When looking at most business infrastructures there is usually one thing that is most important amongst all of them—the consumer. Your revenue is driven by consumer purchases, and if said consumer is happy with the services your company provides, they will more than likely return for repeat business.

A strong online presence can be everything for your business, so make sure you follow these 4 simple tips when constructing/revamping your website to create the best online user experience for your customers.

1. Have a Mobile Version of Your Website

As we stated earlier, 2011 is the year for mobile marketing and optimization, and rightfully so. With the use of mobile phones for web browsing reaching all time high numbers and constantly climbing, it is important that you have a mobile version of your site so your consumers can access your site, on the go, from their phone.

If your budget doesn’t allow you to build a complete separate mobile version of your website, be sure that you web developers are building your site to be mobile friendly.

2. Constantly Provide Additional Information (Add a Blog or News Section)

Adding new supplemental information to your website can be extremely valuable for multiple different reasons.

Benefits on a Consumer level

The main reason consumers will be going to your website is to find out more information about your product or service, so having supplemental information that’s relevant to your business will strongly benefit them. It can also help push them over the edge to make a purchase.

Not only that, if you are constantly providing new fresh information about the particular space your business is in, your site can become a resource for information which in turn can drive lots of traffic to your site. And believe me there is no such thing as bad traffic to a website.
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The whole first page on Google game has gotten a bit harder recently. This is because Google has started showing up to four pages from the same domain on one page of the search results. The reason? Google wants to present the most relevant search results based on a searcher’s intent.  If that searcher is interested in a particular domain or topic they might see up to four results for one domain based on relevance.

Google’s reasoning from their blog: “As before, we still provide links to results from a variety of domains to ensure people find a diverse set of sources relevant to their searches. However, when our algorithms predict pages from a particular site are likely to be most relevant, it makes sense to provide additional direct links in our search results.”

It’s important to note that when more than one page is shown from the same domain, the website descriptions for the additional pages change from two lines to one. This makes the first 10 words of a meta-description tag even more important.

Previously Google would only show up to two pages from the same domain on one page, but in the past two weeks there has been a dramatic change. Showing four results from one domain instead of one or two can create a substantial advantage in the search engine real estate game.  Just like back in the day, the number of times your website is visible on a search page the more opportunities there are to click it.
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This month Google released “Adwords Call Metrics,” a call tracking service for Adwords campaigns. The service is free for Adwords account holders and integrates a Google Voice number into ads on both computers and mobile devices. Google Voice is the free service that allows Google account holders set-up a phone number from any area code in the United States. For the purpose of Adwords, users can set up either a local phone number or a toll-free number. Users are then able redirect the number to any phone. The total number of calls and average duration of the calls can be tracked in the Adwords dashboard.

The same Google Voice number used in Adwords can also be used on other marketing materials or a website for increased tracking through Adwords, although we recommend setting up a separate Google Voice number for each campaign. Separate numbers allow for more targeted conversion tracking.

Although this service is still in BETA, there is an incredible amount of potential for the Google Voice/Adwords integration. First, “Adwords Call Metrics” creates another way for Adwords users to reach customers, track offline conversions, and measure the success of their ads. Also, there is a lot of speculation that Google will introduce a pay per call metric, very similar to the pay per click metric. In the future Google might also offer increased call metric capabilities for Adwords, such as recording, transcription, and enhanced analytics capabilities.

Currently Google is offering the service to a limited number of customers, but as they test the service and refine the features it will be released to more customers. You can tell if you have the option of “Adwords Call Metrics” by looking under the Ad Extensions tab in your Adwords account.

To read more about “Adwords Call Metrics” from Google click here or here.
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It’s the end of my second month here at envisionit media, and I’m proud to say that as the weeks pass, the learning curve continues to become steeper than ever before.  I stated in my last post that, “I’m only at the tip of the iceberg”, and let me tell you that statement was more dead-on than I could even imagine. During my first month I learned an abundance of different media and techniques (SEM, SEO, PPC, and Social Media to name a few) that could be applied to client accounts, but through my second month here I’m really beginning to delve deeper under the water by learning how to utilize these techniques to provide maximum gain for our clients.

With that said, let me give all of you local/nationwide/global business owners out there one small tip of advice I’ve learned while interning here: Use Social Media!! Unless you’ve been living under a rock (no offense if that’s your preferred living space), you’ve probably heard about Twitter and Facebook.  So you have heard about it? (I hope so) Are you using it? (Most likely) But the real question is; HOW are you using it?  Facebook currently has 400+ million users and Twitter is at 75 million, and botH can be great for promoting your business.  But on the other hand, there are already many other businesses being social, so it can be very hard to stand out amongst the crowd.
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Ever wish that you could actually be on Wrigley Field prior to a Chicago Cubs home game? Vote for this month’s Captain Clutch and you could win a chance to present the winning player with the award on the field!

Harry Caray’s, the Captain Morgan Club and envisionit media have teamed up to develop an exciting new Facebook application that will surely be creating some serious buzz this season. Facebook fans of the Captain Morgan Club will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite “clutch” player of the month. Each month the promotion will feature a different aspect of the game, such as pitching, hitting, and performance in the field.

So to kick off the 2010 season, fans will have a chance to vote for their “Captain Clutch: On the Mound”, and enter to win a chance to present the winning player with the award on the field before a home game.

Visit the fan page to become a fan and vote today! If you win, say hi to Big Z for us.

The Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Group have officially launched their own social networking site, www.EverybodysAnOriginal.com. Fairmont guests are encouraged to upload photos and videos of their Fairmont stay, along with their own commentary. Additionally, Fairmont employees and properties are similarly encouraged to contribute media and information, along with specialty recipes, and to respond to and interact with guest users.

After a soft launch in January, the site is now live for everyone to visit. Be sure to share your original Fairmont experience here!

AspireUp, a local marketing consultancy dedicated to helping companies and their brands grow exponentially, launched a refreshed website with envisionit media last week. The new site features a new design look and updated content, positioning AspireUp as a marketing leader for both local and global clients. Client testimonials have also been added for further credibility and content texture.

AspireUp’s typical client projects include marketing planning, branding, new product launches, corporate training and many others. To learn more about AspireUp and their services, visit them at www.aspireup.com!

We all knew it would happen.  It was only a matter of time.  After months of rumors and much anticipation, Steve Jobs unveiled today Apple’s “truly magical and revolutionary” tablet computer.

The iPad, a 10-inch touch screen, offers lightening fast web browsing and works with all existing Apple apps.  With its connection to the iTunes store, the iPad is ideal for downloading and playing movies, music and TV shows.

Apple magic does it again! Click Here for more!

We recently launched a new website for Wrigley View Rooftop, a premier Wrigley Field rooftop experience. Along with a complete renovation of the entire rooftop and interior space, this new website design was meant to shatter fans’ expectations of what an afternoon at the ballgame can mean.

Wrigley View’s approach towards fan friendliness is apparent from the moment you step through their door on historic Waveland Avenue. From the newly remodeled lounge, to the extensive buffet on the rooftop, Wrigley View Rooftop truly is your all-inclusive rooftop experience. The new website allows this all to shine through like never before, and truly communicates the Wrigley View rooftop experience to web visitors long before they ever book a game.

While the verdict may still be out regarding whether or not this will be the year the Cubs finally win the World Series, for Wrigley View Rooftop it is clear that this is their year!

Show your Cubs pride by visiting Wrigley View’s new site at www.wrigleyview.com!

Parties & Special Events by Lettuce Entertain You, Chicago’s well known hospitality group, has just launched a fabulous new website for booking your next party or special event. The new site features a branded redesign, streamlined navigation, easy event booking as well as a collection of details and photos of Lettuce’s beautiful restaurant venues.

So for your next social occasion, be sure to check out the many options and time-saving services of Parties & Special Events by Lettuce Entertain You! We know they will take good care of you.

Boogie on over to Lettuce Parties & Special Events at http://lettuceparties.com/