Five Ways to Optimise Your Website for Voice Search in 2022

When optimising for voice search it’s important to know:

Alexa, Siri, Bixby, Cortana.

Though it might sound like the line-up of the next group to win the X-Factor, most people will recognise at least one of these names as virtual assistants. Common among modern UK households, virtual assistants have several purposes.

From setting timers and reminders to controlling the lights in your house and playing your favourite album on demand, virtual assistants are convenient and functional. One of the main features of virtual assistants is being able to ask quick questions, which are then answered following a quick scan of the internet.  

You could be missing out on a key portion of your audience by not tailoring your SEO approach to accommodate voice searches, but don’t worry; read on to find out exactly how you can appeal to your target audience through voice search optimisation.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VOICE SEARCHES AND REGULAR SEARCHES?

The way we choose to communicate and interact with those around us differs from person to person. For example, in most cases, you wouldn’t talk to your friend in the same way you talk to your boss. The same can be said for technology: do you type in the same way you speak?

There are several differences in the norms of text and voice conversations, and it’s the same for text and voice searches. If you wanted to know about the best marketing options in your local area, you might type something simple, like:

‘Marketing agency Birmingham‘

If you were to do the same by voice, you might ask something like:

“What’s the highest-rated digital marketing agency in Birmingham?“

This difference in search terms and specificity could mean that a usually effective SEO strategy doesn’t work its magic on the more than one billion voice searches made every week. In fact, with some sources claiming that voice searches are now more common day-to-day than text-based searches, it might be more important than ever to target this audience.

Here are five steps you can take to do so.

1) REVIEW YOUR KEYWORDS

Due to the short, succinct nature of text searches, a traditional SEO strategy is likely to target single words or short phrases specific to your industry to drive search traffic to your website.

With voice searches changing the way people phrase their queries, the keywords and phrases you need to target are likely to be different.

Since voice searches are more conversational and grammatically correct than the text-based equivalent, it makes sense to target these with your content. Instead of appealing to “voice search SEO”, for example, you may want to target “how to improve voice search ranking” or “what’s the best way to improve voice search SEO.”

This change of approach might seem strange, but if someone were to ask the same question using exactly the same wording as you have on your website, then you will rank higher on the results.

2) PRODUCE CONVERSATIONAL CONTENT

If voice searches are being utilised in a conversational tone, then you need to produce conversational content. The content you produce should match what people are searching.

There are several ways to approach this, so you need to pick the one that best suits your existing tone and content. Perhaps you could produce question and answer content to appeal to the longer keywords while also reducing the formality of your communication.

Maybe some of your webpages could work better as lists or graphs rather than long, drawn out explanations, or perhaps you need to rework your titles to be more appealing to a wider audience.

3) MAINTAIN A FOCUS ON THE USER EXPERIENCE

Targeting users when they may not physically enter your website might seem strange, but it has its SEO benefits. For one, the load speed of your website is considered when the search engine decides where to rank you in the search results. The higher up you rank, the more likely you are to be picked by the voice search.

Additionally, your website needs to be easy to use and navigate for users so that the search engine can access the necessary information easily. If the website is logical and laid our intuitively, then the search engine will be able to find the search query as easily as a user.

4) DON’T DISREGARD YOUR REGULAR SEO STRATEGY

Appealing to voice search doesn’t mean you should suddenly ditch your attempts to target text search traffic, too. To attract the highest possible amount of web traffic, it will pay to target both voice search and regular search audiences.

This means that you might need to operate two separate SEO strategies or combine them into one unified method. Juggling two different methods of search engine usage is complex, especially when you’re trying to appeal to two different sets of similar keywords.

5) CONTACT AN SEO AND MARKETING SPECIALIST

What’s the best way to guarantee SEO results? Reach out to the experts. We can handle all the complex SEO research and produce an effective strategy from the findings. We can then also produce the content you need to seamlessly incorporate this strategy into your website.

We believe in transparency, so our team will walk you through the steps we take to help drive traffic to your website and send you the quantitative results of our efforts. You will be able to see exactly how our services have helped you and what might need tweaking.

For more information on how our SEO team could help you generate leads and increase revenue, email info@edge-creative.com or call the office on 0121 355 8092. 

What is the .io Domain and is It Right for Your Business?

When deciding if the .IO domain is a good decision for your business, you will want to know these topics:

Domain names are the addresses and URLs that are typed into web browsers when people want to visit a website. With over 350 million domain names currently registered, choosing the right one for your business is crucial.

You’ve probably heard of Top-Level Domains (TLDs) before – these are generic domain extensions (such as .com and .co.uk) that are listed by search engines as the highest level, so they are used most frequently.

While the .com and .co.uk domains are common knowledge, a large number of new businesses, including SaaS start-ups and emerging tech companies, are utilising the .io domain.

In this blog, we cover what the .io domain is and how your business could best utilise it.

WHY ARE DOMAINS IMPORTANT?

Domain names are more commonly being incorporated into business’ brand identities. A variety of companies are crafting unique brands for themselves based on a single word and adding .ly – for example persona.ly.

While Google has confirmed that these unique domain names have no bearing on search engine rankings, this strategy has been adopted by many businesses. Companies in creative industries adopt this URL frequently, as they create the appearance of a removed TLD.

WHAT DOES .IO MEAN?

Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLD) are country specific domain names which end with a country code – for example: .co.uk. You may have already guessed, but these names are used by websites that only want to target audiences in specific countries.

The .io domain is assigned to the British Indian Ocean Territory, covering a vast area, notably including Diego Garcia atoll, home to a powerful US military base.

Why then, is this domain being used more frequently by start-ups and tech companies, when it’s a country specific TLD?

WHY DO SO MANY BUSINESS USE .IO?

For many businesses, the coveted .com is often already owned by someone else. If this is the case, the .io domain may be something you should consider.

One reason so many like the .io domain is because it’s easy. It’s short, simple, and memorable.

In addition to this, companies in the tech industry like the .io domain is because it is reminiscent of the abbreviation ‘input/output,’ used commonly in computer processing environments.

While it is technically a country domain, .io is not usually connected to its host territory, and so it is used by companies globally.

Another benefit of the .io domain, and perhaps one of its biggest advantages, is that Google considers it to be a generic top-level domain, and doesn’t consider it to be country specific. This may result in websites with this domain ranking higher in search engines across the globe.

HOW CAN EDGE HELP?

As an integrated digital marketing agency, our skilled team of web developers have experience in bespoke software development, web design, conversion rate optimisation, hosting and security.

Every type of communication, piece of content or advertisement that you put out online will drive traffic back to your website, so it’s important that it reflects your business’s needs.

Whether you’re searching for a website to act as a portfolio and illustrate your brand, or you’re looking for a bespoke web-build to reflect your company’s critical business processes, EDGE Creative can help.

To speak to one of our web designers, call 0121 355 8092 or email info@edge-creative.com.

Why is Website Design Important?

In this post, we’ll cover the following:

As a business, your website is one of your most important assets. Not only does it showcase the services or products you provide, it also gives new and existing customers the opportunity to engage with your brand. If customers are getting their first impression of the business from the website, it’s important that your website design is appealing and reflects your brand personality and ethos.

Website visitors will react to visuals immediately and quickly form a judgement of your business and its values within the first few seconds. According to Adobe 38% of people will stop engaging with your website if it contains unappealing content and an unattractive layout, meaning it is vital to get it right.

If you want to maximise your website, our website designers, based in Sutton Coldfield, have the expertise, skills, and equipment to bring your business’ website to life.

HOW DOES WEB DESIGN BENEFIT YOUR BUSINESS?

As your website is the first thing people see, the design is responsible for creating first impressions of the business and can be a deciding factor for customers on whether you are the right partner for them.

A visually appealing website creates a positive image for your brand and an engaging experience for visitors, encouraging them to spend more time on the website. On the flip side, an outdated website creates a negative first impression on your audience and acts as a deterrent, driving potential customers away from your website and onto that of your competitors.

This first impression also reflects your brand image and what the business stands for. Colours, images and fonts all contribute to how your business is recognised, so it’s important that this is selected carefully and remains consistent.

Consistency is key in ensuring your audience becomes familiar with your brand, ensuring your branding is synonymous with your business. If your web design is inconsistent and unprofessional, it will be challenging to build up brand recognition.

Inconsistency drives customers to competitors whereas consistency creates reassurance, allowing you to earn more leads and keep customers on board.

Trust is another important factor in your website’s design – if a visitor doubts the website’s legitimacy due to the site being poorly designed, they will not engage with the content. Build trust with your audience through a design that is modern, professional and feels reliable. This will attract new customers and engage existing ones.

Web design also aids your search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy as your web design influences how you publish content, affecting how your website is indexed.

Your code needs to be SEO-friendly, so don’t get carried away with intricate designs and clever technologies. They may look good, but they could also negatively impact your site’s optimisation and ranking.

Your online presence can make or break your business, so it’s important that you optimise what you have and showcase what is special about you.

HOW CAN YOU IMPROVE YOUR WEBSITE’S DESIGN?

It’s simple really, just use these three steps!

  1. IMPROVE IT’S USABILITY

Your web design influences how well customers can find what they are looking for, make things easy to find and draw your customers in with helpful information that is easy to find.

2. MAKE SURE IT’S EASY TO NAVIGATE

Keep the choices you offer the audience simple and easy to use, making decisions of what pages to go to and what buttons to click as simple as possible by limiting the number of options as too many choices can be confusing.

3. ENSURE MOBILE FRIENDLINESS

Most online searches happen from a phone or mobile device, so it’s important that your website is tailored to this. Make sure your website is responsive, relevant and easy to use, regardless of device.

To find out more information, why not read our detailed blog to find out 5 steps to improving your website performance.

WHAT CAN EDGE CREATIVE DO?

Want to find out more about why web design is important? Speak to our expert design team by calling 0121 355 8092 or emailing us on info@edge-creative.com today. We have an expert understanding of the complexities of websites and can help provide the best solution for you.

A Step by Step Guide to Building Your First Website or Overhauling Your Existing One

In this post, we will discuss the steps involved in website development for both old and new websites:

Building or designing your business’s website can be a confusing process, especially if you don’t know where to start. You may understand why you need the “Contact Us” or “About Us” pages, but what else? What content will you include on your website?

When it comes to building a new website, web design remains a vital component, however the content is equally, if not more, important. Whether you’re overhauling an existing site or building a brand new one, it’s essential that you have a thorough and well thought out content strategy in place so that you can capture leads and increase your business’s bottom line.

WHAT IS A CONTENT STRATEGY?

A content strategy allows you to plan, create and deliver content. Within the strategy, you should create meaningful, cohesive and engaging content that helps you to nurture your relationship with your audience.

DEFINE YOUR GOALS

Firstly, it’s important that you define not only your business goals, but your website goals and your content goals too. If you understand what you are trying to achieve before you start planning out your website, it makes the whole process easier.

Think: What do you want to achieve? Is your goal to convert new customers or drive awareness? How will you measure your website’s success? 

In the majority of cases, the content you include on your website should support a number of different goals and objectives.

DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE

Another key part to your strategy is that you must define the audience you are currently reaching as well as those you are trying to reach.

Find out who’s currently aware of your business. You can gain customer insight through social media channels and digital monitoring. Think: What are the demographics of your audience?

Then, you should also consider what your ideal customer looks like. Sometimes you will find that your existing audience and your ideal audience aren’t quite aligned. By reviewing this information, you can ensure that the content on your new website is underpinned with the target audience in mind, to help bring into line your existing customers and target audience.

REVIEW EXISTING CONTENT

Make a note of the different types of existing content you used to display on your website (if you had one!). If you didn’t, don’t worry about this step.

Once you have made a list of the assets you have available, review to see if they are still valuable assets. Is the content out-dated? Do your pages rank highly on Google? If so, you may need to update the content rather than completely rewrite it. It all depends on the goals you defined earlier!

During this step, take the opportunity to have a look at how your competitor’s content and how they have organised it on their website. This way you can get a clear idea of what your website needs.

MAP OUT YOUR CONTENT

Now you know what pages you need and what content you have that already exists, you need to create a website map that lays out exactly what pages you will have on your new website.

This isn’t necessarily set in stone – you can develop and change it as you go along, however a site map helps you to identify the relationships between pages.

CREATE YOUR CONTENT

The most time-consuming step of this process will be writing and creating the content for your website.

Working alongside your SEO strategy, take the time to hit all of the essentials such as your titles, copy, metadata, images, video content and additional assets. Make sure that your content is on brand with your wider business, with the same tone of voice and style throughout.

Always make sure you include a call to action to demonstrate effectively how you can support your audience and what their next step forward should be.

DON’T FORGET TO OPTIMISE

We’d love to say that’s it, but it’s not that simple! Content can be magical, if you get it right. Most of the time, however, creating an effective content marketing campaign doesn’t happen overnight. Set up Google Analytics or use another analytic platform so that you can review the success of your website pages.

Find out more about the (not so) secret to creating effective content campaigns in our previous blog post. 

EDGE CREATIVE

Building or developing the content on your website doesn’t have to be difficult. By hiring a content and marketing agency, you can rest assured knowing that your website is in safe hands.

We are currently offering free consultations with a Marketing Director, so that you can develop your understanding of the importance of a content-led website. If you are interested in this offer, please email our Content Creator Jess at jessica@edge-creative.com.

The (Not So) Secret to Creating Effective Content Campaigns

To help you create more effective campaigns, we’ve developed a list of areas you should regularly consider:

Content can be magical – if you get it right. Most of the time, however, creating an effective content marketing campaign doesn’t happen overnight.

According to Content Marketing Institute’s research into B2B marketing, the majority of businesses find their content efforts to be ineffective. This is because you need to nurture, edit and develop your content regularly in order to make a real impact.

Below, we’ve listed three questions you need to ask yourself to turn your content marketing campaigns around and start making real, tangible results. 

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE CUSTOMER BUYING JOURNEY?

Regalix found that understanding your customer’s buying journey and developing relevant content assets at each touch point is integral to your marketing processes.

Understanding this journey doesn’t have to be difficult. In general, each customer-buying journey includes various stages: awareness, consideration, decision and delight (hopefully!)

Firstly, your customer will realise they have a problem. This problem is why they search for a solution, and at this stage, they don’t want you to force your brand upon them. Instead, they want to understand their problem and gather relevant, informative material that will help them to develop their comprehension of what they are experiencing. At this stage of the customer journey, the content you create must be informative, such as eBooks, blog posts or infographics.

Then, your customers will experience consideration, where they try to make a decision about what product or service will be best for their problem. They’re still not completely bothered about who helps them achieve their end goal, just how you are going to help them achieve it. Use this opportunity to create content that highlights your unique proposition and emphasise your success stories.

After this, your customer will make a decision on the best business to help them achieve their goal. They’re likely to compare your offering to your competitors to make what they feel is the best decision. This is where you can shout about your brand and business – tell them who you are and what makes you special.

Lastly, your new customer needs to experience delight. You should exceed their expectations and ensure that they receive a positive experience. Here you want to offer future promotions and discounts in order to foster an emotional connection. Get it right and customers are likely to be loyal to your brand, shouting about your business when they know others with the same original problem they experienced.

You should segment your audience based on their behaviour. If a user is visiting your website frequently, they’re aware of your brand. If they’re filling in forms to gain more information, they’re probably considering your product or services. By driving your content to align with the buyer’s journey, you can optimise your campaigns and maximise the success of your content. 

IS YOUR CONTENT WORKING WITH YOUR OTHER FORMS OF MARKETING?

Content marketing costs around 62% less than other forms of marketing and can generate up to three times as many leads. However, this doesn’t mean your content shouldn’t be aligning with your other forms of marketing.

Take search engine optimisation for example. Content and SEO must work hand in hand. With good SEO, your relevant specific content will get in front of the right person at the right stage of their customer journey and provide them with a good user experience.

As well as this, remarketing on social media can be a valuable outbound marketing strategy to complement your inbound content marketing. You can reach people interested in your business who may have visited your website previously and have already seen some of your content. 

DO YOU REGULARLY CHECK YOUR ANALYTICS?

Research shows that most effective content marketers check their metrics at least three times a week (Hubspot). The only way you can optimise your campaigns is by looking at the results you gather; cutting out anything that isn’t working and increasing the amount of successful content you create. If you’re only checking your analytics once or twice every few months, you’re not maximising on your content’s success.

Consider: How many people are reading your content? How often are they visiting? What content are people sharing? How many people are engaging with it?

By gathering this information, you can get a deeper understanding of what is working effectively and what types of content needs more time and affection to nurture success.

EDGE CREATIVE

Getting your content marketing campaigns correct doesn’t have to be a stressful experience. By hiring a content and marketing agency, you can rest assured knowing your campaigns are in safe hands with experts who know what they are doing.

We are currently offering free consultations with a Marketing Director, so that you can develop your understanding of how your campaigns can perform better. If you are interested in this offer, please email our Content Creator Jess at jessica@edge-creative.com.

Guest Blogging: Why Your Business Needs It

In this post, we cover the following topics:

For any business, blogging is a hugely valuable tool when it comes to sharing ideas, demonstrating knowledge and, most importantly, driving visitors to your website. Guest blogging is a key strategy you can use to do all of the above.

Many businesses are likely experiencing a quieter period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning it’s now more important than ever to use any downtime to increase the number of visitors on your website. If you’ve not considered guest blogging before, or if you’ve not yet got round to it, now is the time to get started.

WHAT IS GUEST BLOGGING?

Guest blogging is the process of writing content for another website. A guest blog is often written for another business within a similar or linked industry, and a successful guest post will use a topic that applies to both.

By writing a blog for another website, you can help to boost brand awareness by getting your content in front of a wider audience. Guest posts are also a key part of any successful Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategy, as they can help your website to attract more traffic.

WHY IS GUEST BLOGGING IMPORTANT?

Guest blogging is an important way of building valuable relationships with other business leaders. It can also help you to drive traffic back to your own website.

If you reach out to another business to write a guest blog for them, they’re likely to want to submit a guest post to your blog as well. This can help you to build connections and save time on providing varied and engaging content for your own audience.

If you’re a start-up or if you’ve just launched a new website, this is really important!

HOW DOES GUEST BLOGGING HELP WITH SEO?

When done successfully, guest blogging can help to drive more traffic back to your website and even boost domain authority. Domain authority is a score ranging from 1 to 100, which predicts a website’s ability to rank in the results page of a search engine. The higher this score is, the better the website will rank.

By publishing high quality content on another relevant website and linking to your own in the process, you can potentially increase your domain authority. This can, in turn benefit your search engine ranking position, which will help you to drive more visitors to your website.

WHERE CAN I SUBMIT A GUEST POST?

There are plenty of ways your business can source guest blogging opportunities. A great place to start for B2B businesses is to reach out to contacts within your industry.

If you request to place a guest post on someone’s website, it’s a good idea for you to offer your connection a space to submit their content as well. This will help out another business, and will allow to build a stronger relationship with them.

For B2C organisations, you can build connections with other bloggers, influencers or other relevant businesses. There are plenty of groups on Facebook you can join to find other bloggers looking to submit a guest post. Once you build these connections, you can return the favour.

If you’re looking for guest post opportunities, we can support you with content marketing services. We can also help you weave your blogs into a wider and more in-depth SEO strategy. We’re also here to help with promoting guest blogs and getting your message to a wider audience.

Talk to us about submitting a guest post on our website and we can provide a free-of-charge consultation with a dedicated Account Manager or Creative Director to discuss your marketing strategy as a whole. Call a member of the team on 0121 355 8092 or email us at info@edge-creative.com to learn more.

“Why is Having a Website Important?” – How to Increase Leads, Sales and Your Bottom Line

When considering including a website in your business strategy, it’s important to think about:

Having a website is essential to increasing brand exposure, nurturing relationships with your customers and improving your bottom line. When you get it right, your website will generate more leads, more sales and most importantly, more money.

WHY IS HAVING A WEBSITE IMPORTANT FOR MY BUSINESS?

When looking for a new product or service, most people’s first port of call will be a search engine. In fact, Google processes over 40,000 search enquiries per second, averaging over 3.5 billion every single day. If you don’t have a website, you’re missing out on getting your business in front of your audience when they’re in the right stage of the customer journey. As such, they will probably take their custom, and money, elsewhere.

If you do have a website, you need to ensure that it is the best it can possibly be. Beginning with your website, your audience are passing judgement on your business and deciding whether they want to initiate a relationship with you. With an easy-to-find website with a clean design and responsive website features, you tick the first box in your audience’s mental checklist. By providing a smooth experience from the moment your audience clicks onto your website, you reflect the positive experience your business can provide.

HOW CAN I CREATE A GOOD WEBSITE EXPERIENCE FOR MY AUDIENCE?

The creation and management of a website has many elements that need to be considered. Firstly, the structure of your website must tailor to your target customer’s needs. For example, if you sell products such as jewellery or clothing, you are likely to need an ecommerce website that allows your business to connect with potential customers in a more streamlined way.

There are also a range of other factors you must consider in order to improve business reputation, increase sales and boost your bottom line with a website. Major design attributes such as the use of graphics, imaging, written content and navigation throughout the website are integral factors in providing a seamless user experience that urges your audience to convert into customers. 

Research has found that the brain makes decisions in just a 20th of a second when viewing a web page. Unless that 20th of a second is positive, your visitors will bounce off your website and straight onto your competitor’s. This is why grabbing their attention straight away is vital.

The type of website design you choose for your business will be dependent on your target audience, services or products and branding, however you should firstly set out some main goals. Do you want customers to enquire about your services? Do you want customers to make a sale directly? Once you have decided this, you can set out designing a clear-cut, professional website that is successful in achieving your wider business goals.

WHAT IS A DOMAIN AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

The first step to getting your website up and running is the purchase of a hosting service. A service provider will host your website for a small annual or monthly fee, and in return, your website will be available and accessible on the web.

Simply, a domain name is the address you type into your website browser address bar to get to a website. For example, ours is https://edge-creative.com.

A lot of companies offer lots of customisation and management services that allow you to access and edit the content of your website from your own computer via a simple username and password login. You may choose a relatively easy to manage, low-cost but effective package when you buy your website, or if you have more experience with the running of a website, you may choose something more complex. This again comes back to your main business goals. If your website is too plain or not user-friendly, your audience are likely to go elsewhere. However, if it’s too complex, they may struggle to find the information they require, and leave your website.

WHERE DO I START WHEN BUILDING A WEBSITE FOR MY BUSINESS?

The creation of a website can seem like a confusing and complex process, especially if you don’t know where to start.

At EDGE Creative, our developers have a keen eye for technical detail that will make a difference to both your visitors’ experience and your bottom line. From ensuring your website has fast load times to ensuring the navigation is engaging and effective, our developers have the right skills and creativity that your website needs.

We can draw upon research into your customers and their journeys to create responsive designs with easy navigation. Enquire today to find out more about building a website to improve your business’s processes by emailing info@edge-creative.com or calling us on 0121 355 8092.

Collaboration Between Designers and Developers

In this post, we’ll discuss the following:

On any project, collaboration is important. This is especially true when designing and developing a new website.

All companies are structured differently. At EDGE Creative, our designers and developers work closely to streamline the process of building a new website. They do this to provide our clients with the best outcome possible.

SETTING CLIENT GOALS

The most important task before beginning a website project is developing a clear understanding of your needs. Together, we agree on the website’s main purpose, what it is you want to achieve and how we can attract the target audience to the website.

WIREFRAMES AND SITE MAPS

We will then plan the site map and start drawing out the wireframes.

Wireframes are simple layouts that outline the placement and rough size of that specific page. This process is mainly about planning the arrangement of content with the user experience in mind. They ensure that each page on the website has a purpose and achieves the goals set out in the client brief. We do this to create stability and lay down strong foundations surrounding the website.

FINER DESIGN DETAILS

Our designers fine-tune the details of the website project and incorporate logos, imagery and all other aspects of the design.

We are always open to ideas from the development team – especially during this design phase. Developers see things differently to a designer, so having a developer involved ensures that we are looking at the design from a functionality perspective too.

DEVELOPMENT

After the designs have been signed off and you are happy that we have hit the brief within the layout of the website, our developers begin to build.

Once finished, we carry out pre-live and post-live checks to ensure nothing has been missed and the website matches the original designs.

CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION

No two people think the same way. This is down to personal taste, preferences and past experiences. For this reason, we remain open and collaborative throughout all projects. Not only this, communication must stay open between our team and you as our client. This ensures our projects stay within budget and we hit the brief perfectly.

From the initial meeting through to the final client presentation, all our meetings include a designer, a developer, an account manager and any other elements which needs to be incorporated into the website, such as a content creator.

All in all, creating an incredible user experience for users requires hard work. When developers and designers collaborate to achieve their projects, the positive outcomes are worth it. If you would like a new website, give us a call on 0121 355 8092 or email info@edge-creative.com to see how we can help you achieve your goals.

What’s New in WordPress 5.3?

If you’re planning on using WordPress after these upcoming changes, it’ll be important to know:

WordPress 5.3 is expected to be released today (Tuesday 12th November) and it will be the last major release of the year. The update centres around WordPress’ efforts to futureproof and prepare for forthcoming hosting updates in the new year. It’s also packed with new updates in accessibility, image optimisation and block editor improvements.

Clients on our Web Care Plan get the latest WordPress features, which include:

  • Updates to help with search engine optimisation
  • Image size optimisation
  • Improvements to time and date reporting
  • Gutenberg version 6.7 introduces new content blocks
  • Performance increase as our hosting platform migrates to PHP 7.4

SEO UPDATES

WordPress 5.3 has announced an important change to how it will block search engines from indexing websites. Abandoning the traditional Robots.txt solution in favour of the robot’s meta tag approach, the change keeps hidden pages from showing in Google’s search results.

This means that there have been improvements in how your website will be indexed. ‘Indexing’ is the means of a Search Engine Bot, such as Google’s, discovering all your pages.

WordPress 5.3 will aid indexing by adopting a more reliable robots meta tag approach. This means that our clients can be secure in the knowledge that private web pages remain hidden and away from search engines.

IMAGE SIZE OPTIMISATION

The new update has imposed sensible limits to the process of uploading images to your site. Previously, images straight from mobile phones or digital cameras would be too large, resulting in longer page loading times. This would mean that images often had to be re-sized, outside of WordPress, using programmes such as Adobe Photoshop.

Now, WordPress 5.3 does this automatically. It will automatically resize and upload the images in one go, meaning your website can now upload your images without having to worry about these being too big. This is an extremely helpful update for those with e-commerce websites, as you can upload multiple pictures which show the clear quality and design of your products quickly and without having to use any third-party apps.

IMPROVEMENTS TO TIME AND DATE REPORTING

The latest update has made it easier to create more accurate and reliable reporting for its users.

The new update means that you can receive accurate and real-time date and timestamps when people interact with your website, including when they have bought your product or left a comment.

NEW BLOCKS

There are many changes also coming to the Gutenberg block editor in this release. Aside from the improvements to several of the existing blocks, the overall user interface and experience is improved with new animations and visual hints. They have even made it even faster.

Some of the major block updates include being able to create groups of blocks and interact with them as a group, the new image block allows you to select a style for the image, and the columns block now asks you to choose a layout for your columns. These updates have largely increased user experience, making it even easier for our clients to update content and amend their website as needed.

MITIGATION TO PHP 7.4

WordPress’ update moves to support PHP 7.4, which is the general-purpose programming language for website development. Staying up to date improves performance on the site, increasing efficiency and speed for users. This is beneficial for clients by creating a highly optimised website that responds quickly.

Not only this, by moving to support PHP 7.4, the WordPress update prepares for hosting updates in the new year. As a client on our web care plan, all appropriate updates will be made to ensure that your website remains safe, secure and up to date. Without a Web Care Plan, your website may be currently running an old WordPress version, which will have reached the end of its universal support life. This means that your site may be vulnerable to malicious material.

If you’re interested in updating to the latest version of WordPress, EDGE Creative can help. Our Web Care Plans provide our clients with peace of mind that their website is always current, safe and secure. Our expert team of developers will upgrade your site to the latest version of WordPress and upgrade your bespoke plugins to ensure security updates are supported continuously. In order to find out more, call us on 0121 355 8092.

Find Your Voice & Mind Your Tone: How Tone of Voice Makes an Impact

How your company presents itself in the market can make or break your brand, and tone of voice is an important factor in this. When it comes to branding, how you say something is equally as important as what you say. This creative voice helps you connect with your audience and differentiates you from the competition.

Creating a distinct tone of voice is about creating memorable messages for your audience. In order to achieve this, you need to tailor your content to your target audience, connecting with them on a personable level. This can be attained through the creation of customer personas to really understand who you are talking to and how to reach them.

Personas are based on the analysis and research into real customers and helps marketers build a detailed picture of who your customers are. This includes information on their personal motivations and expectations, what kind of communication they prefer and what they value in a brand. For example, selling a teenager a pair of jeans compared to trying to sell a mortgage to a teaching assistant.

Once you’ve created your customer personas, you can work on defining your business’s tone of voice. Think: if your business was a person, what would they say? How would they say it? What type of language would they use? Having clear guidelines of the stance your business takes with language used is key in defining a brand.

ILLUSTRATES YOUR VALUES

A tone of voice embodies a brand’s personality and set of values.

Define your tone of voice by thinking about what makes your company unique. Doing so shapes your audiences’ expectations of how your brand will interact with them in the future.

Think: What does your brand want to tell the world? What would you like people to know about your business? Why was the company set up in the first place? These are the factors that will help you set the tone of voice of your business.

ILLUSTRATES YOUR DIFFERENCES

The tone of voice your business uses should be distinctive and unique. In spoken language every day, people have different accents and dialects. Some individuals have unique inflections, favourite expressions and different paces. These clear differences in language often portray unique characteristics of a person the same way your company’s tone of voice reflects yours.

Language and tone are significant factors in portraying your businesses unique features. To many consumers, most professional services and products offer the same promises, so making your business stand out is key. By focusing on emotional connection and showing personality to your target audience, you distinguish yourself and make an impact.

Think: How is the way you work different? What’s unique about you?

BUILDS TRUST

Certain brands stand above the competition in today’s ever-evolving market. This is down to branding creativity and business consistency.

Think of big brands with clear creativity throughout their marketing. A great example of this is Innocent Smoothies.

One of the most recognisable features about their brand is that the tone of voice is relatively informal and friendly. It doesn’t feel like they’re talking to a customer, but a friend. They stray from grammatical conventions, often avoiding capital letters and keeping their tone childlike and innocent with colloquial terms such as ‘stuff’ and ‘things’ used throughout their marketing materials.

This creativity makes them stand out, but the consistency in their messages creates trust.

There is a strong link between familiarity and trust. When consumers feel your tone of voice is familiar, it requires less effort to process mentally and so they are likely to feel more at ease around it. Creating a specific tone of voice plays a crucial part in this.

Think: How do you want to be recognised? What do you want to be known for?

In order to create this sense of consistency, all marketing materials and even the way you are represented by your staff needs to embody the same tone of voice. Creating tone of voice guidelines will ensure you have something to give employees to help them understand exactly what they need to convey when they represent your brand.

Ultimately, tone of voice is a fundamental feature to your branding strategy. At EDGE Creative, our content creators work to ensure all aspects of your marketing materials embody your business’s unique tone of voice. If you don’t have one, we can help you to create it. We have extensive experience in brand building and creating compelling stories for clients such as Busy Bees Benefits, Christopher Trigg and KLO Financial Services.

Find out more about how EDGE Creative can support you and your brand by calling 0121 355 8092 or emailing jessica@edge-creative.com.

Jessica Greaney

Content Creator

3 Ways to Increase Blog Traffic

Blogging has become one of the most popular ways of communicating, sharing information and developing your brand. In fact, according to WordPress, over 409 million people are reading more than 23.7 billion pages every month. With such a large potential audience, it is not surprising that 53% of marketers say blogging is their top priority when it comes to content marketing.

Creating a consistent blog is a beneficial way of increasing traffic, leads and sales for your business. By providing potential customers with knowledgeable and relevant content, you position your brand as an industry leader, building trust with your audience. As well as this, a blog can be valuable in engaging with current contacts and can be beneficial in reviving relationships with lapsed customers.

Once your blog is set up, it will not gather any traction unless you nurture it with consistent articles. Here are three ideal ways to increase traffic to your blog and increase engagement:

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION

75% of internet searchers on Google never scroll past the first search results page. Therefore, if you want to attract new readers to your blog, it’s important that it appears on that first page. SEO is the essential component of digital marketing that can achieve this.

SEO uses intricate techniques and strategies to obtain high-ranking placements in the search results page of a search engine (SERP). It works to increase the authority and relevancy of your website in order to increase visibility.

SEO is constantly evolving as search engines often adjust their algorithms to improve search results for users. To increase traffic and extend your reach, it’s vital that you implement SEO processes to amplify your blog content out to new readers.

Search engines use high-tech programs, or bots, to scan your blog and website for information such as:

  • Keyword selection
  • Link building
  • On-page optimisation
  • Off-page optimisation
  • Building natural links

That blog post will then be indexed based on several algorithmic factors, which affects your search engine ranking. Search engines like a constant supply of fresh, relevant and engaging content. Therefore, the more often you update your blog, the more frequently your website will be found.

SOCIAL MEDIA

There are currently over 3.3 billion active social media users, and each one of those individuals have formed their own connections, followers and friends. To tap into this expansive network, you should develop a concise social media strategy that incorporates your blog.

As a company, share your latest blogposts from your company page and reach out to your followers to keep them up to date with your latest content. This ensures that you maintain engagement with your existing network, providing them with information that may be beneficial to them.

When someone engages with your blogpost on social media, your posts will then appear on the timelines of your engaged audience’s connections.

You can increase outreach by asking your employees to share the company blog from their personal profiles too. As well as this, you can interact with influencers, top pages and relevant groups.

Some of the key benefits of using blogs within your social media strategy is that you can develop your entire marketing plan, amplify brand awareness and generate conversation around your company and content. For example, if someone responds to your blogpost, other people may then respond to them too. Then, as more people get involved, your brand and post has sparked conversation, engaged with a wider audience and increased awareness of you, your company and your website.

EMAIL MARKETING

According to DMA Insight, 99% of us check our emails every day. For some, that’s as many as 20 times a day.

On your website, you can set up an email list which allows individuals to ‘opt in’ and sign up to receive your latest blogs. Then, you can separate your database via their interests. You can then use this segregated audience as a tool to push your content to an engaged audience. These individuals may then forward on your email to other colleagues, friends or their own customers if they think your content would be interesting or relevant to them.

Email marketing allows you to push out your content to a vast number of individuals and increase visibility quickly and efficiently. There is usually a low cost, and you are reaching out to an already engaged audience who know you and your company, meaning they are likely to engage with your content.

By emailing your blog content out, you make it easy to engage and re-engage your audience. Your company network is likely to be busy and may not often have the time to check your website for your latest content. By emailing it out to them, they may see something that is relevant to them, and so they will click through to your blog.

If you post content out more than once a week, you can compile those posts combined with some old, niche content into an email newsletter, which increases exposure. If you’re sending an email to someone which contains four or five blog titles, you are four or five times more likely to engage with them.

EDGE CREATIVE

We are an integrated marketing agency who understand the importance of content; we create relevant and informative content for our clients in order to attract, engage and retain their audience. Alongside this, our graphic design team can supply imagery, infographics and animations to your content so you can really get the most out of your marketing.

If you are interested in finding out how EDGE Creative can help increase your blog readership, whether this is through social media, search engine optimisation or email marketing, get in touch by calling 0121 355 8092.

REFERENCES:

https://fitsmallbusiness.com/business-blogging-statistics/

https://wordpress.com/activity/

https://dma.org.uk/uploads/misc/5a1583ff3301a-consumer-email-tracking-report-2017-(2)_5a1583ff32f65.pdf

https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics