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Work Smarter, Not HarderWordPress for Small BusinessesPlus Key Web Trends & Best Practices

Presented by

About Your Presenter

• President - Creative Marketing Services, LLC• 15 Years Experience in Corporate & Small Business Marketing

• Marketing Specialist & Strategist• Constant Contact Authorized Local Expert

Victoria Byrne

© Creativ e Marketing Services, LLC

www.CreativeMarketingServices.com949-916-7970

victoria@creativemktgservices.com

CMS is a Full Service Marketing Agency

Specializing in WordPress,

Strategic Planning & Internet Marketing

© Creativ e Marketing Services, LLC

Agendaü What is WordPress?ü Why WordPress is Great for Small Businessesü What is Responsive Design & Why You Need itü Key Mobile & Web Trendsü Website Best Practicesü Why It Makes Sense to Convert Your Site To WordPressü Overview of Google Analytics

What is WordPress?

WordPress is a free, web-based software platform that anyone can use to build and maintain a website or blog

WordPress• One of the fastest growing website and blog platforms in the world

• Incorporates customizable “themes” and thousands of compatible plugins

• Supports future online growth and development of your business

• Includes Responsive website design themes

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WordPress

2003WordPress started

as a blogging platform

2016Over 47,000 plugins

453,551,157 downloads +

WordPress Now Powers More than 24% of the Web¹

Source:wordpress.org/ history1 wpmudev.org/blog/wor dpress-10-years-o ld-v isual- history

2006

Plugins & themesintroduced

2008

2,181 plugins4,082,626 downloads

2012Responsive

Design

WordPress Market Share

WordPressJoomlaDrupalOther 10%

Content Management Systems (CMS)

66%9%

15%

WordPress

Source:wpde.orgwordpress.org/about.stats

Why WordPress?

WordPress powers:

• Websites• News Sites• Magazines• Communities• Blogs• Intranets• E-commerce• and more!

Power & Flexibility

Who Uses WordPress?• The Wall Street Journal• Ford• Nikon• Pepsi• ebay• NBA• CNN• Small Businesses Just Like You!

Source:Leaders West Digital Marketing Journal- graphic

Website = Online Hub & Foundation

Why WordPress is Greatfor Small Businesses

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#1 Cost Effective

• WordPress is an open source codethat is FREE.

• Platform that supports blogs AND websites

• Options include FREE hosting of blog(www.wordpress.com)and website applications to download(www.wordpress.org)

Domain Registrationü Branding

ü Keep it Short & Simple

ü Don’t Include Hyphens or Numbers

ü Register Your Domain for 5-10 Years

ü Go for .com, then consider .net or .org

ü Obtain Login/PW for Domain Registration

ü Just Starting a Business? Don’t Wait to Register!

ü DON’T LET YOUR DOMAIN REGISTATION EXPIRE!

Web HostingWordPress.com - Good resource for hosting a basic blog for free.

For websites & blogs with advanced features, we recommend:

SiteGround (www.siteground.com) WP Engine (www.wpengine.com)

Web Hosting

Many web hosting companies offer the ability to

Install WordPress in 5 Minutes!

#2 Easily Grow & Expand

Based on your budget, you can start very basic and easily add:

• Pages• Articles• Photos• Videos• Features• Functions• Etc…

#2 Easily Grow & Expand

Just Getting Started? Include thee basics pages, then add more over time:

1. Home2. Services or Product3. About4. FAQs5. Testimonials (add as received)6. Blog7. Contact

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#3 Can Do it ALL

•Blogging

#3 Can Do it ALL

•Event Calendar•Event Registration

#3 Can Do it ALLShopping Carts

#3 Can Do it ALLOnline Catalogs

#3 Can Do it ALLPhoto Gallery

#3 Can Do it ALLVideo Library

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#3 Can Do it ALLConstant ContactWP Plug-in

#3 Can Do it AllCommunity Forum

#3 Can Do it ALLResource / Directory

• Memberships• …the list goes on & on

#4 Great Content Management SystemGives You Control Over Your Website

#5 Easy to UseMaintain, Manage & Update Your Own Website

#6 Amazing Plugins

• Plugins are ways to extend and add to the functionality that already exists in WordPress.

• Plugins are software that offer custom functions and features so that each user can tailor their site to their specific needs.

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#6 Amazing PluginsWordPress SEO by Yoast(Search Engine Optimization)

#6 Amazing Plugins

Google Analyticator

#6 Amazing Plugins

Creative Marketing Services, LLCwww.CreativeMktgServices.com

Testimonials

#6 Amazing Plug-insFAQs

#6 Amazing PluginsStaff

#6 Amazing Plugins

Creative Marketing Services, LLCwww.CreativeMktgServices.com

Lead Generation Forms

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#6 Amazing Plugins• Gravity Forms• Event Espresso• Woo Commerce• BuddyPress• plus many more…• Over 47,000 Plug-ins!

#6 Amazing Plugins

Creative Marketing Services, LLCwww.CreativeMktgServices.com

#6b Widgets

• Widgets add content and features to your sidebars or “widgetized” areas

#7 Thousands of Themes

• Buy Design Themes• Search by industry• Provide a great starting point• Can be customized by web

programmers!

#7 Themes: Themeforest

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#7 Themes: Elegant Themes #7 Themes: Woo Themes #7 Thousands of Themes

Restaurants

#7 Thousands of Themes

Resort

#7 Thousands of Themes

Business

#7 Thousands of Themes

e-Commerce

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#7 Thousands of Themes Vacation Rental

#7 Thousands of Themes

Non-profit

#8 Customize Design

• No longer looks like a blog• Customize your website to

reflect your branding• Salutation Theme:

Before & After

#8 Customize DesignGym Base Theme Before Gym Base Theme After

#9 Search Engine Friendly

• Google crawls WordPress a lot therefore sites using WordPress platform tend torank well in search results.

Advanced SEO Tools#9 Search Engine Friendly

• Ability to easily update/add contentto sites regularly

• Search Engines like to see fresh, relevant content• SEO Plug-ins• Google XML Sitemaps• Easily come up with inbound links, track-backs,

submit comments which help improve page rank = increase traffic

Advanced SEO Tools

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#10 Great Multi-Media Support• Flexibility to edit the appearance/ Media Library• Easily add:

• Slide Shows• Images• Embed Videos• Audio Files• PDF Documents• Insert• Google Maps• Google Calendar• Google Docs• +more

WordPress Resource

www.wordpress.org

What is Responsive Design and Why You Need it

Responsive Website Design

• Website “responds” to the size of screen being displayed on

• Single design will work on ALL devices/ screen sizes!

• Eliminates need for secondary “mobile” version of website

Top Web Trend Mobile TrendsMobile Trends

In 2015, Mobile Internet Usage has Surpass Desktop Usage¹.

Smartphone traffic increased 125%as compared to desktop growth, which increased only 12 percent².

¹Source: CNN² BrightEdge MobileShare Report,

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Mobile Trends“In April 2015, Google is changed its ranking system to favor those with mobile friendly websites, i.e., ones that can be easily read on smartphones, without tons of graphics and flash to slow things down….

As many as 40% of top websites are not currently mobile friendly.”

Source: USA Today, April 18, 2015Read Full Article: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/04/18/google-to-favor-mobile-websites/25989799/

Mobile Devices Mobile Exercise

• Ease of Navigation?

• Font Sizes/Readability?

• Call(s) to Action?

• Phone number clickable?

• How well is your branding represented?

How Does Your Site Measure Up?

Google Mobile-Friendly Testwww.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly

Key Web TrendsTop Web Trends

• WordPress

• Responsive Design

• Simple Website Design

• Rich Content Focus

• Video in Place of Text

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Top Web Trends

• Valuable content to attract & engage+ inform

• Build relationships & trust

• Regular & consistent updates

• Blog posts, updates, video, newsletter, social media + inbound marketing

Rich Content Focus

Top Web Trends

• Lower barriers to entry

• Video in place of text

• More cost effective

• Accessibility to sophisticated editing software

Video, Video, Video

Top Web Trends

• Video can increase the chance of a front page Google result by 53x with proper optimization¹

• Video results appear in close to 70% of the top 100 listings²

• Video now accounts for 50% of traffic on wireless networks³

Video, Video, Video

¹ Source: Forrester, 2012² Source: Marketingweek 2012³ Source: Bytemobile 2012

Info-graphics by JenChicago

Website Best PracticesWebsite Best Practices

Clear & Concise Positioning Statement

Website Best PracticesIncludes Call to Action

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Website Best PracticesPhone # in Upper Right Hand Corner

Website Best PracticesLess is More (balance Content & Images)

Website Best PracticesSocial Media Buttons

Website Best PracticesEmail Sign Up

Website Best PracticesFeature Recent Blog Post

Website Best PracticesFresh & Consistent Content

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Website Best PracticesAddress: Why Should I Care?

Website Best PracticesInclude a Contact FormDo not include email address

Consider separate leadgeneration forms

Website Best PracticesInstall Google Analytics – It’s FREE

Top Turnoffs for Visitors…What Not to Do!

• Slow Load Time. Ideal <2-4s

• Non-mobile/Hard to Navigate• Outdated Design & Generic Content

• Benefits are Not Clear

• Content is Difficult to Read

• Auto Play Anything…music, videos, etc…

12 Keys to a Successful Blog12 Keys to a Successful Blog

1. Post Frequently: 3-4 times per month

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12 Keys to a Successful Blog2. Keep it Brief: 500 words

12 Keys to a Successful Blog3. Use a Catchy Headline

12 Keys to a Successful Blog4. Use Interesting Images

12 Keys to a Successful Blog5. Include Top Keywords

12 Keys to a Successful Blog6. Include Links

12 Keys to a Successful Blog7. Include Videos or Create a Video Blog

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12 Keys to a Successful Blog8. Use Bullet Points, Italics & Bold Font

12 Keys to a Successful Blog9. Encourage Comments

12 Keys to a Successful Blog10. Post Tags

12 Keys to a Successful Blog11. Make Your Blog Easy to Share

12 Keys to a Successful Blog12. Promote Your Blog

- post to Social Media + include in email newsletters

Website Best Practices

Maintenance & Security

• Backup Your Theme & Database• Keep Current with WP Releases• Update Plug-ins

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Why It Makes Sense to Convert Your Website to WordPress

Convert Your Website to WordPressAsk Yourself these Questions: ü Is your website responsive or do you have a mobile website?ü Are you able to easily update your website yourself?ü Does your website have all of the features you want?ü Does your website function the way it should?ü Do you have a blog within your website?ü Does your website have the ability to grow & expand?

10 Reasons Why It Makes Sense to Convert to WordPress

1. You’re in Control2. Easy to learn, maintain + update3. Responsive web designs4. Endless expansion possibilities 5. Over 44,000 plugins!

6. Incredibly flexible + powerful7. Built-in blog8. SEO made easy9. Cost effective10. Support is Second to None

Converting to WordPressGoogle Analytics Overview

Google AnalyticsDashboard

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Google AnalyticsOverview

Google AnalyticsNew vs. Returning Visitor

Google AnalyticsPageviews

Google AnalyticsTraffic Overview

Google AnalyticsHighest Traffic Day

Google AnalyticsTraffic Details

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Google AnalyticsAcquisition Overview

Google AnalyticsAcquisition Details

Google AnalyticsOrganic Search / Keywords

Google AnalyticsMobile Overview / Devices

Google AnalyticsMobile Details

Google AnalyticsiPhone App

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Google AnalyticsView & Track Your Analytics on a Monthly Basis

Summary Take Aways

Action Items:1. Is your website mobile friendly – test on your mobile device.2. Sign up & install Google Analytics + review stats monthly3. Review web best practices + incorporate them on your site

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