• Website Speed & Content: More than half of all web traffic is now coming from mobile devices. Is your website optimized for viewing on all types of mobile devices? Does your page load fast enough to keep the visitors attention? Do you have the content visitors are looking for? We can let you know!
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): ): Do you know where search engines like Google are currently ranking your site? Do you know what key search terms you are currently ranking for? We can let you know where you and your competitors are currently ranking for organic search results!
• Business Directory Listings: Did you know there are hundreds of online business directories people use to find your business? Making sure your information is included and up to date in the most popular directories can make a huge difference in being found online.
• Social Rankings: Social media has become a primary form of communication for millennials to baby boomers. Are you reaching your customers through all the available social channels? More importantly are you engaging with your customers? We will let you know exactly how you stand up against the averages in your industry.
• Online Reputation & Reviews: Did you know an estimated 85% of consumers search online about your business before deciding to make a purchase? Review sites like Yelp Google My Business and Facebook allow consumers to share their personal experiences with your business. What are they saying and more importantly are you taking the opportunity to talk with them? We will show you how your business’s reputation is being impacted by these review sites.
• Advertising: Google AdWords Facebook Targeting and marketing automation are all ways to connect with your audience. Are you taking advantage of these powerful paid marketing tools? We will show you how successful your advertising has been!

Grow your business online and let Capitol Tech Solutions perform a free no obligation website & SEO analysis. Simply fill out the form below to receive a free no obligation Website & SEO Analysis from our User Experience Experts!

The post Is Your Website Ready to Win in 2019? | Free Website & SEO Analysis appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.

Capitol Tech Solutions is honored to receive the 2017 “People Love Us on Yelp” Award. This is the latest award that we have received for our dedicated User Experience work over the last year. Our team previously received a 2017 WebAward from the Web Marketing Association and a 2017 Silver Davey Award for Web Design.

What Receiving the People Love Us on Yelp Award Means to CTS

While we love being recognized by professionals in our industry for our work the People Love Us on Yelp Award is an honor because it represents what our clients and partners think about our work. This award is only presented to a select fraction of businesses on Yelp who have received a large amount of trusted reviews. The average of all the reviews must result in a high satisfaction ranking among Yelp users.

We take immense pride in our Yelp rating that has resulted from all 34 reviews since 2012 receiving 5-star ranking. Bobby Reed CEO and founder of Capitol Tech Solutions considers these reviews a true representation of the partnership CTS builds with our clients saying:

"Receiving a 5-Star review on Yelp speaks to our commitment and desire to become our client’s Digital Partner. We strive to understand their unique business goals and develop a strategy that meets and exceeds their expectations."

Yelp Reviews Highlight Lead Generation

The ultimate goal of many of our partners is to generate leads through their online presence. Creating a beautiful website is only the start of delivering a successful product to our partners. Converting visitors to customers that increase business is what we focus all our web designs to achieve. As Peter K. stated in his Yelp review "The results have been amazing and the inbound calls we are getting has nearly doubled."

Growing a business though online lead generation can have a significant impact on generating profits for our partners. Jason S. from San Francisco spoke to the benefits he has realized through lead generation and conversion in his Yelp review stating; "We are generating more leads and business now than we ever have in the past through our website. With the success we have had we have increased our user experience budget…".

CTS Grows to Ensure Continued Customer Satisfaction

By providing our customers with continued success that has resulted in our 5-Star rating on Yelp we have had the opportunity to grow our business. Maintaining the high quality of service and results for our partners is a top priority for Bobby. "As shown in our Yelp reviews our partners expect a high level of customer service and results from our team. As we have grown our business maintaining and improving this level was not only a priority but a necessity."

To maintain this level of service CTS grew their User Experience team in 2017 adding two dedicated Account Managers and a New Business Development Manager. The addition of these team members has allowed CTS to grow its business while not sacrificing the attention to developing successful strategies that exceed our partners business goals.

Grow Your Business and Lead Generation with CTS

If you are ready to grow your business and generate leads through your online presence partner with a Digital Agency that has a proven record of satisfied clients. Contact Capitol Tech Solutions to see how our team of Digital Marketers Designers and Developers can create a successful Marketing Strategy that will generate leads and grow your business.

The post 2017 People Love Us on Yelp Award Winners | Capitol Tech Solutions appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.

With all the demands of running a business time is a vital commodity. You have a wealth of knowledge about your industry customers and how your business runs. If this is all that was required to succeed you would be a millionaire in no time. But the reality is there are so many other business needs that can take time away from what you do best. Developing and executing a successful User Experience Strategy can top the time drain list.

Marketing your business isn’t a luxury it’s a necessity. You can have the best business in your industry but if no one knows about it it will fail. Your marketing strategy can vary in type and degree but the fact remains you need one. But where do you start? There’s web design Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Social Media content marketing paid advertising and the list goes on and on!

So how can hiring a User Experience Agency help your business grow in 2018? We have compiled a list of 10 ways that hiring an agency can save you time grow your business and ultimately make you more profits.

10 Reasons to Hire a User Experience Agency in 2018

1. Save Time and Focus on Running Your Business
2. Lower Costs vs Hiring an Inhouse Team
3. Work with Multiple Experts
4. Stay Relevant and Up to Date
5. They Understand Your Customer
6. Gain New Ideas and Opportunities
7. Scalable Services that Grow with You
8. Measurable Results that Show Progress
9. Agencies Have the Big Tools
10. Your Success is Their Success

Save Time and Focus on Running Your Business

As a business owner you already wish that there were more hours in the day. Running your business should be the top priority but getting the word out to your potential customers can take just as much if not more time than you actually spend selling to them.

You spend time trying to understand how different online marketing options work more time developing a marketing strategy and even more time executing it. To top it off how do you know what is and isn’t working?

When you hire a user experience agency you not only get all this time back to focus on running your business you get the experience they have compiled from previous marketing campaigns and insights to the latest digital trends.

A good agency will take the time to meet with you to understand your unique business goals and target market. The agency’s team then take this information to craft a marketing strategy that effectively targets your customers.

Lower Costs vs Hiring an Inhouse Team

The costs of hiring a digital agency versus hiring an in-house team are one of the first factors considered by many businesses. The reality is that hiring a user experience agency will actually give you more benefits at a lower cost.

To start with hiring a marketing agency eliminates the costs associated with in-house employees like salaries payroll taxes and benefits. Not to mention that your investment is giving you access to multiple experts in different areas of user experience.

Additionally an established agency brings the user experience tools needed to run a successful campaign. These can include expensive subscriptions to analytical tools and design software required.

Work with Multiple Experts

Most small businesses and many medium sized businesses don’t have the ability to hire a dedicated team of digital marketers. The responsibility is generally placed on the shoulders of the owner or on management and employees in addition to their regular duties. These employees may have a little knowledge of marketing like how to create a post on social media but are they experts? Do they have the time to research the latest changes and trends?

When you hire an agency your business gets the knowledge of not only one employee but the combined knowledge and experiences of a full team. The user experience landscape is always evolving. To be successful your marketing strategy may include web design SEO Social Media creating content analytics and so much more.

The user experience team knows what has worked for previous clients in the past. They don’t need to take time to learn about how to design an engaging post or how to format your site so search engines will like it. This is what they know and their results are why you pay them.

Stay Relevant and Up to Date

Research is vital to a successful marketing strategy. You need a deep understanding of your business industry and your target customer. A strategy that works for a company in one industry may not work in yours.

A good User Experience Agency will have a deep knowledge of the latest marketing strategies and how to best execute them. They do market research about your target customers and their habits. For example knowing that your customers prefer one social media platform over another can save time and money. Understanding what key terms are being used when searching for your products or services provides insights and recommendations for content creation.

Every year brings a new social media platform and more changes to the best recommended practices for Search Engine Result Page (SERP) rankings. Understanding these changes and how they can affect your strategy takes time and knowledge about your unique situation. Not only will an agency know how to handle these changes they will know how to best prepare your business to benefit from them.

Gain New Ideas and Opportunities

Running a business can create tunnel vision as time goes by. You may see success in some areas of online marketing and continue to focus on them rather than explore new areas.

A good agency will constantly review what has and hasn’t worked for your business’s marketing strategy. They can provide insights as to why tactics haven’t worked and other ideas to explore.

For example ten years ago marketing to customers over the age of 55 on Facebook may not have been worth the investment. However according to Facebook’s statistics users above the age of 55 now top 28 million users and represent 15.6% of active profiles. This is over an 80% increase since 2011 and potentially represents a huge opportunity for some businesses.

They Understand You Customer

Understanding who your customers are and how they consume information is the first step of successfully targeting them the next is knowing how to create new and exciting content that get them engaged with your business.

A common mistake that businesses initially make is promoting who they are rather than what they offer. An agency takes the time to understand who the customer you are targeting is. A customer that is interested in finding a new place for dinner for example wont search for your company directly they will search something like “best date night restaurant in my city”. Knowing how your customer searches for your business is key to growing the reach of your business.

Agencies also research what digital platforms your target customers use and how they are using them. An ad that is created for Facebook may be successful on that platform but fail on Instagram. This is because users go to different platforms for different reasons. Knowing how to create content that engage users can be the difference in success and wasted resources.

Scalable Services the Grow with You

Most businesses can’t jump right into the deep end of the marketing pool and attack from every angle. As a business owner you want to focus on the areas that will provide the best results in the quickest amount of time. A good digital agency will present multiple strategies that address your immediate needs as well as long term goals.

As your business grows you can add to your marketing strategy to address fresh solutions. Doing this with inhouse employees would require either hiring and training additional employees or focusing your existing resources on the new tasks. With a digital agency you already have the knowledge and experience ready to go to work for you.

Measurable Results that Show Progress

You invest resources into your marketing strategy but does it result in more business?

With so many digital outlets to market your business through it can be difficult to know what is and isn’t working and more importantly why. Knowing the real Return on Investment (ROI) for your user experience strategy can be easily misrepresented or misleading.

Your agency should work with you to determine Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor the success of your marketing efforts. The KPIs should be directly tied to your business objectives. Growing your social media following is great but if it does not result in increased profits then it fails to address growing your profits.

Identifying the KPIs for your business and meeting to review and update them on a regular schedule is vital to understanding the effectiveness of your strategy. The meeting should address how targeted key words are affecting website traffic metrics of how social media posts are getting engaged with and how these result in profits for your business.

Agencies Have the Big Tools

Just like a carpenter needs special tools for different projects a successful user experience strategy requires specialized tools to produce results.

There are many tools available to help plan and execute a successful marketing strategy. Unfortunately there is no all-in-one solution that can address all of the needs. You may need graphic design programs key word research SEO review competitor analysis automation management along with other tools.

Each of these tools require subscriptions or fees that can add to the costs of your marketing budget. A good user experience agency will already have these tools available for use in your campaign.

You won’t need to know which service or program is needed for your strategy. More importantly you won’t need to spend the time researching and learning how to use them.

Your Success is Their Success

A successful agency isn’t focused only on the short-term success of your business. They want to establish a long relationship that provides consistent results that grow your business ultimately increasing your profits.

An agency may be able to show short term success but the results dwindle as time goes on. The agency you partner with should have a detailed strategy that maps out different opportunities to explore as your business grows.

When your business succeeds the agency can show how their strategies work. When their strategies fail your business you leave and they now need to find new business without the benefit of a success story.

According to Ian Kingwill the costs of acquiring a new client is between four and ten times that of retaining an existing one. Therefore it’s a win-win for your business and the agency when they are able to continue to provide positive results with your marketing strategy.

Hiring A User Experience Agency Makes Sense

Overall the benefits of hiring a user experience agency that has a proven record of building successful marketing strategies are numerous. They allow you to focus on what you do best running your business.

Take the time to research the agency and hire one that takes a deep interest in your business and is focused on growing your business for long-term success. Make sure that the strategy that they develop is in line with your business goals and they can prove their success through KPIs that produce the desired results.

If you have any questions about how a User Experience Agency can benefit your business in 2018 feel free to contact our New Business Development Manager today!

The post How a User Experience Agency Can Help Grow Your Business 2018 appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.

Capitol Tech Solutions has been selected by a panel of Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts members to receive a 2017 Silver Davey Award in the category of Health Websites for their outstanding work on the Midtown Dental website. This is the second time that CTS has been awarded a prestigious Davey Award.

2017 Davey Silver Web Design Award

For the second time in 2017 Capitol Tech Solutions a Sacramento based Digital Agency has been acknowledged for their work on the Midtown Dental website. CTS is proud to announce that they have been awarded a 2017 Silver Davey Award for Web Design.

Bobby Reed CEO of Capitol Tech Solutions expressed his excitement about receiving the award saying

"We are honored that the AIVA members have presented our design of the Midtown Dental website such a prestigious award. Our goal for the site was to generate leads for our partner ultimately converting those leads to new patients. The website has proven to be a successful business tool for our partner and receiving this acknowledgment of our hard work from a group of our peers gives us a great sense of accomplishment and pride."

What are the Davey Awards?

The annual Davey Awards are sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from acclaimed media advertising and marketing firms. The AVIA evaluates all entries on the merits based on their standard of excellence established for each category.

"(The Davey Awards are) The largest and most prestigious awards competition exclusively for the 'Davids' of creativity."

– Davey Awards

According to the Davey Awards website the awards were created to highlight the exceptional work done by small agencies who “derive their strength from big ideas rather than stratospheric budgets.” The name of the award comes from the classic story of David and Goliath where the smaller David defeated his larger opponent through using his creativity.

Award Winning Design

The Davey Award marks the second time in 2017 CTS has received an award for the Midtown Dental website. In September CTS was acknowledged by the Web Marketing Association receiving the 2017 WebAward in the Medical Standard of Excellence Award Category for Exceptional Web Design and Development Services. Bobby Reed praised his team saying;

"I am proud of the work that our full team produced with this project. I feel that it showcases our brilliant design work while also giving site visitors a user-friendly experience. By partnering with the Midtown Dental team our marketing experts have been able to strategically target new patients and recommend content to be created that answers their search intent. This site speaks to the level of collaboration between our team and partners to achieve their business goals."

The post Capitol Tech Solutions Awarded 2017 Davey Award for Web Design appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.

"In fact more than 84% of smartphone users in the US browse research or compare products via a web browser or mobile app."

Instagram

Shopify and Instagram will soon give Shopify Online Stores another sales channel for their products with Instagram Shopping. Select Shopify accounts have already begun the testing process and the feature expected to be rolled out to all accounts soon.

Selling on Instagram gives eCommerce businesses the ability to make any Instagram Post shoppable. Your Social Media posts will now do more than just promote products they will sell them seamlessly in-app. From discovery to checkout the full sales process happens on the Instagram App for your customer’s convenience.

We have the details on how Selling on Instagram works and what you need to do to get your Shopify Store ready!

What Is Instagram Shopping

The popular Social Media Platform Instagram is primarily known mainly as a mobile photo sharing app with a reported 500 million daily active users. As the app has skyrocketed in popularity it has become a popular marketing channel for brands especially in the beauty Fashion and luxury segments. In late 2016 and early 2017 Instagram began allowing certain brands to add a tag to posts that gave users the ability to purchase products from a seller’s online store without leaving the app.

Instagram has now partnered with the eCommerce solution Shopify to allow Shopping on Instagram. The new integration feature will allow Shopify online store owners to create shoppable posts with product tags. From promotion to checkout everything happens seamlessly in the Instagram app. Users do not have to follow a link to the store to make the purchase eliminating additional steps that could result in lost sales.

Shopify has been testing the Shopping on Instagram feature throughout 2017 with select Online Stores and plans to make it available to all stores in 2018.

How does Selling on Instagram Work

Most likely you already promote your business and products to your Instagram followers but promotion where the post stops. When a user is interested in your product they need to follow a link to your online store. Currently the only way to put a link to your store is in the Bio section of your Instagram Profile. Generally this link would take shoppers to your site where they would then have to search for the product they were interested in. This adds multiple steps across platforms for your customers. With the introduction of Shoppable Posts this process is streamlined.

Instagram Shopping allows businesses to create a shoppable post by tagging products that are available for purchase. Once posted users will see a “Tap to View Products” button on the lower left of the picture. When tapped tags for up to five products featured in the post will come up. The product tags pop up similar to when a user is tagged in a picture.

When a user taps a product tag more information about the item is displayed. This all happens right in their Instagram feed. Users can scroll through all the products that are tagged in the post to get information on each.

In the product information screen there is an option to “Shop Now”. The product is then displayed in your store for purchase. This screen is still within the Instagram App itself. Keeping the entire process within one app produces a much faster shopping experience for the user. There is no wait time while an additional browser is opened and loaded.

The ultimate result is a user experience that includes becoming aware of the product getting more information and purchasing it without leaving the app. The less steps that a customer must take leads to a higher conversion percentage.

Benefits of Instagram Shopping for Shopify Businesses

The ability to create shoppable posts greatly benefits Shopify Online Stores. As mentioned above it streamlines the promotion and selling process to Instagram Users.

There is also a more direct way to calculate the Return on Investment (ROI) of your Instagram Marketing investment. When a customer makes a purchase through the Instagram App you can set it to be recorded as a referring page. This allows you to track what sales resulted directly from your Instagram Account.

Potentially one of the greatest benefits of Instagram Shopping is there are no additional costs for Shopify Stores with at least a Basic Shopify Plan. As reported by TechCrunch the Instagram plans to monetize the feature by offering the ability to promote shoppable posts to users that do not follow your account.

"Instagram won’t take a cut of purchases and instead plans to monetize the product by later allowing brands to pay to show their shoppable photos to people who don’t follow them."

James Quarles Instagram VP of Monetization

NEED HELP GETTING YOUR STORE READY FOR INSTAGRAM SHOPPING? WE CAN HELP!

What Are the Requirements for Selling on Instagram

According to Shopify there are requirements that need to be met in order to use the product tagging once it is available.

1. Established Facebook Business Profile with Online Store Sales Chanel Product Catalog
2. Instagram Business Profile
3. Product Requirements
4. Product Categories

Established Facebook Business Profile with Online Store Sales Chanel Product Catalog

Instagram is owned by Facebook. In order to use the Selling on Instagram you must first make sure that you have a Facebook Business Profile. Once your business profile is established you then need to set up the Facebook Sales Channel. This feature creates a Shop tab on your Facebook page that displays your Shopify products. This feature is included in all paid Shopify Plans.

You can find the required steps in this process in the Shopify Help Center.

Instagram Business Profile

Once Selling on Instagram is made available you will need to have an Instagram Business Profile. You will need to have your Facebook Business Profile set up before you complete this step.

If you already have a basic Instagram account that you are using for your brand you can convert it to an Instagram Business Profile with just a few simple steps.

1. From the Instagram App open your profile and go to your settings
2. Tap the Switch to Business Profile
3. Follow the steps to connect you Instagram Profile to your Facebook Business Page

When you set this up make sure that you connect to the same Facebook page that you added to Shopify. You can find more about converting to an Instagram Business Profile on the Facebook Help Center.

Product Requirements

There are a few requirements that products must meet to use Instagram Product Tagging. These include:

1. Must be a Physical Product. It cannot be a be a digital product or a service.
2. Meets Product Category Requirements (See Below)
3. Available on the Online Store sales channel

Product Categories

To use Instagram Product Tagging the physical products must be from the following categories:

Review Settings and Instagram Approval

Now that you have all your business profiles setup and connected to each other you must wait for approval from Instagram before you can tag products. This will happen after Shopify has enabled Selling on Instagram. Once approved you will receive a notification in your Instagram Business Profile.

While you are waiting for approval review your settings and make sure that your Facebook and Instagram accounts are correctly connected to your Shopify account. Follow these steps to review your connection:

1. From your Shopify dashboard navigate to the Facebook Account page.
2. Confirm that the name of your Instagram account appears in the Instagram Account section
   1. If your Instagram account does not display after you have completed the setup confirm that the Facebook account that is connected to Shopify is the same account used to authenticate the Instagram account.
   2. If you need to connect or change a Facebook page on Shopify use the Facebook Page section through your Shopify account.

Managing Facebook Product Catalogs

If you have not started selling your products through your Facebook account while you are waiting to get approved for the shoppable Instagram posts is a wonderful time to start! The Shopify Help Center has details for Selling on Facebook with Shopify.

While Facebook allows your business to have multiple product catalogs available on your profile you can only have one connected to your Instagram Business Account. If you are currently selling products on Facebook in multiple product catalogs you will need to establish the best strategy for your business moving forward.

Once you begin using the Selling on Shopify you can change which product catalog is connected to your Instagram account. However when a catalog is changed all existing Instagram Product Tags will be removed.

Instagram Shopping Adds More to Your Shopify

Shopify has already established itself as one of the best eCommerce Solutions for your Online Business. With the addition of an additional sales channel the benefits continue to expand.

If you are interested in learning more about Instagram Shopping have questions about preparing your existing Shopify Store for Selling on Instagram or are considering launching a new Online Store contact our Shopify experts today!

Learn more about Social Media Marketing

The post Shopify and Instagram Shopping Make Selling Products on Social Media Easier appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.

Online shopping is growing at a rapid pace. Global online retail sales are estimated to reach 8.8% of total retail spending in 2018. In the US alone about a third of Millennials are making many of their purchases online. Their spending tops $600 billion annually accounting for 28% of all daily per-person consumer spending according to Forbes.

These trends make now the best time to start your online business. But the question is what eCommerce platform you should use? In our experience the Best eCommerce Solution is Shopify. Our Expert Web Designers got together to review the platform and lay out the Top 10 Benefits for your eCommerce business.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a Software as a Service (SaaS) hosted eCommerce solution that performs as an online store builder for your business. As a SaaS there is no software you need to install on your computer to get your online storefront up and running. They provide your business with a “one-stop-shop” for all your eCommerce needs. They handle web hosting for your online store payment processing shipping options inventory control customer management and more.

Top 10 Benefits of Shopify for Your Online Business

Our Shopify Expert eCommerce Website Designers have created online stores for small businesses to large corporations using many of the popular eCommerce platforms. In our experience the best option especially for small to medium sized businesses (SMB) is Shopify. The ability to have most of the needed components for your online store in one place saves time and money. We have highlighted the Top 10 Benefits for your business:

1. Shopify Pricing
2. Shopify Grows with Your Business
3. Shopify Payments
4. Product Categories and Variants
5. Theme Store
6. Shopify App Store
7. Shopify Reports
8. Blogging
9. Mobile Store Management
10. Shopify Support

Shopify Pricing vs "Free" Platforms

There are platforms available that are promoted as a “free” option for eCommerce. However the reality like most of life is that nothing is truly free. While the platform the site is built on may be provided for free there are still costs associated with getting the online store operational. Examples of costs include Web Hosting ($5-$15/m) Payment Gateway ($30/m) Additional Third Party Plugins (if needed) and a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) for security ($5+/m). The free option has quickly ballooned to $40-$50 a month on the low side.

Shopify Pricing varies depending on the features and options they offer. Shopify’s plans are divided into three levels; Shopify Basic – $29/m Shopify – $79/m and Advanced Shopify – $299/m. For our purposes we will focus on the basic Shopify plan as it meets the needs of many of our clients. Included in the monthly cost is web hosting of your site (at speeds that often exceed the basic shared web hosting plans available from most services) a payment gateway and a SSL certificate.

The true benefit of Shopify here is the amount of time it saves you. Researching purchasing installing and testing payment gateways and SSL certificates can easily take you several days if you are unfamiliar with the technical aspects of setting up a website. Allowing Shopify to handle this part of your online setup can allow you to setup a basic eCommerce site in as little as a day.

The package also includes unlimited products Fraud Analysis Shipping Discounts and the ability to print shipping labels.

Shopify Grows with Your Business

As you grow your business online Shopify grows with you. With even the Basic Shopify Plan you can have unlimited products for sale on your store. Shopify also lets you grow your online presence by easily listing your products through other Sales Channels including Amazon Facebook Pinterest and adds a Buy Button to sell on Blogs.

Selling in person is easy with the POS app for iOS and Android. This allows you to take your online store with you wherever you are. Whether you sell at a market fair pop-up shop or trade shows the app allows you to have full access to your store POS system and inventory at any time.

Shopify offers the ability to integrate with a traditional store front with their Shopify Retail Package. The Retail Package allows you to incorporate the system in store. Some of the features for your business include:

• Connection to additional retail hardware: receipt printer cash drawer barcode scanner
• Swipe card readers
• Staff Accounts
• Register Shifts: Balance cash drawer to hold employees accountable
• Unlimited Staff Access Pins
• Saved Carts / Abandoned Cart Recovery
• Gift Cards

FIND OUT IF SHOPIFY IS RIGHT FOR YOUR ONLINE STORE

Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is the built-in payment system included in your package. Through the platform you can accept all major credit cards so long as your customers are located in their service areas (United States Puerto Rico Canada the United Kingdom Ireland and Australia).

Using Shopify Payments allows you to avoid any transaction fees and offers competitive credit card rates (2.44-2.9% + $.30). The credit card rates are based on the package you choose and can be changed at any time as your business grows.

You are not required to use the included payment processing. You can choose third party providers to accept payments from your customers. This includes PayPal Apple Pay Amazon Pay or choose from over 70 credit card payment providers that include both direct and external providers. If you choose a third party provider you will be charged a transaction fee. The fees vary depending on your store’s transaction volume any recurring app charges and the payment provider you choose.

Product Categories and Variants

When setting up your online store you can divide your products into specific collections. This makes your customer’s user experience better by grouping similar products together for easier searching. You can group items by type on sale color size seasonal or any way you see fit.

You have two options when setting up collections Automated and Manual Collections.

Automated Collections uses defined selection conditions to automatically include matching products. You can set as many selection conditions you want and specify if products must meet all or some of the conditions to be added to a collection.

Manual Collections include only products that you place into each collection. When you add or remove a product you must update the collections that you want it to be included in.

If you have different versions of a product (size color etc.) Shopify allows you to set up Product Variants. This makes it so you do not have to create individual products for each version of a product. Each product can have up to 100 variants.

Theme Store

Getting your eCommerce store up and running is made simple with Shopify Themes. You can choose between ten free template designs included in Basic Shopify Plan or upgrade to one of the 51 paid premium themes that range from $140-$180.

All the themes come optimized for mobile devices. This means that your store will look great when customer visit your store whether on a desktop tablet or mobile device.

All the themes are customizable to better allowing you to change the look and feel as well as how it behaves. While the design templates can be used “as-is” it is important to customize it to match the style and aesthetic feel of your unique brand.

While opting for a theme is a simple solution to easily setup your online store hiring a Shopify Expert Design Partner has many advantages. An eCommerce website design company can customize and setup your website allowing you to focus on what you do best – running your business. A seasoned website builder has the experience to design and setup stores in any industry; which will ultimately save time so you can work on selling your products and generating profits.

CONTACT OUR SHOPIFY EXPERT DESIGNERS NOW TO GET YOUR STORE STARTED TODAY

Shopify App Store

While the platform comes with many features built-in there are even more ways to customize your online store. The Shopify App Store offers over 2000 third party free and paid apps that can be added to your store. The app store is one of the greatest benefits for users. They can add functionality to your store or integrate it with other programs. Some of the categories to choose from include:

• Marketing
• Shipping
• Product Sourcing
• Accounting
• Inventory

• Customer Service
• Social Media
• Advanced Reporting
• CMS Integration

Shopify Reports

Shopify generates analytics and reports for every plan that you choose. These analytics and reports allow you to review your store’s recent activity gain insights into your visitors and their shopping habits and analyze your store’s transactions.

The number and depth of reports will vary depending on the plan that you choose. You can also find additional apps in the App Store that offer more specific reports.

Blogging

You can design an amazing online store offer the greatest products ever created and never get a single customer. Why? Because no one knows about your store. Of course the answer to this problem is to market your new store. But how should you do that? The best place to start is Creating Content that online shoppers will find useful. The best way that we have found to do this is by starting a Blog.

Shopify comes with a built-in blogging engine. Blogging about relevant topics around your store is a great way to drive traffic to your store by improving your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Creating quality content by writing blog posts that answer your potential customers questions begins to establish your brand as an expert in your industry and improves your online reputation.

Shopify has many ways to help optimize your Blog Posts to improve your Search Engine Result Page (SERP) Rankings. They also offer tutorials on how to format your Blog and suggestions on how to get started.

Mobile Store Management

Running a business can require you to always be available no matter where you happen to be. Thankfully there is an app that goes wherever you go. The Shopify App puts managing most aspects of your online store in the palm of your hand.

With the mobile app you can manage your orders and inventory view your sales and traffic and even add new products to store right from your phone. This makes running your business more convenient to your lifestyle and schedule. You no longer need to worry about what’s happening with your online store when you leave your computer.

Shopify Support

Another area that Shopify surpasses many of its competitors is their Customer Service. To start the Support Team is available 24/7 by email live chat and even phone. No jumping through hoops to talk to a real person on their schedule. They understand that running a business means always working so they are there no matter when you need them.

In addition to their personal support they have a wealth of knowledge available through their online community video tutorials webinars eCommerce University as well as extensive documentation in the help center.

Final Thoughts

There are many eCommerce Solutions available for your online business. Many of these solutions have notable features and benefits to help you meet your business goals. After years of experience our developers agree that the Shopify eCommerce solution offers the greatest amount of benefits for our clients.

The powerful platform offers a user-friendly interface that is easily navigated requires a short learning curve presents your online store in a professional and secure platform and offers an extensive range of useful features.

Capitol Tech Solutions is proud to be a Shopify Expert Design Partner. If you are considering starting an online business or are looking for a better eCommerce Solution for your existing online store contact CTS today to learn how Shopify can start benefiting you today.

The post Shopify: Review of Benefits for Your eCommerce Store appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.

One of the most frequent questions that our clients ask us is “What can I do to help generate traffic to my website?” We've found that clients get the most value by creating relevant content that answers the questions and provides information about their business. The key is to understand what potential customers are searching for. This strategy is referred to as Content Marketing.

What is Content Marketing?

Content Marketing is defined as:

“A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and ultimately to drive profitable customer action.” ~ Content Marketing Institute

This strategy deviates from the traditional selling strategy of selling your products or services with an “elevator pitch” to a more customer-centric approach. The goal of Content Marketing is to provide your current and prospective customers with relevant content that they would find useful in helping solve a problem.

It's important to understand that Content Marketing is not a “quick fix” that will generate immediate results. Thiis type of a strategy is a long-term investment that looks to establish your business as a trusted expert in in your industry.

Positive Effects of Content Creation

Creating Curated Content can have many positive effects on your business as well as your brand’s reputation. One of the first conversations we have with our clients revolves around the topic on how potential customers search for information. Many businesses focus on WHO they are not WHAT they are. When a customer is looking for information it's safe to assume they're not searching for your company right off the bat. Generally they're searching for information to help solve a problem or a need and hopefully in that process they'll find a service or product your company offers. It's important to know your customer well in order to align your goals around creating content that answers their questions.

By creating content that provides the answers to customers questions your business is able to realize many positive effects:

• Content Attracts New Traffic: Providing relevant content improves the chance of customers finding you in diifferent search engines. Once they find your website in the search results you have an opportunity to suggest additional engaging information that may be relevant to them.
• Content Builds Brand Awareness and Reputation: Creating Content increases the opportunity for people to find your comany and learn about what makes your brand unique. If you're consistently generating quality content people will find it useful and relevant. Thus increasing the value of your brand and reputation in their eyes.
• Content Generates Conversation: If you have an engaging blog it opens a door for users with the opportunity to start conversations on your site whic allows you to communicate with them directly.
• Content Converts Readers to Leads: Providing engaging and insightful content will build a prospective customer's curiosity about your company. If they think you can help them they'll more than likely feel compelled to seek out your services. This is what experts note as the Conversion Path; which is how we guide prospective customers to a place where they'll engage and contact you to get more information so they can potentially become a paying customer.

Content Marketing Complements Other User Experience Strategies

While Content Marketing is a valuable tool on its own it also provides value by assisting other User Experience Strategies like:

• Improving Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by increasing your domain authority through generating more web real estate.
• Generation of backlinks that refer to your original content (Establishing you as an expert).
• Provides material that can be used in Social Media Marketing (SMM) campaigns.
• Allows you the opportunity to gain email subscribers that find your content useful.

Repurposing Content Expands Reach

When engaging content is created that information can now be repurposed for use in other online marketing. If you write a blog post that has a wealth of knowledge you can adapt that information for use across your other digital outlets. This not only extends the value of the content but also extends the life and potential reach it has. Here are a few ways that content can be repurposed:

• Highlighting excerpts that can be shared on Social Media that link to the full article on your website.
• Creating info graphics that point out key points in the content that can be shared on Social Media.
• Provide a downloadable PDF version of the article for reference.
• Use the content for a monthly email campaign.
• Offer other sites the ability to syndicate your content and link back to your website.
• Combine similar content to create free e-Books or Whitepapers that site visitors can download as a valuable resource.

Content is Digital Real Estate

With every piece of content that you create you're generating a new URL or a new address in your digital real estate portfolio. Think of it this way each piece of content is a new house in your digital community. As you add "houses" your community grows and is easier to find on the digital map AKA the Search Engine Result Pages (SERP).

There are different types of content that you can create. Each piece of content has the capability to provide value to your entire Content Portfolio if done carefully. The two most common types of content are known as "Evergreen" and "In the Moment."

• Evergreen: This type of content is called Evergreen because it never decays and continues to always be relevant. This content can be repurposed over time and continues to provide value to your business.
• In the Moment: This content is relevant at the time that it's created. It could be about current events trends or current best practices. Some of this content can consistently be revisited and updated to stay relevant. In our real estate analogy this would be the properties that are remodeled to make them attractive. When they're updated they can again be promoted to continue to give your business value.

Content is a Compounding Investment

Similar to the concept of compounding interest as you create content new valuable content will help build out a robust portfolio and ehance the quality of your digital real estate. If you create one piece of content a week for a year you will have added 52 addresses to your site. Continuing the next year grows your portfolio to 104 addresses and so on. As you grow your presence people see your brand more frequently and will continue to grow your reputation giving more value to your content and business.

Types of Content Will Evolve but Will Always Be Necessary

The way that Content is generated distributed and consumed will always evolve with technology. However the basic concepts of creating valuable content will always remain. As technology advances the way that you create and present your content will change. Currently there is a move to create video. Social Media platforms like Facebook give video preference in their algorithm rankings. This again provides opportunity to repurpose previously created content into a new piece of content.

Content is Consumed Differently Across Platforms

Understanding how content is consumed on the different platforms is vital to getting the most value for your business. Users are looking for content to be presented in certain way dependent on where they find it.

• Blog: A blog allows you to present detailed information that can combine written and visual elements. The blog serves as the home for you content that you can link back to on other platforms.
• Facebook: Facebook allows you to present the blog content in a variety of ways. Recent trends have noted that Facebook users are currently giving preference to video; however if you present the content in a way that grabs attention text with pictures are still effective strategies to utilize.
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a great platform to establish your reputation as an expert in your field. LinkedIn give you’re an option of posting your content directly to your profile on a dedicated blog or linking to you blog through a post. This is an important platform where you'll mostly be dealing with Business-to-Business (B2B) interactions.
• Google+: Very similar to LinkedIn and Facebook. Posting here will also help in your Google SERP primarily because it's a platform created and utilized by Google.
• Instagram: Repurposing blog content into an info graphic and offering additional information to guide users to your site.
• Twitter: Finding interesting quotes from your content and then linking to your full content. Share links to your blog or provide helpful tips you would normally tell your customers. Posting visual content is a great way to capture a user's attention.
• Pinterest: Depending on your industry this is a great platform to post valuable content through pictures with a brief description and link back to the full blog content. This is particularly useful for e-Commerce clients who want to promote a lifestyle associated with their most popular products.
• Email: This is a good place to either do a brief recap of the content or take an excerpt from it and then link back to the full blog content. Sending eNewsletters or creating an email campaign to update your customers and leads about new developments or sales is also a great way to engage and obtain their business.

How to Get Started Generating Content

The best place to start your content generation is listing out common questions that your customers ask you. You can combine similar questions to develop one blog post or make an instructional video to aid customers. Another great place for inspiration is your competitors. What type of content are they creating? Read their blog posts and find a way to make the information better.

Content Marketing is a long-term strategy and getting started can seem like an overwhelming task but the sooner you get started the sooner you will start seeing the benefits. Set an editorial calendar for your content generation. Give yourself a deadline to complete new content and set a consistent day of the week to publish blog post. Before you know it you will have a collection of engaging content that will help build your reputation as an expert in your industry.

Find out how a Content Creation can benefit your business's Content Marketing Strategy by contacting our User Experience Experts today.

The post Creating Content: How it Helps Your Business Succeed Online appeared first on Capitol Tech Solutions.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a hot buzz term in User Experience. But what is Search Engine Optimization and why is it important? The quick answer is that building a new website no matter how amazing it is does not guarantee that it’ll effectively drive traffic to the site. When potential customers are searching the web for answers to satisfy a need or answer a question they may be looking for your services. Knowing whom your target audience is and what your prospective customers are searching for is vital to the success of your online business front.

Capitol Tech Solutions recently partnered with PowerSchool to improve their organic search results to drive traffic to their website; in particular their Student Information System (SIS) page. The ensuing User Experience Strategy CTS proposed and executed has been documented in a Case Study.

What Are the Benefits of SEO?

A common question that clients tend to ask our team of User Experience Consultants clients is “What’s the benefit of SEO?” In the example highlighted in the Case Study PowerSchool had a well built website with lots of bells and whistles as well as a design that provided a friendly user experience. Despite this PowerSchool was not getting the desired amount of traffic to their site. After partnering with CTS a thorough Technical SEO Audit was performed. Our team discovered red flags that were hindering the user experience and ability for Google to read the page properly.

The first area of improvement was to change the focus from "who" PowerSchool was to "what" PowerSchool is and the services that they provided for clients. Through this change of focus and the implementation of other SEO best practices PowerSchool was able to improve their organic Search Engine Result Page (SERP) rankings from being deeply buried in the index to obtaining a spot on the 1st page in Google for their targeted keywords.

What is SEO In Marketing?

The basic principle of an SEO focused strategy is centered on taking a focused look at the key words and terms that potential customers are searching for. Then taking this understanding to align those searches to successfully promote the content the searchers will find valuable about your business. In the Case Study example of PowerSchool their potential customers were searching for terms that identified with their services not necessarily the brand itself. However PowerSchool strove to rank for search queries that were brand-concentrated. They succeeded in these efforts but customers in the early stage of the buying process were trying to educate themselves on the product/platform of an SIS not necessarily the brand. CTS’s SEO analysis provided this explanation coupled with the fact that there’s a large opportunity for PowerSchool to rank well against main competitors that were trying to snag prime real estate in the Google Search Results. After a meeting in which the findings were presented PowerSchool was better able to understand how to present their services in a way that catered to their prospective customers’ needs.

PowerSchool quickly weaved its way to the top of the SERP as search engines acknowledged the newly developed content page structure and topic of focus was benefiting searchers. This in turn helped answer the questions and curiosity that arises about how proper SEO implementation can benefit all businesses willing to invest in curating their website towards the right audience.

Why Do Businesses Need Search Engine Optimization?

Answering the questions and needs of a consumer is the primary focus of Search Engine Optimization. As a business you want to make sure that the content presented on your website answers the questions and concerns of the searcher’s intent i.e your ideal customer.

Efficiently optimizing your website makes it easier for potential clients to find you. The Internet is filled with millions of websites which may include a handful that are similar to yours in what they offer as a product or service.

In an article publish by Search Engine Land it’s noted that Google alone now handles at least 2 trillion searches per year. Google’s sophisticated search algorithm process information at a rapid rate to find the most relevant information to provide a user while they search the web. Google sends out bots to comb through all search-relevant webpages to find the content that they believe will best satisfy the searcher intent. The consensus of multiple reports on Click-Through-Rates (CTR) based of SERP rankings show that 47% of all Website Traffic is driven by Organic Search Results (listings that appear on the SERP that are relevant to the search terms entered in the Search Engine). From these Organic Search Results 91.5% have come from the first SERP.

Further analysis on the first page rankings show 88.36% of Search Result Clicks go to the Top-5 Results yet 79.63% of these same clicks go only to the Top-3 SERP listings. A two-position increase in SERP Ranking from #5 to #3 would essentially double the potential a user would click on a business’ listing. Should a Competitive Keyword receive 1000 searches per month; consider the increase of potential business opportunities from about 50 visitors to your website to 100 visitors. Moving up the SERP can be accomplished if proper SEO is implemented into every element of a website. It takes time due to Google’s algorithm constantly updating the SERP with new information; however it’s possible to rank above even your largest competitors if your strategy is effective and aligns with your business goals.

To put these numbers into perspective with the PowerSchool Case Study the search term “Student Information System” (SIS) was targeted while optimizing the designated page. According to Google’s Keyword Planner the term is estimated is used an average of 6600 times a month. Now it’s important to note that the Keyword Planner is meant for Ads but it’s a great resource to utilize when generating an analysis for your keyword strategy. Before beginning the SEO process PowerSchool’s ranking for “SIS” was nowhere to be found within the first ten pages in the search results. CTS presented the changes to PowerSchool their development team implemented the recommendations and now PowerSchool ranks on the first page of the search results. More importantly they now rank above their competitors who were beating them in top 3 results.

Will SEO Work for My Business?

The PowerSchool Case Study shows the effectiveness of a well-executed SEO Strategy as part of their overall User Experience Strategy. After only three months PowerSchool began to outrank even its most popular competitors. It’s important to note that while reaching the first page in the search results is the primary goal that’s not the end of the road if you want to continue to win the race. Google and other search engines are constantly updating their algorithms to better serve their users. The best way to consistently be favored by search engines such as Google Bing Yahoo and others is to consistently create and update the relevant content that satisfies the searcher intent better than your competition.

Additionally your competition could be making investments in their content to improve their online brand. It’s important to note that once you’ve made the climb to the top of the SERP other companies and agencies are devising a plan to grab the top spot being it’s prime real estate to generate leads and conversions.

SEO as with all methods of marketing is an ongoing effort that should always be a part of your strategy. By no means is it a quick fix for immediate results – it’s a steady process that has gradual growth that will yield dividends along the way. As a long-term strategy SEO encompasses everything that’s initiated in a marketing plan. This method of marketing your website is an effective and relatively low-cost way to build your brand’s digital presence display your business to your target audience and delight customers you hope to retain for a lifetime.

You can review the full PowerSchool Case Study HERE.

Find out how a SEO Strategy can help your business contact Capitol Tech Solutions to speak with one of our specialists now.

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