Questions to Ask Before Launching a New Website

A website redesign can be a massive undertaking and almost always takes more time that people expect.

Before embarking in the brand new endeavor, ask yourself some important questions.

What am I looking to achieve from redesigning my website?

There should be a clear goal when it comes to website redesign. By establishing the goal, you can narrow your scope and make the project more effective.

Examples of reasons companies redo their website:

  • The look and feel is outdated.
  • We need to work in a more user friendly or dynamic platform (for example, WordPress).
  • We want to keep all marketing and sales efforts in one place, so we are moving our website to Hubspot.
  • The website isn’t designed for lead generation.

taking decision

Is website redesigning really necessary?

This is a question that was asked by at least one out of every five of our customers over the course of a year. Many companies are under pressure to compete in their industry and are migrating the brand presence online. They are being found by prospects and customers through their website. First impressions matter, and in this case, your website is the first impression.

It is absolutely critical that companies update their website regularly. Not posting new content puts you at a disadvantage in many aspects. Many aspects of your business depend on content, whether it’s sales, customer success, employee recruitment, etc.

How often should I redesign my website?

The short answer is that your website should be constantly getting updated. Your online presence is a living, breathing organism and should serve as an extension of your company. As your company changes and adapts, so should your website.

There should be a regular cycle put in place or cadence that allows members of your team to be able to update the website.

Examples of updates to your website to analyze on a regular basis include:

  • Job postings.
  • Products.
  • Services.
  • Press releases.
  • Events announcements.
  • Blog articles.
  • Case studies.
  • Team bios and many other things.

However on an annual basis, most companies go through some form of a redesign for the website. These updates are typically more than just basic cosmetic updates.

They are also structural changes that are being made to the Web site and in order to better align it with the company’s vision of where it wants to be.

Post-conversion’s Content Marketing for Revenue Growth and Increased Leads: Part 5

The previous post focused on everything relating to nurturing. The last blog article from the series will include all the details about what many would consider to be the most important part, your new customer.

Post-conversion content marketing

Congratulations: You have a customer!

However, just because a lead has converted into a customer does not mean that their journey with you is over. Did you know that the cost to keep a current customer is six to seven times less expensive than it is to acquire a new one? With your new customers, your goal is to get them to keep traveling down through the last little bit of the sales funnel over and over.

Using content marketing, you can not only ensure that your customers do not exit the funnel but also help to maximize the lifetime value of your customers to the company.

  • Welcome them aboard. Offer a tour of the new digs! Give them a walkthrough of their new product or service and offer up an FAQ that might help to settle them in more quickly.
  • How-tos. Continue with a steady stream of how-to content based on their preferences. Give them guidance on how to set up their product or service or what they can use to enhance what they already have.
  • Share your skills. Give them hacks, skills and knowledge as well as supplemental products and services that will enhance their experience.
  • Let them know first. Give your customers first crack at company news, new features and other informational content that gives them exclusive knowledge.
  • Engage with them. Respond to their feedback on social media. Follow them and check in periodically to make sure you’re doing a great job.
  • Keep publishing. Keep up a regular content schedule and base it off of customer feedback. Ask them what they want and invite them to participate. User-generated content is a fantastic way to keep customers engaged as well as flattered.

9 Ways to Reduce Your Bounce Rate and Increase Page Views with Content Marketing

Investing in content marketing should have a dramatic impact on your bounce rate (if your bounce rate is still high, there is likely an issue you’ll need to address).

Bounce rate is an important measure of your page’s ability to attract readers.

Bounce rate is the number of single-page visits to your site. The term essentially explains itself. Imagine a fly landing on your website, and leaving instantly after touching the ground – these are the types of visits you are looking to avoid.

Any internet browser will easily cite low-quality content as the simplest reason why a person will leave or “bounce.”

The good news is that bounce rate is not a very complicated concept. Better news than that is that decreased bounce rate will mean an increase in page views. Wow – you can fix two problems at once!

So how to increase page views and your bounce rate at the same time? Here are a few simple solutions:

Increase the quality of your content

No technique or superior analysis can beat great content. Quality content is the primary assurance that a browser will stay on to read your page and click your links.

Choose the right language according to your target audience. The right words can best explain difficult or confusing concepts and give your readers the information they require.

Write articles that actually provide value to the reader, not just regurgitated nonsense. People are busy, and busy people don’t have time to read about concepts they already know.

focus keyword phrases

Keywords unlock content performance

Swiping fingers will automatically pause when there is an interesting topic. It is your job as a content creator to figure out how to best formulate that topic into keywords.

These couple of words when used in the title and headings will maximize SEO. Be sure to include your chosen keyword in the title and the first sentence.

Google places more emphasis on the beginning of the article as typically that tells the reader what they are about to read.

Ensure readability throughout your articles

Great content is even better when combined with essential keywords. However, the truly enjoyable read for browsers also comes in a consistent professional-looking format. You should also be mindful of general concerns. Make sure your site loads quickly and that it remains readable when accessed via smartphone. A great overall experience will make a reader stick to your page – and not bounce. Thus, readability should be the primary goal of any content creator.

Pace yourself by with blog series

For longer content or keywords that need room for optimum discussion, it would be wiser to create a series of articles. Don’t jam all the concepts at once. A series gives you the chance to decisively untangle complicated ideas. It gives readers the time to digest. This also gives you a better chance of convincing readers to click on for the next article in the series and other related links.

Use meta titles and meta descriptions for optimized content

Meta titles and meta descriptions should be given special focus because they appear on the search results page. Choose your keywords carefully and include them in your meta title and meta description. This will increase the chances of your page being found by anybody searching about the topic of your article.

seo

Provide relevant links for SEO

There are two easy-to-follow rules when it comes to creating links. The first is that the phrase associated with the links be appropriate or related to the content. The second is that the links work.

There is no limit to the number of links you can include in your blog article as long as it adds value to your topic. Use both internal and external links and place your links in multiple spaces in your page.

  • Internal links should appear first to establish your site’s authority and broad content.
  • Post related and relevant blog articles at the bottom of your website pages.
  • Post featured blog articles or resources as a sidebar.

Use SEO plugins

Aside from using links, take advantage of SEO plugins. These help to expand the range of your source software using special functions for SEO, marketing, analyzing key performance indicators and many more.

Make your website secure: http vs. https

After the recent issues with data security, readers are very concerned with how their personal information is used. Make sure your website includes discussions that will placate their anxieties, which is especially true for pages that ask for these details.

The easiest way to secure your website is by making sure that you are linking to secure sources within your content. The same goes for internal links as well – make sure any internal links within the content or your website page are secure https website addresses.

Revitalize old blogs

Be it songs or movies, many old versions are still viable with just a few tweaks. This can also be said for your old blog articles. Check which ones are still generating traffic and make a few adjustments to keep them germane to your business. Start with updated information and examples, especially those that deal with technology.

Add, remove or change links. Also, make sure the format is consistent with your new blog articles.

If you strive to work on all these aspects of your content, your page views will soar and your bounce rates will drop. You can also partner with a company that can expertly do all the heavy lifting. Tempesta Media has thousands of writers who can expertly work on your chosen keywords and ensure the optimum readability of your content.

Increase Page Views With a Content Marketing Strategy That Is Helpful for the Reader

If browsing a website were a basketball game, a page view could be looked at as every basked you scored.

However the shot may have happened, the ball went into the hoop. A page doesn’t have to be read or even viewed. It can just be loaded – or reloaded – in a reader’s browser and that will still count as a page view.

Of course, you should always strive for readable content but being viewed isn’t a bad start. It proves that your content warranted a glance or a click.

Even a single page view is important for SEO:

  • Each page view ups the chances of another page view.
  • Higher page views increase the likelihood of getting noticed by search engines.
  • Getting a spot on search engine lists means that your page views will increase exponentially.
  • Scoring in terms of SEO (via a high number of page views) will mean success for your business.

You can monitor your page views easily by signing up for Google Analytics.

Now that you know page views are important, how do you increase them and score SEO points? You’ll need a team playbook or a well-thought-out content marketing strategy. This attracts traffic and converts page views into customers for your products or services. Here are basic tips for scoring higher page views:

Provide targeted content

Content cannot be relevant to all. Identify a segment of the populace to be your audience. Many blog articles will push to prioritize SEO, but marketing experts will advise that the best content is audience-oriented. Research what content your audience would find relevant. Provide this for them using a format that they will find most appealing.

editorial calendar

Create a content schedule

Early on, you learn to align your content with the needs of your target audience. You should also learn to train your audience loyalty for your content. You can easily do this by being consistent with your posting. Post at a particular hour on a particular day of the week. Depending on your content, post it just before the sun is up, as soon as employees arrive at the office, after the kids have gone to school or when the family is getting ready for bed at night.

Internal links amplify your content

Present your website as the best source. Make sure that whatever blog article you are working on can link to another page on your site. Don’t stop with links within the article itself. Post links to other related articles at the bottom of your blog and the bottom of your web page.

Put your content in front of people who want to read it

Share your content in various places within your website, link to it within your email signature, and email it to your customers.

Think about what the reader would want to read next, following the article in mind. Make it easy for that reader to take the next step.

All in all, the relationship between your page views and your content is not so complicated. Just takes time to learn. Relevant content based on your content marketing strategy will result in page views. Page views boosts SEO. Ultimately, all this means better exposure for you, your content and your business.

Looking for more ways to improve your website performance, contact Tempesta Media.

9 Helpful Ways to Evaluate a Marketing Vendor

There are so many different marketing technologies and vendors in the market, making a decision can be really daunting. The time it takes to evaluate each option can also be time-consuming.

Marketing technology or your marketing stack is important to ensure your marketing campaigns can execute effectively.

Start with these questions to evaluate a potential vendor for your marketing initiatives:

What do you wish to achieve with this new marketing solution?

It is critical to identify a problem before it can be solved. Knowing your specific problem will help you narrow your search for a marketing vendor. Select the vendor with core capabilities that can address the problem you’d like to solve.

What is the timeframe for the setup?

Time is money. It is important that you’re fully aware of how much time will be spent during the onboarding process. Determine the timeframe for training, kick-off calls, discovery calls and all campaign development.

Who will be involved during the onboarding process?

First, check the credentials of who will be guiding you through the crucial onboarding period of the partnership. Second, have your new partner specify the number of people they need from your organization and the skills these people need to have. Identify point persons from the vendor and your internal team so that you know who to speak with for updates.

notes

How is support handled?

It is essential that you get a guarantee of quick and complete support and resources even after the initial training process is done. Getting used to the new system is still part of the onboarding process.

Will there be someone to help you get on boarded properly? Is there effective support and resources to answer your questions quickly?

What do the case studies say?

Take some time to learn about specific use cases. Online marketing services are still relatively new. Experience or the number of years that a company has been in business should not be the only consideration.

How much are the initial fees?

Make sure all the vendor’s fees are stipulated in your contract and the included services specified. It is not unheard of for companies to suddenly spring fees after the initial payment has been discussed. Be meticulous at this point.

If you are looking into larger packages or subscriptions, these setup fees can often times be negotiated.

How is pricing structured?

Ask about pricing structures, payment schedules and how payment should be submitted. Negotiate according to these aspects and according to your budget.

Is there a trial period?

A vendor that offers a trial period or monthly plans is confident in their services. During this time, review and play around with the technology to find out if it is user-friendly and efficient.

How will you evaluate the success of the new vendor?

Finally, make sure you identify beforehand the criteria to determine if the new marketing vendor is what you need to step up your business. These are unique components that only you can determine. It would be best that these factors be time-bound and be based on other tangible factors. This will make the results easy to interpret.

To learn more about what Tempesta Media’s content marketing solution can provide, schedule a call with our team.

Content Marketing for Revenue Growth and Increased Leads: Part 4

In our last article we learned how to qualify your leads. Today’s post focuses on all those email campaigns and nurturing efforts once you’ve captured a new lead.

Using content marketing to nurture your leads

So, to recap: you are now an SEO master, and visitors have begun to flock to your site. You’ve developed a great landing page, and you’ve figured out how to get the right people to visit that landing page. You’re passing out free content and getting email addresses in return. So all these leads must be converting into customers, right?

Not so fast. You better be nurturing those leads.

Lead nurturing involves a lot of sincere listening. Find out what your prospects need and give it to them to keep them engaged and moving toward conversion. The best nurturing campaigns deliver the right content at the right time and contain valuable relevant content assets.

Benefits of lead nurturing

Lead nurturing activities help to build and maintain communication, increase engagement and identify opportunities to segment your audience and deliver more customized experiences, among other benefits. Lead nurturing also helps to provide a steady flow of new leads and helps to shorten conversion time.

marketing idea

Ways to nurture a lead

  • Email them.
  • Give them a newsletter.
  • Offer a product demo.
  • Invite them to an event.
  • Call them.
  • Chat with them online.

Things to remember when nurturing a lead

  • Listen to them. It’s really not about you or your company. It’s about hearing their pain points and helping them to solve their problem.
  • Educate them. Based on where they are in the funnel, give them the content they need to move to the next step.
  • Track everything. Be ready to respond to what your data is telling you. Have they not reached out lately? Call them. Did they not respond to a piece of content? Ask their opinion.

Lead scoring

Lead scoring helps you to assign a value to each lead and allow your sales team to focus more intently on leads that score higher. Typical ways to calculate a lead score include assigning a weight to different attributes, such as demographics, online behavior and email and social engagement.

Lead nurturing best practices

Here are some best practices to ensure that you are taking care of your leads:

  • Get personal with them.
  • Educate them based on where they are in the funnel.
  • Segment them properly.
  • Listen closely to what they have to say.
  • Keep track of everything!
  • Don’t stop until you close the sale.

Brand New WordPress Plugin Allows Customers to Speed Up Content Publishing

We are thrilled to officially announce our very first WordPress Plugin
for content publishing. 

Customers will now be able to directly access this plugin within their account in Tempesta Media’s content marketing platform.

Instantly make approved content publishing to your website with a single click. The plugin makes it possible to connect to your website easily and quickly.

How to perform content publishing from our content marketing platform to your WordPress website

The easiest way to install this plugin is to use the WordPress Admin interface.

  1. Go to your admin dashboard within your WordPress website
  2. Find the “Plugins” menu
  3. Click on “Add New”
  4. Search for “Tempesta Media”
  5. Click “Install Now”
  6. Go to your “Plugins” menu
  7. Click “Activate” on the Tempesta Media for WordPress plugin
  8. Navigate to the Tempesta Media plugin and click “Settings”
  9. Copy the auto-generated API key
  10. Paste the auto-generated API key into your Tempesta Media WordPress Integration, as found within your account (see
    below)

To paste the API key into your account within Tempesta Media’s content marketing platform:

  1. Login to your Account
  2. Click “Account” in the left side menu
  3. Click “Integrations”
  4. Click “Connect” next to the WordPress plugin
  5. Paste the auto-generated API key (copied from your WordPress account within your new Tempesta Media Publishing plugin) into your Tempesta Media WordPress Integration inside your account

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us or your account managers with any questions that you have.

How to Write a Good Introduction for a Blog Article

There is no such thing as a second impression when it comes to a blog article introduction. A writer has but one chance to reel in as many readers at first bite. Sure, it’s easier said than done.

Tempesta Media previously discussed that catching readers’ interest from the very start is the toughest part of a writer’s job. Nevertheless, this skill has to be mastered if you are to be a serious writer. Without an effective introduction, the rest of your content might as well be used to wrap fish.

So how does one go about writing a blog introduction that will get a reader hooked?

First off, a blog intro needs to be concise. Dedicate three to four sentences that are no longer than 35-40 words. Just think: Bloggers reached 30.6 million in 2018 alone. A writer gets only a few seconds to make a pitch before readers will want to give the next blog contender a chance.

Check if the following blog article introduction techniques have also enticed you to take a writer’s bait:

Give your readers a taste of what they want.

Sports fishers are modern-day athletes who depend on blogs to navigate the murky waters of this billion-dollar pursuit.

Different readers want different information. Identify your audience. This means understanding what they want to hear and what tone to use when writing for them.

6 tips for copywriters struggling with writer’s block

Use an anecdote to draw the reader into your blog article

My niece Tammy had a bad experience with fish when she was four. So for a year or two, she was told that the salmon and mackerel dishes that she loved so much were chicken parts.

Blog writers often start with funny stories because they sell. However, a scary or dramatic anecdote can also pack a punch. It doesn’t have to be personal, but it must be written in a way that makes the characters and the situation familiar.

Find a popular and relatable topic.

Conclusive proof of high levels of mercury in tuna has put additional limitations for those who don’t eat meat.

Controversial subject matters may actually be a more effective way to start your blog article. But these posts may alienate half of your readers. It might be better to use more universal themes or those that have become part of popular culture.

Use a provocative question, a fresh or an astonishing piece of information, or a unique quote.

Has the scientific community finally found proof that fish can feel pain?

Unrelated studies from three Ivy league universities have now proven that fish can feel physical and emotional pain.

<<<“As no man is born an artist, so no man is born an angler.” – Izaak Walton>>>

All these intro techniques are effective hooks because they play on readers’ emotions. As such, these blog article introductions are sometimes abused by misguided bloggers who often have no content to match. A professional writer does not fall into this trap.

There are many more ways of writing a blog introduction. The long and short of it is that an effective intro should act as a net. This net will prove effective if readers will not want to escape until they reach the blog’s very last word.

New Feature: Estimated Reading Time Improves Content Marketing Results and Engagement

Effective content marketing is designed to engage your readers. With so much content available online today, readers need to know what kind of time commitment is required to consume your content, and an estimated reading time provides that information.

Customers are constantly looking for ways to improve their content marketing so they can engage with their target audience more effectively. That’s why we added a brand new feature to our platform – “Estimated Reading Time.”

Understanding consumer online reading habits

Way back in 2006, Neilsen Norman Group published a study of how people consume information online. It was the first time marketers learned about the “F-shaped” pattern of someone’s eyes as they scanned the page.

That was also some of the earliest insights into how content consumption online differed from reading things like books, magazines, and newspapers — the content vehicles that consumers used before the internet came around. Follow-up studies in 2019 revealed that there are multiple scanning patterns, but the reason for scanning is the same: Consumers want to be efficient with their time. They don’t have time to read every word, so they look for the most useful information on the page.

Shorter content is not the answer

As the volume of content online grows, the efficiency bias of customers only increases. However, that doesn’t mean that you should be writing shorter content. Another prominent study from Microsoft in 2015 declared that consumers now have attention spans of just eight seconds. That’s a full second shorter than a goldfish, according to the article, and that comparison is now valid in the minds of marketing teams everywhere.

The problem with this comparison and this information is that data about high-performing content tells us just the opposite. In fact, some of the best-performing content online is long, 3,000 words” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>clocking in at over 3,000 words.

idea

Setting reader expectations upfront

So, how do marketing teams balance the consumer’s desire for efficiency with the need to create informative blog posts, web pages, and other online content? By managing expectations.

Consumers want information, and the internet is currently the best place to get it. People are willing to invest time and effort into consuming useful and informative content, but they need to know upfront what they are getting into.

That’s why Tempesta Media includes the estimated reading time on all of the content we produce for marketing teams and businesses who use our managed content services platform. It’s a simple tool to help your readers know how long they need to plan to get through a piece of content on your site. We include the reading time at the top of the article, right below the title, so users can quickly and easily determine the time commitment. This feature is included in these content types:

  • Blog posts.
  • SEO content.
  • News commentaries.
  • Informative articles.
  • Thought leadership pieces.

While it’s not a guarantee that they will read every word, our own research reveals that it will dramatically increase engagement and time spent on the site while reducing bounce rates. Improving these metrics gives you more time and more opportunities to push consumers to a call to action to take the next step, boosting engagement as well as conversions.

Content development to improve your SEO and website performance

We found that by adding this feature to content, it dramatically increases engagement, time spent on site, and bounce rates.

Learn more by checking out our 3-part series about estimated reading times: Do You Need Estimated Reading Times, Part 1: What Are Estimated Reading Times?

Tempesta Media’s New Content Marketing Platform Improves Each Phase of Content Production Cycle

I am pleased to introduce our latest content marketing platform upgrade, v10.0, one of the most significant releases in our history.

Our next-generation content marketing platform was developed based on your recommendations. We thank all our customers and partners who contributed their ideas. My team and I greatly appreciate it!

V10.0 is rooted in our vision that going forward, it is not enough to merely create high-quality content. Companies will need to efficiently scale their content marketing programs while driving towards bottom line results.

The improvements in v10.0 will make it even easier and more convenient for you to create better content faster and more efficiently, as well as manage your subscription more easily.

Quality content marketing

Content drives the best results when the quality is high. Our upgraded content marketing platform provides significant improvements to each stage of the content production cycle:

  • Voice Profile™ development
  • Topic ideation
  • Enhanced, two-stage writer team vetting selection
  • Industry-specialized editorial review
  • Improved content optimization

Today, I am happy to announce the launch of our specialized editorial capability. 

Like your writing teams, industry-specialized editors will be assigned to you.  Your assigned editors will master your company’s unique style, voice and personality more deeply and quickly.

To further enhance the quality of the content we provide, we have instituted an industry-first, four-phase quality check process that starts with our technology platform, goes through two levels of editor checks, and, lastly, makes its way through Customer Success for a final review.

content marketing platform

Efficient scaling for content development with content marketing platform

Time is money, and your time is precious.  For many of you, saving time is one of the reasons you chose Tempesta Media as your managed content marketing solution provider.

To help you get an even better return on your time (ROT), we rolled out our new WordPress™ publishing capability.  Now, you can easily and quickly publish content from Article Document straight to your website with a single push of a button through the content marketing platform.

On deck are integrations with HubSpot™ and Google Drive™. 

Also, to help you scale better, you can now access your content anytime on-the-go with our new mobile-friendly interface available on Android™ and IOS™ enabled devices.

Enhanced convenience to save time writing original content

We are empowering customers to have more visibility and control of their content marketing programs through the following platform enhancements:

  • User-friendly user interface (UI)
  • Simple ordering for content and editorial calendars
  • Manage and download all your content from a single dashboard
  • Real-time calendar view of all your content
  • Easily accessible content templates to streamline content ordering

Going forward, your partner for outsourced content marketing

While these collective improvements represent a new wave of innovation, they are just the beginning.  Our team will continue to roll out more features and capabilities.

On behalf of the Tempesta Media team, thank you for your continued support and faith in us as your trusted content marketing partner.

Regards,
Michael Marchese
Founder and CEO

You’ve worked hard to hone your trade.

Let us power your lead generation

We know your expertise is in building your business, not crafting digital content. That’s why we handle the content creation for you, with strategies tailored to convert readers into qualified leads.​

Focus on what you do best—leave generating
quality leads to us.​


It’s never been simpler to set your lead generation on autopilot.​