Author: Franz Malten Buemann

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For many businesses, a website is undeniably critical for reaching new audiences — and is often the first impression someone will have of your brand.
But having a website alone isn’t enough to reach and convert new customers. It’s equally vital that your website is well-designed, or you risk losing valuable leads.
 Website design plays a huge role for a few reasons: First, web design can impact your website’s ability to rank on search engines for keywords related to your products or services. Additionally, web design can influence whether a user stays on your site once they find it.
And, lastly, web design will ultimately impact how many leads and prospects you’re able to convert into customers.
Good website design always begins with the question, “What is the main action we want someone to take when they visit our site?”
However, “good” website design can seem vague — what exactly do marketers mean when they say, “That’s an impressive website design”?
To uncover key design features you’ll want to include in your website in 2021 and beyond, we asked 285 people around the U.S. which elements they feel are most important for a company website.
Here are their responses.

Click here for the PDF version of this graph. 
1. According to 62% of those polled, including contact information on your website is critical.
Including contact information seems simple, but a lot of companies miss this. And it’s undeniably important — in fact, those surveyed rated “Contact Us Information” as the most important element you can include on your company’s website.
You’ll want to include the phone number, email address, or other contact medium you want people to reach you for sales inquiries — preferably in an easy-to-find location, like the header of the page.
Also, consider including a clickable “Email us!” CTA that either opens an email client or links to your contact form. And, speaking of forms, you might want to embed “Contact Us” forms throughout your site. Visitors don’t need to go on a scavenger hunt to find out how to get in touch with you.
2. 19% believe a blog is most important.
All digital, social, and other online marketing requires quality content. And a blog is one of the most effective opportunities you have to create and distribute high-quality content related to your products or services.
Out of those surveyed, 19% believe it’s actually the most important element on a business’ website. 
To get maximum SEO benefit, your blog should be listed under your domain (something like www.yourcompany/blog) instead of off-site through a third-party service.
Ultimately, a blog can help you reach new audiences, increase brand awareness, and convert prospects through educational, valuable content.
3. An About Us page is a vital element, and can help your brand share its story.
Sharing your story and highlighting core values is critical for your brand’s long-term success. In fact, 85% of consumers say they’ll only consider a brand if they trust the brand.
As shown in the poll we conducted, an About Us page is the second-highest rated element, with 31% ruling an About Us page the most important element — overshadowing live chat, product images/video, and even case studies.
Simply put, people care about who they do business with, so tell people who you are and why your work matters. That said, keep it brief. Customers don’t have time to read a research paper.
For About Us page inspiration, take a look at 26 About Us & About Me Pages + Templates to Make Your Own.
4. You’ll want to include social media icons to drive traffic to your social pages.
We know social media icons are important, but I was surprised to see this element overshadow live chat, customer case studies, and blog as the most important element of a company’s website, according to 30% of those surveyed.
Once your website is regularly bringing in traffic, it’s important you link out to your social media pages so prospects and customers can follow you.
However, it’s important you don’t overdo it — when in doubt, go for simplicity over scale. For instance, if you work for an ecommerce company, consider linking to a few visually appealing pages, such as Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube.
Of course, don’t add platforms that you don’t update regularly. You’re building trust, and that comes by regularly having updated and relevant content and answering queries from customers and leads.
5. According to 20% percent of those polled, customer testimonials can effectively take your website to the next level.
Potential customers need to trust you before choosing to work with you. Fortunately, customer testimonial pages can help you effectively build that trust with prospects.
Use your website to build your credibility by sharing your expertise and successful track record with clients and customers. When you do get testimonials, ask your clients for permission to use their real names. Real endorsements from recognizable businesses and organizations means a lot more than an anonymous testimonial or a quote from a fictional persona.
Case study pages should have a consistent, concise format and template to explain what problem a customer had, how your company solved it, and what process you used to get to resolution.
6. Geographic details are invaluable for local search SEO.
46% of all Google searches are looking for local information — which means if your business isn’t optimized for local search, you could be missing out on potential customers who are searching for products or services within your geographical region.
And, as shown in our research, 26% feel a business’ physical location is a key component of an effective website. 
The pandemic has made many of us forget a physical world exists. Most businesses with brick-and-mortar locations rely on customers within a certain geographic area. Fortunately, when many people search for a product or service, they include a location. Including your location information will help your SEO strategy and help people unfamiliar with your region find your business.
For instance, if you need a locksmith, you might search “locksmith in Maplewood, NJ.” This is why you should use your location in page titles and other metadata, as well as in the text that appears on your website. If you have several cities you serve, you should consider creating landing pages on your site for each location for easier navigation.
7. Live chat is an important element of a business’ website in 2021.
According to 28% of our respondents, live chat is a necessary component of a successful website.
Chatbots can’t replace real people with customer service, but they are a good alternative for those who don’t want to call or email and may be inquiring about services or simple FAQs. To meet customers where they are and provide the instant feedback they require, consider installing a live chat option on your website.
Chatbots are easy to program and many don’t even require code. Artificial intelligence has made this functionality much more feasible for companies of all sizes. In fact, many companies offer live chat as a simple plugin for your CMS platform.
Other reasons to consider a chatbot:

44% of online consumers say having questions answered by a live person while in the middle of an online purchase is one of the most important features a website can offer.

63% said they are more likely to return to a website if it offers live chat.

38% said they made their purchase due to the chat session itself, and 62% reported being more likely to purchase from the site again.

8. 27% of people say it’s most important to use original videos and images of your products or services on your website.
Customers like images — but they are weary of stock photos, particularly of products or services. This is where authentic behind-the-scenes videos and photos can help.
For instance, if your company provides a service such as landscape design or IT maintenance, show before-and-after pictures of your work.
If your service is something less tangible, such as insurance or life coaching, show pictures of your friendly staff and your belief system using visuals. Or, better yet, include video. Videos where you are explaining your business’ purpose are powerful opportunities for increasing trust with potential customers. 
9. According to 10% of those polled, a newsletter sign-up button is a valuable component of a company’s website.
Offering visitors to your site a chance to stay up-to-date via a subscription to your blog posts, newsletters, or product releases is a great way to stay top-of-mind for prospects and customers and increase brand loyalty.
A subscription will let you share information about your company through email marketing, and build your email list at the same time. Use this list to share information you think your clients and prospects will find valuable whenever you have it.
Finally, Don’t Forget About Analytics
Should you simply limit your web design to just these nine important design elements? Of course not. Depending on your industry and business needs, there are a number of other design integrations that should be considered a priority.
And, of course, we can’t forget the value of a compelling homepage, effective site navigation, mobile responsiveness, and more technical aspects like readability and accessibility.
There’s also one other critical element you should consider when designing your website: Analytics. Analytics can help you determine how your website is currently performing, the pages that attract the most visitors, and how you might improve and iterate on your web design for the long-haul.
Ultimately, it’s important to continue testing your web design over time to ensure it continues to meet — and exceed — consumers expectations.

You might know your Instagram content is good, but imagine how much better it will seem if it looks like 10,000 people agree.
Whether you’re trying to become a social media celebrity or simply looking to spread brand awareness on Instagram, it can be tempting to take shortcuts wherever you can in order to expand your audience, including ‘buying’ Instagram followers.
Here, we’ve gone ahead and covered all the questions you might have about buying Instagram followers to give you a better idea of how it actually works. We’ve also explored the pros and cons, so you can decide for yourself if it’s a good move for your brand.

1,000 followers seems like a good deal for the price of a small Starbucks latte. But of course, if it really was that cheap and easy, everyone would be doing it. So what’s the catch? Is buying Instagram followers legal and safe for your business? Is it a worthwhile investment?
The main reason buying Instagram followers can prove to be a wasted investment is because the accounts you follow often aren’t real.
How to Buy Instagram Followers
The vast majority of purchasable followers are either bots or inactive accounts. Here’s how it works:
The Fake Follower Vendors
Buying fake followers on Instagram is much harder now than it was a few years ago. Why? Instagram has been cracking down on accounts that violate their terms of service. What used to be fairly above-board is now an enigma. In order to buy Instagram followers these days, you’ll need to know someone who can put you in contact with a vendor who will actually deliver the bots — I mean followers — they say they will (you’ll also want to choose someone that you trust with your credit card information).
But what happens once you’ve paid for your followers? Assuming the vendor is legitimate (as legitimate as can be for this type of service) you’ll wait anywhere from a few minutes to a few days for your followers to trickle in. The sellers roll out your followers over time so as not to alert Instagram that something fishy is going on. Once you have your brand new automated followers, don’t expect much. These followers won’t do much for your engagement metrics.
When you buy Instagram followers, you’re paying for a number alone. Engagement is not guaranteed, or even likely.

When you buy Instagram followers, you’re paying for a number alone. Engagement is not guaranteed, or even likely.

Instagram Bots
Instagram bots are everywhere — you’ve likely come across several of them today alone. There are companies out there who have automated the process of creating bots so well that they can then sell these bots as followers. In some cases, the bots may even assume the identity of a real person, using stolen images and names.
Depending on the service, these dummy accounts may even seem organic, running on automation to share and like content. Some can even be programmed to produce content. However, because they’re not real people, they will not have an organic-looking following-to-follower ratio. As a result, the engagement they do produce will have little impact.
Without real followers to engage with your content, your posts are essentially hidden from everyone except your inauthentic audience. Plus, your bot followers won’t discuss your brand in real life with friends or family, because, well … they don’t exist in real life (no offense, bots).
Inactive Accounts
However, not all fake followers are bots. There are some companies that sell followers that are genuine accounts.
In this situation, the accounts are created either because they’re managed by users whose only goal is to get followed in return or for the sole reason to offer this service. And while these followers might show early engagement, they’ll ultimately become a drain on your Instagram account’s performance metrics when their accounts go dormant.
After all, if their account was created for the sole purpose of fulfilling sponsorship requests, the real person behind the account has little reason to dwell on the newsfeed, interact with content, or purchase the goods and services being advertised.
Without that interaction, your follower numbers are inflated with none of the value that organic followers would bring.
In addition to buying followers directly, you can also pay services to strategically follow other accounts on your behalf based on your preferences (location, hashtag usage, account type, and gender). Ideally, those followed accounts will then follow you back.
With this option, your followers are more likely to be real people, but engagement is still unlikely. Since you can’t even guarantee these accounts will follow you back, it’s a risky investment. Most accounts won’t follow you back, and even if they do, they probably aren’t going to be long-term, loyal, or active followers.
You’ll get early engagement that tapers off over time.
Purchased Instagram followers also provide no long-term value to your profile’s content. The followers you buy might give you views, likes, and comments early into acquiring them as a follower, but the attention they throw you now won’t be there later — when you start reporting on how your Instagram account is performing.
And how helpful, really, are 10,000 followers that don’t engage with you? Engagement is key to how Instagram’s algorithm displays posts to users. Without likes or comments, your post probably won’t show up on your audience’s newsfeeds, and it also won’t show up on any Explore Pages.
You could hurt your credibility.
Having a lot of followers could convince users to follow you organically, but it’s not a guarantee.
Remember the risks: these followers will probably never like or comment on a post, and if you’re caught with a ton of fake followers, you could ruin your credibility with your real audience.
Users might notice you don’t have a ton of engagement on your posts, which could deter them from following you. If you have 10,000 followers but only four likes per post, it won’t take people long to realize something is up.
Think of it this way: would you keep following an account if you saw that most of their “loyal audience” were inactive accounts or bots? I’m guessing not. It could seem deceitful, and lead you to believe the brand couldn’t get authentic followers through good content alone.
Bought Instagram followers can distort your performance metrics.
It’s practically impossible to measure how well your target audience is connecting with your brand if a high percentage of that audience isn’t real. How will you measure posts that do well with your real audience if those bots and inactive accounts skew the ratio?
If you don’t know how well your posts are doing or what your real audience thinks, you’ll never convert your Instagram followers into real customers. And isn’t that the point?
Ultimately, if you pay for Instagram followers, you aren’t paying for quality, real-life followers. You’re paying for a blank number. And since Instagram’s algorithm is largely tied to engagement, not followers, buying followers isn’t a long-term solution. In fact, it isn’t really a solution at all.
Take the time, energy, and money that you would’ve dedicated to buying followers, and focus instead on building genuine relationships with a real audience. If your content is engaging and authentic, your loyal followers will spread the word and engage with your brand without needing any bribes.
Instagram identifies and purges fake followers.
Recently, Instagram has updated its terms of use to identify and remove inauthentic accounts from its platform. Instagram is removing any likes, follows, or comments from third-party apps that are designed to artificially grow accounts’ audiences. By buying followers, you violate Instagram’s community guidelines and it may trigger a reaction from Instagram moderators.
Instagram is looking to maintain genuine interactions on its site, protecting real accounts and experiences. Fake or bought activity infringes upon this mission and might result in consequences, so it’s better to grow your audience organically.
Alternatives to Buying Instagram Followers
Instagram’s new algorithm rewards engagement more than follower count, displaying content similar to posts users engaged with in the past. In order to drive engagement, there are many different actions you can try on the platform to get in front of your ideal audience.
By using good Instagram marketing practices — whether you are building your personal brand or a company account — you can better reach the nearly 800 million monthly Instagram users and build an authentic audience.
1. Make your account public.
First, make your account public so that users can see your profile and content. This way, you can grow your audience organically when your content pops up on users’ explore pages, attracting and delighting your target viewership.
2. Give users a reason to follow you by publishing quality content.
Next, publish a variety of posts to your feed: you can post images, GIFs, videos, Boomerangs, quizzes on your story, how-tos, user-generated content, and so much more. Build trust and excitement among your followers by using high-quality photos, writing catchy captions, posting consistently, and keeping up a unique style overall to differentiate yourself from other accounts. Do your research on which hashtags generate a lot of buzz and which are aligned with your brand — hashtags can be a great way to reach new audiences if done correctly.
Depending on your brand personality, it can help to be funny or witty in your content. Having an acute awareness of how your brand is perceived and the trends going around Instagram will serve you when choosing content to post and how to interact with your Instagram community.
3. Use Instagram to its fullest capability.
Lastly, utilize the many different channels on the platform, like Instagram Live, IGTV, Instagram Stories, or Shopping on Instagram. There are so many different ways to connect with users, and by driving engagement through these features, you can drive engagement and traffic organically and authentically.
4. Use Hashtags
Hashtags are like goldmines for finding new audiences. Users follow hashtags for updates about specific topics that interest them. If you use them intentionally in your captions, you have a great chance of showing up on the newsfeeds of people who’ve never seen your content before.
But don’t start adding random hashtags to all your content. You’ll need a hashtag strategy to ensure you’re targeting the right people. Moreover, the sweet spot for Instagram hashtags is 30. That might seem like a lot, but if you have a strategy for how you’ll use them, you’ll likely find more than 30 that would work for you. The key for hashtags is to be intentional with them. The reward will be well worth the effort.
5. Engage with Other Instagram Users
A good rule of thumb on Instagram is to engage with other users. Whether you like, comment, save or share their posts, every interaction counts for you and them. Instagram’s algorithm favors engagement which means the more you interact (and the more people interact with you) the more likely it will be that your content appears on more and more news feeds. That means more visibility and growth for your page.
Before you go overboard, remember that Instagram does have a limit to this “rule.” There have been cases where the social media platform blocked users from engaging with content if they liked and commented on more than a few hundred posts in an hour.
6. Use Instagram Stories
500 million daily active Instagram users used Instagram stories in 2019. Needles to say, the audience for this feature is simply waiting and watching for the next viral video or meme to slide across their screens. What makes stories arguably even better for growth than the traditional Instagram feed is the ability for users to interact with the content in a story. Polls, quizzes, and questions are engagement magnets — the more people interact with those elements, the more people Instagram will share your story with.
There’s a Better Way to Grow on Instagram
Instagram has been one of the fastest-growing social media platforms for several years and it’s showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. The pressure to keep up and with the growth can make buying followers tempting, but don’t succumb to that pressure. Between repercussions from the platform itself, lower engagement metrics, and the risk of spamming well-meaning users with bot comments, buying Instagram followers is simply not worth the trouble. The alternatives in this article can help you navigate a path toward organic follower  growth that will be worth more than 10,000 fake followers could ever be.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in March 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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