When you open a web browser on your smartphone or tablet do you say to yourself, ‘Hey, I’m going to get on the mobile internet now.’  Of course not, none of us think that — we simply think we’re getting on the internet.

And that’s because there is only one internet, and we don’t expect to have a drastically different experience on it as we switch between mobile and static devices. However, many businesses still believe their mobile site should be highly condensed and strictly targeted to on-the-go consumers. In truth, consumers want succinct, yet informative content all the time — whether sitting at home or scrambling to get directions to a nearby restaurant. This means instead of designing sites to specifically suit the functionalities of various gadgets, we should concentrate on having sites that match the needs of the people, which, as it turns out, stays pretty consistent no matter what device they use.

Here’s how we know this is true…

Conciseness: The Key to Having a Website that Works for all Users?

A common argument against having a single site for all audiences is it ends up giving mobile, on-the-go users too much information that stands in the way of quickly finding what they need. And if you look at typical analytics to see what mobile users are doing, then indeed it does seem like they’re completing quick tasks and not, say, hanging around to read lengthy blog posts. But, is this behavior the true nature of mobile users, or are websites simply not presenting their content in a usable way?

We’ve found that when content is laid out in a simple, hierarchical, easy to navigate fashion, user engagement and activities are similar — regardless of the device. However, to make this work across all mediums you have to become a content minimalist. While it may seem like this forces you to cut out valuable text and images, in reality it gives you the opportunity to sharpen your content and give people what they genuinely want — the most amount of information in the least amount of words.

Twitter is a great proof of this in action, as its self-imposed brevity is one of the things making it so successful. Users only have 140 characters to be witty, say something smart, or generally make an impression. Thus, people are forced to pick and choose their words carefully, settling on the ones with the most meaning. Although, you don’t have to limit your web content to 140 characters, tackling it with the same type of conciseness will result in a website that gives both mobile and static users exactly what they need and nothing more.

Other Ways to Optimize One Site for a Mobile and Static Audience

In addition to cutting out the bloat, here are a few other things you can do to optimize a single responsive site capable of accommodating everyone:

Conclusion

When it comes down to it, no one wants to feel like they’re getting a “lesser” version of the internet just because they’re using a mobile device. However, people do start to feel gypped when they  visit their favorite websites through their smartphones and discover the site looks drastically different, lacks features, and has limited content. It’s time to realize mobile and static users don’t exist in two separate worlds, but are actually the same people who want consistency in their web experience. By using responsive design and implementing smart, concise layouts and content, businesses can provide consumers with a site that has everything they need and works on every device.

The post Stop Thinking Mobile & Start Thinking Responsive appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.

Although Bernays’ heyday was in the mid 20^th Century, his techniques are still valid in today’s internet-driven marketing arena, and that’s because advertising all boils down to how well you know your customers. However, there’s a big difference between just knowing your customers and really knowing their unconscious desires. For instance, you might adequately know your demographic, what they talk about, and what they buy, but do you know why they talk about certain things, what inspires them to buy a product, how a product makes them feel, etc.?

Naturally, figuring all that out takes a lot of work, and the funny thing is, if you can do it, you may wind up understanding your customers better than they understand themselves. For example, researchers have found that most people don’t even know why they make a decision – they may think they know why and believe they’re formulating analytical decisions, but scientists say most decisions are finalized in our primitive brains even before our conscious brains have finished weighing the options.

All of that’s to say, if you can connect with people’s unconscious desires, or their primitive brains, you’ll have a much improved chance of persuading them to buy your product or service. Fortunately, we know a thing or two about how optimized web design can make a huge difference in the persuasion process.

Fundamentals of Persuasive Web Design

1. Clarity

Above all, people go to the internet to find stuff they want. It may sound simple, yet knowing that fact is essential since it reinforces the point that you have to make your site and its products things consumers want. Let’s assume your offerings are legitimately desirable… how are you going to portray this to visitors? By hiding all the best stuff in blocks of text or in buried pages? No, you’re going to put the most important information in bold and on the front page where it’s easy to find and see. We all know the internet is about speed, so it’s vital visitors can tell who and what you’re about within seconds of landing on your site.

While most of us recognize that principle, there are still many who are missing the mark in regards to simplicity. If it takes more than a relevant image and a couple lines of text for visitors to get the gist of what your company does and why folks buy from you, then your message isn’t clear enough.

A Few Examples of Clear Homepage Messages:

In addition to keeping things simple and easy to comprehend, avoid using far-fetched or non-provable adjectives in your content, because, unless a customer is Buddy the Elf, he’s not going to believe you have the “world’s best” anything.

Avoid saying meaningless things like you’re the “greatest,” “fastest,” or have the “best customer service,” and instead give them a fact which distinguishes you from the competition. For instance a bakery might advertise “fresh bread baked daily,” or a plumber might say “always on time appointments.” Such things are concrete selling points that tell why the business is special.

Consider these two examples:

UnClear Message

When visiting the Six Flags website the first thing you see is a giant map of the U.S. which shows the parks’ various locations. Perhaps Six Flags thinks proximity is its top feature, but choosing the map as the focal point sends an unclear message about what people can expect from the park.

Instead of giving visitors an instant impression of the fun they can have, the map just lets people know how near or far they are from the park (which may be a deterrent for some). Meanwhile, all the images of guests enjoying themselves are small and less noticeable, and an explanation of what makes the park unique is decidedly absent.

Clear Message

On the other hand, Disney knows just how to tug at a person’s heartstrings. When you visit their Disney World site you’re immediately faced with large scrolling images of family fun and fantasy. Each alluring picture is accompanied with clear selling points, such as “Offer at Select Disney Resort Hotels – Save up to 30% – Get Details.” Even the headline “Dreams Come True at Magic Kingdom,” which may seem like  one of those unbelievable things we said not to use, actually works because Disney is in the business of making fantasies come alive.

Once you’ve come up with a clean, clear message for your home page, don’t stop there! Make all your pages just as intriguing and straightforward.

2. Visual Interest

Making sure people know what your site is about and convincing them it’s a place they want to be is only the first part of the battle. Next, you have to keep them there and push them ever further down the sales funnel. Again, don’t forget that consumers are making rapid, unconscious decisions about your site while trying to decide whether it’s worth their time. Having alluring pictures which depict things they want or want to be a part of is a great way to persuade them to continue investigating.

Take, for example, the Red Lobster website…

On the front page viewers see delectable food, a family sharing a meal together, and the promise of two entrees for $25. Who wouldn’t want to hop into that picture? With just one image Red Lobster has effectively connected with food lovers, those who are family oriented, and people wanting affordability. While trying to express all those things in words would take multiple paragraphs, with an image and a concise headline, it only takes a glance to understand the whole message.

Once you have an expressive image, don’t camouflage it by cluttering your page with a bunch of other unnecessary pictures, links, or ads. Even though you might think there are a ton of great things to say about your business, trying to say it all at once will only make your page look ugly and complicated. Instead, choose the most enticing thing about your business at the moment and use it as your main headline.

Keeping things minimal and organized will encourage visitors to hang around longer and increase the likelihood they’ll click to other pages in your site. Research by Google shows exactly what internet surfers prefer in websites: simplicity and familiar layouts. In other words, limit the amount of actions per page, avoid clutter, and stick with what people know.

3. Visual Hierarchy

Part of making things seem orderly is by using a visual hierarchy, so folks automatically zone in on the most significant thing on the page. If you already have clearly defined business goals then choosing how to rank your various page elements should be easy. Hierarchy can be made evident through the use of size, position, and color.

Make your primary image and/or message larger than everything else.

Having an easy to navigate header is important when maintaining the appropriate visual hierarchy. So many times businesses try to fit in everything they can think of into the navigation. When creating an informational or news site this may be appropriate, not so much for a small business website. Dropdowns are a great way in keeping the visuals clear and keeping the prospect focused.

Here’s an example of our website and what we want visitors to focus on in the header & pre header:

4. Keep People’s Attention

Okay, so you have a clear message, visual interest, and appropriate hierarchy, what else can do to keep people’s attention? Even though first impressions count for a lot, you need solid, interesting content to convince visitors to stick around, buy, and return.

Here’s a Near Perfect Site Highlighting Nearly Every Item Listed Above

5. One, Optimally Placed Action

You probably have more than one action you want visitors to take (e.g. subscribe, buy, sign up, etc.), and it’s completely fine to have multiple calls to action, just make sure there’s only one per page. This ensures all your efforts are directed at the same thing and, again, it keeps people from having to make too many decisions at once. Also, ensure your calls to action progress naturally through your pages. In other words, don’t ask potential customers to sign up or buy something if you haven’t fully explained what it is.

How to Do It:

Your call to action should stand out and be at a point where the visitor knows what they’re “getting into”.

How NOT to Do It:

Jenny Craig, for example, is bombarding us with too many calls to action at once and before we really know what the program is all about.

Should we “get the details,” “speak to a consultant,” “locate a center,” “register,” or follow one of the many other links on the page? If you’re like us, this page makes your head spin and leaves you wanting to get far, far away. It may seem logical to “cut to the chase,” but people are most likely to take action when their motivation is at the highest – not when they first get to your site.

Conclusion

Remember, as Bernays proved, emotion often trumps reason when it comes to making purchasing decisions. This means, even if your site makes perfect sense to you, if it doesn’t resonate with consumers then sales will suffer. First impressions are your best foothold into their hearts, so use striking images that reflect what they want, where they want to be, or what they value.

The post The Psychology of Persuasive Web Design appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.

As you’re considering whether a mobile site is right for you, keep in mind these five ways it can add value to your business.

1. Connects You with More Consumers

The “mobile ship” hasn’t just sailed – it sailed fully loaded with people still clamoring to get on board. Although mobile users don’t outnumber static users yet, it’s only a matter of time before they do, since mobile gadgets are often much more convenient to use than desktop computers. In fact, a Pew Internet study found that 55% of all U.S. adults use their cell phones to go online and 31% of those use their phones more than their desktop computers to access the net.* Furthermore, Technology Review says mobile devices are a trillion dollar business and are now outselling PCs.** These statistics and many more like them show that people still have a strong desire for smartphones and tablets and are increasingly turn to them when they want to get online.

What does this mean for your business? Well, if you only have a static site, it’s not too late to jump on board the mobile ship. Most websites that start offering a mobile option see an increase in revenue and conversions almost immediately. This is because a mobile site makes content that was previously difficult to find or read accessible and user-friendly to the ever-growing mobile audience. If you look closely at the Google Analytics for your static site, you may find hints of dissatisfaction from your own mobile visitors in the form of low engagement or minimal time on page. Just imagine what would happen if you gave these consumers a site that worked well with their device.

2. Keeps You on Par with Competition

In our private lives we tell ourselves we don’t need to keep up with the Joneses, shouldn’t follow our friends off a bridge, etc., but when it comes to business, you have to pay attention to what the competition is doing and try to keep up. Right now, there’s a pretty good chance at least some of your competition is already providing a mobile version of their site and therefore stands a better chance of attracting more consumers. Users become frustrated with poor online experiences and tend to think less of a brand if does not have a modern, easy to use mobile site. Obviously this is bad for business, so it’s imperative you stay on par with your competition or, even better, get ahead of the game and be the first in your industry to get the attention of mobile customers.

That said, don’t just try to simply match you rivals – make your site superior. Look around the net to get a sense of what the competition is doing and come up with ways you can make your site more attractive, faster, and easier to use. An experienced web designer can help tremendously in this area, and opting for a responsive web design makes things even simpler since it gives you a mobile site that automatically customizes to the device and screen size of every individual visitor.

3. The Costs are Reasonable

With responsive web design (RWD), even businesses with the smallest marketing budgets can afford a mobile site, since RWD makes it possible for you to have one site optimized for both mobile and static users. Essentially, for a single price you get a site that does double-duty and doesn’t require any additional maintenance.

Of course, having separate mobile and static sites is an option too, and, indeed, some mobile apps offer device-specific functionalities that you can’t get with a responsive site. However, for most small businesses, parting with a single advertising dollar is difficult and the long-term costs of managing two different sites is likely more than you want to take on. Furthermore, because responsive sites are adaptable to different gadgets, they are inherently future-friendly, which means you won’t have to revamp your entire site in a year or two.

That’s not to say you should think of RWD as the “budget” option as even big name companies like Microsoft, Disney, Time, Starbucks, and many more are using this flexible type of web design.

4. It’s Socially Responsible

Many businesses are providing high-quality mobile sites not only for the sake of profits but also because they want to make their site accessible to everyone – no matter the person’s economic status or physical impairments.

Internet access has become a necessity in today’s society, yet not everyone has equal opportunity to get online. For example, job applications, weather alerts, government forms, social networking, and more are all done online, yet many people do not have the money to pay for internet service. For others, their cell phone is their sole gateway to the internet, which means if website owners do not offer a quality mobile version of their pages then these folks are still out of the loop, so to speak, and akin to second class citizens.

Delivering sites that “are accessible to more people and more types of internet devices” is the goal of the Web Standards Project, and switching to a responsive site is a simple way to help them fulfill their mission and be a good citizen. Not only does a responsive site meet today’s mobile requirement, it doesn’t strip down the content for small-screen readers and instead provides the same information given to all yet in a more digestible layout.

5. Sets You on a Strong Path for the Future

The evolution of the web has been bumpy at times and especially so for web designers who’ve had to create sites in the midst of browser wars and battles between table-based layouts and flash. However, the transition to mobile gives web designers and businesses an opportunity to start fresh and include a bit of uniformity in the process. Responsive web design is particularly future-friendly because it’s not connected to any brand or platform, it’s intuitive, and the content is highly adaptable. Switching to something that works for everyone would give designers and businesses the chance to concentrate on improving and adding to their web properties instead of reworking the whole thing every year or two to keep up with changing preferences.

Although not everyone is using RWD for their mobile sites, it’s becoming increasingly popular as people recognize its benefits (even Google recommends it). And as more embrace this technology, it could quite possible become mainstream and be the primary way webpages are built. By getting on board now, you’re setting yourself on a bright course that undoubtedly has some exciting innovations ahead.

Even if you don’t opt for RWD, it’s vital you set up some type of mobile website and stop thinking of mobility as an add-on or an “option.” Like it or not, the internet now operates in a largely mobile world, and if you aren’t in that world then, for many consumers, you don’t exist. Obviously, switching to RWD or adding a mobile site costs more than doing nothing, but if you work with a professional design company, like Spark Logix Studios, who respects your budget and listens to your needs, then you can step into the mobile arena at a modest price, with the potential for business growth.

*http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Cell-Internet-Use-2012/Key-Findings/Overview.aspx

** http://www.technologyreview.com/news/511766/mobile-computing-is-just-getting-started/

*** http://www.webstandards.org/about/mission/

The post The Value of Building Your Website for Mobile appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.

In response to the social media boom, Google, Bing, and others are tweaking their algorithms to place more weight on social media interactions. After all, what greater way to deliver results searchers actually like than by taking cues from real humans.

What does this mean for businesses? Basically, social media is now playing a huge role in search rankings, and businesses with the most social authority are rising in the listings.

Welcome to the World of Social SEO

For search engines, social interactions are like the fruit in the organic section of the grocery store – all natural with no artificial ingredients meant to make them look better than they really are. In other words, it’s pretty hard to fake legitimate social engagement, so, for instance, when Google sees that a webpage has been shared 10,000 times, it can pretty much guarantee the page is the real deal.

Even so, as business people and SEO buffs, we’re not going to standby and leave everything to chance. There are some ways to optimize social activities to get more attention from both humans and search engines. These tactics are all part of the relatively new realm of social SEO.

Things you can do:

Brand Your Posts

By using your brand name in posts, Google can more easily associate your name with your chosen keywords. This will make it easier for search engines and users to know what you’re about, and it allows you to promote your actual business name instead of an individual’s social profile.

Choose Relevant Communities

There are hundreds of social media sites out there, and they all have their own vibe and general interests. If your brand doesn’t fit in with the community, don’t try to force it on them – there are plenty of other networks to choose from. Instead, join sites where members are truly interested in your products or services and where others in your industry hang out.

Have Link to Social Accounts on Business Webpage

When you place your social links directly on your website homepage, Googlebots can readily see that those particular profiles belong to your company. Being able to connect your entire web presence strengthens your credibility and gives more keyword power to both your social and website pages.

Join Google+

It’s true, Google is still struggling to get consumers to join its social network, but businesses that join Google+ are getting awesome paybacks in the forms of greater exposure and improvements in local search rankings. Whether you attract a lot of visitors to these pages or not, just being a member can help your SEO.

Set up Author Tags

Google has a relatively new feature that lets online writers link their author information next to everything they create. Once set up, your picture will appear in search listings beside all your articles, blog postings, etc. Additionally, users can easily click on your name to access your Google+ page and discover more of your content. Having all your publications connected can give you greater SEO influence.

Tweet for Faster Indexing

Twitter’s millions of members and powerful status means it gets indexed way faster than your lowly (comparatively speaking) business blog. However, you can ride on Twitter’s coattails by posting urgent messages or links to other content directly in your tweets. Like everything on the social network, they will get indexed right away.

More is Better

While you always want to have quality followers, social media is never a case of ‘less is more.’ It’s always about getting additional followers, likes, shares, comments, backlinks, retweets, etc. So, always keep pushing and reaching out to new people, because the more you have the better you will rank.

Make Videos and Images Your Best Friend

Currently internet users are very image-centric, which is reflected in the popularity of sites like Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube, and The Chive. Sometimes looking at pictures is just easier than reading, and they certainly have the ability to deliver a message much faster than words alone. Quite simply, if you want to get people’s attention, put interesting images in all your posts. Not to mention, YouTube is the second largest search engine, so if you haven’t yet created a YouTube channel, then you are missing out on a wealth of SEO opportunities as well as the chance to connect with folks in their medium of choice.

Make it Nearly Impossible for People Not to Share Your Stuff

When someone reads a fascinating article, has a belly laugh over a picture, or discovers a load of helpful facts in an infograph, he can’t help but share it with someone else – it’s like people have some kind of innate desire to show off what they’ve found. If you can provide such sharable content, you’re stuff will spread like wildfire, and your site will soar to the top of the rankings.

Stay Committed

Getting significant results in social media takes time, but stick with it and the payoff will come. If things are slow-going, don’t slack off and start posting sporadically or you’ll lose followers and things will only get worse. Post regularly, post smart, and Google and visitors will soon find value in your content.

Have any other Social SEO strategies? Share your ideas below.

The post Best Ways to Take Advantage of Social SEO appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.

What are they?

Local business listings, or business citations, are mentions of your business anywhere on the web — other than your own website. These “mentions” consist of your basic business information, such as your name, address, phone number, and they may or may not include a link. Citations are commonly found on sites like Superpages.com, Merchant Circle, and Google Places, but they can come from all sorts of other sites as well.

Why doesn’t the information on your own website count as a listing, you may ask? Quite simply, Google and other search engines need outside sources to verify the details on your site are correct and you’re indeed a real business. Also, Google uses the amount and quality of your citations as factors in its ranking algorithms, so again, it needs other websites to attest to your value.

Why do you need it?

When it comes down to it, having the ability to connect with more customers is the main reason you need local business listings. Citations connect you with people in several ways, such as:

Helps You Rank Higher in Search Engine Results.

Assuming all other variables are equal, your local business can outrank the competition by having more citations. Of course nothing’s quite so cut-and-dry with SEO, which means you also have to pay attention to other things like the quality of your citations (not just quantity). It is best to have citations from respected, well-indexed cites like Superpages.com or Merchant Circle, since such sites have more authority to convince search engines you’re a legitimate business.

Creates More Opportunities for People to Find You.

The more your information is out there, the easier it is for folks to find you (makes sense right?) So, even if a searcher doesn’t stumble on your website directly, they may find your listing somewhere else and become interested in your brand.

They’re the Modern Day Telephone Book.

We hate to consider it, but let’s say your business doesn’t have a website. You still need to have some sort of online presence, as the internet has become people’s go-to source for finding business contact info. Just think, when’s the last time you picked up the phone book? If you’re like most, probably not lately. Therefore, at the very least, business listings make it possible for consumers to know your business exists and how to get in touch with it.

How to get started with business listings?

Set up Your Google Places Page Completely and Accurately

If you’ve searched for any products or business on Google lately, you might have noticed Google Places listings take up a good portion of the screen. Naturally, searchers are more likely to click on an item that’s front and center, which means you can significantly increase your chances of getting noticed just by setting up your Google Places page. Just make sure to fill it out with up-to-date information (should be what’s on your website), and complete every available field, including category, pictures, video, description, etc. Once that’s done, you’re ready to start building more citations.

Secure Listings in Relevant Directories

Online directories make it easy for searchers to find businesses quickly as well as get extra information like reviews or maps. Directories are a great place to secure listings, which will help your SEO and provide another way for people to find you. There are hundreds of directories, so start by registering for a few that best suit your products or services. Some of the most popular ones are:

• Yelp
• City Search
• Superpages
• Urban Spoon
• Open Table
• Yahoo Local
• Yellow Pages
• Trip Advisor
• Merchant circle

Submit Info to Local Directories and Newspapers

Consumers especially trust listings they see in local directories, such as a chamber of commerce site or the online version of their hometown newspaper. Such citations have a way of seeming more “real,” because they are from sources people recognize and can actually visit. So, register your business with as many local-specific directories in your area as possible, and take the time to submit all your business’ events to your newspaper’s calendar listing, complete with your business name and contact info.

See What the Competition is Doing

It’s important to know where your competition is listed, and assuming they’re on credible sites, you should consider adding your own listing in any directory on which they appear. You can discover their listings by searching for their name along with any combination of their phone number, address, or city. Try experimenting with different searches to discover more citations.

Include Contact Details on Social Media Pages

Both Google+ and Facebook have integrated search with local, personalized results, and all search engines use social activity as a weight in their ranking algorithm. With such a huge emphasis on social media, it’s vital you display your contact details on all your social sites (Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, etc.) and, just as you did on Google Places, completely fill out your profile information.

Contact Local Bloggers and Websites

Local bloggers are known for keeping mini “directories” of their own where they list recommended local businesses. Contact some of the more frequented blogs and see what you can do to get a citation on their page. Additionally, connect with other small businesses related to your industry, but not in direct competition, and see if they are interested in adding a listing for your business somewhere on their site. Of course you should reciprocate, so you both get something out of the deal. There are also some national blogs, such as The Knot, The Business Journals, and GalTime, which accept info from relevant outside brands in an effort to provide lists of helpful businesses to their local readers.

When setting up your listings, pay special attention that you use the same exact information on every citation. Having mismatched phone numbers or addresses will only confuse search engines and human searchers and reduce your overall success. Once you get significant numbers of listings you may find that a web listing manager tool will make it easier to keep track of all your citations.

There are many more places to secure local business listings, but use the six suggestions above as a launching point. No doubt you’ll discover more opportunities along the way, yet these alone will make a huge difference in where you appear in search rankings and how easily people find your business.

The post The Power of Local Business Listings appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.

Here are the top three reasons why we like it:

1. Matches WordPress’ User Interface

As mentioned, Woocommerce works flawlessly with WordPress, but what’s even better is it was designed specifically for the CMS’ functionalities, so all of the UI matches what you’re used to seeing on WordPress and is comfortable to use. This instant familiarity makes for a very short learning curve, enabling you to get things up and running quickly.

Here is a screenshot of the user interface for adding a new product:

2. Completely Customizable

There’s virtually no part of the sales process you can’t tweak to your liking. You choose how your product content appears, configure tax and shipping settings to your needs, select how to accept payments, customize email notifications, and much more. You can even designate whether products are physical or digital, and the application will know whether to arrange traditional shipment or initiate a digital download.

3. Detailed Analytics

To have a successful online store you must carefully monitor everything that’s going on with your business. Woocommerce makes this easy by providing detailed reports that give you overall performance data as well as more specific information, such as daily sales, monthly sales, top sells, top earners, and stock. There are even widgets that make it possible for you to keep track of certain elements right from your WordPress dashboard.

In addition to the perks above, Woocommerce solidly delivers all the standard features you’d expect from an eCommerce tool, such as multiple shipping and tax options, customer accounts, coupons, and advertisements.

Extras

The basic WooCommmerce plugin is completely free; however, if you want to add more features to your particular store, you can purchase and download one or more of the various “extensions” on the WooThemes website. There are a few free extensions while the others range in price from around $30 to $100. Some of the most notable extensions are:

• Dynamic Pricing – Allows you to set up four different types of bulk discounts.
• Gravity Forms Add-on - Enables advanced product configuration forms to give you more control over how prices display and calculate.
• Per Product Shipping - With Per Product Shipping you can designate separate shipping costs for individual items in an order (useful for one-time sells and heavy or large items).
• Table Rate Shipping – This extension adds more options to what comes standard with WooCommerce. Customize rates by location, price, weight, and item count.

How to Get Started

You can download and install the WooCommerce plugin just as you would any other WordPress plugin. Once the plugin is activated, you’ll see two new menus (“WooCommerce” and “Products”) in the navigation menu on your dashboard. Click on the “WooCommerce” menu to get started.

Within WooCommerce, you’ll see four other categories: Settings, Reports, Orders, and Coupons. Simply click on each category and work your way through the tabs listed at the top of the page to configure your shop. One thing you’ll immediately notice is the layout and tabs look and navigate just like any other page in WordPress, so if you’re familiar with WordPress you shouldn’t have any problems setting up your store.

Once you’ve worked through all the pages under WooCommerce, it is time to add your products by clicking on the “Products” menu. Under Products you’ll see additional categories, including Products, Add Product, Product Categories, Tags, Shipping Classes, and Attributes. To add your first item, just click the “Add Product” category.

Again, you’ll see the page looks very familiar, as it resembles an ordinary WordPress Post or Page edit screen. So, adding your products should feel quite natural, but make sure to pay attention to the “Product Type” dropdown menu where you can specify whether your product is simple, grouped, external/affiliate, or variable.

Conclusion

Ecommerce is big business (around $200 billion in the U.S. alone), but to get a piece of the action you need an online store that is easy for you to manage and instills confidence in your customers. Otherwise, consumers will merely click away to a competitor’s store where shopping is simple and fast. And the best way to provide such a site is through a smart eCommerce application where everything you need is built in. Although there are other great eCommerce solutions out there (like Magento, which we also recommend), WooCommerce is a great choice for businesses wanting a free tool with comprehensive features that work brilliantly with WordPress.

The post WooCommerce as an eCommerce Choice appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.

Hold on… What is Graph Search?

We’ve explained Graph Search in an earlier post, but if you’re unfamiliar, basically it allows Facebook members to use the social network like a search engine to find things based on their friends’ preferences. So, no matter what a user is searching for, the “likes,” comments, etc. of their Facebook connections will influence the results. The purpose of graph search is to use recommendations from friends to give people hyper-relevant search results. For businesses, this means you won’t have to wait for your current followers to share your brand with a friend, as more consumers may naturally find your page through a search.

Although, Graph Search is still in beta, you should prepare your page now. That way, you can meet the needs of the early adopters while continuing to optimize your page for the masses.

Here’s what you can do to get ready:

Sign up for the waiting list

As mentioned, Graph Search is still in beta and Facebook is rolling it out gradually. They are requiring everyone to sign up for the waiting list, and they will alert you when you can start using the feature (usually takes a few days or less).

Add keywords

Essentially, Facebook is behaving like a search engine, and as with any search engine, keywords play a pivotal part. Searchers will use them to find what they’re looking for, and you need to ensure the right words appear on your page so Facebook and searchers know your page is a good match.

As always, use keywords which relate to your business and that people might use in a search query. Consider including these words and phrases in your description and about sections, sprinkled in your content, in your tags, comments, and more. Just don’t go overboard or your page will look spammy.

Check your category

When you first signed up for your business page, you were asked to choose a category for your business. You may not have thought too much of it at the time, but now it’s more important than ever to label your brand correctly. You’ll have a hard time connecting with your target audience if you’re hiding out under a non-specific category. So, go back and look at the category options and choose the one that best fits your business.

Update your location

While checking your category, make sure your location information is also up-to-date, as you may have moved since you first set up your page, or you may have overlooked this step altogether. It’s vital your location is accurate if you plan on implementing any check-in services, and because Facebook is more likely to recommend businesses in a searcher’s proximity.

Totally complete your “About” section

There’s perhaps no bigger Facebook faux pas for a business than not filling out your “About” section. This is your spot to tell potential customers exactly what you’re about, complete with a description, business hours, and a link to your website. Don’t let people click here and find nothing — if newcomers can’t immediately determine who you are, they may click away and never come back.

Grow your connections

Business have always used acquiring followers and “likes” as a marketing strategy, but Graph Search makes it even more important to not just amass followers but relevant followers. In other words, if search listings are based on the interactions of people’s friends, you’ll want to attract users who actually appreciate your brand and will engage with your page, as this shows they really do enjoy your products or services. Gone are the days (if they were ever in) of collecting tons of random followers who never actually visit your page; you need folks who will “like” your content, check-in at your location, make comments, upload pictures, and more.

Engage them

Of course, if you want people to interact with your page, you have to engage them. This means, having interesting or entertaining content and getting them involved with contests, surveys, questions, and any other ways you can think of to encourage visitor participation.

Optimize your photos

A photo can make your listing stand out from others and a great photo can convince consumers to click on your page. With that in mind, go back and review the images on your fan page. Are they labeled? Do they show your business in the best light? If not, modify the pictures or upload some new ones.

Conclusion

The good news is, if you were already concentrating on attracting targeted fans and providing quality, engaging content, you won’t need to do much extra work. Simply double check that all your set up information is complete, add some keywords, and you are done. On the other hand, if your business page is lacking, use the launch of Graph Search as motivation to bring it to its full potential. You definitely won’t want to miss out on the greater exposure this new feature could bring your brand.

The post Prepping Your Business Page for Facebook’s Graph Search appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.

But, before making any predictions on who will win the battle for local search, take a look at what both companies are bringing to the table.

Google

Google is Google. Truthfully we don’t need to say much more than that. Google is synonymous with online search, it’s a household name, it answers over one billion questions per day. In other words, it’s going to be extremely difficult for any search engine to undermine a company with such a massive foothold in the industry.

Additionally, Google is already offering great local search results that are ranked based on Google Places info, various review sites, citations, local media, and users’ interactions on the social network Google+. Overall, it’s a good system with wide-ranging resources and continues to improve as the search engine makes relevant local results an ever-increasing priority.

The only real downside of searching locally on Google is users are mostly getting recommendations from people they don’t know. Even if they’re searching exclusively In Google+, the network doesn’t have quite the social reach as Facebook, which can make it hard to find reviews or likes from real friends (the people consumers trust most). Also, search results can be overly skewed in a business’ favor through savvy SEO or even fake reviews.

Graph Search

While Google search results are based on behaviors and connections between people and websites all over the net, Facebook’s Graph Search makes things much more personal by first and foremost considering your friends’ online behavior — it only takes into account the larger Facebook community when it can’t find any data within your own groups. This means you can get recommendations from your most trusted advisors with only a few keystrokes.

If you’re unfamiliar with Graph Search, basically it works by keeping track of (graphing) behaviors for every Facebook user. For instance, if you “like” a store or “check in” at a restaurant it graphs these exchanges and uses them later to help your friends make decisions. So, for example, if one of your friends asks Graph Search, “What pizza restaurants do my friends like in Chicago,” any restaurant you’ve given a thumbs up or are a fan of will show up in their search results. Notice the phrasing of queries in Graph Search is much more personal and specific too. On Google you’d search something like “Pizza restaurants in Chicago,” which just seems a little cold and impersonal compared to the Graph Search query.

Also, because the bulk of your results are coming from people you know directly, it’s much harder to get duped on Graph Search than on Google where info is coming from all types of sources. And if you repeatedly get bad advice from a particular friend, just as in real life, you simply quit listening to their opinions.

Ultimately, the main difference between the two search engines is Graph Search’s data revolves around the small, yet personal Facebook community while Google bases search results on information gleaned throughout the entire web.

Graph Search’s Challenges

Arguably, most people would rather get highly relevant recommendations from people they know and trust, which gives Graph Search some major potential to dominate the local search competition. However, in addition to taking on the Google giant, Facebook has some other issues to surmount, namely:

• Changing online search behavior:  Facebook isn’t normally folks’ go-to source when making online queries, which means somehow Facebook must break people’s habit of automatically turning to traditional search engines. History has shown that changing consumer behavior is a major undertaking — can Facebook do it?

• Stale information:  People’s “likes” change and businesses close, yet the chances of one of your friends going back to “unlike” a product or of closed business taking the time to shut down its page are probably slim. Thus, at the moment anyway, it seems Facebook doesn’t have a clear way of weeding out stale information. On the other hand, since Google bases its search results on a variety of factors, including regular activity, it is more adept at providing current data.

What Should Businesses Do?

As a business owner, it’s best to hedge your bets by optimizing your web properties for both Google and Graph Search users. Even if Graph Search doesn’t skyrocket it’s still an improvement over Facebook’s previous search tool and undoubtedly more people will use it than before. To make sure your business’ Facebook page is ready for Graph Searchers, do the following:

• Completely fill out profile - This includes page name, web address, category, and About section (a great place for your website URL).
• Add location - If you’re a local business, make sure your physical address is listed and current.

• Add content regularly - People can only find what you offer, so increase your chances of showing up in search results by regularly adding photos, videos, and more.
• Attract the right people - You might have thousands of followers, but if they are from random places all over the world then they aren’t going to help you much in regards to local search. Try to attract people within your own city and keep them engaged so they are motivated to “like” and interact with your page.

The Future of Local Search

Graph search is still in beta, so some of its issues could be resolved in the near future, but overall, the idea is a smart one that could ultimately change the way people search by putting much more power in the hands of individuals. With it, users aren’t bogged down with anything irrelevant — they ask very specifically what they want and get results from only those they trust (quite an efficient system). And the more Facebook members use it the better it will be, as the search engine will have more and more information to draw on. Still, the major question is will people use it?

What do you think? Can Facebook put a major dent in Google’s local search traffic?

The post Facebook vs. Google: The Fight for Local Search appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.

One of the first questions developers face when setting up eCommerce solutions for clients is deciding on the best way to incorporate credit card payments. And while there are several services out there that can make it possible, at Spark Logix we find Stripe very impressive.

What is Stripe?

Stripe began after its owners noticed that most online credit card services had unnecessarily long setup processes, cumbersome interface, and generally made checkout processes way more difficult than they needed to be (a definite hurdle for online businesses struggling for success). So, to solve the problem they invented their own service, which instead of redirecting users or requiring credit card data to travel from your server to theirs, uses a streamlined platform that, thanks to some handy javascript, avoids PCI requirements and doesn’t use any redirects — keeping users totally on the business’ branded page.

Stripe’s Benefits

As mentioned, the biggest advantage stripe has over similar services is it’s incredibly easy to use and everything is built-in, including card storage, subscriptions, and bank payouts.

Other benefits of Stripe are:

 With Stripe.js you can make your own payment forms and still avoid PCI requirements.

 Has an interface that stays in the background and doesn’t interfere with the brand or product. (wrappers with Ruby, Python, PHP, and others).

 Awesome customer service, complete with a chatroom full of Stripe team members.

Can increase conversions — Some customers get confused when PayPal-esque pages pop up asking for credit card info.

 Allows subscriptions, card storage, and more.

 Clean dashboard — Developers and merchants can use the dashboard to track payments, coupons, and more.

Disadvantages?

The only apparent disadvantage is Stripe’s rate, which is a little more expensive than some other services. That said, usually their service still ends up costing less overall (even for large volume sellers) when you take into account they don’t charge extra for refunds or declined transactions.

Also, currently, stripe isn’t available to developers outside the U.S.; although sellers can accept cards from outside the U.S.

Bottom line

Essentially, Stripe offers you a credit card service that behaves like you always wanted. No longer do you have to waste time setting up a merchant account and using a customer-confusing “payment gateway,” but instead can have everything up and running in five minutes or less. Not to mention, you won’t have to worry about monthly fees, setup fees, annual fees, transaction fees, etc, etc. It’s simple, intuitive, and comes with a super-friendly staff to boot.

The post Why Use Stripe – Easier for Developers and YOU! appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.

What is it?

Graph Search allows you to search for very specific things within your own social connections (a.k.a graph) as well as group your friends by shared likes or other similarities. For instance, if you want to search the network to find all your friends who live in New York, you could simply enter something like “my friends who live in New York” into the Graph Search box. Or, you could get more specific by entering “my friends who live in New York who like the Yankees.”

Once you get the results, you can give the results page your own title to “create your own custom view of the content you and your friends have shared on Facebook.”

Why is it special

Unlike web search, you can ask Graph Search questions in plain English, just as would speak in real life. So, instead of simply entering in a key word and getting very broad feedback, you can combine phrases to get more relevant results from the people, places, photos, and other content that’s been shared on Facebook.

Of course, all results are unique and intended to be highly relevant since they are based on the user’s own relationships and connections.

Also, Facebook managers emphasized their privacy policy still prevails, so if something was private before it still is — nothing’s changed in that regard.

They said, “We’ve built Graph Search from the start with privacy in mind, and it respects the privacy and audience of each piece of content on Facebook. It makes finding new things much easier, but you can only see what you could already view elsewhere on Facebook.”

Marketing potential?

Of course, this update sounds all well and good for consumers, but does it have any marketing potential?

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is the quick access it gives users to products, services, and establishments their friends Like. For instance, someone need only search “restaurants nearby my friends like” to get a list of “pre-approved” places to eat, and the same principle can work for products or services. This gives businesses with a strong Facebook presence even more opportunities to connect with interested customers.

What’s more, users can use Graph Search to find businesses that were given a thumbs-up from friends (or friends of friends), which gives small and local businesses a chance to standout.

When’s it available?

Graph search launched today with limited availability. For now, it focuses on only four categories: people, photos, places, and interests. If you’re interested, you can sign-up for the waitlist, although Facebook has said the roll out will be slow so they can “see how people use Graph Search and make improvements.”

Facebook also stressed they are still very early in development and, as of now, it’s only available in English.

What’s your opinion — exciting change or no big deal?

*http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelhumphrey/2012/04/12/facebook-joins-the-uncool-say-reports-why-thats-cool/

The post Facebook Introduces Graph Search appeared first on Spark Logix Studios.