Tag Archives: websites

WebSites

How to Avoid Web Design Pitfalls

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avoid web design pitfalls

When used right, your website is your number one marketing tool. It can be your space for others to learn more about GDI, affiliate marketing and who you are. Your website gives people the chance to see what can be done with GDI’s site building tools and plugins. Creating a clean, easy to navigate website can be simple, but there are also many pitfalls to look out for. Read on for how to avoid some of the most common website pitfalls.

Poor Quality Images

Images are essential to a visually interesting website, but the wrong images can drive your traffic away. Always test images on your website before adding them and publishing your site. Images may look OK in the preview, but blurry on your website. It’s not necessary to use high resolution images on your website as these can take up lots of space. Just make sure your image looks clear and sized properly for your site.

Poor Navigation

GDI offers WordPress and SiteBuilder to help you build your website. These services come with themes that include easy navigation and menu building for a reason–good menus are an important feature of a successful website. If you want people to visit many pages on your site, you need to make it easy for them. Menus necessary to navigate your site should be at the top or side of the page so they are easy to see. Make sure every page on your website can be accessed from these menus.

No Linkbacks

Direct traffic to your website is important, but in this highly connected digital world much of your traffic will come from referrals. Referrals are website visits that come from outside sources and pages. You can gain referral traffic by sharing your website on social media or working with other affiliates to share links. Linkbacks to your website helps to verify it through search engines and appear higher in search results.

No Goal Conversion

What do you want people to do when they visit your website? Fill out a contact form? Sign up for a newsletter? What you want people to do on your website should dictate how you build it and how it is designed. Always keep your end goal in mind and make sure website visitors can accomplish it with just a few clicks if needed.

Too Many Distractions

It’s easy to get wrapped up in adding fun things to your website like GIFs, photos, and animations, but use these things sparingly. Too many distractions can make your website seem unprofessional or make it difficult for people to accomplish what you want them to on your site. Use images where it is necessary to explain a concept or break up text. Use GIFs and animation only when they can help your business, like GDI’s animated banners that link to your signup page.

Grammar, Spelling

Nothing makes a website seem unprofessional quite like a spelling mistake or typo. Though these mistakes are simply accidents, it can make it seem like your are careless. Proofread your website frequently and anytime you add new content. Copy all the text from your website and run it through a spell check. If you can, have a friend proofread your website any time you update it.

 

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Marketing

Choosing the Right Content to Market Your Opportunity

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Choosing the Right Content to Market Your Opportunity

 

We talk often about content marketing on this blog. As a quick refresher, content marketing is the practice of using content (blogs, video, lists) to market your business and get others interested. As there are many different content options, its easy to get overwhelmed with what to create for your website to attract and audience and build income. Below we break down different types of content and who this content is likely to attract. This will prove to be a handy guide when you’re at a loss for what to share on your website next.

Type: Case Study

A case study is an in depth look at a certain topic. One example of this would be your company’s success over a few months of trying a new approach to marketing or the results of a mailing campaign a pizza company did. This is a way to examine what creates (or doesn’t create) success with certain tactics while giving others ideas to do the same.

Potential Audience: People who are interested in bettering their own business and have some experience. Case studies are not usually for beginners as they are more in depth.

Type: Personal Update

A personal update is just what it sounds like–you checking in with your audience/ team. This can be you talking about recent successes, new business ideas or what you’ve got planned for the next few months. This lets your audience see the human side of you while getting ideas for what to do next.

Potential Audience: Anyone. Personal updates have a low barrier to entry, they should be written in a conversational tone and give visitors a peek into the inner workings of your business and some of your ideas.

Type: Industry News

This is sharing news relevant to your industry. This could be sharing affiliate marketing news and trends or news related to your business category. This is easy content to create and it can be a series of links or selected quotes from the news (with links to the original news site) with your comments.

Potential Audience: Other people in your same industry. This kind of content will appeal to people who already have an understanding of your business.

Type: Advice

This content isn’t too different from the personal update. This is a chance to respond to questions you have received in a larger format and offer your unique experience and expertise.

Potential Audience: Your current downline and team members. Often this advice is specific to people working in affiliate marketing or your business. Affiliates and those in the same business category will benefit most from this specific advice.

Type: How-To

This content can range from the simple, “How to sign up with GDI” to the more advanced “How to add a widget to your website.” This content can be shared in text or video.

Potential Audience: You stand to gain a broad audience with how-to content. You can attract people with a range of skills and interests. Use this content to help build your downline and also create an educated team.

 

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WebSites

What Makes For a Great Website?

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What makes for a great website

GDI provides you with your internet address for life, which can be home to your website. Your website builds your reputation online and defines your online identity, so you want it to represent you well. But what makes for a great website? Read on for the basics, then get working on your internet address for life.

Information

For a website to be useful,  your website needs to provide something–a service, a product, a story. Information on how to take advantage of this is key. If you’re selling a product, be sure to inform your website visitors about its benefit, price, and how they can get it. If you’re selling a service, provide the same information. Telling a story? Provide information as to why this story is important. Make sure all of this information is easy to find. If your visitor can’t find this on your website quickly, you will quickly lose them.

Navigation

Now you’ve got great information on your website, but how do people get to it? Navigation is key to people staying on your website and getting the best use of it. This means having appropriate menus and menu titles. It’s a good idea to have menu titles that include: about, products/ services, and contact. Other titles may be necessary, but these are the basic needs of any website. Don’t mislead with your menus titles. Visit some of your favorite websites and see how the navigation works, then apply this to your site.

Images

The right images can keep people engaged with your website. Add images where it makes sense. Show people your product. Include an image of yourself or your team in the “About Us” section of your website. Try to use the best quality, high resolution photos you can find. A poor quality image will make you look unprofessional and will cause people to leave your website.

If you aren’t using your own images, make sure you have the rights to use ceraint photos on your website and provide credit and attribution when needed. Looking for photos to use on your website? Try Creative Commons—just be sure to check the rules and rights of the image before you use it on your website.

Content

As we’ve said in many posts, content is key. Content is a lot like information, but with an emphasis on quality. Information provides the basics of what your website visitors need to know, but content builds the story. Good content should be keyword rich and interesting. This should be stories that support your business, share your success, and display your unique knowledge. Stuck on what kind of content to create? Think of what you enjoy reading or what kind of websites you like. Then try to create content that mimics this.