INSIGHTS &EXPERTISE

Website Growth Hacking Techniques for Small Businesses

 Have you ever noticed a few businesses around you that couldn’t continue after a short period? Over 90% of them could be due to insufficient growth to make a profit, and I believe that alone should answer the importance of website growth hacking. But first, what is growth hacking? From the name “Growth Hacking,” you can easily guess that the primary focus should be on growth. In simple words, growth hacking is the rapid experiment of several marketing strategies/techniques to transform leads and produce sales swiftly. Growth hacking aims to try out the possible experimental processes, see the ones that work best for you, and engage in them before moving to the next. This needs to happen swiftly with no other goal but growth. Below are the seven website growth hacking techniques or strategies you should try today. Project Management Tools are Key Undoubtedly, project management tools/software considerably impact several businesses’ growth. The Raven Software is an excellent example of a project management tool for optical practices. It entails all the necessary visual management tasks and helps you manage your information in a modernized way with ease and comfort. These types of tools are built to bring all of this information together in a single place and are more organized, unlike the paper-based system where almost everything has a different place that it’s kept. So you can give out tasks, keep reminders and keep everyone on track. Moreover, it makes communication, write-ups, and every other job faster and more effective. Customers Testimonials Matters So many new customers would consider buying your product or patronizing you based on other people’s comments or testimonials about your website and business. Recent studies estimated that about 70% of people who shop online go through reviews before purchasing a product. These reviews will decide whether they go, “yes, I’m buying this,” or make them go, “Nah! Never mind”. In other words, these testimonials and reviews are known as social proof because it is more like what explains to new customers to trust your website and try out your product. Your new customers can easily be persuaded by social proof if you add features like images, text, and other essential information about your customers. Adding this feature to your website is never a “NO”; it does a lot in converting people to potential customers. So, encourage your customers to leave comments and reviews. Moreover, it will be more encouraging if you reply or respond to every review, both positive and negative reviews. Freebies or Free Trials Who doesn’t want freebies? Exactly, no one! Many people are going for new products, thinking they may not be that good or finding it hard to trust the website. An excellent strategy to give them peace of mind and make them trust you is by giving out free trials. You can give a free one-month trial if you run a service-based business. Then, after having the trust of our customers, they will be willingly ready to sign up and pay for more, without any doubt. As for retail businesses, this may not be the best option. You can otherwise offer freebies like product samples or a sincere return policy. Get In On Popular Publications Popular blogs, newspapers, magazines, etc., are different ways to attract trust and boost visibility. For example, some people would see your business or product and might want to know more before jumping into patronizing you if they google your brand and see some of your stuff on trusted, popular sites. Then, there won’t be any second thoughts; they will return to your website and go for your products. There are simple ways to get featured, like becoming a feature writer for some niche blogs that shoulder guest posts. In addition, you can include more about your website and business in the author’s bio. Another way to get featured is through a sponsored post. Crystal Clear Pricing Have you ever gone shopping and seen something you like and can’t find the price attached? Yes! That kind of odd feeling, right? I’m sure you wouldn’t want customers to feel that way. Attach a clear individual price to every product in your catalog for your customers’ satisfaction. It is also a good practice to have a pricing page for people to see all the costs efficiently. If you offer different services at different prices, a pricing table will work best for you, or state how the prices may differ based on customers’ needs. Consider A Social Media Community This intelligent technique will boost your visibility and allow you to explore and learn more about the business. You can create or join groups related to products and services on all social media platforms. Be consistent in posting valuable content in these groups. Don’t forget to chip in some freebies anywhere necessary to boost your customer relationship and engagement with others. Also, ask for feedback and more inquiries within your business, and find possible ways to provide them. Data Analysis Everything in your business must relate to this. By analyzing your data, that is when you know where you are lacking and what needs to be done. So, it is more like your decisions strongly depend on your data analysis. These decisions are mostly what will determine the growth of your business; that is why it is necessary to have up-to-date data. Several trusted analysis tools are specifically meant for this. Finally, growth hacking can be a bit confusing. For example, some people often refer to it as conversion marketing and sometimes as lead generation, which is entirely different. A growth hacker is concerned mainly about the fast exponential growth of a business. They may have to include money in adverts, freebies, contests, and other processes; at the end of the day, the exponential growth of a business is what matters most. Do you have a website that needs some boosting? Raven and Macaw is always ready to offer you the best strategies to grow your business. Here are 6

Website Design Trends in 2022

Web design has gone way beyond how it was about a decade ago. Gone are the days when many design-related elements were unessential on a website. With millions of people surfing the internet for new adventures daily, first design impressions matter; people are more focused on designs, how accessible the website is, easy navigation, and user-friendly. There are so many designs that are making waves already this year. Key features of these designs include unique typography, live animations, advanced interactions, and visual styles, to mention a few. We are halfway to 2023 already. So let’s look at the website designs that have been making waves so far in 2022. One-page Website The world keeps developing, and millions of people check different websites daily. A complex website can sometimes be the least effective because many people would find it hard to navigate. A one-page website makes it easy for everyone, especially if you have a narrow subject matter. A one-page website is similar to that. However, this fantastic design places all the necessary information on a single page, saving customers time and the stress of navigating different pages. Moreover, it gives a reader/viewer more focus because the information they seek is in front of their eyes. Side Scroll Website We are most familiar with websites that we can scroll and navigate vertically. However, this jaw-dropping design has made many people’ wow’ because of its horizontal scroll feature. This type of website design is common among portfolio websites and catalogs. Nowadays, almost every website with projects, galleries, and exploring new places can have a side-scroll feature addition; some top-rated music websites like SIareP is also side-scroll website. If done correctly, side-scroll websites are more attractive, engaging, and impressive. Sites of Delight This is more like a fun website. It has never resulted in a bad user experience. It comes in two forms.         Surface Delight         Deep Delight Surface delight is a great and compelling style. It is where animations, images, sound, and gestures come into play. However, to some point, it needs a bit of touch/assistance to stand firm thoroughly; that is where Deep delight comes into play. Deep delight ensures all customer requirements are met; this includes the website functions, how reliable it is, and how friendly and pleasurable it is. In designing a delightful site, the designers usually make a playful/fun UX design. They try to include humor in the navigations, menu, and other interactions. In addition, they often describe it as a website that works in unexpected ways. App-like Designs Many people are used to apps that easily interact, engage with a couple of animations, and have many dynamic experiences. Well, that app logic is in some websites already. Jeremy Beyth (CEO ThreeSixtyEight) recently spoke on this, stating, “An app-like website creates a more amazing experience, and if it’s given more attention, it will surely be the future of all web designs.” So many new web design tools like no-code make this interaction design easy to implement. Brutalism Design While the world fancy appealing fonts, and excellent placements, this design doesn’t seem to go with the flow. It is more like a sore thumb; it is raw, has an unpolished look, the colors clash, and the layouts look non-traditional. You need this if you are ready to settle for something bold and rugged on a website. Also, if this is the right taste, you wish to go crazy/wild on a website. What’s impressive about this design is how it makes your website pop out even with the little elements. Brutalist typography goes well on headers and paragraphs. It is an excellent way to add a metropolitan vibe to a website. Interactive Fonts In this design, there is more to text than just plain text. Professional designers have found many ways to make text move in fantastic styles, some by placing your cursor on the reader. A simple way to do this is if you apply a hover-state change similar to a button. It keeps getting easier to implement this feature through no-code platforms. However, when implementing this type of font, ensure it’s clear and readable because many individuals get puzzled by moving characters. Multilayer Design Do you have many contents you want to display in a limited space? This design got you covered. Over the years, many designers don’t want to approach designs with visual content. Still, with this technique, designers find it easy to populate a website with photo galleries and graphic elements. Imagery multilayers are an excellent technique to tell a story and make visitors spend more time exploring a website. Do you want your website to drive traffic as you’ve never imagined? Contact us now and have your website designed by professionals.  

Different Types Of Websites

Have you ever browsed through a website and so much wished that it was yours? Of course, websites are unique gadgets for businesses and many other reasons, like creating a digital presence. But getting the wrong website for a different purpose can ruin the whole aim. Websites are of different types. For example, an e-commerce website where you can buy or sell products differs from a personal website where you can just read about your favorite people or share your precious words. Below are the six major types of websites. A Personal Website From its name, “personal,” you can quickly tell it is an individual website. Some people want to boost their online existence or like to voice out their precious words, build their brand, or more; these are the websites they go for. This type of website design depends on the purpose of its creation. Is it just for friends, family, loved ones, or more? However, the designs are mainly plain and uncomplicated, consisting of pictures and text. If it is mainly just for friends and family, then it usually looks fun and doesn’t demand any SEO, but if you want to boost your brand or more, then search engine optimization is needed. Whether for business, hobby, or just for delight, a personal website should contain an individual blog about you and where you share your purpose and expertise. Business Website This is a style of website that supplies details concerning your business. Potential buyers get to know your existence, see what you do or offer, and know how they can contact you. Its design should go well with your label and firm. For instance, if you are in the eyewear business, your business website should contain a variety of frames and lenses for different sex, skin color, and tone. In addition, your logo, FAQ, and About Us page are among the essential things that should be contained on the website. An E-commerce Website This is a website where you can sell your products or services online. Amazon and The29Line are suitable samples of e-commerce websites. These websites make it effortless for people to shop online. A good e-commerce site should include a shopping cart feature, price tags, discounts, and a price gateway. In addition, quality pictures matter for an e-commerce website; poor pictures can discourage sales. Also, make it easy for customers to navigate with minimum clicks. Furthermore, it must be highly secured to guarantee your client’s information is safe. Portfolio Website A portfolio website has some similarities with a personal website. However, its primary purpose is to reveal your skills to gain clients. The majority of people that own this class of website are either designers, content writers, musicians, artists, video editors, or other content professionals (primarily freelancers). Features of a portfolio website are few but unique; usually, a slideshow, galleries, or videos of animations hanging on your area of specialization and how you wish to portray it. To make it a friendly and fast website, you should not upload every work you’ve done; the few best ones can be splinted into different categories for your visitors to quickly locate what they are looking for. Blog Website Initially, blogging started as a means for people to share their ideas, thoughts, and knowledge online, but now, about 86% of businesses include blogging in their marketing strategies to boost traffic and increase sales. Blogs can come in any topic and different shapes and categories, but what’s more important in any blog is the firm and scope that suits the readers. The format of a blog website usually deals with visual elements. So, you should consider your content style and choose a suitable template that goes well with it. However, newsletters and CTAs can be added to convert visitors into clients. Crowdfunding Website These websites are made purposely to fund schemes or projects by putting up little cash from various individuals. New startups usually use this kind of website. Gone are the days when the top way to fund a project was through a venture capitalist. Nowadays, you can efficiently do that by simply constructing a crowdfunding website. This website should contain detailed information regarding what you are working on, and people that believe/trust the project will send forth an amount of cash.  

HealthStation

With its reputation as the leading and largest provider of health data and digital services in Nigeria, HealthStation’s passion is to change the narrative in Africa’s healthcare delivery system by powering the health sector with technology that provides the tools for better care. Raven and Macaw visualised this passion and actualised their dreams by transforming the brand website to mark its place in the digital marketing world. Success: Wider outreach of HealthStation’s sustainable services Increase in online presence Maintaining its reputation as the leading digital service and health data provider across the health sector. Enabling the means to create a healthy environment for patients and their care providers

Cosmic Greens

When we partnered with Cosmic Greens, we did not just become a part of something green; we became a part of a mission to use unique and environmentally conscious agricultural techniques to provide nutrition for all. We created a brand that speaks in colours and design about what Cosmic Green is all about– Agriculture. Our designers and content developers have built not just a website but the digital face of the future in the Agricultural sector. Success We have successfully designed a brand logo and website to fit Cosmic Greens brand story and motivation.

AvantGardian

The need for a modular home for urban residents in Nigeria is essential to healthy living. Avant Gardian creates homes for city dwellers, offering ambience and comfort in addition to premium gadgets and finishing that speak luxury. Starting with a brand guide that showcases class and exquisite taste, we key into the company’s vision and create an irresistible brand for their clients’ needs. In addition, modular homes are designed for High Networth Individuals that are only accessible to the elite through our person-to-person premium marketing referral concept. Success Upper-class partnership for Avant Gardian. Home from the wealthy to the connected. Luxury brand perception.  Elite club partnership through our existing business relationship.

Sloane & Co. Eyewear

Catwalk Eyewear

Having attained a remarkable audience base on Amazon and eBay, the team at catwalk wanted to take it up a notch and have a new income stream. However, they wanted to retain high-end in-store clients due to higher margins than online. That’s where we came in, and it was nothing less of a match made in heaven. We built and grew the E-commerce business within the first 90 days through rigorous S.E.O. and Digital Marketing campaigns. Catwalk eyewear is located in Manchester, United Kingdom. Success   New income stream  We increased their exposure and awareness. Increased leads. Higher traffic and website conversion

El-Rufai Attorneys

Why You Need A Website For Your Business

I’m sure the first step you think is best for your business is “social media.” Well, social media is an excellent medium to better your business, but it is just a part of what a website can do for your business Do you know that you can lose customers on social media if they see that you don’t have a website? Well, a study in 2019 showed that about 75% of people go through companies’ websites online before purchasing their products or trying out their services. So imagine losing 75% of your customers because you don’t have a website; that’s not cool. A website goes beyond just that; below are seven reasons your business needs a website: It Makes Your Business More Professional A good website is undoubtedly an excellent weapon to make your business look more professional. It helps you tell the world how serious your business is. Moreover, if potential customers keep seeing your pages pop up whenever they search, you get to stand out from other corresponding companies.  Nowadays, anyone from anywhere can easily create social media accounts with your brand name, but if you have a website for your business, you can legitimise your firm. Moreover, if you are looking to recruit staff or display your work, there is no professional place to do that other than your website. Increase Trust and Boost Customer Engagement I mean, think about it. Why won’t they trust you if customers are satisfied with all the information about yourself and your business, like your name, address, phone number, email, products/services, warranties, etc.? So many people see things they like online but can’t trust their money on them because of the minimum information attached to them.  A good website is like a place where people seek answers to everything regarding your business. Therefore, all the necessary information every customer needs will undoubtedly lead to increased trust and more customer engagement. So please keep it simple and detailed, do not bore your customers with long notes. Boost your Marketing A website plays a role in marketing. It is more like a centre for all your potential customers to learn about your business. Also, there is no better place for business information and marketing messages; most of your customers will need to know all these. It is a good practice not to jump into any advertisement or spend cash on it without a website because all other marketing efforts, in the end, should lead potential customers to your website. It Is Easier To Sell With A Website It’s incredible how you can wake to more money after having a good sleep. Sure! A good website makes you money even while you sleep because websites never sleep, even when you are. At any time of the day, your potential customers can jump to your website and buy the fantastic kinds of stuff you have to offer. If your business is service-based, a website is ready to accept bookings or appointments from your customers all day. So, sleep well and worry not; your website will have you covered!  Provides Social Proof More people will patronise you with what they see other people saying about your products or services. Well, they are all welcome; a good website contains customer testimonials for new prospective customers to know what they are going for. As more people buy your products or patronise your services, it is good to encourage them to leave a comment/review (whether positive or negative). Negative thoughts will help you see where you are lacking and need adjustments, while positive ones will make you know what to do more of and serve as a hook to capture more customers. Chance To Stand Among The Greats In every industry, there are leading companies. An optimised website gives you a ticket to stand and compete with proper research and content. As a result, your website can rank among the most recognised brands and have a prominent place in most search results. This is among the few ways you can compete with corresponding top companies and boost visibility. Unlimited Business Style and Strategy There are limited ways you can customise your page on social media, and all your styles of posts are in a similar format to everyone. Well, that’s social media. On a website, it is different; you get to see it the way you like it. You can display your unique products in multiple unique ways. Not only that, all your positive reviews, videos, and so many more can all fit in on your website. No matter how crazy and unique a style is, you can bring it to life on a website and make your customers go “Wow” at first glance. READ ALSO: 6 Things We Need To Know Before Designing your Website Now you know why it is vital to have a website for your business and probably looking for where to start. Well, you are looking right at it. Raven and Macaw is here 24/7, ready to better your business.

Powerful SEO Tools to Help You Rank Higher in Google

Google is the leading search engine in the world, and its search algorithm is ever-changing. As a result, the competition to rank higher on Google is fierce, and companies must stay on their toes to keep up with the latest trends.  Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a strategy that helps websites appear prominently in search results. It’s not as easy as it sounds; it may take time before it gives you the desired results. Nevertheless, many SEO tools can help marketers optimise their websites and pages to show up better in searches.  When Would My SEO Activity Yield Results? The short answer is that SEO can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to start working, depending on the level of competition for the keywords you are targeting and the state of your website.  The long answer is a bit more complicated. If you are just starting, it will take some time to build up your website’s authority and get ranked for your target keywords. However, if you have an established website with a good track record, you may be able to rank relatively quickly for some less competitive keywords.  Ultimately, SEO is a long-term strategy, and the time it takes to see results will vary depending on your situation. A good SEO tool, however, should simplify tasks such as finding keywords for your website and tracking your backlinks so you can see which sites link back to yours. If you’re looking for some great options for your business, here is a list of powerful SEO tools:  SEMrush SEMrush is a platform that offers solutions for digital marketing professionals, packed with features that allow users to research keywords, track rankings, keep an eye on competitors, and much more. SEMrush is a great SEO tool that lets you see what keywords your competitors use to rank, the number of impressions each keyword gets per month, and the amount of money each keyword makes for your competitors. In addition, it shows you the top keywords for your website, which is great for comparing your performance to your competitors.  In addition, it also allows you to monitor your website’s performance and analyse your organic search traffic. This can help you find your most popular content and track keywords for your SEO campaign.  SEMrush is an excellent tool for seeing how your website stacks up against your competitors’ websites in terms of keywords; an indispensable tool for anyone looking to improve their website’s ranking on search engine results pages (SERP). Bright Digital Marketing Bright Digital Marketing’s SEO Tools are a comprehensive set of tools for all aspects of SEO, from keyword research to link building. With a built-in browser that allows you to quickly check page elements like title tags and meta descriptions to monitor backlinks and view traffic sources, this comprehensive tool makes managing your SEO much more effortless.  The Rank Tracker allows you to monitor your keyword ranking over time and see how your content performs. A built-in Link Checker tool lets you view the number of inbound links to your website and see where they’re coming from. You can also use the Link Builder tool to create links to your website.  Then there is the Keyword Generator tool that helps you find keywords and phrases that your readers will likely use when searching for your products or services. You can use these keywords to optimise your website, content, and backlink strategy to help your website’s overall SEO.  The Content Analyzer tool lets you analyse your website’s content to ensure it meets SEO best practices. Google Search Console Google Search Console is a free service that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results. You can use it to see how Google crawls and indexes your site, test your site’s mobile usability, learn about search features available in your country or region and more. It also lets you manage your site’s sitemaps androbots.txt files, including submitting and checking the status of your site’s pages in the Google Index.  In short, Google Search Console can be a valuable tool for understanding and improving your site’s SEO.  Google Analytics Google Analytics can help you understand your website traffic and users’ interaction with your site. It lets you track your website’s traffic and see where your visitors are coming from. As a result, it helps optimise your SEO.  Google Analytics lets you see which pages receive the most traffic and which are ignored. This is particularly useful for eCommerce sites that sell products. You can use this information to determine which products to feature more prominently on your site or which ones need to be removed entirely.  Overall, you can set up goals in Google Analytics to track the performance of specific website sections. This helps understand what parts of your site are working well and what factors need improvement. By understanding your traffic and making informed decisions, you can make your site more SEO-friendly and improve your chances of earning a top spot in the search results.  Moz Pro Moz’s SEO tool is a comprehensive set of tools that can help you with nearly every aspect of your SEO strategy. For example, its Open Site Explorer tool lets you see where your website is being linked to and which sources are contributing the most links to your website. This can help you discover new sources of links to your website and find ways to increase the number of links to your site.  The keyword suggestion tool provides suggestions for keywords to add to your website and content strategy. In addition, it helps when discovering new keywords to optimise your website for.  The brand monitoring tool lets you track mentions of your brand across the internet. You can set up alerts for specific terms to receive notifications whenever someone mentions your brand. This is helpful for monitoring branding efforts, such as social media posts and news stories.  SEO Tools for Content Marketing If your website lacks content,

7 Ways to Boost Your Email Marketing Strategy for Greater Returns

Email marketing is one of the best ways to capture new eyes and grow your audience. After all, who doesn’t love getting a personal message from a company? It’s also a fantastic way to stay connected with your customers and build brand loyalty. With that in mind, you might wonder why your email strategy isn’t working as well as you’d like. The good news is that with just a few minor adjustments, you can transform your email marketing strategy into something that works better for you. Keep reading to discover 7 simple ways to boost your email marketing strategy for greater returns. Create a Clear Omni-Channel Marketing Strategy As email usage rises, businesses invest more time and resources in email marketing than ever. But, with the growing popularity of email as a channel, it’s unsurprising that many businesses struggle to get their strategies right. So, what’s the first thing you must do to boost your email strategy? The answer is simple: Set a clear omnichannel marketing strategy. You’ll see where your focus should be by creating a clear strategy. You’ll also know better how to maximise your efforts and increase your business ROI. So, don’t become a one-dimensional brand. Instead, consider how to use your channels to extend your business. Use Irresistible Call to Action buttons. There’s nothing more frustrating than clicking a link and seeing a bland call to action button. Your goal is to create buttons that are irresistible to your readers. To do this, look for buttons that inspire your readers to take action. You can include visual elements like images, text, and sound. You can also look for buttons encouraging your readers to share your content, engage with you on social media, or subscribe to your email list by choosing buttons that enable action while boosting your e-commerce conversions and revenue. Set Slimming Rules for Email Marketing Email marketing should be tailored to suit your target audience like any other channel. While email is an excellent channel for reaching a large audience, your goal shouldn’t be to reach everyone with your message. Instead, you should be focused on capturing and maintaining a high percentage of your existing customers. One way to do this is by setting slimming rules for email marketing. By setting slimming rules, you can focus your email marketing efforts on audiences most likely to purchase from you. For example, you might create a slimming rule restricting your company’s emails from being sent to your customers. By doing this, you’ll be able to avoid sending emails that don’t add value to your readers and increase the likelihood of customers purchasing from you. Be Consistent With your Branding and Tone Email marketing is primarily intended for a visual medium. With that in mind, you’ll want to ensure that your branding and tone are consistent between all your channels. You can create templates for your email marketing that mirror your branding and tone across all your marketing channels. By doing this, you’ll be able to create emails that look great and have the same tone, personality, and feel as your other marketing materials. This will make your emails more consistent with your brand and increase their chances of being opened. Don’t Forget About Video in Your Marketing Mix Many marketers struggle with video because they assume it requires a huge budget and team. Both of these assumptions are incorrect. Moreover, video can be incredibly effective for boosting your email marketing strategy. A study from MarketingExperiments.com found that businesses with an email marketing strategy that includes video receive 21% more leads than those that don’t. One thing to remember when it comes to boosting email marketing strategy with video is only to include it if you can’t fit it into your daily editorial calendar. By doing this, you’ll avoid interrupting your editorial workflow and ensure that the video you include is the best it can be. Always Include a Thank You Note at the End of Each Email Sequence One of the most important things you should do to boost your email marketing strategy is to include a thank you note at the end of each email sequence. By doing this, you’ll be able to build a stronger relationship with your audience. As a result, your emails will seem less like an interruption and more like a conversation. To do this, you must thank your readers for reading your emails genuinely. By doing this, you’ll also be able to express how much your readers mean to you. This will give your emails a deeper meaning, making them seem more personal and increasing click-through rates. Wrapping It Up Email marketing is a proven channel that can be used to grow your business and capture new customers. However, doing this effectively requires a strategy that is clear and consistent. First, to boost your email marketing strategy, you must be clear on your goals. Next, you must identify your target audience and the essence of sending out that email (is it to remind your customers about your products, revenue generation, advertise new products or launch a new campaign, and so on). Next, create an irresistible call to action button, use a slimming rule for email marketing, and be consistent with your branding and tone. In addition, don’t forget about video in your marketing mix. Finally, include a thank you note at the end of each email sequence.  Did you know? At Raven and Macaw, we do not only give tips on digital marketing; we do the marketing for you. So contact us to learn more about how we can help you grow your business. Stay connected on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn for digital marketing updates.