being added as a friend, users connect with a business Page by “liking”or “following” it. If you decide to create a personal profile for your business instead of a Page, you run the risk of getting it shut down by Facebook and it’s back to square one.

There are several different categories of Page to choose from, ranging from Local Company, Organization or Institution to Entertainment, through to Cause or Community. It’s important you choose the right one for your entity. Choice of profile and cover pictures, descriptions and usernames are all important too.

How to get Facebook likes and followers

So how will you know whether your Facebook business Page is successful? The measure of success in social media varies based on your goals and focus, i.e. launching new products, building awareness, driving sales, or collecting leads. To achieve any level of success, you‘ll need likes or followers, so you’ll need strategies to get Likes from the moment your Page goes live and to grow your Likes into the future.

Typical strategies look like this:

Fill out your Facebook Page with searchable information.
Include Facebook Like Boxes on your website and blog.
Invite existing contacts to Like your page.
Invite employees to Like your page.
Incorporate Facebook into your offline communication channels.
Cross promote on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Post valuable content.
Be active.
Use Facebook Ads to expand your reach.
Run promotions that encourage your audience to “like & share” your content.

Posting content

There are many ways to engage with your audience, remembering all the time that you’re aiming to be helpful and relatable - not pushy or salesy.

Content ranges from: simply writing a post; adding an image (Recommended! Visual posts typically get about 2.5 times more engagement than no-visual posts); adding links, link your regular blog; adding a video; using Facebook Live to stream a live video to your audience; Facebook Instant Articles; and even Facebook Virtual Reality!

Once you‘ve mastered these techniques, you’ll be ready to start building an engaged community and promoting your Page through your website, customer and email contacts, as well as through additional social media channels.

How to Create a Facebook Marketing Strategy

Next up, you’ll need a successful Facebook marketing strategy and for this you’ll need a comprehensive understanding of your audience.

Persona : It’s a good idea to identify your audience’s persona (also called demographics and psychographics), identifying your typical customer so you can target, shape and adjust your content to their tastes, challenges and interests, etc. This will make your content more appealing and it’s more likely your audience will engage with it.

Whilst you’re at it, think about taking a look at your competitors’ pages and look for how often they post, the quality of the visuals they use, the mix of content and the levels of engagement they receive.

For a deeper understanding of personas, Facebook has a powerful, free analytics tool offered as a part of their ads platform called, Audience Insights.

Planning and Scheduling : You should view your Page as a long-term commitment. So it’s really useful to have a Facebook content calendar to plan your content and to use the scheduling tool for your posts for the optimum time base on your region and tactical goals.

Generating Leads on Facebook : The overarching goal behind investing time and resources into a Facebook Page is to turn your Facebook followers into leads - either by turning them into paying customers, or getting them to take an action that your organisation values. So you’ll want think about posting content that directs your followers to a form. You can do this by posting content such as:

Offers

Blog posts

Promotional videos

Again, aim to be helpful and relatable, not salesy - so don’t post everything for lead generation, but do trial different content and lead forms to see what works best and gets the best engagement.

You can also use Facebook Lead Ads to capture lead information from the Facebook platform and avoid the friction of a landing page and a longer click-through path. This feature allows potential customers to access your offers without ever leaving the Facebook app.

Look out for our next blog: "Setting up, running and measuring the results of Facebook ad campaigns" ...

To learn more or for help with Facebook marketing for business, Call us Now for a Free Consultation on 03 443 6650 or Click here to send us a message.

Acknowledgements: Hubspot

Google Analytics - The Long and the Short

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 03:17:38 GMT

You're probably busy, so here's the long and short of Google Analytics...

Google Analytics offers a freemium , easy to use online service allowing you to track, measure and report on website traffic. You can also track the flow and behaviour of visitors on your website.

If you have hundreds or even thousands of visitors a day or a month, those visits are likely to be much more valuable to you if you know more about them.

Analytics allows you to gauge important factors such as: how well your website is working, how many visits you’re getting and from where, how your visitors behave when on your website, how social media and other sources supply visitors and what type of device your vistors use.

A good understanding on how to obtain and use key analytics data such as these will help you make better business decisions and even save you marketing $$!

You’re probably a busy business person and want to get straight to the nitty gritty. So the following is an easily digestible executive summary on how to use Google Analytics.

1. THE SHORT

Analytics setup

Here’s how to set up Google Analytics on your website:

Sign in to Google Analytics with your Google account
Click the Admin button on the bottom left sidebar of your dashboard
Select an account or create an account
Click on the dropdown menu to create a property
Click on Website and add your site's name and URL
Choose your industry
Choose your time zone
Click on Get Tracking ID
Get your developer to install Tracking ID on your website

Glossary of terms and jargon

There are a few terms you should know about if you’re going to set up and use Google Analytics:

Account — Where each property lives in your dashboard. You can set up multiple properties in one account or have multiple accounts for different properties

Property — The website or mobile app you want to track

Tracking ID — A unique code added to your site that allows Google Analytics to track it

Conversion — Visits that turn into customers or potential customers

C hannel/Traffic source — Shows where your traffic came from, such as referrals or links from other sites, search engines, social media and emails

Session duration — How long visitors spend on your site

Bounce rate — Percentage of visitors that view only a single page and then leave

Event — Specific visitor behavior, such as when a visitor clicks on an ad, watches or stops a video, downloads a file and more

Landing page — The first page a visitor sees when visiting your website

Organic search — Visitors who visit your site from a link on a search results page

Segment — A way to filter data, such as by category and types of visitors

And some types of reports you shouldn't miss:

Acquisition — Shows you where traffic comes from, such as search engines, social media, email marketing campaigns and links from other websites. You'll find this under the Acquisition tab.

Keywords — Tells you what search words visitors used to find your website on a search engine. You'll find this report in the Behavior tab, under Site Search.

Conversions — Tracks how many visitors are converting into newsletter subscribers, shoppers and actual customers. Click on the Conversions tab and choose a type or category of conversion to view a report.

Lifetime value — Currently in beta, Lifetime Value reports track visitors throughout their lifetime - from their first visit to conversions - return visits, future purchases and beyond. This can help you figure out what turned these visitors into customers and what made them keep coming back so you can implement changes. Lifetime value is located under the Audience tab.

Landing page — Shows you which pages are the most frequent landing pages so you can track down where those visitors are coming from and what's working on those top pages that's attracting customers. You'll find this across different reports under the landing page column.

Active users — Monitors how many visitors are actually active on your site within a specific time period, such as the past week, 14 days or month. This will show you what pages the most active users are visiting so you can figure out what's keeping their attention and apply it to the rest of your website. You can find the active users report in the Audience tab under Active Users.

Now that we’ve taken care of the setup, jargon and reports, here's what you need to use Google Analytics as a small business.

2. THE LONG

Signing up for a Google Analytics account

To use Google Analytics, you will need a Google account. Go to google.com/analytics. Click on Sign in or Create an Account on the upper left corner. If you're already signed in, click on Access Google Analytics. Fill in the required information – account name, website name, URL, industry, time zone and data-sharing settings.

Click on Get Tracking ID to finish setting up your account.

Setting up Google Analytics on your website

A <script> tracking code is required to track your website. You'll be taken directly to the Tracking Code section after setting up your account. The tracking code must be on every page you wish to track. There are a few ways to do this:

Copy and paste the code directly into your website template.
Create a "analyticstracking.php" file with the code and add <?php include_once("analyticstracking.php") ?> after your template's <body> tag.
Check your web host, website builder or blog platform for Google Analytics integration. For instance, there are several plug-ins on WordPress that will automatically add the tracking code to every page. Some website builders have a specific page or field where you simply enter your tracking ID. Others (such as Marketelements’ website CMS) require only your Google Analytics web property ID or account number, a string of numbers prefixed with the letters UA that identify your website.

Start tracking!

One of the best things about Google Analytics is that it offers a range of metrics that users can customize to fit their information needs. All of Google Analytics' features can be accessed and configured from a left-hand sidebar.

Here are three types of tracking metrics that matter most to small businesses:

Traffic sources

Find out where your visitors and customers are coming from. Just click on the Acquisitions tab on the left sidebar and you'll be able to view all traffic sources, such as channels, referrals and organic searches.

You'll also be able to find which search terms visitors are using that led them to your website. Google Analytics automatically scans more than 20 major search engines, such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, MSN, AOL and, of course, all of Google's properties. It also includes searches from international search engines like Baidu as well as searches from major websites like CNN.

Conversion Tracking…

A ‘conversion’ is an occurrence that is counted when someone takes an action on your website that you've defined as valuable to your business - such as a form submission, newsletter sign-up, an online purchase or a call to your business from a mobile phone.

You'll set up the conversion action in your AdWords account and get a piece of code called a "tag." To finish setting up conversion tracking, you'll need to add this code to the target conversion item on your website or app, such as a call button, form or purchase complete button.

Custom reports

Custom reports allow you to configure tracking metrics based on your own categories that are not included in the default settings. For instance, if you own an online store, this section allows you to track traffic based on things such as size, color and product SKUs. You can also integrate external data sources, such as your customer relationship management (CRM) software. Just click on the Customization tab and create your metrics.

Social settings

It's not enough to simply run a social media marketing campaign. It's imperative that you track your results, too. Google Analytics can help by integrating social media into your tracking metrics. Although you can't add your Google Analytics tracking code to your social media accounts, what you can do is add them under Social Settings. For instance, if you own a YouTube channel, you can track activities by adding your account using your YouTube URL.

To track social media campaigns, click on Acquisition on the left sidebar. Here you can add campaigns, track landing pages, monitor conversions and more.

Adding users

Need other members of your team to view your Google Analytics account? All you'll need are their email addresses. Click on the Admin tab in the left sidebar, choose an account and click on User Management. From here you can add new users and set permissions. For instance, you can limit users to reading and analyzing traffic or give them admin-level access to do things like edit your settings. Adding users also makes it easy to present reports and collaborate.

So that’s the long and the short of Google Analytics! Marketelements has a growing team of Google certified consultants and we’re a Google Partner Agency, so we’re able and ready to help you get your analytics where you need them, make your advertising budget as effective as it can be!

To learn more about our Google services, Call us Now for a Free Consultation on 03 443 6650 or Click here to send us a message.

Acknowledgements: New York’s Daily Business News

Essential guide to getting your Adwords under control

Fri, 09 Feb 2018 00:31:07 GMT

Be sure your campaigns are working as well as they could be – i.e. what’s working and what’s not.

So you’ve embraced the reality that Adwords can be a powerful way to get attention, leads and conversions for your brand – and you may even be reaping tidy rewards.

But, like most business processes, Adwords requires evaluation and adjustment to make sure your campaigns are working as well as they could be – i.e. what’s working and what’s not. Knowing this will allow you to update your campaigns to support even better results.

Three Adwords metrics that you can’t live without:

Cost per acquisition (CPA) - tells you how much you spend in advertising to get one conversion (a purchase, subscription, etc.).
Click through rate (CTR) - shows how often people are clicking on your ads, but doesn’t tell you how often they’re actually purchasing from your business.
Conversion rate - tells you what percentage of those who clicked on your ad actually ended up purchasing.

Measure your results

After your campaign has been up and running for a while, you’ll should be thinking about how to measure your ad performance.

The good news is that you can analyze your ad account, campaign, and ad group information using reports and metrics readily available from Adwords.

Here’s what AdWords can track and which metrics are available to help drive your business goals.

Understanding AdWords and statistics

Don’t be overwhelmed by the various reports and statistics that your AdWords account provides - tackle them head-on by carrying out a weekly check-in on a few key performance indicators.

Once you become more familiar with the kinds of stats and reports available in AdWords, you’ll get way more confident, you’ll have more clarity of your campaign performance — and just the amount of detail that you’ll feel comfortable with.

Your check-ins should typically consist of looking at overall campaign performance, something you can quickly do on the Overview screen of AdWords. At a glance, you’ll find this screen sets out many aspects of campaign performance.

For campaign performance, you’ll need to check out two key areas:

The Campaign overview for a snapshot into overall campaign performance.
The individual Ad groups to see how each group of ads is performing.

Look for trends in visits, clickthroughs, conversions and position on page by checking the same stats each time. Any adjustments should be improving these metrics. You can also customise the columns on each of your screens so you can return to a customised view of the metrics you’re interested in, e.g. you may like to add position on page.

There are many excellent reports available, but your check-ins should include a review of two key reports. These are the ones that you’re likely to use time and again — reports that really highlight what is needed to improve your campaign(s):

Search terms report – This report shows you the actual search terms that generated your ad. Make sure to exclude any that are not your target market and this will ensure your $ are spent getting properly targeted traffic.
Auction insights report - Here you can see how well your ads are performing against competitors’ ads. You might find that your competitors’ ads are showing up higher on search results pages, so you may need to work on your relevance or up your bids and budget.

We also recommend that you install Google Analytics and connect your AdWords account to analytics. Analytics will allow you to see many more stats on your audience, e.g. what type of device or operating system they use, where they are located etc. You can also seewhat people do after clicking on your ad and reaching your landing page, such as: Bounce Rate, Average Session Duration, Pages per Session, Average Number of Pages Viewed per Session, etc.

Can I know the return on investment for my ads?

Sure you can. Return on investment (ROI) tells you how effective your ad spend is by demonstrating how much return it’s giving you.

ROI can be calculated by: (Profit - Cost) / Cost. Example - If your ad resulted in $1,200 of sales for a product that cost $600 to make, and your advertising cost was $200, then your ROI is [$1,200 - ($600 + $200)] / ($600 + $200) = 50% ROI.

If you want to look purely at the effectiveness of your ads, you’ll also want to look at your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS); this is a measure of an ad's effectiveness without including elements such as cost of goods or other costs of the business.

How can Marketelements help?

We know that it’s not rocket science but it might be that you simply don’t have the time or resources to keep on top of your campaigns.

Marketelements has a growing team of Adwords certified consultants and we’re a Google Partner Agency, so we’re able and ready to help you get your campaigns under control and make your advertising budget as effective as it can be!

To learn more about our Adwords services Click here , or Call us Now for a Free Consultation on 03 443 6650 .

Digital Marketing Guides for Exiting or Selling Your Business

Fri, 09 Feb 2018 00:20:04 GMT

Not many of us start a business with the end game firmly in mind. And when it’s time to sell or close a business, there seem to be an awful lot of i’s and t’s that need dotting and crossing...

To help you, we’ve put together 2 Wiki checklists for selling or closing a business from a marketing assets perspective:

Selling a business - Your Marketing Assets:

1. Decide ahead of time what goes with your business, i.e. your Domain names, website and any other marketing assets.

2. Have you created separate domain registration accounts for domains you own personally and those which are related to the business?

3. When transferring the business’s domain(s) to the new account holder, you’ll need to consider the following steps:

Unlock the domain name
Get an authorisation code (also known as a UDAI code or transfer key) from your current registrar
Verify contact information - Confirm that the administrator's contact information for the domain is correct

4. Logins and passwords will need to be handed over to the new owner, e.g. Google Accounts, Google Maps listing, Google Advertising, Social Media Ad accounts, etc.

5. Are your personal and business emails separate? If not, you’ll probably need to split these before the sale.

6. Who are the key marketing contacts you’ll need to pass on to the buyer? If you’re using a marketing agency, they will tend to manage many of your advertising and digital marketing account credentials.

7. Do you remember who hosts your website? You’ll need to, because details will need to be passed to the buyer and the hosting account transferred to them.

8. If your business sells or features online on other websites or portals, access to those listings will need to be granted to the new owner.

Closing down a business - Digital Marketing Tasks:

1. Will you need to update your website to tell visitors that you have closed down; if so, how long will you need to keep this message live?

2. Do you need to contact customers that may be holding gift vouchers, redeemable instruments or agreements and make arrangements with them before you close?

3. Newsflash: Your website and/or domain name may be saleable! Good websites and domain names can be considered assets that may be acquired for use by another business.

4. Decide which domain, hosting and email accounts you’ll need need to retain after the closure. Cancel any hosting accounts not required and obtain any refunds due.

5. Update your online listings, such as a social media and Google accounts, i.e. you can list as “closed” on Google Maps.

How can Marketelements help?

You may find that you have enough on your plate during either of these processes and want someone to handle these tasks for you properly whilst you handle the financial, operational and people issues.

At Marketelements, we’ve advised businesses through these phases, so we have the experience and expertise to make these tricky processes quick and comfortable for you.

To contact us click here . Or Call us Now for a Free Consultation on 03 443 6650.

Responsive Websites Lead to Success

Fri, 02 Feb 2018 05:44:44 GMT

Why a mobile responsive website will make you more successful, whatever your business…

When we want to buy something, check a business’s trading hours or just see what our friends are up to, more than 50% of us turn to our phones. Mobile activity accounts for more than half of web traffic today and that statistic is growing all the time.

So if your website doesn’t look good or is tricky to get around on a mobile device, that’s a costly mistake in today’s marketplace. It doesn’t matter whether you see yourself as a local business or as having a particularly loyal customer base, you’re walking away from over half the of the potential opportunities for engagement with your brand.

What is responsive website design?

Responsive Website Design is the approach of laying-out and coding a website so that it provides an optimal viewing experience for the visitor; it allows for ease of reading and navigation with minimum resizing, panning and scrolling across a wide range of devices from desktops to tablets and smartphones.

Phew! Basically, this means it allows your website to look good and adapt to the size of any screen it is being viewed on. This means you’ll almost certainly improve the level of engagement with your brand, leads and sales.

Re-coding my website so it’s responsive is a massive, expensive project, right?

Wrong! Some web developers still dutifully code a desktop version of your website and once you’re happy with it, they code it again so it’s responsive. But taking a desktop friendly website and opening it up to the other half of your potential visitors can be quite straight forward with the tools currently available to developers.

Developers can now import content from desktop or poorly designed responsive sites and convert it to a well designed responsive website relatively quickly and economically.

So more visitors may engage with my site, but why else should I go responsive?

If being in the shrinking segment of visited websites doesn’t scare you enough, here are a 3 great benefits of responsive websites:

Better SEO - Responsive websites have a greater likelihood of ranking high in search engine results. In fact, Google detects websites that are not responsive and ranks them lower in search results!

Lower Costs - If you’ve decided you want visits from mobile users but are considering two versions of your website - one for desktop users, and one for mobile users - RWD offers you a lower maintenance cost, as compared to running two versions of one website.

Sales and leads - A recent US study found that 95% of mobile internet users look up local information on their phones for the purpose of calling or visiting a business. Another study showed that up to 78% of those that called or looked up the business made a purchase.

How can Marketelements help?

At Marketelements, we are used to working with small and medium sized businesses. So we know that the 2 most important things to you are likely to be good value and good results. We have a long list of clients who can vouch that we’re friendly, affordable and have the tools and expertise to deliver the results you’re seeking.

To learn more about our web development services, click here . Or call us for a Free Consultation Now on 03 443 6650.

Online Marketing: “The Sales Funnel”

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 09:02:06 GMT

How to make it work for your business...

We all agree that a funnel can be a useful tool in the kitchen and garage, right? Without one, how can we direct things in the direction we want them to go?

It turns out that for good online marketing the funnel is a pretty useful tool too. It’s a great way to visually describe the activities which begin with making customers aware of your brand and products/services online (the wider end of the funnel), to leading them to your website (the middle part of the funnel), to finally making a sale at the narrow end. A bit like filling a sauce bottle or a jerry can…

The online marketing “sales funnel” works by attracting potential customers using online activities and enticing them to sign up to your mailing list to receive information or to visit your website. Once you have their contact details you can start building a long-term relationship so when they are ready to purchase they will simply ask you for the sale or you can ask them!

The layout of a sales funnel can vary from business to business, but to explain how they work we’ll use one containing these 4 stages: Generate Leads, Improve Conversion, Repeat Business and Increase Revenues.

STAGE ONE : Generate Leads

This is where you want to get as many people interested in your brand or organisation as possible. The more leads generated at the top of your sales funnel, the more prospects that are available to be led down the funnel for conversion into sales outcomes and loyal customers.

Leads can be generated by:

EMAIL MARKETING - Creating clever, informative newsletters, updates and offers that are sent to prospects in your contact list. Your contact list can also grow by allowing those who visit your site to sign up for information or by allowing subscribers to share with friends.

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING - Ensuring your website and offering can be seen on search engines through Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), blog articles and paid ads.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING - Regular posts to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc., so you can interact with potential leads in an online social setting and build a relationship.

STAGE TWO: Improve Conversion

Now customers have learned more about your brand and you are in contact with them, we need them to continue through the funnel towards a sale.

Key aspects in this part of the funnel are:

A WELL DESIGNED WEBSITE - This is where content really is king. Through using quality content and imagery, the key is to address the visitor’s problem or need and then demonstrate that you have the solution and the credibility! The visitor should be faced with well-designed calls to action and opportunities to purchase immediately upon entering the site. And the steps the visitor must take to select an item and purchase it (the “conversion route”) should be obvious, easy and able to be executed in 3 clicks or less! If they think your content is useful they may also sign up to your newsletters or mailing lists to receive even more information, increasing your chances of them calling on your products or services in the future.

E-COMMERCE - Having a well designed online environment where prospects can shop and purchase your products or services is crucial. Allowing potential customers to not only order and pay but fully engage with your web store will increase your chances of sales and repeat custom. This can be done using online estimates, wish lists, the ability to share products with friends and offering free consultations or useful information to persuade visitors to subscribe to your website’s mailing list and make purchases at a later stage.

STAGE THREE: Repeat business

To use the sales funnel to full effect you need to be looking towards the end goal of creating long-term relationships with prospects that fit well with the solutions you are providing. We all know that most businesses simply don’t have the time to personally nurture every potential customer, so a documented system for lead follow-ups will make you more efficient. Then creating relationships with potential leads can be done even while you sleep…

Some ways to do this are:

AUTORESPONDERS - These allow emails and newsletters to be sent automatically to those who sign up to your database or fill in one of your contact forms on your website.

CREATING A LEAD DATABASE - Creating a data base with the demographics of the lead, contact info and perhaps how they came to you is a great tool for being able to group your potential leads for future segmented marketing campaigns.

LEAD SCORING - You can also score your leads in terms of their quality or whether they are ready to buy. This is a good way to weed out those that aren’t worth pursuing or help in working out what sort of follow up they require. You can set up your own scoring system for use with your database or some companies will provide you with programs that score leads for you.

STAGE FOUR: Increase Revenues

By this stage you will be creating a good volume of potential leads in the top of your funnel, converting a good percentage of those to website visits or subscribers and forming some productive long-term relationships. Now it is time to make the sale and increase your revenues by moving them to the final stage in your funnel.

There are endless sales models, but some suggestions on how to approach sales are:

Use clear calls to action, telling the prospect what you want them to do
Make sure you thoroughly understand the prospect’s problem or need
Make sure you have presented your product properly, focusing on benefits, not features
Ask for the sale!
If necessary, offer bonuses or extra value for immediate sales or repeat sales
Be persistent but not ‘pushy’.

Identify opportunities to upsell – Why not encourage your prospect to consider an additional or bigger purchase by offering some extra value if necessary?

So you’re now well on your way to using an efficient online marketing sales funnel to increase revenues – just don’t forget – Marketelements is always happy to help! Click here to talk to us…

Website Hacking - Prevent your site from being hacked

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 08:55:43 GMT

What, Why and How to Prevent it

We all recognise that web sites are an integral part of business. As a business owner you invest your hard earned money into creating a stylish and informative site. Imagine then your surprise if you visit your website only to find it has been defaced and hacked into.

This could be the least of your worries – if your hacker has changed the passwords to your site or added malicious coding, your page could carry a red warning flag which can be harder to get rid of than the hacker!

So who are these hackers, why do they attack sites and how can you protect yourself?

Clever but devious...

Hackers are clever but devious individuals who will attack your sites in different ways:

Website defacing , a bit like ‘tagging’.
Editing site pages in order to place spammy links on your site to unscrupulous web pages.
Changing your trustworthy business site to a trashy site with gambling, pornography, etc. These hackers are known as website hijackers and have bots that scan for ways to breach your website or server. Your site can end up blacklisted with search engines which can create problems for SEO.
Password and username theft.

Why do they do it?

Most hackers do what they do for one reason – cold, hard cash. Even those with small websites are good pickings for website hackers as most will on-sell the access to your accounts to spammers. Spammers need hosting access from owners who do not know their identity. This way if they are investigated the trail will stop with you.

Criminals also need hosting access in order to set up web pages that look just like a login page or a payment page and can therefore divert your customer’s money and password information towards them.

So how can you protect your website?

Unfortunately you can’t protect your site from hackers with 100% certainty but you can make it harder for them to gain access and easier for you to get your site back up and running after an attack.

Back up your site regularly – this is an insurance policy for your website should things go wrong and will help you to rebuild your site if required after an attack.
Choose a strong password such as those with alpha numeric components and keep it safe.
Keep your software up to date – some applications require updates to keep up with the latest security concerns.
Keep your PC virus free by using up to date anti-virus software.

Data Storage

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 08:44:58 GMT

To Cloud or Not To Cloud?

For business owners thinking about the reasons to back-up your data – you only have to look at Christchurch in order to feel a certain sense of panic. The earthquakes over the last 2 years have caused havoc for business owners in the Central City who couldn’t get into their premises to retrieve their computers once the earthquakes hit. Natural disasters are not the only reason to back-up your files, computer crashes and theft are also ways in which you could lose your valuable data at once.

Without a retrievable back-up of your business data, how would you continue to run your business if disaster struck?

Don’t panic, there are two main options for back-up storage and with a bit of preparation you can be sorted and secure. Data can be stored either locally (external hard drives, etc.) or online (in the cloud). Both options have pros and cons which we will discuss further.

Local Data Storage
Local data storage includes storing data on external hard drives, NAS drives or tape drives. There is a one-off cost to purchase the hardware but no on-going costs.

Pros

One-off cost
Fast back-up and recovery
Data is stored offline so it is safe from online privacy and security concerns

Cons

You must remember to back up regularly or use software to automate the process

The device must be plugged in to the network or a computer in order to back up

If the device is kept with your computer it won’t help in the event of a natural disaster or theft

The storage device must be moved to a secure location and bought back regularly to back-up

Size of the storage device will depend on amount of data you need to store – if you outgrow your storage device you will need to purchase additional storage

Cloud Data Storage
Storing data in the cloud does not mean sending your data hurtling into the sky – it is simply stored on remote servers by a data storage provider and can be accessed via the internet.

Pros

On-going yearly or monthly costs
As much space as you require – but with cost pegged to size of storage required
The initial backup will take a while depending on the amount of data and upload speed.
There are online privacy concerns such as what happens to your data if the company gets shut down or investigated (e.g. Megaupload and Kim Dotcom!)
You need to choose your provider carefully to ensure they have procedures in place to secure your data against hackers and natural disasters at their data centres.

So..… while cloud is an excellent, flexible and secure option in the event of natural disaster, your local options also provide safe data storage if you are uneasy with risk around online privacy and the cloud service’s own security in the case of disaster.

Unfortunately, those looking for a silver bullet to cover all eventualities for data storage probably won’t find it by choosing either cloud or local storage. It may well be that a mix of both will give you the best mix of risk and get your business back up and running should disaster strike.

For more information on data storage options - contact us