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Weighing the Benefits of Responsive Websites

August 23, 2016 Website 0 Comments

Responsive DesignWhat are you waiting for? The mobile revolution is here and if your website is not currently making use of responsive design, you are missing out on a tremendous opportunity. New devices are being advertised every day, and the public’s appetite for the latest technology is on the rise. Smartphones, tablets and smart televisions are all around us and if your website does not look great on any screen and in any resolution, you are definitely losing business to your competitors who have already made the decision to update their sites. Consider the following benefits of responsive websites and we are sure you will agree that now is the time to optimize.

Mobile Motivation
According to reported results, roughly half of all users rely on a tablet or smartphone for initial online search activities. Given the increased availability of mobile devices and the ease with which users are able to access the Internet from remote locations, people are no longer tied to their desktops. In order to ensure that this quickly growing segment of the population does not lose interest in your website, you need to make responsive design a priority for your staffing firm. Evaluate your current marketing strategy and establish goals for your website redesign. If you do not have a qualified in-house developer, research designers and don’t hesitate to ask for plenty of references. Ensure that they are adhering to industry best practices and that they completely understand your vision for your site design. Create a work plan and hold your team accountable to the timelines you have assigned in order to keep the project moving forward.

Decreased Load Times = Decreased Frustration
Are your visitors becoming frustrated because your website pages are slow to load? Are you losing business because prospects have a hard time finding what they are looking for? If your landing pages contain excessive images and lengthy videos, chances are that users are going to quickly search out a competitor’s website and any hopes of converting that potential lead into new business is going to be erased. Pages that take longer than four seconds to load are going to lead to increased bounce rates and fewer return visitors. Gather baseline data by performing a self-assessment of your website, and work with your designer to reduce load times if needed.

Lead Generation Perks
The number one goal of your website is to generate leads and stimulate business growth, so it is important that you cast a wide net. Discouraging mobile traffic is going to reduce your potential leads and result in an ineffective website. When you make responsive design a priority for your staffing firm, you guarantee a positive return on your investment (ROI). Keep your target audience coming back for more by ensuring that your content is regularly updated and your multimedia is optimized. Spend time designing a layout that projects your company’s professional image in order to guarantee a positive experience for all visitors, regardless of what type of device they are using to access your website. Make your navigation easy-to-use and work with your design team to create new, attractive calls-to-action. Format all lead generation email campaign messages with responsive design in mind and include links to your website to allow for a seamless transition.

SEO Benefits
An optimized website translates to satisfied visitors and guarantees an increase in online traffic. Today’s search engines are looking for responsive design and assigning the updated sites a higher Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ranking value. This increased SEO score means that your website is going to appear higher in the search results, thus increasing your chances of a user accessing your site. In addition to responsive programming, remember to change up your design elements to keep your site fresh. Consider utilizing a banner layout that features a variety of images in order to keep visitors engaged. Select a website hosting site that is user-friendly and allows for quick updates, rather than a more technical platform that requires a developer to be involved whenever you want to change out an image. Ensure that your designer includes a tutorial session in order to illustrate the steps required to upload blog articles, post repurposed content, add new calls-to-action and create gated material.

Ongoing Troubleshooting
Now that you have decided to make responsive design a priority for your staffing firm, you need to ensure that it stays at the top of your to do list. Designing the site and going live is only half of the battle. How do you know whether your site is performing to its fullest potential? Refer to your behind-the-scenes analytics programs on a regular basis and quickly respond to any trends or indications that something is awry. Test your landing pages to guarantee that your visitors are not encountering error messages and that their experiences are positive. When uploading new infographics or other forms of multimedia, test out formatting and load times on various types of devices. Make sure that your Contact Us page includes clickable links so that visitors are able to easily able to reach out to your sales and recruiting teams.

Key Takeaways for Weighing the Benefits of Responsive Websites:S.J.Hemley Marketing

  1. Mobile users are a growing segment of the population that cannot be ignored
  2. Ensure that your visitors are not becoming frustrated by optimizing your page load times
  3. Responsive sites result in additional lead opportunities
  4. Increase your site traffic by optimizing your website and boosting your SEO ranking
  5. Carefully monitor your analytics programs and troubleshooting your website on a regular basis

About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.



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