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Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions

Spokane Web Design Tips

Posted on by Incyte Media

Web Design Spokane: Unlocking the Secrets to Superior Online Presence

 

In today’s digital age, having a captivating and user-friendly website is paramount for businesses striving to succeed in the online realm. As a leading web design company, we understand the significance of a well-crafted website that not only attracts visitors but also converts them into loyal customers. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the world of web design and reveal the secrets to outranking your competitors in the highly competitive Spokane market.

Understanding the Importance of Web Design

A website serves as the virtual storefront for your business, making a lasting impression on your potential customers. It is crucial to invest in professional web design to establish credibility, enhance user experience, and showcase your brand identity effectively. The aesthetics, functionality, and usability of your website play a vital role in attracting and retaining visitors.

Craft Engaging and User-Centric Content

Compelling content is the backbone of any successful website. By providing informative, well-written, and keyword-rich content, you can captivate your audience and improve your search engine rankings. Conduct thorough research on relevant keywords and integrate them naturally into your content to ensure maximum visibility in search engine results.

Responsive Design for Seamless User Experience

With the rapid increase in mobile device usage, having a responsive website design has become essential. A responsive design adapts seamlessly to various screen sizes and resolutions, providing an optimal viewing experience across all devices. By embracing responsive design, you not only improve user experience but also gain favor with search engines, as they prioritize mobile-friendly websites.

Optimize Website Speed and Performance

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, users expect instant results. Slow-loading websites not only frustrate visitors but also lead to high bounce rates and poor search engine rankings. Optimize your website’s speed and performance by compressing images, minifying CSS and JavaScript files, leveraging browser caching, and using content delivery networks (CDNs). These practices will significantly enhance user experience and boost your search engine rankings.

Intuitive Navigation for Seamless Exploration

A well-structured and intuitive website navigation system ensures that visitors can effortlessly explore your site and find the information they seek. Use logical categorization, hierarchical menus, and internal linking to guide users through your website’s pages. Incorporate a search function to facilitate quick access to specific content, further enhancing user experience and encouraging longer on-site engagement.

High-Quality Visuals for Visual Impact

Visual elements such as images, videos, and infographics are powerful tools that can elevate your website’s visual appeal. Implement high-quality visuals that align with your brand identity and resonate with your target audience. Optimize images by compressing them without compromising quality, use descriptive alt tags, and ensure videos are properly embedded and optimized for quick loading.

Establish Trust with Testimonials and Social Proof

Building trust is crucial for converting visitors into customers. Include testimonials, reviews, case studies, and client logos on your website to showcase social proof and establish credibility. Highlighting positive experiences and success stories will instill confidence in potential customers and differentiate your business from competitors.

Implement On-Page SEO Techniques

Effective on-page optimization is vital for improving your website’s visibility in search engine rankings. Incorporate relevant keywords in title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and content, while maintaining a natural flow. Ensure your website’s URL structure is user-friendly and descriptive. Additionally, optimize images with alt tags, implement schema markup, and focus on creating unique and engaging meta titles and descriptions for each page.

Leverage Local SEO Strategies

To outrank your competitors in the Spokane area, leverage local SEO strategies. Create a Google My Business profile, ensuring all business information is accurate and up to date. Optimize your website for local keywords and include location

Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions

Making a killer website in the outdoors Industry

Posted on by Incyte Media

 

 

Websites for the Outdoors Industry

The outdoors industry is a vast and diverse industry that covers everything from camping and hiking to hunting and fishing. A successful website in the outdoors industry needs to offer value to its audience, provide engaging content, and create a sense of community among its visitors. Here are some key factors that make a website successful in the outdoors industry.

High-quality content

Content is king, and a website in the outdoors industry needs to offer high-quality content that is informative, engaging, and visually appealing. This can include articles, videos, photos, and other multimedia content that offers value to the audience. The content should be informative, educational, and inspiring, helping visitors learn new skills, find new destinations, and connect with others who share their passion for the outdoors.

Easy navigation

A successful website in the outdoors industry should be easy to navigate, with a clear menu structure that makes it easy for visitors to find what they are looking for. A well-organized website will also help search engines index your site more effectively, making it easier for people to find your content online.

 

Mobile-friendly design

With more people accessing the internet on mobile devices, it is critical to have a mobile-friendly design that allows visitors to access your content on the go. A responsive design that adjusts to the size of the user’s screen will help ensure that your website is accessible to all users, regardless of the device they are using.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical for any website that wants to attract organic traffic from search engines like Google. By optimizing your content for relevant keywords and building high-quality backlinks, you can improve your visibility in search results and attract more visitors to your site.

Social media integration

Social media is a powerful tool for building brand awareness, driving traffic to your website, and engaging with your audience. A successful website in the outdoors industry should have social media integration, allowing visitors to easily share your content on their social media profiles and follow your brand on social media.

Community building

The outdoors industry is all about community, and a successful website should foster a sense of community among its visitors. This can include features like forums, user-generated content, and social media engagement, all of which can help visitors connect with one another and share their experiences.

E-commerce capabilities

Many websites in the outdoors industry sell products or services, and having e-commerce capabilities is critical for success. A well-designed online store that is easy to navigate and offers a seamless checkout process will help ensure that visitors can easily purchase your products and services.

Brand identity

A successful website in the outdoors industry should have a strong brand identity that resonates with its audience. This can include a memorable logo, consistent branding across all channels, and a unique voice that sets your website apart from the competition.

That is a lot of info, but just remember that a successful website in the outdoors industry needs to offer value to its audience, provide engaging content, and create a sense of community among its visitors. By focusing on high-quality content, easy navigation, mobile-friendly design, SEO, social media integration, community building, e-commerce capabilities, and brand identity, you can create a website that attracts visitors, engages them, and inspires them to get outside and explore the great outdoors.

SEO, Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions

Local SEO and why it is important

Posted on by Incyte Media

Local SEO for Spokane and Beyond

Local SEO, or local search engine optimization, is a crucial component of any successful digital marketing strategy for local businesses. It is the process of optimizing your website and online presence to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for location-based queries. By implementing local SEO tactics, local businesses can increase their online visibility, attract more relevant traffic to their website, and ultimately drive more foot traffic to their physical location. In this blog post, we will explore the fundamentals of local SEO and how to implement it for your local business.

  1. Optimize your Google My Business profile

Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool offered by Google that allows local businesses to manage their online presence across Google’s properties, including Google Maps and Google Search. Having a well-optimized GMB profile is critical for local SEO success. It is the first thing that appears in search results when someone searches for your business or a relevant keyword in your industry. Ensure that your profile is complete, accurate, and up-to-date, including your business name, address, phone number (NAP), business hours, website URL, and business description. You can also add photos, videos, and customer reviews to your GMB profile, which can help improve your visibility and credibility.

  1. Implement local keyword research

Keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEO strategy. For local SEO, you need to focus on location-based keywords that your target audience is using to find businesses like yours. For example, if you run a coffee shop in Los Angeles, you might target keywords like “coffee shops in Los Angeles,” “best coffee in LA,” or “coffee near me.” Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to identify relevant keywords and search volumes. Optimize your website content, meta tags, and GMB profile with these keywords to improve your visibility in search results.

  1. Build local citations

A citation is a mention of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites or directories. Citations are an essential component of local SEO as they help Google and other search engines verify the accuracy and legitimacy of your business information. Build local citations by listing your business in online directories, such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, TripAdvisor, or local chamber of commerce websites. Ensure that your NAP is consistent across all citations and your website.

 

 

  1. Get listed on local business directories

Local business directories are websites that feature local businesses, services, or products in a specific location. Getting listed on these directories can help improve your online visibility and drive more traffic to your website. Some popular local business directories include Angie’s List, Local.com, Citysearch, and Foursquare. Ensure that your business is listed in relevant directories and that your NAP and business description are accurate and up-to-date.

  1. Encourage customer reviews

Online reviews are an essential part of local SEO and can have a significant impact on your online reputation and visibility. Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your GMB profile, Yelp, Facebook, or other relevant review sites. Positive reviews can improve your rankings and credibility, while negative reviews can harm your reputation. Monitor and respond to all reviews, thanking customers for positive feedback and addressing any negative reviews or complaints.

  1. Use schema markup

Schema markup is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand the content of your website better. For local SEO, you can use schema markup to highlight your business information, such as your NAP, business hours, customer reviews, and more. By using schema markup, you can improve your chances of appearing in Google’s local search results and featured snippets.

 

If you need help with any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact us and set up and appointment to see how we can help your business increase it’s local visibility.

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Blog, SEO, Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions

Website Design. Is it art or is it science?

Posted on by Incyte Media
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Most client engagements start one of two ways. Either a client needs a brand new website or they have website that just does not seem to be performing to expectations. For many people this is intended to be a very transactional conversation that goes something like this:

Customer: I need a new website, how much will it cost?

Me: What kind of a website?

Customer: Well, I am not sure, you are the professional, but I am gathering quotes so I can make a decision. What do you think it would cost?

Me:???

Clearly, we can provide a quote based upon simple metrics such as how many pages do you think you want? or How fast do you want it?. Even so, it does not get to the root of the question. WHY do you want a website? In most cases, what people are saying is that they want to grow their business, The assumption is then that a new website will do the trick. So in essence, what they are asking is “how much will it cost for me to grow my business?”. This is where many people get it wrong. Both web developers and customers alike are focused on the “what” rather than the “why”. After all, there are MANY (maybe most) people who have websites and it is not growing their business. In fact, I would estimate that if it is buried on the 5th page of Google it is not even being seen! Not a great way to grow your business, regardless of your website’s age.

When the conversation above starts, I try to redirect it away from that what, to the why.

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We need legitimacy

Some customers just need a place on the web to send people that creates legitimacy. It is the more recent version of “hanging your shingle”. You just began your business and want to look to the outside like you are established and have been around for awhile. Often Lawyers, Accountants and other service providers trend towards these types of sites.

We want online sales

Other customers are have a great product or service and want to share it with the world. Whether they are selling an online subscription or a new widget, they see the internet as the ideal way to reach a whole new market that is not in their back yard. In many ways they are right. However, unless people can find their product, they are unfortunately not going to sell much,

We Need Leads

The last bucket of customers generally are folks that really want (or need) to grow their business. The assumption is that a new website or a replacement website will be a big boost in that effort. Good News: IT CAN HAPPEN!  Bad News: It does not happen on its own. Businesses can have the most current, flashy and beautiful website but still have no leads. How can this be? Well, unfortunately, while Google cares a bit about your site, they really want to see two important things.

1: Do you have the basics set up to optimize your site for their search engine (Think SEO).

2: Is your content relevant, current and trustworthy.

Sadly, many developers miss out on the first point and most customers miss out on the second. Websites are often not set up to be successful (even if they are beautiful). They are then not updated and kept current and interesting.

Field of Dreams was a great movie. But “build it and they will come” is dead. Your website and online marketing need regular attention both technically and from a content perspective. These are the perfect balance of art and science that capture both customers (and Google’s) attention.

Stay tuned to future posts for tips on making your site a business growth engine or Contact Us and we will be more than happy to discuss how we can help kick things into high gear,

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Blog, Just Thoughts..., SEO, Social Media, Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions

My website is done. Right?

Posted on by Incyte Media

As a company that focuses on WordPress websites, customers frequently ask us when their website will be “done”, and for good reason. It is in many cases the manifestation of their dream. It could be the public face of their small business, their personal blog or even the online shop that they are going to retire on. We work on deadlines and do our best to make sure that by the launch date, their new site is as close as possible to the vision that they had in their head. But does that mean that their website development is done? Unfortunately, the answer is usually no.

People have websites for a variety of reasons. You want to look legitimate and current in your field. Maybe you are selling things or even trying to drive leads. Yet in most cases, regardless of the reason for your website, you are only effective at your goals if you are getting visitors or “traffic”. So the BIG question is, how do you get those coveted visitors to drop into your “sales funnel”? CONTENT! While your initial design is done, and it is fresh for a moment, it is critical to regularly update your site with fresh content related to your particular niche. We work with WordPress on a daily basis  as our website platform of choice and it provides very simple ways for even the most novice website owners to create new content and share it with the world on directly on your site and on social media with tools like the Sumo platform .In addition, there are free tools such as the Yoast plugin that let you see how your content is faring in the SEO world. You can adjust the way Google sees your site, research key words and even see when you have a problem.

The truth is that your site is never REALLY done. Whether you are generating content, making changes to your design or just doing everyday plugin and theme updates for security and performance. There is always something that can (or should) be done. The good news is that most of these things YOU can do yourself and if your site is on WordPress, there are many great members of the WordPress community creating great tools to put that power in your hand. However, we know how it is, sometimes life (or actually running your business) gets in the way and you need a hand. This is where we suggest you find a solid partner who can help you out with some of the ongoing tasks required to both maintain and improve your website and the way people view your business online.

Unfortunately, many website owners have no idea who to call when they have a problem. Whether they need to change some content, their site has been hacked or they just feel like it is not doing what they intended. They email the guy they hired online for help and it bounces, or the kid next door that used to help out went to college and they are stuck in a bind. We hear this story on a daily basis. Good News! We do not want you to feel alone. We can not solve all your problems, but when it comes to WordPress Development, Hosting (with our amazing partner WPEngine) and Maintenance we have you covered. We even have partners that help with things like SEO optimization, content writing and social media advertising. We might not be able to solve all your problems, but we will be glad to pass you on to someone who can. Just drop us a line, we would love to chat and see if we can help keep your online investment in tip-top shape, even though we both know that the process will never be truly “finished.”

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Blog, Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions, Web Site Development Portfolio

WordPress is great, relationships are better.

Posted on by Incyte Media

When Incyte Media was formed, it was primarily just a business opportunity. There seemed to be a lot of upside and the demand for WordPress development and support had never been greater.

Over the past several years however, while still a business we have found something more meaningful in the work than the themes, plugins, and content that make up the daily life of a WordPress agency. We have found that even as a contractor, we are a critical part of our customers’ teams and in most cases not just there to provide a temporary fix. While the work has not changed, our perspectives have.

We talk to many people each week who feel lost when it comes to their website or online strategy. In some cases, “that guy” (or gal) created them a site a few years ago and are nowhere to be found when they need help of some sort. Others include people that while well intentioned at the start have realized that their time is best spent managing their business rather than their website. In each of these cases (and many others) people are just looking for reliability and someone who they know will be there to support them for the coming weeks, months and years.

While WordPress still provides a great platform for our business, it is no longer the primary focus. Instead, we are in the people business. It is the people behind the problem that get us up each day so that we can provide them the confidence that their website is in good hands. We appreciate all the customer’s that trust us with such an important responsibility and look forward to developing many more personal relationships with customers in the coming years as we are blessed with such a great opportunity to meet you and learn about your businesses. After all, regardless of the business you are in, it really is all about the people and the relationships.

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Just Thoughts..., Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions

Why your website should be mobile friendly

Posted on by Incyte Media

Ten years ago the thought of making a website mobile friendly was looked at as a luxury that simply cost more with little actual benefit. Now in 2015 the idea of a mobile friendly site has become a necessity. At first the high demand was being driven from the growing use of consumers accessing the web via phone or tablet, but now the Big Dog itself (Google) has made quite the splash in the website world making everyone rethink mobile.

google_flat_logoGoogle has recently, April 21, rolled out a new search algorithm that punishes websites extensively for not being mobile friendly. A site that was previously ranked in the Top 3 could be bumped all the way down to page 45 for mobile searches.

With Google being the most popular search engine in the world it might benefit you to play their algorithm games!

So how can I adapt?

Adaptation is the key to survival in the Animal Kingdom AND the Google Kingdom.
So to stay on top make sure:

  • Your site is responsive.
  • Text sizes are readable without having to zoom.
  • Links are spaced evenly.
  • Get rid of flash as sites using it will be penalized.

Also, check for blocked javascript, CSS and image files; unplayable content; faulty redirects; mobile-only 404’s; app download interstitial; irrelevant cross-links; and slow mobile pages.

overwhelmed-help-300x190Sound like a lot? Well… it is, but luckily for you Incyte Media has you covered, we offer full website overhauls and mobile optimization at great prices whether you’re an existing customer or not. Reach out to us here…

Test you site to see if it is mobile friendly here: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

Just Thoughts..., SEO, Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions

The Value of Google Analytics

Posted on by Incyte Media
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How can Google analytics help you? Chances are in many ways, with all the updates and alterations made the new Google analytics essentially does everything except cook you breakfast.

Adding Google analytics to your site is not only beneficial but very simple to do.Google analytics can be your business marketing pro with loads of features to improve your website traffic and SEO all together. Here’s just a few key features we find the most useful and how simple it is to get started.

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The first one is their remarketing feature. This shows you people who have recently searched or bought products similar to what you sell and then shows them ads for your company while they surf the web. This helps extensively for web marketing because it creates a specific target audience for you to advertise to instead of casting a line blindly (your money).

The second key feature being real-time reporting. This shows you who is on your site and where specifically they came from. This is very helpful because it allows you to see what recent ads or promotions brought in the most traffic.

Most importantly though all it takes to get started is signing up then you input the code received in your header and just like that you’re up and rolling!

Talk to Incyte now to learn more about adding Google analytics to your website!
(208) 405-0289 or email info@incytemedia.com

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Just Thoughts..., Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions

One Page or Traditional?

Posted on by Incyte Media

When creating a website you generally have two choices. It can be a traditional site which holds many different links and portals within the site itself. Or it can be what is becoming more and more popular which is a one page site.

Why are people creating one page sites when they could have an extravagant 30+ page website? The answer is technology, mobile web users are increasing daily. Most people access the web through their phone now instead of computer.When accessing the web mobily a traditional  website is larger and may load slow, while a 1 page site is less data to load and can be easily navigated through a mobile device.

While a one page site is more mobile friendly a traditional site also has it’s values. The main being there is much more you can do with a traditional site in terms of features and layout. Also with a traditional site you can have more information instead of having to be short and to the point.

As true for anything though you get what you pay for. A one page site is not as complex and is going to cost you less in the end. But a traditional page for a more expensive cost might be what you have in mind for your the purpose of your site.

See for yourself here’s some slick one page sites as well as complex traditionals.

Slick one pagers: http://www.awwwards.com/websites/single-page/

Traditional Sites: A great example of a traditional site is Georgefox.edu, or on a large scale even walmart.com

Just Thoughts..., SEO, Spokane- Spokane Website Development Tips & Suggestions

The Importance of SEO/SEM

Posted on by Incyte Media
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What is SEO?

If you have a website or have talked about creating one, SEO and SEM are two things you’ve heard about before. What exactly are they? Let’s start with SEO, (Search Engine Optimization), which by direct definition is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid search results. To put that simply, SEO determines whether your website shows up when people are searching via Google, Bing, or other search engines. When dealing with SEO and trying to optimize your results word choice and titles matter. Search engines will narrow someones results down to the sites that use only the words they selected. So, if your website is about landscaping, but you don’t have the word “landscaping” at all on your website, the search engine is not going to find you. The more you use target words the higher you will be ranked to be found in the search engine. Using effective titles is also very important because often this summarizes the website entirely.

Why are titles critical?

seo 2Be sure to choose a title that is relevant to what your website is about. If your website is about landscaping services you probably don’t want to have a title that talks about your trucks, instead you want to have something people are looking for like “3 tricks to kill dandelions for good”.Links and reputation also play a big part in SEO to determine where your website gets ranked by the search engine. If your website has a large amount of links relating to your website the search engines can see this also which can result in a higher rank, but only if they are legit. If you just buy a bunch of links to point to your page that aren’t relating at all this will be noticed, but if you have trustworthy sites this works in your favor, kind of like kudo points for your ranking. The key to SEO is making the search engines happy. The only way to do this is by use of effective links, titles, and words. With quality information on your site it’s only a matter of time before your site is the #1 recommended by the search engine’s.

 What is SEM?

So that’s SEO, but what is SEM? SEM is Search Engine Marketing, Which is a form of internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites, generally through PPC which is short for “pay per click”. PPC are the paid ads that you see show up at the top of search results or in the sidebar. The main difference between SEO and SEM is cost, one is free and the other is money driven. Also while SEO is very broad and SEM is used to target specific users with paid links. When using SEM you are paying to bring more users to your site and potentially can increase your search engine rank. Together these two search tools help provide you with the best visibility possible for your website. Another difference is that SEO is used to capture a broad audience of people via generic search, while SEM is used to target specific users with paid links. The idea behind SEM is to figure out other searches people do that identifies them as possible customers for your business.The basic idea behind SEM is to target likely customers who may not be searching directly for your products or services.

So why are they important?

Obviously the more people who see your website is more potential revenue. To be successful you will need both of these search tools not just one as they work together. So by maximizing SEO/SEM you can achieve the highest traffic from users possible with the end result of more business for you!