Spring Into Action –
Mobile Optimization Coquitlam

Global data reveals that mobile devices continue to ingrain themselves into consumers’ daily lives. Here are some interesting statistics about mobile device usage:

80% of global consumers own a smartphone
50% of global consumers own a tablet
85% of Google searches are performed on a mobile device

The fact is, if you are not optimized for mobile you’re ultimately losing sales.

Navigating with a mobile device on a website that is not optimized for mobile use can be very frustrating, and most people today do not have the patience. Research shows that 57% of mobile users will abandon your website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. On e-commerce websites, 30% will abandon a purchase transaction if the Shopping Cart isn’t optimized for mobile devices.

Not to mention, Google and other major search engines are giving you the hint, too.

“If you haven’t made your website mobile-friendly, you should.” – Google

What is Mobile Optimization Coquitlam?

A desktop version of a website can be difficult to view and navigate on a mobile device. It may require the user to zoom in order to read the page content. In comparison, the mobile-friendly version is readable and immediately usable. This is demonstrated in the image to the right.

The Mobile-First Index

In late 2016, Google began testing its mobile-first index. This index primarily looks at the mobile version of your website for its algorithm and ranking signals, falling back on the
desktop version when there is no
mobile version available.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, that will have an impact on where your website appears on the Google search results page.

Regular Price $1250

Spring Promotion $625

(Available until May 15, 2017)

If you are looking for an expert in Mobile Optimization Coquitlam, then collaborating with Longevity Graphics is the right choice for your business. Contact Us Today to learn more!

Get Mobile Optimized

Guide to Instagram for Business

Instagram is a highly visual experience. For businesses, it is a great way to tell your story through captivating photos, videos, and captions. It is also one of the most exciting social media platforms right now! Currently, it is ranked as the second most active social media platform by number of users (just behind Facebook) with over 600 million monthly users.

If you thought that was impressive, take a look at these other statistics:

Latest Instagram Statistics

600 million monthly users
300 million daily active users
20% of internet users, use the app
Average monthly follower growth for users is 16%
Average engagement rate for posts is 11%

If you’re interested in joining Instagram for Business, but you’re unsure how to harness the true potential of the platform, continue reading below.

Tips for Using Instagram for Business

Visual Appeal – Instagram is a highly visual experience, so make sure you are posting high-resolution, good quality images that best represent your business.

Use #Hashtags – If you want to grow your following and expand your reach, use hashtags. Hashtags allow like-minded users to find content that is interesting to them.

Don’t Over Post – There is nothing worse than opening your newsfeed to one account spamming you with their content. Even if you appreciate the content, the high-frequency can result in an unfollow.

Utilize Instagram’s Editing Tools – Even if you don’t have access to Photoshop or other professional photo editing software, that doesn’t mean you can’t post professional looking photos. Take advantage of the editing tools that are available on Instagram.

Utilize Instagram Business Tools – Instagram introduced Business Profiles and Business tools in the summer of 2016. With an Instagram Business profile, you can:

Get real-time metrics on how your promoted posts perform
Get insights into your followers and how they interact with your posts
Add information about your company like business hours, location, and phone number

Interact with Other Accounts – If you want people to engage with your content, try engaging with other users’ content. Don’t be shy, make the first move!

Share your Instagram content on other Social Channels – If you’re active on other social media channels, why not send your Instagram posts there as well? You’ll be able to reach an additional audience, plus you’ll be able to promote your Instagram account.

If you can see the advantage of Instagram for Business, then start an account today!

Instagram Business Profile Set Up

If you are looking for a social media expert to help you with your Instagram account set up and optimization, then collaborating with Longevity Graphics is the right choice for you.

We offer a FREE 1-Hour consultation on all of the services we provide. Contact us today!

Instagram Stories

If you’re a regular Instagram user, then you’re aware of the platform’s latest feature – Instagram Stories.

So, what is Instagram Stories? It is a Snapchat-inspired feature built into the photo sharing app. It appears at the top of your newsfeed screen and allows you to upload photos in a stream that will expire and disappear after 24 hours. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Instagram’s CEO, Kevin Systrom agrees that the feature is very similar to Snapchat.

How do you use Instagram Stories?

Go to your Instagram newsfeed.
Click on the + in the top left corner of your feed to start a new story.
Tap on the circle button at the bottom of the screen to take a photo or hold it down to record a video.
To edit and add text or drawings to your photo or video, use the buttons in the top right corner.
If you want to add a filter, simply swipe left or right. Currently, there are 7 different options.
Finally, tap the check mark at the bottom of the screen to add it to your story.

More information:

To save a photo or video from your story to your phone’s camera roll, hit the download button on the right of your story.
As this is an Instagram feature, you can utilize Boomerangs and Hyperlapses with your story.
To monitor who can view your story, click on the three dots in the bottom right corner. Then click Story Settings to select any users you wish to block from viewing your stories.
Yes, as with Snapchat, you are able to see who has viewed your story. Open your story and swipe on the screen. On the bottom of the screen, there will be a view counter and the names of people who have viewed your story. Only you will be able to see this information.

So now the debate begins; which platform is better?

Many reviewers are saying that Instagram took Snapchat’s confusing interface and made it more simplistic to use. Each step of the process is clearly labelled with buttons, instead of swipes. For example, instead of swiping on a Snapchat photo to send a reply, Instagram has a clearly labelled Send Message button. This is something that many struggle with when trying to learn how to use Snapchat.

Another thing Instagram has going for it, is that it has an existing community of active users. These people use the app to connect with friends, follower new people and discover new parts of the world all through images and video. This sense of community is something that Snapchat is lacking. How many times have you seen an online personality encouraging their audience to add them on Snapchat? Now, Instagram followers will be able to access your stories from right in the app. There is no need to direct and build a new audience in a different app.

Instagram has always been seen as a place where people can upload the highlights of their life. With the introduction of Instagram Stories, you will be able to see the unfiltered, everyday parts of people’s lives, between the picture perfect photos. With that being said, at one point in time we have all followed that one person who posts way too much. Now, these people will have a place where they can post without overwhelming their followers’ feeds.

So, what do you think? Comment or Tweet us and let us know.

If you are looking for an expert in the ever-changing landscape of Social Media then collaborating with Longevity Graphics is the right choice for you and your business. Contact us today to get a no-obligation quote. We offer a Free 1-Hour Consultation on all social media, SEO, web design and web development services

Have you heard of Urbanspoon? How about Zomato?

(more…)

In the four years since its acquisition by Facebook, Instagram has done a lot of evolving. Users have seen various interface modifications, the newsfeed algorithm change and of course, the logo transformation. Earlier this month, Instagram made an announcement that new Instagram Business profiles and tools will be rolling out in the US, Australia and New Zealand in the coming months, and will be available in all countries by the end of the year.

In the announcement, Instagram highlights three new features for business users.

These new features for business owners

Instagram Business Profile
Insight
Promote

Instagram Business Profile

The Instagram Business Profile is a free feature for accounts wanting to be recognized as a business on Instagram. In order to upgrade your Instagram account to a business profile, you will need to have a Business page on Facebook. Once you have linked your Instagram to your Business page on Facebook, you will then see three new tools: a contact button, insights and promote.

Previously, if a customer wanted to get in contact with you on Instagram, they would either click on the website link in your bio, or more often than not, they would leave a comment on one of your posts. If you have a lot of engagement on your content, you know how easily comments can be buried and lost. Using the new contact button, you can decide how you would like your customers to reach you.

They can contact you by:

Calling
Texting
Emailing

The contact button will appear in your bio, to the left of your follow button. This new tool will streamline the process of communicating. Now, customers will have no question as to how to reach you.

Insights

As a business producing content online, you need to know who your audience is and you need to know the best way to reach them. Without knowing this, it is hard to deliver relevant content. Insights on Instagram will provide business users information about their content. You will be able to see who your followers are and what posts are more effective than others. This information will all be available from within the mobile app.

Promote

Using the new promote tool, business users will be able to easily turn a well-performing post into an ad – right from within the app.

You will:

Choose an already shared post
Add a button with a call to action
Decide on a target audience

Once your ad is set up, you will decide what length of time you would like the ad to run. If you want to advertise on Instagram currently, you have to create an ad campaign in Facebook. This new tool is a great addition and welcome change!

Responsive Design – What is it?

Responsive design is having a website that is coded so you don’t have separate mobile, tablet, and PC versions of your site: the site adapts to whatever size screen it’s being displayed on. With a responsive web design, visitors will get all the content they want, in a format they can read. If you don’t have a mobile site at all, 61% of visitors will return to Google to find a site that is easily readable.

Moving forward, it will be extremely critical that your website provides mobile users an easy-to-use experience as this directly impacts the growth of your business. Despite the impressive points shown below, many businesses still do not yet have responsive friendly websites or communications. Here’s why we think you should upgrade to responsive today:

1) Mobile usage is booming.

•   Over 20% of Google searches are performed on a mobile device.
•   The average amount of time spent on mobile / tablets is about 3 hours a day.
•   Almost 60% of all website traffic is from mobile devices
•   25.85% of all emails are opened on mobile phones, and 10.16% are opened on tablets.
•    80% of internet users own a smart phone.

2) Higher conversion rates & happy visitors.

A well structured and user-friendly responsive website will drive more sales and also make it easier for visitors to find / share information. Responsive design helps modern websites appeal to modern users. According to a calculated figure, 5.1 out of the 6.8 billion-world population are smart phone users. If a user lands on your website and is confused or doesn’t see what they are looking for, there’s a 61% chance they will leave immediately and go to another website (most likely a competitor). It’s also said that if they have a positive experience with your mobile website, a user is 67% more likely to buy a product or use a service.
Mobile users that find your business online have a conversion percentage nearly three times higher than the same search done on a desktop or laptop. Why? Mobile users are on the go. They grab their device and have a specific intent in mind. Mobile searchers are buyers, assuming you can meet their needs. With 80% of consumers regularly using their smartphones to shop online – this isn’t something you want to miss out on.

3) Search engine optimization.

Responsive development is Google’s recommended approach for mobile web design. Responsive websites will perform better in search rankings because they provide a better user experience than sites that are not mobile friendly.

Going responsive makes it easy for search engine robots to crawl and index your website, ensuring that your page rankings are as high as possible. If you’re sharing links (especially through social media) to your website and it’s responsive you will experience improved brand perception, less bounce rates and boosted website conversions. If you don’t have a

responsive website, not only will you have a lot of frustrated visitors but Google will interpret the high bounce rate as a sign your website isn’t offering relevant content, which is likely to drop your rankings. Mobile phones have a separate Google search algorithm than desktop searches too; so you will want your rankings high for both desktop and mobile searches. Most people do their browsing on mobile and complete their transactions on desktop, so the marriage of the two and having a responsive friendly site is important for complete conversions.

Are you ready!?!

As you can see responsive web design plays an integral role in the level of success of your business and search rankings. Switching over to responsive web design will be a big challenge, but it will prepare you for the future and put you a step ahead of your competitors.

If you are looking for an expert in Responsive Website Design then collaborating with Longevity Graphics is the right choice for your business. Contact us today to get a no obligation quote for your next responsive web, SEO or marketing project.

Today searches via mobile device are increases, and experts are declaring that mobile searchers will continue to increase going forward. 1 in 3 Google searches are now mobile. Mobile SEO is more important than every now.

I am sure at some point you have done a search for something on your mobile device and come to a website that is impossible to navigate. You cant’ find the information that you are looking for, and the website is impossible to read because the text size is so small. I know I have. It is so frustrating!

Having a custom built mobile website, or even a responsive website, that makes your website mobile friendly will help to improve the user experience and even your placement in search engine results pages (SERPs) on mobile devices.

Here are my top 5 mobile SEO strategies that will help you increase your mobile traffic and improve mobile user experience.

Top 5 Mobile SEO Strategies

1. Custom Mobile Website or Mobile Friendly Website

The first step in mobile SEO is having a mobile version of your website! This is very important these days. This will not only increase your chances for ranking higher organically within the search result pages (like Google); it will also improve the user experience.

There is a big debate in the online marketing world about which is better, custom mobile website or responsive. I personally find that custom mobile websites are generally easier to navigate therefore leading to a better user experience. Having a better user experience will always generate higher conversions.

That being said, having a responsive website is not a bad thing. It is definitely better than having a non-mobile version of your website, and if setup well, it can still generate a good user experience. Either will help you increase your chances of out ranking your competitors, without a mobile site, within the SERPs.

2. Understand Mobile-User Intent

Adapt your mobile website based on mobile search. Mobile searchers are unique for the information that they are looking for. Users have different reasons for searching for information via mobile devices. It is important that you understand the user intent so that you can provide the appropriate information.

According to Google, 69 percent of mobile users expect businesses to be within 5 kms of their location, and 55 percent of mobile users want to purchase within the hour. Keeping this is mind, providing location information, hours of operation, and contact information are key to increasing your conversions.

3. Easy to use navigation and buttons

Having a standard navigation on a mobile device makes the website almost impossible to navigate. Mobile websites should be easy to navigate. Building a custom navigation for mobile devices is a must.

Adding click to call and click to email buttons are also incredibly import. It is important for users to be able to contact you easily. Don’t bury important contact information on a contact page that the users needs to navigate to . I recommend setting this information at the bottom of the site that is nested on top of the rest of the information and is always available. This will help to increase the amount of leads you generate from the mobile site.

4. Incorporate Clean Design With a Focus on Usability

Design your mobile site so that your users can move quickly and freely throughout the interface. This is important to the effectiveness of your websites usability. Mobile device screens are quite small in comparison to a desktop or tablet. If too much information is included on the page, it can be overwhelming and busy.
This can lead to a poor user experience and users will bounce from your site to a mobile site that is easier to use. Having a clean design with pertinent information will help to increase the user experience resulting in more conversions. Lots of white space will help to focus on the main goals and direct your users to the information that they are looking for.

5. Speed Up Slow Loading Mobile Pages

Page load speeds can have a significant impact on mobile SEO, mobile user-experience and conversions. Because page load speed is crucial to creating a positive mobile user-experience, it is essential to a successful mobile SEO strategy. You can test your mobile load time via Google webmaster tools speed test.

In conclusion, if you don’t already have a mobile version of your website, I would highly recommend that you look into implementing this sooner than later. Your users expect it! Don’t let your competitors win your customers over because your mobile site isn’t cutting it. Get ahead of your competitors, in mobile search rankings and user experience.

Spring Into Action –Mobile Optimization Coquitlam