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Happy New Year!
Welcome back to Sparks! Sparks' annual December
holiday let us recharge our creative batteries, move into our new
space, and fire up the coolest computers around. Happy New Year!
Our re-design of Monroe Bank site receives
national nod
Community Banker, a financial trade publication, featured
the re-design of the Monroe Bank website by Cairril.com in its December
2006 issue.
The article, entitled “Re-Design Time,” profiled community
banks around the U.S. who had re-designed their websites in recognition
of their sites’ importance to overall brand health and profitability.
Our design for Monroe Bank was featured for its ease of use, its
performance in search engines, the amount and quality of its content,
and the emotional impact of its photography and design.
Learn more
Web searchers want your…phone number?
Research by Nielsen/NetRatings and WebVisible last year showed
an increasing number of people using search engines to find local
businesses. It's official; the Web is cutting into Yellow Pages
and traditional print classified advertising.
While the trend isn't surprising, some of the other findings are.
Almost 70% of respondents said they would use the phone number from
a website to make first contact with the business. Only 16% preferred
email and 6% would visit a vendor in person.
Searchers also don't take action immediately. The majority bookmark
a site and return to it before making contact with your business.
One of the most important findings was the impact of the website
on word-of-mouth. Almost 60% of respondents said they verbally recommended
the business to others after they visited it.
What does this tell us?
• Have a compelling website that resonates with your target
market.
• Make sure it shows up in search engine results (preferably
the top 3 results).
• Include your phone number on every page of the site (many
people look at the bottom of the page for this info but you may
want to give your number more prominence).
• Make sure your website builds trust with visitors; they'll
be more likely to return.
• Ask your customers how they found you! If they mention the
Internet, you know to invest more in your Internet presence.
Learn
more
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