Which social media site do you use?

It's a silly question, of course - modern internet users would never confine themselves to just one social platform. Each one excels at something different; for example, we use Facebook to stay in touch with our friends, while Twitter is the best way to keep track of your favourite celebrities. LinkedIn is strictly for business, while Google+ communities are a great way of finding people with the same hobbies as you.

This seems like a pretty good system to us, but the biggest names in social media have other ideas. Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus...each one wants to be the social network, and all of them have recently been attempting to expand their horizons and give us everything we could possibly need. Here's how social media moguls seem to be thinking right now:

"If I give them hashtags and trending topics," Mark Zuckerberg reasoned, "they won't need to leave my website to check Twitter! I'll be the King of the Internet!"

This attitude has resulted in a massive online arms race, with everyone plagiarising everyone else's features in a bid to be the one site that really does have everything. It's hard to say whether or not this is a good thing; we are getting some cool new features out of the ongoing social skirmish, but a lot of people liked Twitter (for example) the way it was, and a lot of these changes have gone down like lead balloons.

If you're not entirely sure what we're talking about, here are three features that social media sites have copied from each other recently:

Trends & Hashtags

Who did it first? Twitter, of course - the microblogging site has been utilising hashtags for years. They've been used for serious purposes (like tracking new stories as they develop) and silly purposes (adding a sarcastic bit of commentary to the end of a tweet), but no matter how you use 'em, they'll always be associated with Twitter first and foremost.

Who else is doing it? Pretty much everyone, although Facebook are the most notable plagiarists here. In fairness, everybody was using hashtags in their FB posts anyway, so it's hard to blame ol' Zuckers for appropriating Twitter's big idea; it's much easier to point the finger at him for Facebook's recently-introduced 'Trending' section, which actually goes one better than Twitter's 'Trends' by including a snippet of information about each trending topic.

Handy, although we can only imagine how many people had Game of Thrones spoiled for them by that little white box in the corner.

Cover/Header Photos

Who did it first? Google+ has allowed users to upload cover photos since it launched in 2011. Facebook weren't far behind, rolling out the cover photo in September of the same year. Either way, it certainly wasn't Twitter's idea.

Who else is doing it? Yep, that little blue bird and its evil overlords can take just as good as they give. Roughly one year after Facebook first allowed its users to add cover photos, Twitter starting doing more or less the exact same thing.

More recently, Twitter's layout was radically changed, putting a lot more focus on the cover photo (or 'header photo', as Twitter would have you call it). This was met with a lot of criticism - wasn't Twitter supposed to be about fitting everything into 140 characters? Why the sudden focus on adding images?

Dragging & Dropping

Who did it first? Again, we're pretty sure that Google+ can claim the bragging rights here. A lot of people were reluctant to embrace The Big G's social network when it first materialised online, but if there's one thing that won people over (including the Designer Websites team), it's the site's superbly sleek functionality, epitomised by the way in which you can simply drag images and other items straight into your posts.

Who else is doing it? Almost everybody, although we certainly aren't complaining about this one. You can now drag and drop images into tweets and Facebook updates, just as you can with G+ posts, and it's miles better for everyone (although the functionality is still a little clunky on FB). Now, if only LinkedIn would let us do this as well...

What do you think? Are all social networks too similar nowadays? Should they be sticking to what they each do best? Or are you enjoying all of these changes and new features?

Let us know on Twitter...or Facebook...or Google Plus.

Google once again shocked the internet world by releasing its +1 button which features as a part of its paid and organic search results. Following in the footsteps of the Facebook Like button, Google’s +1 button is incorporates user sentiment into the search results, but many question the thinking and intent behind this addition to the search results.

How does the Google +1 Button Work?
The thinking is that people respect the opinion of friends and colleagues over and above strangers or marketers – hence word of mouth has worked well for decades. Now Google want to cash in on this trend by allowing your friends and contacts to recommend websites and content in the search results by adding a +1 to that site.  So, if you are signed into a Google account you will be able to see all the sites your contacts have +1’d and likewise they will be able to see those sites you +1.

Where does the button feature?
The Google +1 button features on both organic and paid search results. Google have also produced a +1 button that can be placed within your website’s pages which allows visitors to recommend your site without having to leave it. At Designer Websites we have already begun implementing this button into a number of website designs making it much easier for our client’s customers to share products, news and special offers.

How will this effect SEO?
The best indication we have so far as to how this new button effects search results comes from the following statement from Google, “We’ll also start to look at +1’s as one of the many signals we use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, including social signals from other services. For +1's, as with any new ranking signal, we'll be starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality over time.” Those sceptical about this new development cite the opportunity for the button to be manipulated through false Google accounts to distort rankings. No doubt Google have thought hard on this and will be monitoring such behaviour closely.

For additional information and details on Google’s +1 button visit Google’s Webmaster Blog.

Here are designer Website’s top 5 onsite conversion tips:

1.    Focus on your call to action – firstly, make sure you have a call to action; any webpage that leaves the customer thinking ‘now what?’ has failed and is costing you sales. Make sure every page has a crystal clear call to action, or even better, make sure the call to action is visible even as the visitor scrolls down your page. Test the wording of your call to action; would ‘send me information’ work better than ‘send query’? Use different call to actions based on the stage the visitor is at in their buying journey; someone who clicks ‘send me information’ will only just be starting out on their buying journey, whereas someone who clicks ‘request call-back’ is ready to buy.

2.    Un-clutter your message – is there too much noise on your page, is your message being drowned? Ask yourself, what is the purpose of this page and what do I want those who visit it to do? Now make it as easy and clear as possible for visitors to complete that action. If you place too much information or too many options in front of people they will freeze or get lost.

3.    Make use of images – images can be incredibly powerful for instantly conveying your message. Images can be highly emotive and help position your service or product in the visitor’s mind. Test where you place the image and what image you use. People connect with images of other people better than inanimate objects.

4.    Match intent with content – potential customers will have found your page for a reason; they want something and expect your page to provide it. If your marketing funnels are set up correctly, those people landing on your product page will expect to see information relating to that product, so ensure all content on that page speaks to the visitor’s need, if it doesn’t then remove it.

5.    Make no assumptions, test everything – this is the key to onsite conversions; whatever you decide to do test it first. Testing is the key to onsite conversions. Just as you would test new PPC ads against a control ad you must test one call to action against another to see which performs best. Once you have a winner come up with another version and try to beat it.

Improving your onsite conversions is an ongoing and timely process but if you are serious about making it big through the web, it’s an essential part of your online marketing package. Here at Designer-Websites.co.uk we can provide you with a head start as all our website designs take into account proven onsite conversions factors, ensuring your new website instantly outperforms the competition.

We released a garden decking website back last year and the site is doing incredibly well, we are happy to say. Having recently seen the quality of the decking once it is down I have to say how amazed I am at how good it looks! I have personally put timber decking down and it was hard work and needs staining every year, so this composite decking makes me cringe at how much time and effort we have wasted on timber decking, and continue to waste I might add!

If you are thinking about decking right now, whether it be for your garden or your roof top balcony, or even for a commercial premises I would urge you to first look at this composite decking from Timbertech, it is a little more expensive up front, but will be easy to maintain, will look better than other decking and will also be fitted easier!

Don't take my word for it - take a look at this composite decking site now.

There is absolutely no point having a website no one is going to be able to find. You could have a fantastic business plan, a market which is just ripe for the plucking, and the world’s most gorgeous website. That’s all well and good but how do your customers find you on the web.

What do you mean you’re on page 34 of Google? I’m not going to scroll through 34 pages to find your company, when there are hundreds of other reputable providers who can offer a similar product or service. So as a company, you need to make sure your website ranks highly on the internet search engines to bring in the targeted traffic; and here’s how you do it.

Write good content

Good website content is crucial for any well ranked website. It must be appropriate not just to the website, but also the specific page you’re targeting. Keywords: make sure they are placed in the correct places and throughout the body copy of the document. This alone will help your ranking over time.

Persistent content

Keep the site updated with fresh and relevant content. Whether you do this by updating pages regularly, such as blogs, news or an events section, or with the addition of features such as calendars, forums or newsletters; it is up to you.

Keep site navigation simple

Through a combination of menus, sub menus, a site-search function and ideally a form of site map, your site viewers must be able to access the content they’re looking for quickly. A general rule of thumb is that users should be able to access the content they want within three clicks. Otherwise they are likely to become frustrated and leave.

Give users what they want

Does your site contain all the information your users are likely to need? For example, if you owned a local takeaway, why not look into having an online menu and perhaps an online booking system? Maybe even a newsletter or a Twitter feed to keep your customers informed of any promotions you might have on.

Regularly review your site

Customers’ tastes change all the time and as new technologies become more readily available it is advised to adapt the website to reflect these changes. Mobile browsing has been on the increase for some time and is looking like a new technology which is here to stay. Developing a mobile friendly site will help you get ahead of your competition. 

Here at Designer Websites we use our mix of technical expertise and commercial know-how, providing you with elegant, functional websites, which can be fully optimised for search engine success. Call us now on 0845 272 6813 to take things further.