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Blog Commenting and SEO Results: Engaging Your Audience

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There has been a debate bubbling on the edges of the internet for nearly the past decade.  Are comment sections on blogs a boon or a burden? You have seen the fallout of this argument first hand as some of your regular, go-to blogs have opted to either disable comments altogether or disable them temporarily only to bring them back later.  Whether or not to let your readers express their opinions about what you are sharing with them is not a decision to be taken lightly. As an advocate for free speech and the sharing of ideas, I fall into the camp that believes that open and even lively discussion can add value to any article.  In the end, however, the relationship between blog commenting and SEO results may surprise you. 

The End of Informational Tyranny

When the internet was still in its infancy it was nothing more than a collection of billboards and static information.  Businesses felt they needed a website because, well, other businesses had one. But if you are old enough to recall those digitally skeletal times then you will remember the incredible moment in the mid-2000s  when comments first appeared.

Think about this.  Up until that moment in time, we had to turn to television to get any sort of reaction to information presented to the masses and even then most of those reactions were scripted by the presenter.  Newspapers occasionally ran a few opinions on the previous edition’s editorial but real estate in these papers was limited and the opinions themselves were selected by the editors. Essentially there was no vehicle to share the thoughts and feelings a reader might have about an article with other readers.  The internet changed all of that and blogs with comment sections became that vehicle. Overnight, a sort of ‘democracy’ of information was born.  

Is A Blog Without Comments Still A Blog?

It is a question worth asking.  While blogs predominately began as glorified journals of everyday people’s lives they have since evolved to include opinions on current events, instructional how-to’s, anthropological musings on society, and more.  The internet, by its very nature of interconnected servers, is a global community and the information shared on it is accessible to nearly anyone with a connection. This communal aspect lends itself to comment sections.  I have a profound respect for authors of blogs and posts that leave themselves open to scrutiny in their comments sections.  

Depending on the topic of the post, criticism can downright dominate a comment section.  This aspect alone has led to more sensitive authors and corporations to disable their comment sections altogether.  This is where the difference between an article and a blog really comes into focus. One fears the critique and seeks to present information without a counterpoint whereas the other fosters a dynamic community and pits its ideas up against the voices of that community.  What a blog seems to understand is that not every voice is critical and that even criticism can lead to discovery.

Do Comments Add SEO Value?

Now we get to the meat of the matter from a technical standpoint.  I’ve already discussed that there exists, at least in a philosophical sense, tangible value in fostering a vocal community around your blog.  So, is there any value as far as search engines are concerned in providing your readers that voice? 

neilPatel

Let’s consider the findings of Neil Patel.  Mr. Patel is an SEO and digital marketing genius who writes broadly on the topic.  His marketing bonafides are well documented and he has been consistently listed in Forbes top 100 entrepreneurs amongst countless other accolades.  

Mr. Patel conducted a study of 560 of his blog posts that had an average of 126 comments per post.  What he wanted to know was whether or not the additional words from the comments would yield ranking results for keywords that he himself had not specifically targeted in the posts themselves.  What he found was that 26.7% of the keywords his posts were ranking for were from keywords found exclusively in the comments section. This, in turn, yielded a slightly better than 16% increase in traffic to those posts.  

He concluded that while these numbers were not staggering by any means, they were indeed a boost.  Moreover, they were a boost provided from content that he did not have to create himself. This, to me, is a solid value-add in favor of comments.  While other studies have been conducted that found less value than Neil, none of them found an argument against having a comments section as far as SEO considerations are concerned.  Google will not dock you, for example, for having some unintended spammy comments. (I’m sure we’ve all seen the “I made $3,000 dollars working from home part-time!” comments in some sections)

What are the Benefits to the Author?

The single greatest benefit of comments for the author of any article is the ability to see what your readers think about your information.  A teacher often learns from their students and the same principle can be applied here. What’s more, the ability to interact as the author with your readers in the comment section can yield positive results both from a branding and customer service perspective.  Engaging your audience can foster a personal connection with them and the topic your post is covering. Obviously, you must keep some ground rules for yourself. For example:

  • Never engage in an aggressive argument in the comments
  • Don’t patronize your audience in the comments
  • Encourage a productive discussion with your replies
  • Tend to the comment community with grace
  • Maintain the comments section and be sure to have software that can detect truly destructive comments that are universally offensive

Striking the right balance between author and audience member may be a tall order for the more introverted blogger, but it can yield both concrete SEO and community results.

Engage, Learn, and Grow  

Even if you find yourself hesitating to add a comment section to your blog posts, I recommend taking the risk.  You can always change your mind down the road. Encourage your coworkers to read and comment on the posts you create.  A lively discussion doesn’t only have to come from the wide world of the web. It can also foster debate and ideas within your own company.  At worst, nothing bad will happen to you or your rankings and the possibility that you might rank for new keywords while creating a loyal community can make for an exciting ride.  Live in the information democracy and see where it can take you! 

 

Work from Home

Working From Home

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Many people are suddenly finding themselves working from home without much notice. There are some great benefits to telecommuting but also some challenges. Our hive are seasoned remote workers so I thought we’d share some of our tips.

I’ll start with my own advice but please read on for some great ideas. Creating a routine is really important, as the lines between home and work become blurry very quickly. Make a schedule for yourself, write it down, and stick to it. I have a mid-day break routine that is non-negotiable:  a healthy planned meal (the kitchen can easily  become an escape with not so great consequences so I have to really focus on not wandering into it), 10-15 minutes outside for a short walk or stretching, a 10-15 minute power nap, and then an afternoon cup of coffee. It may take some trial and error to see what works for you.  

-Peri Lane

Tips from the Hive

sharon 1

Sharon Elsberry
Hive Support

“While you may be tempted to work from bed, the couch or dining room table… don’t. Not only does it hurt your productivity but also your back. Find a space with a supportive chair, make sure your desk is the correct height and be sure to stretch often. Here is an article with tips on setting up a safe work space:  https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/how-to-sit-correctly/ “

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Vijay
Hive Architect

“Get in the habit of taking frequent breaks to re-hydrate and take a 5-10 minute walk. Set an alarm every few hours for this. If possible, give yourself a target task to complete in 1 hour so you are focused on your goal.”

kendra

Kendra Elliston
Hive Traffic Controller

“Having a quiet space where you can shut the door and work is definitely important, as is having a routine to start and end the work day. Instead of your commute, take a walk around the block as your “commute,” where you can engage in the same sort of thoughts, music, podcast, etc. as your normal workday morning routine would involve. Same thing at the end of the day.”

danny

Danny McKeever
Data Pollinator

“I have found that the most important thing to have is a room with a door and a space that is all your own.  A bulletin board, a whiteboard, any office-like tools that can help you be more productive and keep you on task is a huge benefit.  

Also, some ground rules for the other people who aren’t working (i.e. music on headphones instead of Alexa blasting sad Billie Eilish songs)  If you have the room, make sure that everyone has an ‘office’ that they can go to and enjoy themselves while you work.  Find a space, make it yours and fill it with what you need to be productive.  Ask the people you live with for their help in this.”

jillian

Jillian Pearson
Social Bee

“I like to take breaks and chat with some colleagues to stay sane! I also switch up my workspace using different laptop trays and I always keep my favorite things close by. Music helps. Many times, I will get out of the house and go to my local coffee shop and work there (although that won’t work right now). There are seven people who live in this house and four of them are teenagers – I highly recommend a lock on your door! Claim your SPACE!”

Working From Home

Jeff Karbowski
Ninja Bee

“I found that getting dressed every morning is one of the things that keeps me going. I have tried wearing my pajamas to work, and while it seems nice initially, after some time (for me) it gets to be uncomfortable. I found that getting dressed in the morning as I would normally, I find that the work day is more productive and ultimately more comfortable than wearing ‘night wear’ to work.”

justyn

Justyn Hornor
Ninja Bee

“I create 1:1, 15 minute stand ups (or a touch base) with my team members daily for health checks. This is especially important for folks who’ve never worked remotely for extended periods. 

On a more serious note, home life can be a very difficult place for some people. Sometimes staff live with parents, have special needs family members, or even toxic partners. Working from home indefinitely is extremely stressful for these people. So the daily stand ups can be a critical means to make sure they’re doing okay. 

I’ve opened my home for occasional co-working sessions and will make house calls if needed as a way to provide some outside human contact for my staff. “

celine

Celine Wulms
Hive Beautifier

“A note from Penny, Tilda, and Bernie (pictured below): Our humans have been working from home and every so often they let us participate in the video calls. All the other humans cheer when they see us. We are the only thing holding everything together over here! GET A DOG – they make everything better! And don’t forget all those walks in-between work… so good for y’all! 

How to write blog post_blog

4 Essential Elements to Writing a Great Blog Post

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Writing for a blog can, at times, feel daunting. You sit down to write and the words don’t come. At times like these, a little structure for your blog can go a long way.

Depending on the focus of your blog and your personality, your approach may be slightly different, but I’ve observed that the most powerful blog posts typically have four important elements. Here they are:

1. An attention-grabbing headline

A good blog post is about one topic, one story, one idea. Not 57. Not 101. Just one.

Before you begin blogging, figure out what you want to write about. Choose a mock headline to give yourself some structure (you can always change it later), and start writing.

Good titles are interesting, descriptive, and engaging. It should read like a magazine headline or a TV newsflash, daring the reader to click the link. 

This is the first thing your readers see — and the only thing, if you don’t do it right. Take time crafting a great headline. This is the first step (and the last) before you hit “publish.”

2. A captivating lead paragraph

When it comes to the Internet — when people’s attention spans are even more limited than with print — your opening paragraph is crucial. Don’t blow it. Journalists know this. It’s ingrained in them. “Don’t bury the lede,” they say. If you don’t hook your readers immediately, you will lose them forever.

Start off with a quote, a question, or a bold, audacious statement. You only have one shot. Make it count.

3. Interesting supporting points

This is the body of the article. It’s the “meat” of the post — what will back up your main topic or argument.

Every story you tell or idea you share needs to have supporting rationale, something the readers can sink their teeth into. They don’t all need to neatly fit into a three-point argument or a seven-step process, but you can’t be all over the place.

Consider what you want to say and how you will back it up. A great way to organize is to make a list of bullet points. Then, write the body of the post using these as your main sections (if appropriate turn the points into subheads, like I did with this post).

If your blog post is a road, these points are the street signs leading your reader to the end.

4. A compelling call-to-action

If you’ve hooked your readers’ attention with a good title, drawn them in with an interesting lead paragraph, and then led them through with compelling points, now you need to wrap it up.

Don’t be vague. You don’t want your audience wondering why they bothered reading your post in the first place, do you? Give them something to take away.

Want your audience to reflect on a particular idea? To do something? Respond somehow? Whatever it is, be clear about it. This is the part of the post where you invite your readers to answer a question, leave a comment, or share your post. Make it clear and actionable.

Put it all together

When I write a blog post, I follow each of these four elements, treating them as steps. Here’s how I typically blog:

  • Choose a topic and write a headline.
  • Write the lead paragraph.
  • List a few main points in the body.
  • Write your call-to-action.
  • Edit and revise. (At this point, I usually revise the headline.)
  • Proofread.
  • Publish (checking the headline one last time to make sure it still works).
Wordpress54Blog

What’s Coming in WordPress 5.4 (Features and Screenshots)

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With over 41 million downloads and counting, WordPress 5.3 was the last major release of the year 2019. While 5.3 was primarily focused on expanding and refining the block editor with more intuitive interactions and enhanced accessibility, work on version 5.4 has already been started to improve the CMS further.

As a result of the active development, WordPress 5.4 Beta 2 was recently released with a host of new features and improvements that are available for testing. Slated for release on March 31, 2020, WordPress 5.4 will be the first major release of 2020 with the primary goal of facilitating users to edit the full-site using the block editor.

Let’s check out in detail what’s new coming to WordPress 5.4!

Improved Performance:
While Gutenberg is not yet the fastest editor, the block editor team has successfully managed to achieve a 14% faster loading and 51% time-to-type reduction, for a particularly sizable post (~ 36,000 words, ~1,000 blocks) in version 5.4.

The New Welcome Guide Modal:

WordPress 5.4 will offer new users a welcome guide popup to introduce them with the block editor. It’s a simple slide-show that shows information about blocks, directs first-time users to the Block Library to get started, and provides a link to block editor tutorial.

Want to relaunch the guide? Simply click the three-dot menu on the top-right corner of the editor and then select Welcome Guide.

Two New Blocks:

WordPress 5.4 brings two new blocks to the library.

  • Social Icons Block: Using this, you can easily add links to your social media profiles inside your pages and posts. It offers three styles – default, logos, and pills. Social icons are available in their brand colors and there is no option to change their colors.

Buttons Group Block: The Buttons block replaces the previous Button block and now allows you to add multiple buttons side-by-side.

There are two different styles to choose from: you can use text with background colors, and can also add gradient background colors.

More Color Options for Blocks:

WordPress 5.4 will bring more color options for the button, cover, group, and column blocks.

 

Inside a group block, you can now set text and background colors for all the blocks.

Likewise, you’ll be able to choose background and text colors for the columns block.

Drag and Drop to Upload Featured Image:

While the current version of WordPress doesn’t allow you to drag and drop an image to the featured image section, WordPress 5.4 lets you drag and drop an image file to set it as a featured image.

Image

Change Text Color Inside Paragraph Block:

While the current version of WordPress allows you to change the text color for the entire paragraph block, WordPress 5.4 facilitates users to change the color of selected text inside a paragraph.

Image

Caption Below Table:

If you use the Table Block, you can add a caption below it to display additional information.

Fixed Block Toolbar on Mobile:

Currently, if you edit a page or post using a mobile device, then you may have noticed that the toolbar moves around blocks as you type.

WordPress 5.4 fixes this by offering a floating toolbar at the top. The new toolbar shows or disappears depending on the block type you’re editing.

Easily Select Gallery Image Size:

In version 5.4, you can easily choose an appropriate size for all your images under Gallery settings.

Improved Latest Posts Block:

Starting version 5.4, you’ll be able to show featured images in the latest posts block.

Easily Select Blocks:

WordPress 5.4 offers a ‘select’ tool to help you easily select a block that you want to change. This feature will prove quite handy when you have nested blocks, such as columns or groups.

The TikTok Embed Block:

Given the growing popularity of the video-sharing social networking service TikTok, WordPress 5.4 offers an embed block to help you easily add TikTok videos to your WordPress pages and posts.

Accessibility Improvements

Accessibility has always been a serious topic for the WordPress Core Team and therefore various accessibility improvements have been made to the Block Editor, including:

  • Easier multi-block selection.
  • The ability to change the title of an image within the Image block.
  • With easier tabbing, tabbing now works with the block’s sidebar.
  • The ability to visually switch between Edit and Navigation modes and options to enable screen reader announcements.

Accessibility Improvements in the Admin Dashboard

Along with the Gutenberg editor, the WordPress Core Team has also focused on bringing several major accessibility enhancements to the admin dashboard:

  • Better focus state management in the Menu, Customizer and Site Health screens to fix several existing keyboard navigation issues.
  • Better keyboard navigation in the Media modal for better semantics.
  • Improved readability for Privacy Policy Guide.
browser compatibility apis productions social

Browser Compatibility

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Although web surfing is now predominantly performed on mobile devices, desktop users do still exist. It is important to not only design for mobile-friendly experiences but for multi-browser experiences as well. Below are three reasons why browser compatibility is essential for your website:

1. Not everybody uses the same browser platform. Whether page visitors are browsing the internet on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer, your web design must be compatible on all platforms. Each browser displays websites differently, which means web designers must accommodate accordingly. Designing for universality is key to ensuring your website will be responsive on all browsers.

2. Browser compatibility ensures a great user experience every time. User experience (UX) is the ultimate priority when it comes to providing the optimal web experience for your page visitors. This entails quality performance and user-friendly navigation no matter which platform they may be using. Your website must be usable by people of all ages and levels of technology experience.

3. Prevent steering away potential customers and clients. If you’ve ever encountered one of the various incompatibility error messages while surfing the web, you may have simply exited the site instead of adjusting your browser settings. In today’s age, technology is expected to work fast and efficiently. Compatible web design helps you to avoid risking the chance of losing potential customers who don’t want to change their browser settings in order to view your website.

There are multiple tools available on the internet that enable businesses to check the compatibility of their website. Here is one.

BrowserStack.com
Instant access to test your website or app on 2,000+ REAL devices & browsers anytime, anywhere. 

 

Responsiveness_Blog

What is Responsive Web Design?

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With responsive website design, your website (and its pages) can adapt and deliver the best experience to users, whether they’re on their desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. For that to happen, though, your website needs a responsive design.

What is responsive web design?

Responsive web design describes a web design approach that allows websites and pages to render (or display) on all devices and screen sizes by automatically adapting to the screen, whether it’s a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

How does responsive web design work?

Responsive web design works through Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), using various settings to serve different style properties depending on the screen size, orientation, resolution, color capability, and other characteristics of the user’s device. A few examples of CSS properties related to responsive web design include the viewport and media queries.

Is my website responsive?

You can quickly see if a website is responsive or not in your web browser.

Responsive Web Design

  • Open Google Chrome
  • Go to your website
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + I to open Chrome DevTools
  • Press Ctrl + Shift + M to toggle the device toolbar
  • View your page from a mobile, tablet, or desktop perspective

Why responsive web design matters to web designers and business owners

Responsive web design relieves web designers, user interface designers, and web developers from working day and night creating websites for every single different device in existence. It also makes the lives of business owners, marketers, and advertisers easier.

 

LI Top Tips

How to Share a Post by a Company Page on Your Personal Profile on LinkedIn

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Source: LinkedIn

Gaining interaction on LinkedIn company pages without using the sponsored options is rather difficult. Much like Facebook, LinkedIn doesn’t give a lot of weight to company page updates purely because, like Facebook, it wants you to pay for the chance to increase your audience.

One thing you can do is to make a post on your company page, whether that be a link to a blog on your own website or a link to a story an another website, and then ‘share’ that update on your personal LinkedIn profile to your own contacts as if it were from your company page.

However, LinkedIn doesn’t make this easy. On Facebook, you can post on your company page and then simply click the ‘share’ button underneath your post and share it on your own Facebook account. LinkedIn has disabled that option from company pages, so it appears you cannot share a post made by your company page.

This is not the case – it just appears that way from your company page.

Instead of trying to share the post from your company page, once you have made the post from your company navigate to your own timeline to see your company’s post. If it isn’t there (as LinkedIn does show ‘Top Updates’ by default) click the three dots under the ‘Publish a Post’ link and select ‘Recent Updates’.

LinkedIn Share
LinkedIn Share

LinkedIn Example

This will show all posts on LinkedIn in chronological order. You should now see the post made by your company page, complete with a ‘share’ option so you can share your own company post with your own personal connections.

These steps, once again and in order, are:

  • From your company page, make a post from your company
  • Click on ‘Home’
  • Click on the three dots underneath ‘Publish a Post’ and select ‘Recent Updates’
  • Scroll down until you see your company post, and click ‘Share’
  • Write your own personal comment if needed, and share your post
Typography

Understanding Typography

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Typography plays an important role in setting the tone, theme, and message of a website.

Typography is the art and technique of arranging type. It involves the thoughtful and deliberate selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading, tracking, kerning, color and any element that can affect a design. Readability is primarily the concern of the typographer or information designer. In websites, consistency is key in the use of typography.

Choosing a typeface can be done by virtually anyone—simply click a name in a dropdown list. And yet, choosing the right typeface is one of the most deliberated decisions of the design process.

Typography designers dedicate their careers to crafting letterforms. In those small shapes, experts balance things like emotion and neutrality, personality and practicality, legibility and flexibility. Selecting a typeface for a particular design comes with a long list of considerations.

Traditionally, graphic designers have always studied the fundamentals of typography in terms of print design. But as the role of the designer now spans across all types of digital mediums, typography is a bigger beast to tame.

The Challenges of Digital Typography

When it comes to print design, there are few variables in how a user will interact with it. A printed page won’t shapeshift depending on who is holding it—colors can be tightly controlled and the typeface will remain static. What a luxury. Digital typography is a lot more fluid. When typography appears on screen, there are many factors that contribute to how it’s displayed, some of which include:

  • Screen size: It’s impossible to predict, however, Responsive Design aims to accommodate any slight shift in dimensions. But that means typesetting can sometimes be done in vain.
  • Screen resolution: Pixel density plays a big part in text legibility. Technological advances have made hi-resolution screens more accessible to the masses, but designers should keep in mind the outliers with older tech.
  • Screen calibration: Brightness levels determine how colors appear on the screen. The color choices for web design need to accommodate all types of screen settings.

Choosing the Best Font for Reading on Screen

Digital design is an elusive craft—it wasn’t that long ago we were limited to only a few fonts that were compatible with low-resolution monitors.

We’ve come leaps and bounds in our typeface options. They have been crafted for the screen and are designed with certain nuances that enhance legibility. Just as printed fonts trick the eye to increase legibility, like ink traps, good web fonts will do the same.

A design doesn’t have to be limited to the universally standard typefaces (Times New Roman can retire now). There are countless options available for designers to source typefaces that are web-safe and accessible. Google Fonts, Font Library, and Adobe Typekit are a few that offer easy integration and a wide range of choices.

This real estate development company, uses Proxima-Nova, sans serif typeface for the headline and sub-heading, however in the headline the usage of mosaic type colour filling gives a unique look to it. The headline is user interfaced with the cursor – this makes the interior pattern move along with the cursor.

We develop solutions example

Understanding the basics

What is typography in web design?

Typography in web design is similar to print design but requires certain considerations to ensure legibility on all screen types. Typeface, type size, color, line height, and letter shapes are some of the factors within typography that must be carefully balanced to provide a pleasant reading experience.

Which font is best for reading on screen?

Fonts that are best for reading on screen are ones with distinctive and open letterforms. Proxima Nova, Georgia, and Fira have characteristics that make it easy to read on various screen displays. Other factors impact a font’s legibility, such as type size, line height, and font and background color contrast.

What font size should I use for a website?

The font size on a website should be responsive to the screen size that displays it. In general, a font should be 12-16pt on a mobile screen, 15-19pt on a tablet, and 16-20pt on a desktop computer screen. Factors like type size, line height, and line length should also be considered.

What is good typography?

Good typography, like good design, is invisible. The primary purpose of typography is to communicate a written message. Type should be designed to be legible and provide a pleasant reading experience. Factors like type size, line height, and line length are elements of typography that should always be considered.

How many fonts should a website use?

A website should keep the number of fonts to a minimum—no more than three in total. When a site has too many fonts, the user can become disoriented with so many shifts in the visual design. The chosen typefaces should have a variety of weights and styles that can be used strategically in the UI design.

Some font pairing examples

With font pairing, there is an age-old rule that goes as follows: concord or contrast, but don’t conflict.
Here are a few examples of tried and tested font-pairs that are guaranteed to avoid conflict.

Typography is an essential factor that determines the entire stylizing structure in a website. It is the first thing that captures gaze among visitors and has to play the role of informing as well as providing a personality to the website.

Data_ApisProductions

6 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Website

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There is no spell to cast when it comes to increasing traffic to your website.  There is no magic wand that can teleport you into the top page of every search engine.  There are, however, a number of smaller incantations that, with patience and practice, can lead to enormous results.  

On-Page SEO: If You Can’t See the Ladder, You Can’t Climb It

On-Page SEO refers to the efforts made to optimize pages on your website for the purpose of improving your website’s ranking in the search engines.  Specifically, on-page SEO pertains to both the content (think page titles, paragraphs, images) and the underlying HTML code (think image alt-text, URL structures) of each unique web page. 

There are many excellent resources online that go into great detail on how to optimize your web pages for search engines and they all share a common mantra:

  1. Be Findable
    1. If your content is buried behind a login, paywall, or other obstructive barrier, the search engines will not be able to link up with it and those pages will not rank.
    2. Your content must be able to be linked to.  For example, if I am a member of a website that requires a login to see the content and I send a URL link to an article I loved to a non-member, the link would redirect to a login screen.  This happens to search engine bots just the same.  
  2. Be the Answer to the Query
    1. Great need + Complete Answer = Higher Rankings 
    2. The content on a web page should answer a question and fulfill the needs of the people searching for that information on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.
    3. Every component (page title, URL, alt-text, subheadings, paragraphs) of the page should work together cohesively to deliver relevant information about the topic that the page is addressing.
  3. Express Your Purpose
    1. Make sure that each page has a specific purpose and that every element on that page is expressing it.
    2. URL, Page Title, Image Alt-Text, and Content should all express the same purpose.
  4. Have Sensible Link Structure
    1. Every page should have a link to your home page (this can be a word, an picture, or most commonly your company logo)
    2. If the page is within a specific category (for example: an employee health insurance product within an employee benefits category) then the page should link back to the category.

These are the pillars of best practice on-page SEO and without any of them, the house falls down.  I encourage anyone reading this to go through their site and ask what purpose each page has and what question does each page answer for people looking for information in your niche.  

A quick note about URL structure

Of all the components of on-page SEO, I think URL structure is the one that many people don’t consider or fully comprehend.  It’s easy to answer the question of page purpose with content, images, alt-text, and page titles, but URL structure is so often ignored because software such as Wordpress and Wix, magically handles this for you in most cases.  But they don’t always handle it well.

Each page’s URL should also express the purpose of the page.  The reason for this is because URL is something that search engines also use to understand what the page is about.  

Here’s an example: https://www.backpacker.com/stories/america-s-best-dayhikes-northeast

In this URL, we see that it is a story about the best daytime hiking in the Northeast.  This is fairly straightforward and contributes to identifying the purpose of the page.  

Here’s an example of a URL that is less helpful:  https://6abc.com/archive/8979879/

In this URL, we have absolutely no idea what this page is about.  It’s actually a news story but the numbers tell us nothing. Consequently, the numbers also tell Google nothing.  Food for thought.

Update Regularly with Compelling Content

If you have excellent on-page SEO, then you are already ahead of the curve.  In order to stay ahead, and regularly attract more business, however, you should continue to publish compelling content relevant to your niche.  This can be hard for many business owners who either don’t have the time or confidence in their writing ability to contribute content on a regular business.  Additionally, remembering to follow SEO best practices (i.e. include images with alt-text, use appropriate header tags, utilize keyword research etc.) can muddy up the creative process.  

However daunting it may be, regularly posting new content to your website is still the best way to accumulate traffic over time and remain ‘evergreen’ in your niche.   Feel free to farm this work out to professionals. In fact, if you can afford it, that is probably the best way to handle the workload. Professionals will come up with a plan, provide keyword and keyphrase research, and curate a list of topics in your niche to write about.  

The upsides of regularly updating and creating content for your site are many.  Adding content consistently:

  • Makes Google crawl your site more regularly
  • Expands the keywords that you can rank for
  • Strengthens the keywords that you already rank for
  • Builds your business’s status as an authority for your customers
  • Enhances your website’s reputation as an authority in the eyes of search engines
  • Creates traffic over time and continues to generate traffic for years and years ahead
  • Adds SEO power to the articles and content that you have already written

Writing articles in your niche is definitely playing the long game, but if you plan on being around for a while, there is no better time to start playing that game then right now.  There are other ways to get traffic that are more immediate. Let’s talk about some of those.  

Reachout

Reach Out to Your Audience on Social Media (and everywhere else!)

Shyness has never sold anyone anything.  If your company doesn’t have a presence on social media, then you should stop reading this right now and create one.  Seriously. I’ll wait.    

Whether you have 50 followers or 5000, using social media to connect with your customers is an obvious way to get more people to visit your website.  If you’re selling insurance and you have a new product, you should immediately tell your friends on Facebook about it and link to your site. Social media is more than just Facebook and Twitter, however.  LinkedIn has emerged as an excellent social media tool for business to business communication. Read this excellent post about how to leverage LinkedIn to attract customers and visitors to your site.

Outside of the digital universe, make sure that you have your website on your business cards.  When you are at a conference tell people about the products you offer on your site. When you are giving a talk, let people know about your site.  Basically, be the opposite of shy. Be engaging. 

Buy Some New Friends with a Great Ad Campaign

3,000 years ago in the 11th century BCE, a Chinese candy salesman used a bamboo flute to advertise his sweets.  That’s a true story. In 1922 the first-ever radio advertisement could be heard in New York from a company selling apartments in Jackson Heights, Queens.  In July of 1941, the first-ever television advertisement appeared during a telecast of the Brooklyn Dodgers playing the Phillies.  (the Phillies won the game 6 to 4)

In the year 2000, Google launched its advertising platform and the rest is history.  If you are a relatively new website or an established one, it never hurts to drop a few dimes on internet ads.  Depending on what you are selling, the return on investment can be substantial. From selling individual products, to generating invaluable customer leads, internet advertising should not be overlooked when trying to create more incoming traffic to your site.  

Ad campaigns today have the added benefit of detailed metrics that tell you how well your ads are resonating and who your audience really is.  If it’s in your budget, you should definitely take advertising into consideration.  

Have Your Clients/Vendors Link Back to You

Everyone loves to be linked!  Links back to your website are precious and often hard to come by.  Search engines are particularly fond of quality websites linking back to yours.  While there are many ways to go about obtaining these rare jewels, the most obvious way might be right in front of you.  

If you use vendors for some of the products you are selling, chances are that they also have a website.  Since you are most likely in a mutually beneficial relationship with these vendors, it couldn’t hurt to provide them with a link to your website in return for a link back to theirs.  The same goes for customers who are loyal and may also have sites that are relevant to yours. There is no shame in asking.  

Leverage Your Analytics

If you aren’t using Google Analytics to understand your market and your audience then you are steering blind when it comes to web traffic.  Make sure that you or a professional are looking at that data and making sense of it.  

data-drawing

Discovering which pages are attracting the most hits, how long visitors are hanging out on your site, which states and countries are visiting, and countless other metrics help you maximize your successes while diminishing your failures.  Data matters and if you don’t leverage it, you can be sure that your competitors will.  

Companies like Apis Productions that can generate weekly reports about your data can make it a breeze to understand at a glance what’s going on in your digital marketplace.  Knowledge isn’t just power, it’s profits.

Go Get Stuck In Traffic

So while there may not be any single solution to jamming the roadways of your website, there are lots of low and high hanging fruit to reach for.  Remember to always evaluate the purpose of your site and each of its pages. Don’t become complacent about data and use every tool available to reach out to your clients and customers.  Steady and consistent efforts pay off in life and on the internet, so keep at it until you’re positively stuck in traffic. See you online!

2020 Design Trends Apis Productions

Top Web Design Trends for 2020

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Well, here we are. It’s 2020. Have you thought about switching up the design of your website? With these top design trends, we’ll show you how to stay on trend and engage site visitors.

If you’re wondering if everything gets changed in 2020? Not everything, but here are five trends worthy of your consideration.

2020 web design trends worthy of your attention

1. Keep it Simple

Here’s a phrase we hear often – “keep it simple.” As far as web design in 2020, this is crucial. Site visitors have very little time or patience navigating through a complicated website.

Check out Honda’s homepage. We’ve got a beautiful car, gorgeous background, a button and a short sentence. This is a perfect example of “keeping it simple…silly.”

Simple Example Web Design Trends 2020

Here are some ways you can incorporate simplicity into your web design.

Try simplifying these areas of your site to provide a better user experience and to effortlessly fall into the future of web design:

  • Your navigation
  • Your graphics
  • Your home page
  • Your color scheme

2. Feature Some Illustrations

Sure, photos are a great way to add personality to your site, but there’s a lot to be said about illustrations. Many companies have started to feature illustrations on their site pages.

Not only does this give a modern look, but it also makes your site pages unique. Users will remember your site because they don’t feature the same staged photo of your employees grinning ear to ear.

When you use an illustration, you can use your brand colors, and make it as detailed as possible to give the exact feel that you desire.

On our website, we’ve stayed true to our branding by creating an illustration rich in detail which describes what we do.

Illustrations are the new thing in 2020


How can I incorporate illustrations into my website?

You can add an illustration to any page of your website. Try just a couple to see if they convey exactly what you want to showcase; then build on that.

3. Try Using GIFs as Graphics

Gone are the days of merely incorporating a stock photo into your content — if you do so, readers will become bored long before they can even read through your pages.

A significant web design trend for 2020 is the incorporation of GIFs into your content.

Not only do they help engage users and keep them on your pages longer, but they also add a unique design element that leads to better user experience.

Below, you can see an example of GIFs within page content.

Gif Example Apis Productions

4. Animations

Similar to GIFs in your content, an emerging web design trend for 2020 is animations.

Not only are more websites adopting animations in their content in the form of GIFs, but they’re also utilizing animations on their home page, in calls to action, and more.

Check out the way Coca-Cola uses animation on their home page!

Animation Example Apis Productions

5. Black and Blue

It’s a classic color combination that’s making a big return to projects – black and blue palettes. And speaking of blue, you’ve got a gorgeous one to choose from with the Pantone 2020 Color of the Year – Classic Blue 19-4052. If you haven’t read our article about it, check it out here!

Coffee Cup Example

The contrast of a dark background and blue accents is eye-appealing and creates a harmonious and pleasing visual aesthetic.

42Angels uses a black background with black and white photos to makes their white and blue lettering accents pop off the screen.

blue and black

As usual, should you need any web design trend help, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help!

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