Born between the late 1990s and early 2000s, Generation Z can’t remember what life was like before the internet came into play. As true digital natives, Gen Z is the first to grow up with a wealth of information available at their fingertips.
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While many people are quick to label Gen Z as anti-social smartphone addicts, marketers and designers would be making a massive mistake to ignore how influential they are in business success. To help increase traffic to your page, here are a few tips on how to design an effective WordPress website for Generation Z.
Understand Gen Z
Understandably, to create a website that appeals to Gen Z, you’re going to need to conduct research into who they are and what they like and dislike. If you don’t get a sound knowledge of Gen Z’s wants and needs, it’s likely that your website won’t do much to keep them interested. Generation Gurus may be able to assist you along the way, giving you useful tools on how to best connect with Gen Z.
Keep Things Simple
As Gen Z has grown up with technology, they will be experts at sifting through the noise to find information that interests them. With attention spans decreasing, it’s important that your website does what it says on the tin from the moment they land on your page. Making the user experience simple and straightforward should be your top priority, so make sure not to bombard them with needless content.
Fast Loading Speeds
You will be hard-pressed to find a Gen Z who doesn’t use the internet on a day to day basis. In the modern world we live in, we’re all used to receiving information when and where we want it, making fast loading speeds a crucial component that you need to factor in when creating a WordPress website. Generation Z are used to getting constant information, so make sure that your website loads within a matter of seconds, otherwise, they may not respond well and go elsewhere.
Keep 100% Authenticity
Generation Z is known for demanding brand authenticity, so when creating an effective WordPress website, you need to keep things 100% real and honest. Cold robotic marketing strategies will not appeal to Gen Z, so it’s best to appeal to your audience in a more conversational manner which will create deeper and meaningful conversations with Gen Z. Also, you need to show that your business is not just about making cash, but that you care about making a positive change in the environmental or social landscape.
Make It Accessible
To receive tons of traffic to your WordPress website, it’s important that you make your website accessible for all, meaning everyone can use it. Not only will doing so boost your SEO but increase your potential number of Gen Z customers. Many Gen Zs are always on the go. It’s vital that your website is optimized for smartphone users, so they can access your content while out and about.
In a nutshell, Generation Z wants information that is relevant and quick to grasp. For your website to gain traction, using all the advice above can be a great start in creating an effective website that is popular with Gen Z.
Voice search usage is rapidly increasing and it is expected that by the end of the year around 50% of all searches will be made via voice. It was always expected that voice search will become popular because it is easier to speak than it is to type.
As more voice technologies develop, consumers are likely to use voice search more frequently. Given how important voice search is and how important it is expected to become, it is imperative for all business owners and marketers to know the top voice search optimization strategies which they can use to get ahead of their competitors. Let’s have a look how you can optimize for voice search.
1.Optimize Your Website for Mobile:
Today optimizing your website for mobile is more important than it has ever been in the past. This is because most voice searches happen on mobile phones. Further, a mobile-friendly website can be a shot in the arm for your SEO initiatives.
You need to have a responsive layout which ensures that your website offers the same seamless experience on mobile phones as it does on websites. Further, you need to ensure that your homepage is clear and your website is easily navigable. You need to make sure that your website loads very quickly (3 seconds or less) on both smart-phones as well desktops.
A site which loads quickly creates a quality user experience and helps in boosting rankings. You can try the Google Search Console to see if your site is good to go or if it needs some improvement.
2. Create Conversational Content:
Your focus should be on creating conversational content because voice searches are more conversational than searches of other kind. It shouldn't be so difficult to understand. The fact remains that people don't speak the same as they communicate online and you need to create your content around that.
Voice searches contain more specifics to what people are searching and that is why your focus should be on targeting long-tail keywords which have a better chance of reaching targeted customers.
3.Long-Tail Keyword Research:
Your focus should be on long-tail keywords because they are the best possible way to show up in Google's prime spots. It won't be so difficult to achieve this since long-tail keywords have comparatively less competition. You can use different tools to discover the long-tail keywords that your target audience uses along with their search volume, keyword difficulty and other ranking metrics. Your focus should be on using conversational, long-tail keyword phrases in your content which is better placed in answering the natural language questions of the searchers.
4.Focus On Local Searches:
Your focus should be on local searches because most people use voice search to find local businesses, products or services. It has already been mentioned that by the end of the year voice search will account for around 50% of all Google searches.
Hence your focus should be on optimizing your website and content for local searches, to get leverage over your competitors. You need to target local keywords which will help you in gaining higher search rankings.
5.Restructure Your Content:
There is a need to restructure your content because it is common knowledge that voice search queries are a lot more conversational than traditional search queries. Hence your focus should be on creating short, concise answers to voice search queries. You need to structure your content to rank better for voice search results.
You can include Frequently-Asked Questions (FAQs) on your product pages because they are inclusive of question keywords and are very short as well. You should always break your content into small fragments with the help of pointers as it helps in achieving better rankings.
6.Improve Content Readability:
Your focus should be on creating good and readable content. Your aim should be on creating content which can get a ranking of around 8 on the Flesch Kincaid Grade. When you create precise content at that level it will help you in ranking your content.
7.Leverage Google My Business Listings:
It has already been mentioned that most people using voice search are looking for local businesses, products and services. One of the most important factors for ranking for local searches is your Google My Business listing. If and when you leverage your Google My Business listing, you let Google know that your business is located at a particular place.
This works for you because any time anyone asks Google to display businesses like you in that particular area, your business stands a chance for ranking for that query. You need to include accurate NAP information in your listing. Further, you need to choose the right categories and also provide the accurate area codes. Once you improve your local SEO and have a proper Google My Business listing, you will be able to see positive results right away.
8.Focus On Answering Questions:
41% of all people use voice search in a way that they would talk to a friend. Most people using voice-search don't use keywords, they ask questions. That is why your focus should be on using conversational, long-tail keyword phrases in your content which will help you in answering natural language questions.
Your focus should be on creating conversational content around natural language keyword phrases that your target audience is most likely to ask.
The Bottom Line
Voice search is expected to impact the future of SEO and digital marketing as a whole. With every passing year, voice search continues to grow and its popularity and usage isn't expected to slow down anytime soon.
Given the changing behavior of the consumers at large, it is imperative upon marketers to be prepared for any marketing trend to be better placed to meet the expectations of consumers. If you haven’t optimized your website for voice search, then it is time that you do so. You can do so on your own or can hire digital marketing services of an offshore digital marketing agency for the same purpose.
As a customer, when you’re torn between two different products, what’s the one thing you rely on to push you over to one or the other? Customer reviews are simply invaluable for businesses that are in incredibly competitive environments. In fact, in this day and age, every company no matter what industry, no matter what size, should be encouraging more customers to leave reviews. It's marketing firepower that never runs dry. Great reviews will add to your overall rating and thus, boost your name in search engines. Once you level out at a certain rating, it's difficult to climb down from it. But, how do you encourage more people to that have purchased from your business, to get typing and write you great reviews?
Giving them incentives
Nowadays you have to give something before you get something back. Even if your business satisfied a customer and they really like your product, more than likely you will have to give them an incentive to leave a review. It's at this point you should offer them ‘points’ that will go toward their consumer profile. If they have an account, offer them a reward of points if they leave feedback for the products they bought from you. After they collect a set number of points, they will be rewarded with a discount of perhaps a coupon which they can use at your online retail store or another business. Partner with a coffee shop so you can give your customers $5 coupons or something of that nature.
Make it simple
The last thing you need is a complex rating and review process. Make it simple and fast. Present a 1-5 star rating which activates when they hover their cursor over it. With one simple click, they can rate the product. Leave a small box underneath the star system so they can leave a few words. Set a minimum word count number so at least one full sentence is needed to post the overall rating. Don’t have the review system as a pop-up as many people will disable pop-ups on their browsers. At the same time, you don’t want to present the review system on your website itself as the chances of it being ignored are high. Instead, send this simple review system via email marketing.
Personalized content
Customers want to know if their review actually had an effect on your business. Whether it's a good or bad review, they would like to think that they have participated in helping others. Working with an seo expert you can create personalized regional content that will reach local customers. The reviews will then be seen by customers searching for a ‘near me’ business. Your review rating will be shown as well as the best reviews that were left. With this kind of local SEO investment, you will increase your visitor numbers as most people will visit the stores they searched for on Google, within 1 day.
Accept that you’re asking a little much from customers to leave a review. They have given you their money and you have given them a product. Asking for a review is an extra request, therefore give customers incentives first.
When you choose to run your own business, YOU want to run your business. The idea of outsourcing any department or service in your business to someone else is a four-letter word that makes you shrug your shoulders. No way would you ever outsource to anyone: you have bigger and better ideas for your business than that!
Here’s the thing: you cannot do it all. No, really. You cannot do everything. Unless you have qualified in IT, finance, marketing and sales all at once, you’re not going to be a master of any trade, just a Jack of them all. It’s not what your business needs and, to be frank, your business will sink under the weight of that level of arrogance. It’s a blunt truth, but it’s one that will hopefully see that you are going to be a far more respected and stronger business leader when you own what you can do and let go of the rest. With that in mind, we’re going to discuss four different services that you SHOULD look to outsource if you want to be successful.
As a business leader, you need to be very aware of what’s going on in your business finances to be able to run it properly. This doesn't mean that you need to know all of the ins and outs and unless you have a finance or accounting degree, you’re not going to manage it. You need a professional who can keep an eye on the ins and outs of your money at all times, as you simply do not have the time for that!
Customer Services
When you first start out in your business, you are the epicentre of your customer service strategy. As you grow, this gets to be a little too much. You cannot answer every single phone call and email, while also replying to the live chat that you’ve set up! Find an affordable outsourcing service for customer service and manage it from a distance. You won’t regret the time that you took to hire someone else to take this off your hands and still offer your customers exactly what you want to offer them.
Marketing
Marketing services are made up of so many different pieces that you need some help. You can market your business yourself, but if you can’t run the website and deal with digital marketing and SEO all at the same time, then you need help. There is nothing wrong with asking for help, so go and ask for it!
Administration
It’s the back office action that you don't have time to handle, but business admin needs to get done if you want your business to run well. Answering calls and filling your calendar, booking meeting rooms and getting your clients on board for meetings are all busy jobs, and that’s why you should look at getting in a virtual assistant.
Outsourcing is a cheaper alternative to hiring people to work with you in the office, and it could be everything that your business needs.
12 Best WordPress Plugins For Blogs & Business Websites in 2020
We all know that WordPress as a CMS solution provides us the support of thousands of plugins representing almost every feature and function a business website or blog may need. These plugins make WordPress so versatile, rich and flexible a system for the website administrators and web users worldwide. But since there are thousands of plugins, the websites should always look for the best options for the required features and functions.
This is why here we are going to showcase 10 of the most useful and must-have WordPress plugins that business websites and blogs should use.
MonsterInsights
MonsterInsights is regarded to be the ultimate Google Analytics plugin for WordPress websites. Thanks to this plugin you can help establish a proper connection between your website and Google Analytics. The plugin allows you to see how your visitors behave, respond and use your website.
The plugin showcases the most important statistics regarding your website right on the WordPress dashboard. Based on the insights and stats the website owners can help boosting traffic, website subscribers and revenue.
The plugin comes with both a free and a premium version. For a small or startup website or blogs the free version is pretty efficient in offering all the key stats and metrics. The plugin as of now has powered more than 2 million WordPress websites around the world.
Jetpack
Jetpack comes as a great plugin with a deep and extensive repository of features that most business websites and blogs often require. The plugin developed by the same people behind WordPress made it almost as a must-have one for any WordPress website.
As for the number of features available with Jetpack plugin, you have quite an extensive array of feature choices. Because of so many features, by using Jetpack you can ditch many other WordPress plugins. Let us have a quick look at the key Jetpack features.
Jetpack allows adding a contact form.
With powerful analytics, Jetpack allows tracking page views and search queries.
It allows monitoring downtime and getting notification as and when the website is experiencing downtime.
Keeping hackers and intruders at bay from the login page.
Providing social sharing buttons.
Auto-scheduling the posts on different platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus.
Displaying related posts to boost engagement and user retention.
It also provides subscription options allowing users to subscribe to blog updates.
Creating a sitemap.
Taking daily backups of your website by using VaultPress.
It provides a CDN with Photon.
WPForms
There can be hardly any website that doesn't need contact forms to help their visitors get in touch with the website. Well, there are too many great contact form plugins out there in the market. But WPForms stands as the best because of its easy drag and drop online builder and a variety of form formats.
The best thing about this plugin is it allows you create a wide variety of contact forms,
email subscription forms, payment forms, online order forms, and other forms with a simple drag and drop online builder. Besides these key features that are also available with the free version, the plugin offers a pro version as well and it can further boost the lead generation efforts of a website.
Social Snap
Social sharing and social bookmarking are now considered key factors for achieving a better SEO result. This requires providing social sharing buttons in appropriate places around your website content to help people share them. This plugin by providing social share buttons for both desktop and mobile interfaces does the job in an excellent manner.
The plugin supports all major social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, Pinterest, Telegram, Reddit and many others.
For any WordPress blog having a dedicated SEO plugin is extremely important to gain consistent flow of traffic. There are many SEO plugins for WordPress websites that help in making the SEO elements perfect for optimum search results, but Yoast stats ahead of others simply because of the ease of use.
Yoast plugin can take care of all your on-page and on-site SEO needs. The free version of the plugin is pretty robust, though you can always go for the pro version for more value-added features.
WooCommerce
Do you want to integrate e-commerce features to your WordPress blog or business website? Do you want your visitors to make transactions and make purchases through your WordPress website? Well, just a small e-commerce plugin can help you integrate the feature and get things done with ease. Woocommerce is the WordPress plugin for this purpose. Developed and maintained by WordPress it is one if the best e-commerce platforms out there.
The plugin comes loaded with a plethora of features, extensions, and customization options. If you want to make sales through your e-commerce website, there is not a better plugin than this. The Woocommerce plugin also offers a bounty of themes to build your product and transaction pages as per your UI needs.
Google XML Sitemaps
This is another powerful SEO plugin for WordPress and this one comes from search engine giant Google. The Google XML Sitemaps helps to find your website by search engines easier.
Just after you install and make the plugin activates, automatically an XML sitemap will be created for the search engine crawlers to find and index your website. This will help in gaining search engine ranks against search terms and keywords.
Sucuri
Website security remains an uncompromising aspect of any website and blog. WordPress offers quite a few great plugins to take care of security enhancements. Sucuri is a WordPress security plugin that also works as a web application firewall to protect your website from all kinds of malicious attacks.
The plugin is capable of tracking a variety of threats and attacks and provides protection against them. The plugin can protect your website from malware, DDoS, XSS attacks, brute force attacks, and all other types of attacks and security vulnerabilities.
SEMRush
If you need a comprehensive toolkit to take care of all the marketing needs of your WordPress website or blog, SEMRush comes as the ideal plugin choice for that. The plugin comes with an extensive range of helpful tools for SEO, making traffic strategy, social media marketing, content marketing and PR strategy. On top of all these, the plugin also provides competitive insights about your closest competitor websites and blogs.
The plugin allows you to do research keywords, maintaining brand presence and mentions, tracking competitor activities, tracking post-performance and drawing attention to best-performing pages. It also helps the websites with an analysis of the ad strategy.
Akismet
Finally, every WordPress website invariably requires protection from the spams. Akismet comes as a comprehensive and all-powerful plugin for protecting your website from spam comments.
Since instances of spam comments are too many and since these spams can often force your website to compromise on security, you should use this plugin from day one. The plugin can automatically detect and move the spam comments in the trash bean.
Conclusion
All the WordPress plugins that we have mentioned so far clearly show how the blogs and business websites can create richer and better web experience by using appropriate plugins. In this respect it is also advisable to keep the number of plugins lower to avoid performance glitches caused due to the non-compatibility of plugins.
Author Bio:
Chirag Mudsa is the CEO of leading custom wordpress development services company, CMARIX TechnoLabs Pvt. Ltd. He is a goal-driven tech evangelist for a long time of 17 years, specializing in web and mobile development domains. His innovative spirit, strong leadership skills and a profound commitment to organizational growth have given him a key leading position in the industry.
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