1.Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment May 6, 2014

2. INTRODUCTION Skoda Minotti, CPA Firm Cleveland, Akron & Tampa Eight year BDO Alliance firm member Built our own internal agency from scratch Insights from the inside Practice what we preach Marketing partner with BDO Alliance firms 3. Idea #1: Website Strategy Idea #2: Web Design Idea #3: Search Engine Optimization Idea #4: Mobile vs. Responsive Idea #5: Inbound Marketing Idea #6: Content Management System Idea #7: e-Newsletters Idea #8: Analytics Idea #9: Ongoing Maintenance Idea #10: Your Design Team AGENDA 4. Idea #1: Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment Determine A Web Strategy 5. Begin With End in Mind What are your website goals/objectives? Drive traffic Reduce bounce rate Time on site Lead generation Revenue generation Current SEO rankings for important keywords Many of these goals are dependent on each other WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 6. Four Categories of Websites 1. Establish a web presence/credibility 2. Promote your brand 3. Serve as a resource 4. Generate & track qualified leads WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 7. Category #1: Establish a Web Presence/Credibility People are Googling your company What do they find when they get to your website? First impression Establishing a web presence allows you to control this message Smaller budgets that leverage existing templates Typically not more than 25 pages Functions as a cyber-brochure Typically leveraged by firms who live off of referrals Verifies you exist and hopes someone will give you a call WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 8. Category #1 Establish a Web Presence/Credibility Basic overview No calls to action No interaction No unique resource information No lead generation or tracking Missed opportunities INDUSTRIES WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 9. Category #2: Promote Your Brand First interaction with your brand A branded website allows you to control the look and feel that your clients and prospects encounter Allows you to differentiate your website from your competitors Communicate core brand values visually Coordinate consistent messaging with your other marketing materials More flexible - allows for custom design/creativity Shares your firms personality WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 10. Example: Promoting the Brand WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 11. Category #3: Serve as a Resource Clients, business contacts and prospects are looking for answers to their questions online Can you be the answer? Become visible in search engines for questions your customers are asking Content helps drive people to the site Have visitors return to your site over and over Further brand awareness Requires time/investment to create and maintain content WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 12. Category #3: Serve as a Resource Blogs E-Books E-newsletters Industry Surveys Presentations Special Offers Videos Webinars/Seminars WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 13. Category #4: Generate & Track Leads Attracting hundreds or thousands of visitors is great, but Do you know who they are? What is important them? How they found you? When/how often they come back to your website? Are they qualified leads? Create relevant, valuable content in exchange for contact information Collect lead details by using offers (i.e., e-books, PPTs, videos, etc.) Invest your time pursuing qualified leads Time must be invested to create content that your visitors will value highly Leverage your team for content WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 14. Generate & Track Leads Create free offers/e-books Promote on website & e-newsletters Build landing pages to capture lead Ask qualifying questions WEBSITE STRATEGY IDEA #1: 15. Idea #2: Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment Web Design 16. Website Design Considerations Benchmarking Homepage Subpages Navigation Reducing Site Load Times WEB DESIGN IDEA #2: 17. Benchmark Current Metrics Document your current performance metrics Start by analyzing your existing site over its history Number of visits/visitors/unique visitors Bounce rate Time on site Current SEO rankings for important keywords Domain authority Number of new leads/form submissions Total amount of sales generated Dont have Stats? Add Google Analytics WEBSITE DESIGN IDEA #2: 18. Avoid Pitfalls. Inventory Your Assets Redesign typically good, but Dont delete existing web assets Most shared or viewed content Most trafficked pages Best performing keywords you rank for & associated pages Number of inbound links to individual pages ALERT! Removing page(s) that have a high number of inbound links, could result in a loss of SEO credit, which could decrease your search ranking! NOTE: Many web designers dont consider this because they are not marketers. WEB DESIGN IDEA #2: 19. Analyze the Competition Dont obsess, but it helps to know how you compare Run your website through Marketing Grader Run competitors too Review competitor sites, note what you like/dont like Dont copy them. Improve on what they have! SPECIAL NOTE: Marketing Grader: Go to http://marketing.grader.com to get a report card of how your website and marketing is performing today. Its free! WEB DESIGN IDEA #2: 20. Homepage A homepage is a portal into the rest of your website How can you quickly get visitors where they want to go? Features to consider: Messaging to address client hot buttons Timely information: News/blog feed Site search Lead generation/calls-to-action Easy to find contact information WEB DESIGN IDEA #2: 21. Subpages WEB DESIGN IDEA #2: Specific service/industry subpages can improve SEO & overall site navigation Keep the reader in mind when writing copy. Less is more. Always include a means to request more information Leverage sidebars to include related content that may interest the visitor Best Practice Tip: Add Calls-to-Action buttons to generate qualified leads 22. WEB DESIGN IDEA #2: Website Navigation Non-traditional navigation may cause poor user experience. Keep menu titles and options simple and easy to understand Consider mega-menus as an improvement on standard drop down menus Analytics programs can give you clues about which pages need more navigation prominence during redesign 23. Reducing Website Load Times Faster loading pages are more user-friendly AND more Google-friendly. Best practices: Minimize image file sizes where possible Prioritize above-the-fold content from a load time perspective Reduce the number of website plugins Ensure optimized website code WEB DESIGN IDEA #2: 24. Idea #3: Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment Search Engine Optimization 25. SEO Plays a Key Role in Customer Acquisition Survey N = 3,339 Source: HubSpot 0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12% 14% 16% Avg. Percentage of Leads that Convert to Sales 15% 13% 12% 11% 9% 8% 7% 7% SEO IDEA #3: 26. Source: Forrester Research SEO IDEA #3: 27. Source: Search Engine Watch SEO IDEA #3: 28. SEO PAID VS. ORGANIC IDEA #3: 29. SEO KEYWORD RESEARCH IDEA #3: https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner 30. SEO PAGE TITLES IDEA #3: 31. SEO PAGE TITLES IDEA #3: 32. SEO - HEADLINES IDEA #3: 33. SEO - HEADLINES IDEA #3: 34. SEO - DESCRIPTIONS IDEA #3: Meta Description Tags 35. SEO - DESCRIPTIONS IDEA #3: Meta Description Tags 36. SEO - LINKS IDEA #3: Create Individual Sub-Service Pages More indexed pages result in better SEO rankings Rather than just list sub-service offerings, create individual pages for each sub-service offering. More pages equals more service specific keywords which enhances SEO 37. SEO - LINKS IDEA #3: Create Individual Sub-Service Pages List services but link them to their own page. Best Practices Tip: Leverage free offers 38. SEO - LINKS IDEA #3: Value of Links Link quality matters. Less about quantity Consider landing page for links Link to specific service or industry pages vs. home page Better user experience More link juice to the page Dont keyword-stuff anchor text Google frowns on link-schemes Creating links intended to manipulate PageRank Leveraging links that werent editorially placed or vouched for by the sites owner on a page. 39. Find New Link Partners Partners/vendors Trade associations Community organizations Local Chambers of Commerce Better Business Bureau Colleges/Universities (recruiting) SEO LINK BUILDING IDEA #3: 40. Idea #4: Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment Mobile vs. Responsive Design 41. Why Do You Need a Mobile Friendly Website? MOBILE VS. RESPONSIVE IDEA #4: Source: Smart Insights - http://bit.ly/1cjAdpn Website Visits by Device Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2013 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 OverallTabletSmartphone 42. Responsive Design vs. Mobile Website Responsive Design Automatically adjusts to optimize display size Must be built from the ground up Mobile Website Custom-designed for a smartphone experience Can be added on to an existing website Does not require a complete rebuild IDEA #4: MOBILE VS. RESPONSIVE 43. Responsive Design vs. Mobile Website IDEA #4: Element Responsive Design Mobile Website Design Flexibility Design adapts to any monitor/device Design built specifically for mobile User Experience May cause longer load times for mobile visitors as all website content loads onto each page Can be customized for the mobile user experience(show as much or as little content as is needed). SEO Google announced it prefers responsive design for SEO purposes Google supports mobile sites but it is not its recommended approach Content Updates Content only needs to be updated in one central location Content changes will require two separate updates. (i.e., Main & Mobile) Cost Typically a more expensive solution as the entire site needs to be coded in a responsive format. Typically less expensive as a mobile site can be custom-designed and usually will require much less content than a full site. MOBILE VS. RESPONSIVE 44. Mobile/Responsive Best Practices Keep in mind that you are designing for touch Design to allow space for a finger (28x28 pixels) around your links Redesign your drop-down menus Think through how lead conversions will work Implement features like click-to-call and click-to-map IDEA #4: MOBILE VS. RESPONSIVE 45. Idea #5: Inbound Marketing Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment 46. What is Inbound Marketing? Creating highly value content that your clients/prospects will seek out and find you Marketing practice that makes your firm and your content easy to find Drives prospects to your website Leverages your website to generate and track qualified leads INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 47. Inbound Marketing Components Blogs Calls-to-Action Contact Forms E-book/Offers Landing Pages INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 48. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Quick Poll How many firms here have a blog? How many times a month does your firm post a blog? How many authors do you have? How many people here contribute to it as an author? 49. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Source: HubSpot 50. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Source: HubSpot 51. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Source: HubSpot 52. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Source: HubSpot 53. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Source: HubSpot 54. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Source: HubSpot 55. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Source: HubSpot 56. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Source: Vitberg 2013 2014 CPA Firm Best Lead Generation Practices Survey 57. INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Blogs - Content Generation Industry News/Opinion/BDO Content Curation Sites (i.e., Scoopit.Com) FAQs From Clients Firm News Guest Blogs Repurposed Content From Other Platforms Speaking engagements, white papers, videos, etc. Leverage Keywords (i.e., headline & body copy) Build a Team of Bloggers and Go! 58. Attracting Traffic to Blog Search Engine Optimization Website E-blast/E-newsletters/E-mail signatures Social Media INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 59. Measurement INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 60. Generate significant, targeted organic search traffic on an ongoing basis Content lives forever online Continue to attract search traffic long after it has been posted Search Growth-Blog 2009 Visits: 6,902 Page views: 7,235 Search Hits: 1,115 Blogs Posted: 131 2010 Visits: 14,761 Page views: 16,050 Search Hits: 5,866 Blogs Posted:174 2011 Visits: 21,712 Page views: 24,731 Search Hits: 12,712 Blogs Posted: 200 2012 Visits: 28,308 Page views: 41,945 Search Hits: 20,416 Blogs Posted: 274 2013 Visits: 36,259 Page views: 54,599 Search Hits: 21,094 Blogs Posted: 246 INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 61. BLOGS Best Practices Tip: Leverage free offers Best Practices Tip: Allow people to subscribe Best Practices Tip: Sort by service or industry INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 62. Sign Up Order Now Download Get Started Read Now Free Trial CALLS-TO-ACTION INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: Calls-To-Action Important element for driving qualified leads Capitalize on traffic to your website Drive prospects deeper into the sales funnel CTAs drive traffic to landing pages Landing pages convert traffic into leads 63. Call To Action Best Practice Tip: Ask Qualifying Questions INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 64. Call-To-Action Buttons INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 65. Contact Form Base model Only on one page Requires almost no effort from site owner Low lead generation Practice Areas Accounting & Auditing Business Consulting Employee Benefit Plan Audits Estate Planning Litigation Advisory State & Local Tax Tax Planning RANALLO & AVENI LLC RANALLO & AVENI LLC INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 66. Contact Form Have on every page You never know at what point someone will decide to contact you Touch base Ask questions Request quote Request information INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 67. Ask an Expert Answer direct questions from clients & prospective clients Requires technical expertise & monitoring Timely response Dedicated Provides direct interaction Positions you as an industry expert/leader/authority INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 68. Jonathan Mailing List Sign up for information Typically an e-newsletter Need to create & provide information Dedication (i.e., quarterly, monthly weekly, etc.) INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 69. Jonathan Jonathan jebenstein@skodaminotti.com Ebenstein Skoda Minotti Mailing List Sign up for information Typically an e-newsletter Need to create & provide information Dedication (i.e., quarterly, monthly weekly, etc.) INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 70. Events Webinars Seminars Open House Lunch & Learns INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 71. Best Practice Tip: PULL LIVE FEEDS E-Books INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 72. Lead Follow-Up Someone MUST own this Create process and follow it Personal contact Add leads to marketing communications (i.e., e-newsletter, e-blasts, etc.) Keep-in-touch program INBOUND MARKETING IDEA #5: 73. Idea #6: Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment Content Management System 74. What is a Content Management System (CMS)? Make updates to website content without a required knowledge of code Functionality can typically be customized to meet specific website update needs Many CMS can be upgraded over time to account for new functionality requirements There are a wide variety of both free and paid CMS solutions from which to choose CMS IDEA #6: 75. Choosing the Right CMS for You Benefits of choosing a free CMS solution (i.e. WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, etc.) No start-up cost Large developer community to rely on for support/plugins/themes/etc. Familiar interface for managing content Benefits of choosing a paid CMS solution (i.e. Expression Engine, HubSpot) Commercial support available for quick resolution to issues Less vulnerable to security breaches than free CMS Official (trusted) plugins/modules available to enhance site functionality CMS IDEA #6: 76. CMS Functionality to Consider Add/remove pages/blog posts Edit text/photos/videos on pages/blog posts Edit site navigation Add/remove digital assets (i.e., pdfs, audio, video, zip files) Edit webpage metadata (for SEO) User login/member management E-commerce CMS IDEA #6: 77. CMS Best Practices Train multiple users on the system to prevent delays on updates Be aware when pasting content directly from Word use Notepad instead Create website style guide to ensure all updates are consistent Have a team in place to spot check updates on a regular basis and scan for errors (i.e., broken links, formatting issues, SEO data, etc.) CMS IDEA #6: 78. Idea #7: Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment E-newsletter 79. E-newsletter Considerations on Your Website Easy to signup on your site Host an archive of old issues/articles Link e-newsletter sends to your website/blog Increase search rankings E-NEWSLETTER IDEA #7: 80. E-NEWSLETTER IDEA #7: 81. Best Practice Tip: CROSS PROMOTE E-Newsletter E-NEWSLETTER IDEA #7: 82. E-NEWSLETTER IDEA #7: 83. Idea #8: Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment Analytics 84. How Are You Measuring the Success of Your Website? Number of visitors? Search visibility? Quality of visitors? Number of leads? Number of sales? ANALYTICS IDEA #8: 85. Google Analytics In order to start tracking, you need an analytics program Google Analytics is free and easy to use http://www.google.com/analytics/ Install tracking code and you can be up and running in minutes ANALYTICS IDEA #8: 86. Google Analytics Overview ANALYTICS IDEA #8: 87. Channels ANALYTICS IDEA #8: 88. Referring Sites ANALYTICS IDEA #9: 89. Top Content ANALYTICS IDEA #9: 90. Location ANALYTICS IDEA #9: 91. Devices ANALYTICS IDEA #9: 92. In-Page Analytics ANALYTICS IDEA #9: 93. Social Media Sources Social Media Sources ANALYTICS IDEA #9: 94. Idea #9: Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment Ongoing Maintenance 95. Maintaining Your Website Install Google Analytics Watch regularly for increases/decreases in traffic/quality of visit stats and determine cause Install Google Webmaster Tools Use this tool to identify Google crawl errors, security risks and more. Ensure Your CMS Software is Up-to-Date Out of date software can increase your websites susceptibility viruses and security risks. Check Website Regularly Make it a regular habit to give your website the eye-test and look for user experience issues, general formatting and old/outdated links that require updates. ONGOING MAINTENANCE IDEA #9: 96. Idea #10: Website Redesign ROI: 10 Ideas to Make the Most of Your Website Investment Your Design Team 97. Who Do You Want Building Your House? Jack-of-All-Trade Guy General Contractor, Electrician, Plumber, Dry Waller, Painter, Excavator, Roofer, Concrete Contractor, etc. YOUR DESIGN TEAM IDEA #10: 98. YOUR DESIGN TEAM IDEA #10: Who Do You Want Designing Your Website? Project Supervisor, Project Manager, Art Director, Graphic/Interactive Designer, Programmer, Copywriter, SEO Manager, etc. Jack-of-All-Trade Web Guy 99. YOUR DESIGN TEAM Essential Skill Sets Strategy and planning Project management Information architecture and user interface design Graphic design for the web Web copywriting Web technology Site production Search Engine Optimization Lead generation & tracking IDEA #10: 100. YOUR DESIGN TEAM Should have industry experience. Will save you time and resources Team members are experienced in what they do Hire a team w/multi-skills sets Designer, programmer, SEO manager, copy writer, etc. Review web site portfolio Be sure they do the type of features or tasks needed to develop your website Check references Results over costs Its about ROI not initial investment Evaluation Checklist IDEA #10: 101. YOUR DESIGN TEAM Web Site Development Process IDEA #10: Strategy session Requirements gathering Wire Frame/site map Solution design & approval Production schedule with delivery dates & deadlines Design & copy development Site construction (coding) Beta testing & approval CMS training Go Live, follow-up & support 102. YOUR DESIGN TEAM One time design cost vs. ongoing monthly fee Multi-year contracts. What does it cover? Ownership of all YOUR site files (i.e., copy, images, layout, URL, etc.) Can you move the site? Be aware of duplicative content Check The Contract IDEA #10: 103. QUESTIONS? Jonathan Ebenstein Partner, Strategic Marketing Services Phone - (440) 449-6800 x7231 Email - jebenstein@skodaminotti.com Website: www.skodaminottimarketing.com Cleveland | Akron | Tampa FREE STUFF!! GO TO: www.skodaminottimarketing.com Complete Library of Marketing E-books, SEO Analysis & Other Free Offers