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Google loves content that is relevant to the page that it has indexed. For most people this may sound confusing but the following article should clarify what I mean for all those budding content marketers and bloggers looking to get their piece of the Google pie.

This is the year that mobile web design or responsive websites are going to count heavily towards your SEO. In the past having your website mobile friendly has really been for the aesthetics, the ease of use and the whole consumer experience. But Google has since started to look at websites that are not responsive and will start to rank sites that are mobile friendly over those that are not. This is something very recent and I feel that it’s going to play a very significant part of the SEO ranking process. If you have a website ( and ranking on Google is a big thing for you) that is not responsive and does not render properly for mobiles and tablets then I urge you to read this.

This is a critical question and if you are in the position where you are unable to find your website on Google or when you search for your main keywords, nothing comes up, then something is definitely going wrong. Being on the first page of Google is what it’s all about and let’s not mince words here. Google is the only place to be found and this trend is NOT GOING anywhere. Basically, if you want to get any new business or succeed in the business world nowadays, you are going to need a SEO strategy that will get your business ranking. I want to point out one other very crucial part of this process. That is, you are going to need a kick ass, awesome looking website that is totally geared for consumer conversion if it is also going to work. So there you have it. You have 2 very essential and imperative factors that will determine if you arte going to make it big time or die after a couple of months. Don’t think that these 2 points can be side skirted getting a cheap n nasty website or even worse a free website and combine this with bargain basement SEO. All that will happen is that you will be staring at your phone waiting for it to ring. And if in the unlikely event it does, I can guarantee you it will probably be a cold caller looking to sell you some thing. This is not what you want for your business and if you go down this path – you will end up BANKRUPT.

The Thank You page on your website is the page or pop up that your potential customer will see once they have filled out an inquiry form or sent an email, that is a way of showing recognition or appreciation for making the contact with your business. It’s a great way to affirm or acknowledge that you have not only received their contact, but it is really the first step in the sales process if you think about it. It is the very first bit of communication material between you and the client from your business and can make or break the sale. If done properly you are enforcing your brand and taking positive steps with the consumer engagement. Do it wrong and you can botch it up.

Your web traffic has gone through the roof, your SEO company is delivering on it’s promise of ranking your website and you can finally rest easy. Well, I’m afraid that’s completely wrong. Life is not so good online and all is not as is should be. Why? Cause people are finding your site, clicking on the link and not doing anything. So what’s wrong? Well, you do not have a conversion rate optimisation plan in place and this is why your business inquiries and sales are slumping badly and users are not engaging with your website. It’s a very common problem and happens all the time. You can spend all the money you like on getting the best SEO ranking position on Google. But, this will add up to nothing unless your website has been fully optimised for conversions. What I am telling you here is a new reality. In the past businesses were only concerned with getting to page 1. Now that the online competition for the consumer dollar is so fierce, your website has to not only be found but it MUST be the best that it possibly can be i terms of design, interface and usability. Without you are wasting your time. This is why we at Hopping Mad Designs have conversion rate optimisation front and centre with every website we develop.

If I could pinpoint one area that businesses should be focusing on in 2015 is their website conversion rates. This is often an over looked area and businesses are paying a heavy price for websites that are not focusing their efforts on improving these conversion rates. Following are some great tips to help businesses improve their website conversion rates.

Designing your website is very important to a cosmetic surgeon. All medical specialties and healthcare industry professionals can benefit from top notch web design but none more so than cosmetic surgery. Why? Because it is such a competitive industry and for a cosmetic surgeon to succeed nowadays they need the combination of a great looking website that is conversion focused PLUS a well thought out search engine optimisation campaign. Without all these factors working cohesively, the chances of your cosmetic surgery website succeeding and being competitive online are slim.

This is a great question and the cost of a website can vary greatly depending on the type and style of website you want. If you are after a cheap and cheerful website that is basically a template with your logo thrown in, then the cost for this can be quite cheap. In fact there are free website out there you can use. Alternatively, if you are looking for a website with all the bells n whistles, a website that is really going to set you apart from your competitors and establish you as a market innovator and leader, then the costs can be significantly higher. But rest assured it will be well worth it! Having a website design that looks better than the rest of the ‘herd’ will put you in a better position online to be more competitive.

Hopping Mad Reviews of 2014 would have to the highlighted by the radical shift in the relationship between web, SEO and social media. If I was as director of Hopping Mad Designs have to review the seismic shift between 2013 and 2014 it would certainly be how far businesses have come in their understanding of the internet. Following are just a few of my insights and reviews over the past year that has past through the doors of Hopping Mad Designs.

Being in the Web & SEO industry, when talking to people who do not have a clear understanding of SEO or design, I am always asked a heap of really good questions. Some of those are pretty relevant so I thought that I would share a few of these with those people reading this blog. It may even help answer a few questions you might have regarding SEO and its relationship with web design as well as some internet marketing pitfalls you should know exist out there.

Reviews of your business online can be a real killer. But, in my experience I wouldn’t believe everything you read. Some reviews are true but there are a hell of a lot of reviews that need to be ignored. Writing a review for a business or company can take as little as a minute but the negative ramifications can go on for much longer. This is why it’s vital that consumers treat reviews with a certain degree of skepticism. Believing everything you read on review sites is simply not true? Why? Cause there are people out there who are malicious and would like to damage your reputation online.

The easiest thing you could do for your business is palm off your web design, SEO and social media marketing off to a friend or family member who may have a tiny bit of experience in this field. They may have done a course on this at TAFE or worked on another mates website and did a bit of internet marketing, so why not trust them? After all, what could go possibly wrong? They swear blindly that they have done all this before on another friends website and that the results were fantastic. PLUS they are going to do it as a favour for you cause you are such a nice person. Well, this is where the trouble begins and following are some great reasons why you should never allow a friend or relative to touch your SEO or website.

Launching your new website is not as simple as it looks. There are a lot of variables that need to be carefully considered and crossed off your list before you push the button to make the website live. Failing to follow these critical steps can result in website down time and worse case scenario; lost Google ranking results. Following are some important points you need to follow when launching your new website. Most of these can be handled by your web developer or design agency, but if they are unsure, you must consult an SEO specialists.

Google has made ranking a website that much harder – in fact unless it’s handled professionally you are going to end up in real strife! With the on going algorithmic updates such as Penguin and Panda, the chances of getting your website penalised are much greater than say 1 or even 2 years ago. In fact, Google penalties and ranking suppression is quite a common occurrence and unfortunately there are many SEO and Web companies out there claiming to be able to remedy and help combat the situation. For those businesses that have been penalised and are suffering the trauma of lost Google rankings, many will believe the lies and spin they are told. Desperate people will do almost anything to get their rankings back. There is so much information out there online about what you should do if you have received a Google penalty, that I thought I would write a list of things that you should definitely not do if your website has been penalised.

I can see you there scratching your head and wondering why your website is not bringing in the kind of traffic you were anticipating. You did all the right things: you bought a really cool domain name, you purchased a SSL certificate, you had you logo designed up professionally, you also got your website designed by a design house that had a good track record. On top of this you even had them implement a SEO campaign so you were starting to climb up those Google rankings. The only issue is that no one is calling you and you just can’t work out why this is the case. Well, you just happen to be in luck cause I have listed some great ideas that you can implement to increase your brand awareness, consumer engagement and give your online profile a bit of a needy boost. Those businesses on a tight budget will love these, as they are so simple and quick to employ.

Many people and businesses I speak to come to our web agency after they have tried using one of those free websites. And guess what? The experience they have had has been poor and some what disappointing. Sure as a business owner you want to get the best value you can from products that are out there in the marketplace. But, when it comes to your website and all the associated online marketing that goes along with this, I’m afraid there are really no short cuts. Businesses in Australia who think it’s a good idea to get a free website and pay nothing for what they expect will generate revenue, and represent them online is complete nonsense. The truth is and I have said this over and over again; you pay peanuts and your going to get monkeys. This is the same with your website. Those free sites are there for the business owners who want nothing out of their site. Basically it is there just to exist as a brochure online; nothing more and nothing less. A point of reference with absolutely no thought or strategy behind it. Go the free route and expect little or nothing in return. That’s the reality of the web space and people or should I say naive business owners are falling for this all the time.