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3 Tips to Make Your Website Rank Better on Google
The First Page of Google – How to Improve Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
One of the most frequent questions we get is “How do I make my WordPress website better and rank higher on Google?” Today, we’ll give you 3 tips you can do in conjunction with your web developer that will help your site perform better. After all, your website is your 24/7 marketing presence!
ADA Compliance
You may be thinking that ADA Compliance laws only cover brick-and-mortar companies or getting around town and you’d be correct. While there aren’t hard-and-fast laws governing ADA compliance for the web, there are guidelines for ADA compliance.
Using a plugin such as UserWay provides WordPress sites with the option for the visually impaired and hearing impaired to find and navigate your site more easily. Often the free version provides a website with all the compliance necessary. Learn more about the free versus full-compliance option here: https://userway.org/compare.
Once the plugin is activated, work with your web developer to go through the site and make the changes necessary for compliance.
Organic Search Engine Optimization for all Your Website’s Pages
Key words, phrases, and industry catchphrases are critical to good Organic SEO. Every WordPress site has sections for meta tags, header tags, and titles that, properly completed, will increase search engine visibility. Using a plugin such as Yoast is an excellent start. Working with your web developer to find the proper key words and phrases, is the next step because often the “insider” company language doesn’t translate to what people are searching for on the web. Find out more about SEO at https://yoast.com
Update WordPress Themes and Plugins
All WordPress websites use a theme to give the site its basic structure and navigational layout. The theme is then customized to your specifications. Third-party plugins for forms, events, calendars and more are available for free or paid use. The independent developers of these themes and plugins update them on a regular basis. It’s important to check your site’s Dashboard monthly and update the plugins. Some will require additional work to keep the theme and customizations working smoothly. Your web developer can assist with this.
Contact Us today to discuss how Acorn Interactive can help your business grow.
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Google 68 Release Requires SSL Certificates for all Sites
Secure vs Not Secure Website Notifications
In July of 2018, the release of Google 68 and the new Chrome browser will require SSL Certificates for all websites or the browser will show “Not Secure” notifications. This will also affect page ranking.
What Does This Mean For My Website
Google’s new security algorithm will now require all websites to have an SSL Certificate and all URLs on all sites’ pages to redirect from http:// to https:// .
Three Things to Do To Make Your Site Secure
First, if you do not have an SSL Certificate, site visitors will see the “Not Secure” message along with a notice of “back to safety” and a warning page. This will cost your site not only page views, but also site visitors, and business.
Second, While Google doesn’t require the https://www URLs in order to be ranked within Google’s search functions, it is a big factor in how well Google ranks your site. What does this mean for your business on the web? It means that without an SSL, all your hard work with Organic and paid Search Engine Optimization (SEO) won’t have the potential to rank well and provide a profitable return on investment. This means a loss/lowering in search ranking for your site, keeping your company away from the customers you want to entice.
Third, and most importantly, make sure you get a reputable web developer to do the SSL and URL redirect work for you. It’s not as simple as activating a Certificate. Contact us for more information and to make sure your site is up-to-date.
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PCI Compliance – Deadline Moved
Organizations Using SSL and Early TLS Encryption Must Change to a secure version of TLS (currently 1.1 or Higher) by June 2018
WAKEFIELD, Mass. Following significant feedback from the global PCI community and security experts, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), a global forum for the development of payment card security standards, today announced a change to the date that organizations who process payments must migrate to TLS 1.1 encryption or higher. The previous date of June 2016 has been moved to June 2018.
The original deadline date for migration, June 2016, was included in the most recent version of the PCI Data Security Standard, version 3.1 (PCI DSS 3.1), which was published in April of 2015. The new deadline date, June 2018, will be included in the next version of the PCI Data Security Standard, which is expected in 2016.
“Early market feedback told us migration to more secure encryption would be technically simple, and it was, but in the field a lot of business issues surfaced as we continued dialog with merchants, payment processors and banks,” said Stephen Orfei, General Manager, PCI SSC. “We want merchants protected against data theft but not at the expense of turning away business, so we changed the date. The global payments ecosystem is complex, especially when you think about how much more business is done today on mobile devices around the world. If you put mobile requirements together with encryption, the SHA-1 browser upgrade and EMV in the US, that’s a lot to handle.
And it means it will take some time to get everyone up to speed. We’re working very hard with representatives from every part of the ecosystem to make sure it happens as before the bad guys break in.”
“Some payment security organizations service thousands of international customers all of whom use different SSL and TLS configurations,” said Troy Leach, Chief Technology Officer, PCI SSC. “The migration date will be changed in the updated Standard next year to accommodate those companies and their clients. Other related provisions will also change to ensure all new customers are outfitted with the most secure encryption into the future. Still, we encourage all organizations to migrate as soon as possible and remain vigilant. Staying current with software patches remains an important piece of the security puzzle.” In addition to the migration deadline date-change, the PCI Security Standards Council has updated:
A new requirement date for payment service providers to begin offering more secure TLS 1.1 or higher encryption A requirement for new implementations to be based on TLS 1.1 or higher. An exception to the deadline date for Payment Terminals, known as “POI” or Points of Interaction.
To answer questions about the migration deadline date-change and other requirement updates, the PCI Security Standards Council has recorded a webinar that includes the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which originally reported the vulnerabilities in SSL and early versions of TLS in 2014. Expert speakers from the Assessor community, who review and grade organizations on compliance with payment security requirements, are also on the webcast. In addition, a Bulletin on Migration has been created and is available for download from the PCI Security Standards Council website.
Merchants are encouraged to contact their payment processors and / or acquiring banks for detailed guidance on upgrading their ecommerce sites to the more secure encryption offered by TLS 1.1 or higher.
Contact Us today to discuss how Acorn Interactive can help your business grow.
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Is Mobile Advertising Worthwhile?
Small as These Devices are, Mobile has the Potential to Become the Juggernaut of the Mass Media Market.
It might be hard for some people to imagine that mobile advertising is a lot like other media channels we’re already familiar with. But if you’re going to bring your young, upwardly mobile audience with you you’d better not miss this train.
So what is it that makes mobile marketing so different and yet so effective?
Mobile – It’s Pervasive!
For a start the explosive growth of smartphones is hard to ignore. Over a third of the population have smartphones and that number is growing fast. Capabilities that one never dreamed possible a decade ago now play out in the palm of your hand. You can read the news, play games, watch videos and TV, take photos, listen to your favorite tunes or radio station, surf the internet and oh wait — make phone calls.
Mobile – It’s Personalized!
As you perform all these activities demographic information is being complied and stored in databases, often using your phone number as a unique identifier. This makes it one of the best mediums for true one-to-one marketing and personalized advertising.
Not only are consumers able to be uniquely identified but they are almost never separated from their mobile devices.
Mobile – It’s Pull-Based!
Traditional push marketing techniques have left a jaded audience. An audience not willing to be targets of traditional advertising. People want only want to see things that they’re interested in. In response, Opt-in marketing has become the foundation for many mobile marketing campaigns.
Your Mobile Marketing Arsenal:
There’s a plethora of options when it comes to mobile marketing but an effective campaign incorporates just the right combination of several of these channels.
- Mobile friendly sites: Ever tried to navigate a large and complex site on a tiny screen? Mobile-friendly sites or Mobis as they are called, reduce content to small, manageable blocks that don’t require excessive zooming and scrolling. See our recent article on Mobile Websites.
- Mobile apps: Small downloadable software applications that number close to 500,000. As users install each app, they’re telling us what interests them so advertising on these apps can be aligned accordingly.
- Social media: Twitter, Facebook, InstaGram, and other social media platforms all have mobile friendly sites or apps. When targeting consumers, these platforms cannot be ignored.
- Mobile advertising: Small ads on mobile websites, apps and even in your notification area.
- Mobile commerce: From purchasing something on eBay to redeeming a Groupon or scanning a QR code to get the best price – mobile commerce takes many forms.
- QR codes: Blocks of ink that look like a maze gone wrong. Using a phone’s camera, users can scan the codes to access information, offer, prices, websites and more. Since users initiates the scan, they tend to be more receptive to whatever is communicated.
- Proximity marketing: Using the GPS on your phone, Apps and even mobile websites can tap your location and serve up location-based offers, advertising and other forms of marketing.
- MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service. May evolve more in the future but for now has been eclipsed by other channels of communication.
- Mobile email: While the ability of phones to receive and store emails has been around for a while, its still the number one medium for business and more complex personal communications.
- SMS: Short Message Service. Even the phone-only die hards are finally succumbing to the advantages of texting for some situations. Marketing via SMS must be based on opt-in since users feel this highly personal medium is sacrosanct. The great thing about text message marketing is that 90 percent of text messages are read within a few minutes minutes and almost all are read later.
So where to go from here? Before your competition gets the jump on you, make a start on developing your mobile marketing strategy!
Engage an expert who can help with the technology aspects and the practicalities of reaching your audience.
Trial some campaigns that work for your target audience and budget. Ensure you have a mobile version of your website or get started on having one designed and developed. Mobile devices aren’t going away any time soon!
Engage an expert who can help with the technology aspects and the practicalities of reaching your audience.
Trial some campaigns that work for your target audience and budget. Ensure you have a mobile version of your website or get started on having one designed and developed. Mobile devices aren’t going away any time soon!
Contact Us today to discuss how Acorn Interactive can help your business grow.
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Website Design for Product Manufacturers
Think Big, Think Broad, Think Strategy
The right strategy can pay big dividends.
The highly complex, multi-faceted business of product manufacturing is enough to make the average executive’s head spin. It’s little wonder, then that management in this sector leave a lot of the marketing to the distribution channel and as a result, sales and brand value can suffer.
The corporate website can play a major role in growing and reinforcing a company’s brands. The decision to choose one brand over another is frequently preceded by research – usually undertaken by the customer on one or more websites that may or may not include that of the manufacturer.
Therein lies the problem.
If the manufacturer’s website is not the active leader in search engine positioning and communicating the brand, then it by default, the task falls to its distributors, resellers, bloggers and even the competition. As a result the brand can become diluted, inconsistent and fall into the trap of differentiation by price alone.
The manufacturers website can have an enormous influence on any manufacturer’s sales and support ecosystem. In fact, it can literally reshape the way manufacturer’s products are perceived, priced, purchased, distributed and supported.
Manufacturers Have Many Special Requirements that Traditional Websites Fail to Address
Manufacturers’ websites also vary dramatically depending on the products and services offered and whether brands are consumer or business targeted. Many manufacturers also require consulting and creative services to correctly align their brands with the right target markets using appropriate brand communications.
In addition, existing customer relationships also rely on the manufacturer to provide a higher level of customer service based on price-points, specific service levels, etc.
Here are the features and services you should be considering when thinking about looking to revamp your corporate website.
The percentage of mobile users viewing your site will depend on the target demographic and market sectors targeted by your business. Restaurants for example will attract a much higher percentage of mobile users than restaurant purveyors. It’s important to have good web statistics in order to assess your current traffic and to plan accordingly.
Brand Reinforcement & Awareness
Manufacturing companies need to consider many factors in their marketplace to stand out above their competition. Here are some of the modules that will add value to the site and your customers:
- A Multingual Content Management System (CMS)
- Professional, Custom, brand-aligned Templates and color palettes
- Creative approach to Brand and Product Identifiers/Trademarks/Logos
- Content Development Services
- News Module for case studies, product releases and industry events
- A Comprehensive Products Module to showcase descriptions, specifications, images, videos, downloadable brochures, software and more
- User Testimonials Module
- Brand Management Module – ensure consistent brand representation and messaging across the channel
Customer Support
- FAQ Module to reduce customer support inquiries
- Forum for reducing support costs
- Support Desk Module to increase support effectiveness
- Client Extranet to improve client communications
- Downloads module for Manuals, Parts Lists, Software Drivers and more
- Warranty Information
- Parts and Accessories Ordering
Sales
- Employee Intranet
- Sales CRM Module
- Email Subscriptions and Broadcasts
- Social Media Integration
- Dealer Locators with built-in Google Maps Wayfinding
- Built-in best practices for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Dealer/Distributor Extranet to handle orders, inventory, lookups etc.
- Clear and compelling Opt-in Forms to generate leads and drive sales.
Contact Us today to discuss how Acorn Interactive can help your business grow.
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Mobile Strategies Must Address User Expectations
Mobile User Behavior Shows Shorter Attention Span
As the smartphone and tablet market continues its explosive growth, businesses are discovering the importance of understanding the web-browsing behavior and actions of mobile users. While desktop users still surpass mobile visitors to your website, mobile web usage is expected to eclipse desktop usage by the year 2015. Savvy businesses are already monitoring mobile user behavior patterns in order to optimize their browsing experience for maximum conversion performance.
As the smartphone and tablet market continues its explosive growth, businesses are discovering the importance of understanding the web-browsing behavior and actions of mobile users. While desktop users still surpass mobile visitors to your website, mobile web usage is expected to eclipse desktop usage by the year 2015. Savvy businesses are already monitoring mobile user behavior patterns in order to optimize their browsing experience for maximum conversion performance.
Not all Markets are the Same
The percentage of mobile users viewing your site will depend on the target demographic and market sectors targeted by your business. Restaurants for example will attract a much higher percentage of mobile users than restaurant purveyors. It’s important to have good web statistics in order to assess your current traffic and to plan accordingly.
Content – Less is More
Since mobile users want to cut to the chase quickly and typically have a lower patience threshold, it’s important that the content presented be limited to only the most critical information. Extended content can be made available but by user request.
Bold, Easy-to-Use Navigation
Avoid making it hard for users to navigate your menus. Present mobile-optimized menus that are large and easy to navigate with one hand. The home page should contain all the primary links dominantly displayed. Deploy a search tool if you have a lot of content or products.
Make it Fast for Visitors to Convert
To convert more visitors to customers, or browsers to buyers ensure conversion is done in the fastest way possible with the minimum number of intermediate clicks. If for example the goal is for the visitor to place a phone call to your company, ensure there’s a large CALL button on the home page or in the header. If the purchase of one or more products is the goal make it easy for buyers to complete the transaction with the minimum number of clicks and while eliminating any navigational elements that might confuse the user.
Javascript or Flash?
Some devices, like the iPad, iPod and iPhone lack the ability to display Adobe Flash content, so if your site contains Flash then device detection and alternate content strategies need to be used. Javascript and HTML5 Canvas can be deployed to fill the void.
Take Heed of Speed
Depending on the cellular technology and signal levels, mobile bandwidth may sometimes be slower than wired desktop computers so ensure that images, buttons and scripts are sufficiently lightweight for fast page loads.
Tablets vs Smartphone vs Desktop Computers
When it comes to tablets, we find that tablet user behavior is similar to that of desktop users with more time being spent browsing a site than that spent by smart phone users.
Mobile user behavior will continue to evolve as smartphone performance and capabilities increase, but for now businesses must recognize that mobile users require navigation and content that is faster, leaner and gets the job done quickly.
Contact Us today to discuss how Acorn Interactive can help your business grow.
Learn MoreRoad Runner Sports Brings Brand Icon to Life
Acorn Interactive Creates Touch Screen Kiosk Application to Engage Customers in a Perfect Fit Experience
The world’s largest independent running store ramped up its customer service a notch by adding an interactive touch screen kiosk application to its Perfect Fit Experience that incorporates pressure mats, treadmills and slow motion video for gait analysis.
“Road Runner Sports wanted a touch screen kiosk application to capture customer running patterns, preferences and foot data determined during the fit experience” said d’Arcy Muller of Acorn Interactive. “They also wanted to incorporate their Shoe Dog brand icon. We decided to kick it up a notch using embedded video of a live dog, a beautiful Dalmatian that customers find engaging and fun.”
The kiosk portion of the application was built on the Adobe Air Platform. Deployed in all stores around the country, the kiosks are connected securely to a central database for data capture and customer lookup. Acorn Interactive also provided 42 inch full high definition touch screens that provide the high-impact visual display that customers personally interact with during the Perfect Fit Experience.
“The application has been extremely robust since we launched it” says Robert Payne, Production Director at Acorn Interactive. “Adobe Air was still in beta test when we started building the application but it was the right choice for the challenges we faced using full high definition video”.
Acorn Interactive has been building Kiosk Applications since 2004 and was the first US company to deliver full high definition (1080P) kiosk applications in the US.
Contact Us today to discuss how Acorn Interactive can help your business grow.
Learn MoreProduct Management Module for Manufacturing Companies
Acorn Interactive releases new web-based software module that simplifies construction of on-line product catalogs
Solving the Problem of Managing and Updating a Large Product Catalog in a Fast-Paced Manufacturing Environment.
Product Management Module Example
Managing the content for large numbers of products online has traditionally been a challenge for manufacturers, and distributors. Especially when the product content includes multiple images, videos and downloadable brochures.
The Product Management Module streamlines the creation of web-based product catalogs for manufacturers, distributors and multi-level marketers.
The module puts you in control of your content without needing web development tools or technical knowledge.
An administrative panel allows upload of descriptions, specifications, features, multiple images, videos and downloadable brochures and other documents.
- Dynamically groups products into catagories
- Dynamically creates category overview pages
- Dynamically splits content into tabbed format so that pages remain compact, yet can contain a lot of content
- Unlimited number images per product with auto resizing and thumbnail image creation
- Supports unlimited downloadable brochures, documents, drawings
- Support multiple videos with streaming embedded video player
- We can also enable you feed the same catalog into your distributors’ websites with minimal work on their part so that you maintain control of the quality, presentation and the way your brands or products are presented to customers around the globe.
The module isn’t just limited to products. It’s also an ideal platform to present services, projects, and case studies.
Contact Us today to discuss how Acorn Interactive can help your business grow.
Learn MoreValue Added Resellers Module
Boost your revenues through closer relationships with your resellers and network partners.
Customized products and services are often subcontracted out by the primary contractor hired to complete a large project. The Value Added Reseller Module allows you, the subcontractor company, to showcase your specialized products and services very easily on your primary contractors website. This can be done without revealing the source of the products and services. The modules can increase the volume of inquiries for your offerings while forging tighter relationships with companies that can bring you new business.
You can centrally manage the catalog of your products or services in one location and have it displayed on multiple sites belonging to contactors that wish to showcase your offerings.
Let’s say for example you specialize in high end wall coatings and cabinet finishing. Probably most of your business comes from contractors make the cabinets or do construction or architecture. Some refer you directly to the home owner but others prefer to subcontract the work, keeping you at arms length. How can you make it easier for these contractors to recommend you over other competitors? Here’s how:
The value added reseller module operates on three levels:
- You – the service or product provider
- The contractor who might recommend your services or products
- The end user of your finished product or service
The software enables you to easily build a catalog that showcases your work or products in a way that the end user can easily browse and save their favorites.
You can set up multiple contractors in the system. This will dynamically create a personalized website for each contractor that showcases all your products. The contractor can now share this website with his client without even revealing your name.
The client can then browse all your products, services or samples of your work and flag any of them as his/her favorites. Once logged in the contractor can see each of his clients and drill down to his or her favorites. These in turn can be shared with you, allowing you to begin a dialogue on samples, pricing or delivery with the client or the contractor depending on the contractors preference.
As the service or product provider, you can log in and see all your contractors and each of their clients to whom your services have been recommended. You can even drill down to each clients preferences or favorites.
Some of the industries where this affiliate VAR module can be valuable include:
- Tiling
- Flooring
- Roofing
- Cabinet Finishing
- Interior Design
- Picture Framers
- Lighting
- Custom Products – e.g. Sporting Goods
- Plumbing Fittings.
Contact Us today to discuss how Acorn Interactive can help your business grow.
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