Having an ADA Compliant Website: 3 Reasons Why You Should Act Now

Having an ADA compliant website is something that is becoming increasingly more paramount. As website functionality continues to improve, so too does the expectation that it will become easier to navigate, for those with disabilities and without. After all, an estimated 48.9 million people in the U.S. are considered disabled. While those of us who don’t have disabilities may take website navigation for granted, whether it be desktop or mobile, this isn’t the case for these 48.9 million individuals. For this reason, an ADA compliant website is becoming the standard. What is ADA? The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was …

Human-Centered Design: Should I Hire a Website Designer for My Business?

Any professional website designer knows that human intuition is a pretty accurate indicator of a website’s success. I can’t tell you how many “bad” websites I’ve come across during my time as an online marketing specialist, but it’s been a whole lot. Buttons that don’t click, contact information placed in the wrong spot, illogical organization—these characteristics all scream “bad,” and that’s exactly what people want to do when interacting with them: scream. In other words, if your business site is “user-friendly,” then your potential clients and customers—the people who make your business possible in the first place—will not click away …

Law Firm Marketing: How to Win in 2019

Law Firm Marketing in 2019 is going to be all about putting yourself in front of the client—the challenge is how to know where the client is looking for the types of services that you offer. Over the past several years, I’ve helped many law firms with their marketing efforts. What I’ve learned during this time is that law firm marketing should aim to accomplish three things: Grow the firm’s referral network so your case referrals increase Regularly sign new clients for services from the firm through trackable sources Build the firm’s brand awareness to keep it top of mind for …

Best Website Builder for SEO: Is Your Choice Hurting Your Business?

For small business owners like me, having a website is a crucial part of showing how professional we are. Even if you have a website, are you sure that you’re using the best website builder for SEO? With all the options out there, it can be difficult to decide which to use. I’ve heard many entrepreneurs—both online and in person—ask about how important Search Engine Optimization is for getting a business off the ground to make a profit. Short answer: It’s absolutely critical! Without a good SEO strategy, which includes the choice you make for your website builder, you can …

How Long Should My Blog Be? Why Word Count Matters…Sometimes

I’m mingling with other small business owners and entrepreneurs at a local event, enjoying some fascinating conversation and putting the ZenChange name out there, when one of the men I’m talking with asks me, “So, Diane. I’m sure you get this a lot, but how long should my blog be?” He’s right. I do get that a lot—probably because it’s not an easy question to answer. I explain to him the importance of balancing interesting, engaging content with SEO best practices and a solid social media strategy, but I get the feeling as I do so that it’s too difficult …

Losing Business at Checkout? How to Increase Shopping Cart Conversions

Don’t think you need to increase shopping cart conversions for your e-commerce site? Think again! Let this sink in—the typical online store loses 68% of its potential sales to shopping cart abandonment. Many online retailers think that these losses are just part of doing business as online—shoppers can easily change their minds at the last second. Perhaps they never intended to purchase anything in the first place. Window shoppers can certainly still exist online. But the majority of the time, your website is the real problem, not the fickle customer. I know what you’re thinking—fixing a website is time-intensive and …

Net neutrality: What Is It And How It Will Affect Small Business Websites

Everyone knows about net neutrality. Wait, what? We do? Of course not. Up until yesterday, barely anyone had heard of it. The media had no coverage of this vote leading up to it. But with the FCC’s decision less than 24 hours ago to dismantle its regulations on net neutrality, reality has just kicked in. What exactly is net neutrality and why is it so important? Net Neutrality is the ability to communicate openly and freely on the Internet. There are no rules or regulations that hinder a consumer’s usage. We log on, type in a web page, and boom; …

‘Twas The Night Before ZenChange

’Twas the night before Christmas and all through the business, Not a prospect was stirring, no clicks of the mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In the hopes that ZenChange soon would be there. The owners were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of dollar signs danced in their heads; The sales team having no leads took a nap; While the manager wondered how to close the gap. When out on the web there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter; Away to my phone I …

Does Your Online Marketing Feel Like Throwing Darts?

Remember the carnival game where you had three darts to throw at a wall full of balloons to win the giant stuffed panda?  Most of the darts would hit the wall, or skim by the balloon, and if you did manage to pop a balloon it would typically be for a rather unexciting small plastic whistle and definitely NOT the giant stuffed panda.  The problem with this game is that you don’t know where the panda prize card is pinned, and you may not have the greatest aim.  But you know it’s there somewhere so you just keep on paying …