For updates on our latest projects and insights into our ongoing work, we invite you to stay connected with us. As always, we are here to assist with any of your future web design and development needs.

Here’s to a productive and successful 2024.

The post The standout work we completed in 2023 appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.

According to Forbes, in 2023, users form an opinion about a website in 0.05 seconds and the average time a user spends on a page is 54 seconds. So first impressions count!

 

So what little changes can you make that will make a big difference to your landing page?

1. Simplicity is Key

Think minimal and always be clear and concise. Too much clutter on your landing page will confuse your customers and information will get lost. Identify the key messages you want to convey and keep it brief.

In terms of website design, keep it simple and avoid using too many contrasting colours or images. Choose a theme that is consistent with your brand image and ensure the page is easy to navigate and easy to understand.

2. Clear and Concise Headlines

Just like in a newspaper, the headlines on your website need to immediately grab your audience’s attention. They should be clear, concise and clearly demonstrate the value proposition. At Thrive Digital, our experienced copywriter says ‘short and to the point’ headlines perform best!

3. Tell a Story

Does your landing page effectively portray what your business is about? Will users immediately understand what product or service you are marketing? Remember, customers want to know what your business is about and what benefit it is to them.

Your landing page should have a narrative; it should flow and give your customers a quick snapshot of what your business is about. Don’t bore your customers with too much information, but share your story and keep it clear, engaging and to the point. On your landing page you should portray the key features and benefits of your product/service and include relevant imagery and videos that best represent your brand.

4. Include social proof

Social proof comes in many forms, but for landing pages, customer reviews and testimonials are the best. Including testimonials and reviews on your website can help your brand build trust and credibility; it’s evidence that other customers have had a positive experience with your business. Providing links to your Google reviews on your landing page can be an effective way to capture this valuable information and display it to page visitors.

Other ways you can include social proof is by including logos of clients or partners, social media widgets/links to your social media and case studies.

5. Make the call-to-action

Your landing page needs to create urgency and have a call to action. It serves to encourage customers to click again, whether it’s to buy, contact you or send the link to a friend.

Your landing page is an awesome platform for you to connect with your customers or advertise your latest promotions or sales. Constantly updating your website’s landing page with fresh content will also help with your SEO and drive more traffic to your website.

6. Make It Mobile Friendly

If your website hasn’t been updated for a while or was created a long time ago, it’s important to ensure that it’s mobile friendly.

According to Statista, in 2023, over 58.33% of website traffic was via mobile phones. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, that’s over 40% more people you could be reaching!

7. Keep It Relevant

Keep in mind the reason why people are visiting your website. Think about what they want, what their dreams and goals are and how your business can fulfil these needs.

From a sales perspective, it’s about giving your customers the right information to eventually sell a product or service. If the information on your landing page isn’t relevant to your demographic, delete it!

8. It’s All About Design

In the end, your landing page needs to grab the viewers attention. It needs to be eye-catching and appealing and designed so it’s easily consumed. Step back and take a look at your landing page from a customer’s perspective. Could it do with an update? Is the page design outdated or lacking punch? Your landing page must be amazing if you want to connect with customers and build confidence in your brand.

To successfully engage customers to buy, contact you or spread word of mouth via your website you need to design a landing page that they’ll remember. Start a project with the Gold Coast web designers at Thrive Digital today!

The post 7 Ways to Improve Your Landing Page appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.

In addition to these factors, backlinks, referrals, SSL certificates (site security), and page content length also play a crucial role in a website’s ranking.

So, how do we improve them?

1. High Quality Content

If you want to improve your Google ranking, high-quality content is essential. Google will reward your website for offering informative, engaging and relevant content. High-quality content needs to be original and informative. Your content must be optimised for search engines, which means using relevant keywords and phrases. However, never stuff your content with too many keywords as it sounds spammy and can negatively impact your Google rankings.

To improve your Google rankings, you should also consider the length of your content. Longer content ranks higher as it often provides more information to readers, however the length of your content shouldn’t compromise the quality. It should remain engaging and informative.

2. Backlinks

Strong backlinks are a must if you want to improve your website’s ranking on Google. Links from other high-quality websites bolster the relevance of your content and help you rank higher. SEO tactics like link building can help, but it’s important to focus on quality over quantity.

Always research the other domain where the link will appear to ensure it’s a quality website and it’s relevant to your product or service. Google strongly discourages buying links, and favours organic backlinks. Our Gold Coast SEO experts recommend instead focusing on building relationships with other websites in your industry by contributing guest posts or collaborating on content.

Tools like Ahrefs and SEMRush can be helpful to identify other high-quality websites that are relevant to your industry and suitable as potential targets for link building.

3. Relevancy

To rank higher with Google, your content must be relevant. Google aims to ensure websites provide information that is relevant to the search queries. To rank higher, improve your website’s relevancy by optimising your content and website structure for the keywords that your audience will use to find your products or service. Keyword research tools are great for helping you identify the most relevant keywords. These should be incorporated into your website content in the web pages, meta tags and website structure.

4. User Experience

In 2023 our Gold Coast SEO experts believe user experience has a big impact on your Google ranking. Google’s ranking algorithm wants websites to provide a positive experience for users. To improve user experience your website must be easy to use, fast, and visually appealing. Clear navigation is essential to ensure people using your website can find the information they are looking for.

Make it mobile friendly? Nowadays, it’s not even debatable whether a website needs to be optimised for mobile devices, it’s key to creating a state-of-the-art website.

Need a new website? We create unique custom designed websites, made to suit your business and content. Take a look at our portfolio of work! 

Conclusion

To sum it up, to boost your Google ranking you need a comprehensive strategy, a holistic approach that considers your content quality, backlink profile, website relevancy, and user experience. By creating high-quality and relevant content, building strong backlinks and providing a great user experience, you can increase your chances of achieving a higher Google ranking.

If you are not screaming your company name from your rooftop to every passer-by through effective SEO practices, it might be time to start, or at the very least talk to a marketing agency. At Thrive Digital, our Gold Coast SEO experts live and breathe search engine optimisation and recognise the importance of building real relationships with our clients. We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to SEO. Instead, we customise our services to fit your specific needs and goals.

Get in touch today!

The post 4 Important SEO Ranking Factors for 2023 appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.

You may have noticed that organic SEO results are being pushed further down the page, with Google favouring ads and its own properties above the fold. This means that if you’re relying solely on organic SEO to drive traffic to your site, you’re missing out on a lot of potential customers. But by connecting your WooCommerce store to your Google Listing, you can showcase your products to potential customers at the top of the search results page.

So how do you connect your WooCommerce store to your Google Listing? It’s actually easier than you might think. Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started:

Step 1: Set up a Google My Business account

The first step in connecting your WooCommerce store to your Google Listing is to set up a Google My Business account. This will allow you to manage your business information across Google’s properties, including Search and Maps. To set up a Google My Business account, go to google.com/business and follow the instructions.

Step 2: Verify your business’s location

Once you’ve set up your Google My Business account, you’ll need to verify your business’s location. This is important because it ensures that your business information is accurate and up-to-date. To verify your business’s location, you’ll need to provide Google with some information about your business, such as your address and phone number. Google will then send you a postcard with a verification code, which you’ll need to enter into your Google My Business account to complete the verification process.

Step 3: Install the Google Listings and Ads plugin for WooCommerce

The next step is to install the Google Listings and Ads plugin for WooCommerce. This plugin will help you sync your product data with Google My Business and create Google Local Inventory Ads. To install the plugin, go to the Plugins section of your WordPress dashboard and search for “Google Listings and Ads for WooCommerce.” Once you’ve found the plugin, click the “Install Now” button and follow the instructions.

Step 4: Connect your WooCommerce store to your Google My Business account

Once you’ve installed the Google Listings and Ads plugin, the next step is to connect your WooCommerce store to your Google My Business account. To do this, go to the Google My Business section in the plugin settings and click on “Connect to Google.” You’ll then be prompted to log in to your Google account and grant the plugin access to your Google My Business account.

Step 5: Sync your products with Google My Business

Once you’ve connected your WooCommerce store to your Google My Business account, the next step is to sync your products with Google My Business. In the plugin settings, you can select which products you want to sync with Google My Business. You can also choose which attributes to include in your product listings, such as price, availability, and descriptions. This will ensure that your product listings are accurate and up-to-date.

Step 6: Set up Google Local Inventory Ads

Once your product data is synced with Google My Business, you can create Google Local Inventory Ads to promote your products to local shoppers. These ads will appear in Google search results and Google Maps, and they’ll include details like product images, prices, and availability. To set up Google Local Inventory Ads, go to the Ads section.

It’s that easy! But if you need expert assistance, Thrive Digital can help. As a Platinum Certified WooCommerce Expert, we have the knowledge and experience to get the most out of Google Listings and Ads and take your online store to the next level.

We also offer other services, such as SEO and Google Ads, to help you improve your online visibility and drive more traffic and sales to your store. Don’t wait any longer to grow your business. Contact Thrive Digital today and start reaping the benefits of Google Listings and Ads.

The post Connecting Woocommerce to Your Google Business Listing appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.

Through a rigorous vetting and verification process by WooCommerce and Automattic, ensuring that we maintain the highest standard of work. It’s our commitment to using our expertise to help businesses build the online store they’ve always dreamed of.

WooCommerce is the world largest eCommerce platform, powering over 3.6 million live websites and 28% of the top 1M eCommerce websites.

At Thrive Digital, we’re all about delivering top-notch service to our clients. With our Platinum Certified WooCommerce Expert status, we have a direct line of technical support with the WooCommerce team, making sure we deliver exceptional results every time.

Our team is made up of experts with the experience needed to help you build the online store of your dreams. Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to upgrade your existing store, we can help you build a store that’s set up for success.

If you’re ready to build a truly exceptional online store, then Thrive Digital is the partner you need. With our WooCommerce expertise, we’ll help you create a store that meets your unique business needs and delivers the results you want. Get in touch with us today!

The post Thrive Digital – Platinum Certified WooCommerce Experts appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.

In this article, we’ll explore the reasons why your business needs a blog and the benefits that it can bring.

A blog will…

Boost Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

One of the primary reasons businesses should have a blog is to improve their search engine optimisation (SEO). A blog provides a regular flow of fresh content that can help to improve your website’s search engine rankings. Search engines like Google love fresh, high-quality content that is relevant to the keywords people are searching for. By consistently creating new blog posts that target specific keywords, you can improve your website’s visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).

Search engines like Google love fresh, high-quality content that is relevant to the keywords people are searching for.

Drive Traffic to Your Website

Blogging is an effective way to drive traffic to your website. Every blog post you publish creates a new page on your website, giving you more opportunities to attract visitors. By sharing your blog posts on social media and other online channels, you can reach a wider audience and drive more traffic to your website.

Build Authority and Credibility

Blogging is an excellent way to establish your authority and credibility in your industry. By providing valuable insights and information on your blog, you can demonstrate your expertise and knowledge. This can help to build trust with your target audience and position your business as a thought leader in your industry.

Improve Engagement with Your Audience

Blogging is a great way to engage with your target audience. By creating content that is relevant and valuable to them, you can encourage them to engage with your business. This can include leaving comments on your blog posts, sharing your content on social media, and subscribing to your blog. By building a relationship with your audience through your blog, you can increase their loyalty and ultimately convert them into customers.

Generate Leads and Sales

Blogging can help to generate leads and sales for your business. By providing valuable content that is relevant to your target audience, you can attract potential customers to your website. From there, you can encourage them to sign up for your email list, download a free resource, or contact you for more information. By nurturing these leads through your blog, you can increase the likelihood of converting them into paying customers.

There are many reasons why your business needs a blog. From improving your search engine rankings to building authority and credibility, blogging can bring a range of benefits to your business. By creating high-quality, relevant content that is valuable to your target audience, you can attract more visitors to your website, engage with your audience, and ultimately drive more leads and sales for your business.

From improving your search engine rankings to building authority and credibility, blogging can bring a range of benefits to your business.

Let Thrive handle it

At Thrive Digital, we understand the importance of having a blog for your business website. Our team of experienced writers and content strategists can help you create a blog that aligns with your business goals and attracts your target audience.

We follow a systematic approach to create a blog that is tailored to your business needs. Our team works closely with you to understand your target audience, industry, and business goals. We then develop a content strategy that aligns with your objectives and create high-quality, engaging blog posts that are optimised for search engines.

Our blog writing services are not limited to just creating content. We also provide ongoing blog management services, including publishing, editing, and promoting your blog posts on social media and other online channels. This ensures that your blog is always up-to-date and is consistently providing value to your audience.

In addition to blog writing and management services, we also offer web design and development to create a visually appealing and user-friendly blog for your website.

If you’re looking to create a blog for your business, we can help. Contact us today to learn more about our blog writing and management services, and how we can help you achieve your business goals through blogging.

The post Why Your Business Needs a Blog appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.

Another important aspect to consider is the level of customer service provided by the company. It is essential to work with a company that is responsive and easy to communicate with, as this will make the design process go much more smoothly.

A good way to gauge a company’s customer service is to reach out to them with any questions or concerns you may have and see how quickly and effectively they respond.

In addition to a strong portfolio and good customer service, it’s also important to choose a company that is experienced and knowledgeable in the specific area of design that you require help with. For example, if you are looking for assistance with branding, you’ll want to work with a company that has a lot of experience in that area.

Another key consideration is the company’s flexibility and willingness to work with you to achieve your specific goals. They should be open to feedback and willing to make changes and revisions as needed, in order to ensure that you are completely satisfied with the final product.

Lastly, when choosing a graphic design company, it is important to consider the cost. It’s important to find a company that provides high-quality design services at a reasonable price. It’s also essential to make sure that the company’s pricing is transparent and that they don’t have any hidden fees.

In conclusion, choosing a graphic design company is an important decision, and by keeping these key factors in mind, you can ensure that you are making the best choice for your project. Take your time, do your research, and choose a company that you can trust to create high-quality designs that will help your business grow.

If you’re a looking to improve your company’s image, Thrive Digital is a local Gold Coast graphic design company that can help. Our team specialises in a wide range of graphic design services, including, Logo & Branding, Packaging, Magazines, Brochures & Catalogues, Annual Reports and more!  Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your business stand out from the crowd.

The post How to select a graphic design company appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.

Make your Facebook page look legit

Just like your personal Facebook profile you can set up and use a Facebook Business Page for free. It doesn’t matter if you have only a few followers or likes you don’t have to pay for the basic features of your Facebook Business Page.

Before you start advertising on Facebook, make sure your page is looking good. That means having a killer profile pic, cover photo, and bio that accurately represents your business. Don’t forget to keep your contact information up to date, and include a clear call to action on your page.

Gain visibility through Facebook groups

When it comes to visibility in a users home feed the algorithm prioritises content from friends, family and groups as these are likely to generate the most engagement. Within the group, posts with high levels of comments, likes, and shares are likely to perform well. The algorithm also takes into account the engagement of the group members with the group overall, the activity of the group and the level of engagement of the post creator with the group in the past.

Posts that are considered low-quality or spammy are typically demoted in the group’s feed and may be removed altogether so make sure you abide by the group rules and that you are sharing valuable content. Genuinely join in on conversations to get your business out there.

Get live with Facebook Live

Facebook Live is becoming more and more popular, and for good reason. This live streaming feature lets you connect with your followers in real-time, so use it to showcase your product or service, answer questions, or give a behind the scenes look at your business.

Some ideas for getting your brand live include:

1. Step-by-step tutorials
2. Question and answer sessions
3. Collaborations with micro-influencers or complementary vendors

Sell via Facebook Marketplace

Facebook Marketplace offers an opportunity for small businesses to reach a broad audience at little to no cost, making it a good option for business owners who are just starting out and looking to expand their customer base.

If you are looking to start selling on Facebook Marketplace, it is essential to have a clear and detailed description of your product, use high-quality images, set a fair price and make sure to communicate promptly with potential buyers. Additionally, make sure to follow Facebook’s policies and guidelines to avoid having your listing removed.

Sharing is caring

People are more likely to trust recommendations from people they know and trust. To increase the credibility of your business ask your friends and family share your page or even your posts. Before you ask your besties to share, make sure that you have strong, engaging content, and a clear value proposition on your page. This ensures that when it is shared it is easy understand what your business is about and how to get in touch.

Show off user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful tool for increasing engagement and building trust with your audience. Encourage your followers to share their own photos and videos related to your product or service, and then share their content on your page. It’s a win-win.

Create a Facebook shop

Creating a Facebook Shop is an excellent and free way to increase visibility, engagement, and sales for your business, and you don’t have to pay any commission on sales made. Having a Facebook Shop allows you to showcase your products directly on your Facebook page, making it easy for customers to browse and purchase from your business. This increases the visibility of your products and makes it more likely that customers will make a purchase.

It can also assist with customer service: People can directly message you, and you can reply to their inquiries and concerns through your shop, helping you to build a relationship with your customers and increase customer satisfaction.

Engage with followers through Facebook Messenger

Engaging with followers through Facebook Messenger can help to increase engagement, improve customer service, increase sales and improve customer loyalty. Messenger provides an easy and convenient way for customers to engage with your business. By responding to messages quickly, you can encourage more conversations and increase engagement with your brand.

In summary, Facebook can be a great tool for reaching a large audience, but you don’t have to spend a ton of money. By following these tips, you can advertise on Facebook for free in 2023 and grow your business without breaking the bank. Just remember to be consistent, use engaging content, and track your progress to see what’s working best for you.

If you’re a Gold Coast business looking to improve your digital marketing efforts in 2023, Thrive Digital is here to help. Our team specialises in a wide range of digital marketing services, including Facebook advertising, search engine optimisation, and website design. We’ll work with you to understand your unique business goals and create a custom strategy to help you achieve them. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help take your Gold Coast digital marketing to the next level.

The post How to advertise on Facebook for free in 2023 appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.

Thrive now offers Lightspeed e-commerce, here on the Gold Coast. Previously called Vend, Lightspeed actively helps retail businesses launch their products into new markets while allowing them to manage their online and instore.

What is Lightspeed?

Lightspeed is a POS system or Point of Sale system that allows retailers to process transactions and keep inventory synchronised across both eCommerce and physical stores.

What are the benefits of integrating Lightspeed ecommerce gold coast for your physical and eCommerce stores?

• Consumers are more closely connected with your business if there are more options available.
• It can also help reduce the hassle of shipping. Ecommerce websites give you the flexibility to be open 24 hours a day, where consumers can buy online and later collect their products from your physical store.
• Centralised stock maintenance is a huge advantage! If a product gets sold online, you can separate that product from your physical store stock and later process the shipment.
• Inventory management and planning will be another strong advantage, as both online and offline orders reduce the same inventory.

Advantages of Lightspeed eCommerce integration

One of the main advantages is that Lightspeed integration eliminates the need for double data entry! Web orders are downloaded to the Lightspeed POS system and work entirely through an automatic scheduler. The whole process of automated synchronisation significantly reduces the labour cost and data entry errors. With Omnichannel Commerce Lightspeed integration with eCommerce, stock levels are always accurate across all channels, whether that is in an online shopping cart or marketplaces.

This integration is useful if you run a physical store and an online store from one location. Regardless of the way your customers are shopping, whether in your physical store, mobile devices, or desktops you can offer the same consistent high quality service.

The automated synchronisation enables you to enter the product information, stock levels and prices from Lightspeed Retail POS to your eCommerce stores and automatically sends web sales and customer data into your Lightspeed Point of Sales (POS) System.

Are you based on the Gold Coast and want to know if Lightspeed eCommerce is right for you? Send us a message, we’d love to hear from you.

The post Lightspeed – Where Retail & eCommerce Merge appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.

While posting consistently, reaching out to your niche audience and posting reels is a great way to increase your organic engagement, another way that is often overlooked is optimising SEO. Instagram SEO works on the same premise as traditional SEO, instead of driving traffic to your website, it drives traffic to your Instagram page. By understanding Instagram SEO and implementing the following strategies you will be able to get your content featured in search result pages and ultimately help extend your organic reach.

What is SEO for Instagram?

Instagram SEO means optimising your Instagram content so it can be discovered in search results. When someone searches for a relevant keyword or hashtag in the Instagram search box, you want to ensure your content appears at the top of the list.

For example, if you’re a shoe repairer on the Gold Coast when someone types in “shoe repairer” into the search bar, you want to be the first account to show up. Now, SEO can be quite tricky to perfect. It is a fine art – just ask our SEO guru Anton! Instagram SEO is no different. Here are a few things you can do to get yourself ranking right up top.

Search text

Well, it makes sense that what you type into the search bar will show you the most important stuff straight away. Based on the terms, Instagram looks for relevant usernames, bios, captions, hashtags and locations.

The first step is to do some research. Find out what terms your audience are looking at when it comes to content like yours. Google Analytics is a great one to use, however, there are plenty of other social media monitoring tools out there that can assist you in finding the right terms you want to rank for.

Activity

Activity is based on the hashtags and accounts the user has followed and interacted with, as well as which posts they have viewed in the past. To rank well it’s all about researching what your audience is searching for. Understand the hashtags your target audience is engaging with and use those.

Popularity signals

Making quality content that will get traction is the key to getting yourself ranking high in search results. Instagram determines popularity using signals like the number of clicks, likes, shares and follows for an account, as well as hashtags and place.

A great tip is to post at the right time to spark engagement right away! Early engagement signals popularity and gives your content a search boost when it is fresh. You can find out the best time to publish on insights in the app.

SEO Strategies

Optimise your Instagram profile for search

The first place to start is with your Instagram bio. Choose a handle and a profile name that is relevant to your content. If you can squeeze in a keyword into your handle or name, do it!

Whatever your business is, make sure that it is clear in your handle and name. Another important thing to do is include keywords in your bio. Ask yourself, who are you and what are you about? Make sure what content you are providing is clear in your bio. Lastly, include a profile location in your bio, this acts as a ranking signal to the Instagram search engine.

Hashtags

Using the right hashtags in your caption is a great way to boost SEO. Follow the below steps to make sure you’re using hashtags in a way that benefits your business.

• Only use relevant hashtags.
•  Used a mix of well known hashtags and niche-specific ones.
• Limit hashtags to 3 to 5 per post.
• Don’t use irrelevant ones or even worse, ones that are banned.

Use the correct keywords

When writing a caption consider putting in a few keywords that are relevant to your business. Instagram has changed how you are served your content. In the past, you were only served relevant accounts, hashtags and places.

Now, search results also include keyword result pages meant for the discovery of new accounts.

Add alt text to images

Alt text has been used on the web for a while now to describe what an image or video is. This helps make content accessible to those with visual impairments. It also assists in providing a description of the content in case an image or video fails.

Instagram uses object recognition technology to create an automatic description of each photo for those who use a screen reader. This information also provides information to the algorithm and search results about the content of your image.

To add customised alt text, when uploading an image tap Advanced Settings > Accessibility > Write Alt Text > add your description from there.

At the end of the day, one of the best things you can do is maintain a quality account! Instagram loves accounts that stick by their guidelines and provide content that is high quality. Implementing these tactics is a great way to optimise your Instagram account.

If you want to know more, book a free marketing strategy call with us today!

The post SEO Tips to Grow Your Instagram appeared first on Thrive Digital Web Design Gold Coast.