Getting your website ready for 2018

The internet is the fastest evolving marketplace in our current day and age, and keeping up with it all can be a bit daunting, but fear not! We’re here to guide you through this fast-paced plethora to make sure your website is ready to help you grow through 2018.

GDPR

Becomes law on the 25 May 2018 – Its no doubt that GDPR will have a massive impact on the way we collect and store data. There are plenty of consequences that come along with ignoring the new data protection related law, including a hefty fine of up to £20m, it’s either that or 4% of a companies global annual turnover.

Giant fines aside, it’s worth bearing in mind that data protection is more than just a simple compliance issue. Your customers care about their privacy and trust you with their sensitive data, as a business owner, this trust should be respected. Your customers will recognise and appreciate your business’s efforts in demonstrating that you are in touch with the cultural aspects of GDPR, not just the financial issues that may arise.

We can’t cover everything in GDPR but here are a few key things you need to be aware of.

• Know what you have, and why you have it
• Manage data in a structured way
• Be able to prove that consent was given to receive marketing messages.
• Know who is responsible for the data
• Encrypt what you wouldn’t want to be disclosed

Video content

By the end of 2018 over 80% of online traffic will be to videos; it’s not difficult to see that video content is a more efficient and engaging method of conveying a message to potential customers.

Companies taking advantage of videos on their website are a lot more likely to make an impression in comparison to those that don’t, so why wouldn’t you be using videos to promote your content, it just makes sense!

Are you already using videos on your website? Well here is a few tips on how can you use video more effectively for your business!

On your landing page, offer up a welcoming introduction video that will entice and inform your potential customers, first impressions matter, so make sure it’s cheerful and fits in with your companies theme. Videos carry a lot more personality than a still image, so make sure you companies positives shine through on this.

Make your website more dynamic and user-friendly by hosting How-To videos on your site; these can not only act as an advertisement for people who are yet to buy your product, but can keep people on your site, and keep them trusting you! If they are watching a How-To video on your website and they gain some knowledge from it, it will raise the likelihood of that person converting into a sale.

Vlogs are a very effective way of keeping in touch with your audience through your website. Vlogs can contain anything relevant to your business. They provide you with a lot of freedom to promote products, talk about current projects or even just to update potential customers of current ongoings within your business.

Client Testimonials are a great way to get people over the edge from a potential customer, to a customer! They are essential reviews of your business from people who have recently used your product or service and have had a pleasant experience. They offer a personal, convincing message that can be very persuasive due to the realness of the content.

Product demonstrations are another excellent method of promoting products and pushing people over that edge from browser to buyer. They are a beneficial way of showcasing your product in their best light. Showcasing all the features yourself gives you the opportunity to present your product in a personalised way and shows potential customers all of the brilliant features you have to offer.

Mobile

In 2018, it’s going to be pretty bizarre if you don’t have a mobile phone, in 2017 it was recorded that 76% of the British population had access to a Smartphone, that’s HUGE target audience that you could be potentially missing out. If your website ready for mobile devices, that needs to be one of your primary targets for 2018.

Optimising your website for mobile devices may take some time and investment, but offers a whole new platform for people to browse, consider and purchase your product or service.

Mobile users are more likely to follow through with their purchases in comparison to their desktop counterparts. Mobile users hold the lowest amount per transaction. Meaning mobile users are more likely to carry out frequent purchases at lower prices; this is due to the convenience of having access to all necessary content in the palm of their hand.

It is also important to remember – some industries still have higher percentages of desktop users due to being business to business focused so office-based users are coming from desktop computers to connect or view your products or services,  make sure to take a look at your google analytics to know when your numbers are.

Content

Content marketing has been around for a while now; it’s becoming a trend that will never age. It is still vital in the modern market and needs to be utilised correctly in 2018. Central to the importance of content marketing is user-centric content, and this year your focus should remain targeted towards your content creation efforts

Creating interesting and engaging content is very important when it comes to conveying a message to your customers. Creating original and useful content will contribute towards building a trusting relationship with your potential new clients.

Most people feel content marketing is blogging. Sure written blog articles play a massive role, but podcasts, video blogs, reviews, images, case studies and free guides should all be part of your content strategies in 2018.

Once you have your content ready, you should look at ways you can work your content into your follow up sequences to give users a better more personalised and educated experience.

Personalisation

Website personalisation is a great way to tailor your potential customers browsing experience while they are using your site.

It allows for your site to adapt to the client’s needs and put what they will value most right in front of them, supplying them with a more pleasant experience with your webpage.

You can make your website dynamic based on previous browsing behaviour, which will allow your webpage to adapt to an individual based on what pages or products they have been exploring.

Think of how Amazon always seems to know what you are interested in when you return.  

You can also use features like site messaging – to have customised messages on specific pages to promote latest offers or deals.

Live Chat, Chatbots

It’s becoming more and more common that when you land on a website, you will be greeted by a pop-up window in the bottom corner with a friendly message asking if you need help.

Live chats continue to grow in popularity among business owners. They offer a quick response and allow customers to have a point of contact. Live chats can often provide customers with the information they need to make a purchase on your site.

By combining live chat with Chatbot technology, you can have advanced automated chat responses based on people’s questions. When set up correctly, some chats can be non-distinguishable from conversations with real customer assistants.

Chatbots are great examples of marketing automation, a format that will continue to flourish and grow in 2018.  

Chatbots can deliver your company’s relevant information in real time while simultaneously reducing the burden on your support team’s services.

If your site offers products or a membership area, your chatbot can be used to inform and update members about new products as well as show members exclusive offers when they land on to your site.

Be careful, though; there is a fine line – some chat boxes appear on every page before the user has had a chance to look around. This is the quickest way to take as they will get annoyed and leave.

If you’d like to find out more about the benefits of having live chat on your website, check out this post here.

SSL Certificates

If you haven’t already done so, you should definitely implement an SSL certificate on your site in 2018. Not only can it make your website more secure, but it can also improve your rankings in search.

Are you ready for 2018?