Website Development Archives

Local Santa Barbara online marketing firm, First Click Inc., announces the launch of the new website for the Chamber of the Santa Barbara Region. The principle goal of the project was to develop a website that would serve Chamber members and the community with resources relevant to business and tourism.

First Click’s web development team provided the Chamber with a complete website rebuild featuring a new design, improved SEO, mobile responsiveness, simple navigation, and new portals for user convenience. The new site includes an organized, visually appealing home page that displays all Chamber related events as well as a convenient 7-day weather forecast for users to reference.

The Chamber has already noted a significant increase in website activity and time spent on the site since the redesign launch. Stephanie Armstrong, the Chamber’s Vice President of Marketing, remarked, “Since the new website has gone live, we have seen a growth in conversion rates and the amount of inquiries through our various online channels.” Prior to the rebuild, the site was difficult to navigate and lacked online visibility due to improper SEO and a lack of social media integration, all of which has been greatly improved. In particular, the website was updated to include a mobile responsive design. Given that 50% of Google search results originate from mobile devices, it is crucial to implement a mobile responsive design to maintain a successful online presence. Max Tracy, First Click Client Management Director adds, “Having a mobile responsive website for a business is no longer optional. Google recently announced that mobile responsive websites will receive much greater authority and ranking. We expect the algorithm update to begin taking effect as early as May 2015.”

This new Chamber website serves as the hub for the expansion of the Chamber’s already impactful presence within the Santa Barbara Community. The Chamber’s President/CEO, Ken Oplinger, sees great potential for the growth of the organization and Chamber members, “With an optimized interface, our website will serve as a main tool for individuals seeking to improve the presence of their business in Santa Barbara County, have access to up-to-date information on issues affecting the business community, and help direct those seeking services from our members.”

First Click is a full service online marketing agency that specializes in web development, SEO, social media management, branding, online marketing consulting, and public relations.

For more information regarding First Click services email Chris Eriksson at Christopher@firstclickinc.com.

About First Click Inc.

First Click Inc. launched in 2007 and has achieved top ten rankings and substantially increased target market online traffic for virtually every client project across a wide range of industries and disciplines. The First Click team is comprised of individuals with professional skill sets ranging from website development, SEO best practices, social media marketing, branding, online marketing consulting, and PR/media outreach.

About the Chamber of the Santa Barbara Region

The Chamber of the Santa Barbara Region is the oldest and largest business organization in the Tri County Region. The Chamber is a non-profit corporation founded in 1878 and incorporated in 1899. The mission of the Chamber is to enhance and promote the regional economic environment through support of our members and collaboration with business, government and community resources.

Search Engine Optimization – What is it and Why is it Important?

Search Engine Optimization, or more commonly known as SEO to many, is the pivotal aspect of online marketing and website development. SEO is constantly changing and evolving as Google sets new algorithms in place to affirm their search engine performance and dominance. As online marketing and SEO practitioners, we have to stay at the cutting edge of techniques to continue to develop an online presence.

How do we handle and manage SEO? Here are a few practices that every website should incorporate.

Complete Website

Now this is where many companies actually miss their opportunity to be ranked within search engines. They don’t focus enough of their time on the home website. Sites need to be complete and fulfilling for the visitor; a clear sense of direction and communication for all those that land on a page. When traffic begins to visit, it should be clear to them where everything is and what is being offered. If it becomes confusing people are inclined to leave and look for another site that gives them the path of least resistance.

When monitoring a site, make sure these aspects are completed:

Website URLs- Make sure they are relevant to the page and consumers.
Page Titles – Explains the page in a few words.
H1, H2 – Optimized for key focus of the page.
Meta Description – Brief description that potential visitors will see when in search engines.
No Dead Ends – Pages should always lead to another aspect of the site or third party assets.
Sitemap – Optimize pages by importance.
Engaging Design – Avoid the bland and boring. Make sure you’re excited and energetic in displaying your website

Social Media Integration

The world has become more digital and connective since the birth of the internet. We have thirsted on the ideas of how we can connect even more effectively than we do now. Anyone can become famous with the right use of social media and clever marketing. This is an opportunity that cannot be ignored by any company searching to increase revenue and visibility. Social media may not be your primary for generating sales but it will definitely help gain awareness and traffic to your product, if managed correctly.

Best social media practices:

Finding the Right Platform – There is an endless amount of social media platforms, pick the ones that can best benefit the company.
Completing the Profile – Make sure every aspect of the social profile is filled out.
Consistency – Create a schedule of posts that will be manageable. Social profiles fail without consistency.
Brand Image – Uphold a brand image across every platform.
Engaging Content – Create posts and updates that are engaging and entertaining for the viewer.

Content Creation

This may be last on the list, but know that this is the fuel that runs the online marketing motor. Without creative and quality content, there is no way to build an organic follow. Now organic content can be photos, questions, videos, blogs, news articles, etc… The key to organic content is caring about what is being produced. Do not make content for marketing sake, but for educational and informational purpose. Content that is well designed, shows quality and speaks to the target audience will be far more affective when trying to improve reach and exposure.

Content Creation Tips:

Keywords – Make sure there is a focus of the article, use and place a target keyword or Keyphrase.
Organic/Quality – Content pieces have to be organic, not copied material or overly recycled content.
Consistency – Have a plan that will be easy to have content streamlined to publication
Social Integration – Share content with social media to increase exposure
No Duplications – Content cannot be blatantly reused without modifications. Recommend all content be organic

More to come from us here at First Click Inc. This was just a brief overview of some broad excerpts of search engine optimization and SEO techniques. We will go further in depth on concepts in this article and others in the future.

For more information on SEO go to our website First Click Inc

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