Buzz Blog.
 When it comes to your website, great analytics are everything, and the key to achieving great results is producing great content. Where do you start when it comes to writing copy for your site that will get the attention of your target audience and put your site on the map? Well, that’s where E-A-T comes in. Ever wonder ‘why does my google ranking keep changing?’ The answer may be E-A-T. Let’s take a look at what that means for your business and your site.
What is E-A-T? Simply put, E-A-T is an acronym that indicates the 3 most important qualities of your brand that your website needs to convey to accomplish your goals. It’s what can make the difference between converting leads or not and is exactly how to attract customers online. Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Why is it important for your website? E - Expertise Demonstrating the skills, knowledge, and market awareness your company brings to the table gets visitors interested in working with you and/or learning from you. Whatever the goal of your website is - whether it be converting leads, educating others in your field, or just boosting brand visibility- audiences are looking for sources with the most evident expertise. A - Authoritativeness Knowing your stuff is one thing, but putting that into practice can only get results if you establish yourself as a leader in your industry. Engaging web design is a good way to portray notoriety. Audiences respond to brand authority, so establishing a sense of credibility and awareness makes a big difference. T - Trustworthiness You want your site to be a place that visitors come back to again and again, so showing them that you are a source that can be trusted will lead to increased page views. You need the content, tone, post consistency, and overall feel of your site to give off the notion that your audience can rely on you. As you can tell, E-A-T determines websites’ value to site visitors, and can even improve Google My Business ranking. It’s the key to great brand reputation management and the reason someone would choose your website over another. Good E-A-T can improve your site’s popularity and your brand’s online visibility and reputation. So, make your best effort to strive for those qualities by hiring Clairant to do the work for you. Our busy bees know exactly how to make your website stand out. Give us a call today.
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Written By Drew Deraney Networking is essential for your career, and the ability to forge new relationships is crucial to the success of any business. Building professional relationships can make the difference between staying professionally stagnant and climbing the career ladder to success. If you’re not networking, you’re not growing your career. It’s that simple. Utilizing new skills to gain potential clients during the pandemic become more of a necessity than an option, and despite months of social distancing finally coming to an end, face-to-face networking is still taking a major hit. As we slowly begin to embrace limited attendance, in-person networking opportunities, the days of meeting others at industry events and conferences, exchanging business cards, and shaking hands feel mostly still on hold – but there are ways to expand network connections and develop solid professional relationships virtually. Although it may seem difficult, it’s not impossible. However, to help grow your business by networking virtually, your approach and attitude may need to change to embrace an evolving social landscape. The key to successful networking is to get to know people, have genuine conversations, and provide value. The good news is that a lot of these principles still hold true while networking virtually — but for many (myself included!) the transition has been challenging. Here are some simple tips that I’ve found helpful along the way. Get Comfortable With New Technology It doesn’t matter what platform you use – though Zoom, Skype, and WebEx are among the most popular. I’ve found that giving yourself enough time to work through any kinks before the meeting is slated to begin is imperative to a successful virtual connection. Run a test of your setup before each virtual networking opportunity to ensure that your audio and video outputs are good and avoid any potential technical issues or annoying glitches by checking that the internet connection is stable. Attend Virtual Events Having quickly adapted to our new socially distanced reality, many conferences and other similar events have already taken a virtual approach to networking. With physical location no longer a barrier, we can even re-think geographic boundaries. Events are now available worldwide, attracting a wider range of participants who are ready to network online. With easy sign-ups and interactive livestreams, connecting with other guests has never been easier. This is also true of expanding your networking circle. If you’re part of group like BNI, you have access to a global network of professionals such as yourself. You’re not confined to your regional limitations. There is no time like the present to make new connections and learn more from a diverse cast of likeminded businesspeople. Prepare Like You Would An In-person Networking Event Preparation is a key component of virtual networking. Planning questions or an agenda beforehand will not only show professionalism but help direct the conversation topics and keep all participants on-track. If I am attending a networking event at a chamber, I will look at the list of attendees and decide who I want to meet. This preparedness will help keep that connection with your contact, resulting in both parties getting the most value out of the experience. Use LinkedIn To Your Advantage As the saying goes: “It’s not what you know—it’s who you know.” Every entrepreneur or business owner knows the power of a strong professional network. The right connections can offer access to exciting new opportunities, help to grow your company, introduce you to new leads and so much more. A strong network is essential to take your business to the next level. LinkedIn is a great platform for expanding your network, and it’s only becoming more comprehensive. Posting regularly scheduled, thoughtful content establishes you as an expert in your industry, and allows you to engage with your network at the same time. Likewise, there are numerous groups for professionals on the platform to connect with and interact in meaningful discussions. If the kind of group you’re looking for doesn’t exist yet, make it! Follow up If you told someone you would get in touch with them or promised to introduce someone to a person you know, take the time to do it. It often only takes minutes to shoot off an email and keep the relationship alive. If you do not hear back from a person with whom you want to network, a follow-up is fine, but remember: if you try many times in quick succession, you could quickly be perceived as an annoyance! Practice Your Writing While remote networking is great on paper, it’s not without its challenges, and not everyone you connect with will be readily accessible for video chats. These potential contacts will likely prefer to message back and forth to fit their schedule. Honing your writing skills to ensure a professional tone will reflect your attention and appreciation when communicating — especially during early interactions — as that crucial first impression is so important. I recommend sending a thank-you message to anyone you do connect with, as this simple but memorable gesture often goes a long way. If you got into business before the pandemic, you may be struggling now with how to network. That is completely understandable; we have all had to adjust. However, take advantage of the technology at your disposal, and make the new landscape work for you. I’ve had a lot of success with this in my new role as a franchise owner, and that’s just in my first year. The nice thing about networks, is that if you nourish them, they will keep growing.  Here's something not many people know: lurking beneath the surface of everything they do is something known as user experience (UX). If you are like most people, it's something you probably never considered. However, if you use the internet, UX is important to you.
Essentially, UX covers the how, when, what, where, and why someone uses a service or product. User experience is how users feel when interacting with something, including web design. Some also liken UX to customer service since it involves ensuring customers' needs are met as seamlessly as possible. There is more to creating a great user experience than meets the eye, and it goes beyond creating an aesthetically pleasing website with responsive web design and eCommerce chatbots. UX is all about pleasing the end-users. To achieve this objective, a clear understanding of the needs and priorities of website visitors is required. User Experience: Why It Matters If you want to fully appreciate the importance of user experience, let us examine some interesting statistics:
Not convinced? The experience of some of the leading brands in the world should give you a clearer insight into the importance of UX.
User Experience: Why You Should Care When UX is neglected, some of the most crucial aspects of the business can be compromised, including customer loyalty, sales, and brand reputation. Customer Loyalty Over 52% of website visitors revealed they stopped engaging with a brand after a disappointing experience. What's even more alarming is that over 79% of visitors that are not satisfied with the information they are getting from a website will typically visit competitors. This is not surprising as visitors don't like staying long on websites that don't have the information they want. For those that struggle to retain current customers or entice new prospects, improving user experience is one of the first elements they should look into and improve. Sales If the sole purpose of your website is to generate online sales, UX is one element that should rank high in your list of priorities. It is crucial to remember that slow loading websites have resulted in $2.6 billion in lost sales yearly. Over 60% of consumers consider lack of information, a small screen, and slow connection as some of the reasons that prevent them from patronizing a product or service. If you are not happy with your website's conversion rate, the likely culprit is poor user experience. Brand Reputation When your website is not visually appealing, consumers and visitors are likely to take it against your brand. This might not be common knowledge, but at least 94% of first impressions are design-related. Also, 60% of visitors revealed they wouldn't recommend poorly designed sites to others. Undoubtedly, the impact of UX on brand reputation is huge. Ways to Improve User Experience Surprisingly, there are many ways you can improve UX. If you want to improve user experience, the following tips should get your efforts off to a good start: Audit your website's flow. Check your site's structure or sitemap. Assess if it can help your visitors quickly and effortlessly find what they want. If the process involves multiple steps before visitors find what they are looking for, consider redesigning your website's structure and flow. It would also be ideal to use a user testing tool to get a better insight into the site paths considered simple and complicated by visitors. Aside from good site structure, it is also recommended that you make headings work in your favor. Test your website. User testing is one of the most effective ways you can assess if your website provides a superb user experience. Fortunately, there is no shortage of helpful and powerful tools you can use nowadays to test various aspects of your website. Some tools are also designed to help you get an insight into how visitors view your website's design, content, and functionality. Final Thoughts The importance of UX cannot be overemphasized. Without UX, a website will be challenging to navigate and a pain to use. If you want to stay competitive and take your brand and business to the next level, UX is something you cannot afford to overlook. |
AuthorDesirae Haluk is passionate about marketing for startups and small businesses. For the last 15 years she has held marketing executive positions for organizations both large and small. She realizes that her true passion is helping establish, grow and evolve startups and small businesses to make them successful and help achieve their goals. Archives
April 2022
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