Alt Creative Blog

Wordpress has become a huge success in the Web Design industry with over 60 million websites built on the CMS platform. In technology, such popularity inevitably comes with hackers and security holes. We’ve been making the latest security updates for our maintenance customers and now we want to give all of our clients the same peace of mind.

How important is it that your site be mobile-friendly? Do you really need a mobile website? Mobile devices have taken over and with Google’s latest algorithm change set to take over on April 21, all signs point to yes. If your site is not mobile-friendly, you will start to see a difference in your site traffic, especially among mobile users. So, what are your options?

In presidential politics, there’s one saying that rules them all: “As Iowa goes, so goes the nation.” In the SEO, marketing, content, and really, the entire business worlds, the saying is more like, “As Google goes, so goes the entire globe.” In fact, when Google announces a future date for their next algorithm release, discussion boards and industry blogs explode with nervous speculation about what the changes will do to the online health of their brand. And it’s no wonder, as a single Google update can instantaneously move a brand from the first page of search results to a less than ideal location 15 pages in.

But you needn’t let Google algorithm updates take you by surprise. In preparation for Google’s April 21st new release, we’re offering our best tips both for getting your site ready, and for ensuring you’re following the best practices already in place.

Spring is upon us and another tax season has nearly come and gone. You survived another frantic year of gathering documents, searching for receipts, and hurriedly finding a tax preparer. While it may be tempting to not think about filing another tax return until next tax season, the best plan of action is to begin planning and preparing now to make next year’s filing easier. Here are a few tips to help you stay on top of things throughout the year and make filing next year’s tax return a breeze:

According to social data and monitoring tool uberVU, the insurance company Aflac brought in 6,135 social media mentions in just over a three-week period, while its duck mascot alone brought in 1,361 mentions. Promoting and bringing fun brand recognition to a company that sells supplemental insurance is no simple feat. But Aflac manages to bring life to its brand with a white duck that barks out, “Aflac!” to people wondering where to turn for insurance help.

If you’ve been around the online marketing world either as a marketer yourself or as a small business owner, you’ve most definitely heard the saying “content is king” more than a few times. But what does it mean exactly, especially when it comes to creating website copy? One could, presumably, hire the greatest writers in the literary canon to weave your company a masterful “About Us” page, but unless it leads to more customer conversions or referrals, the ROI on all of that lyricism isn’t going to be high. In fact, taking the time to think out a clear organizational strategy for your site content can be just as important as keeping that content typo-free. In that way, the key really is not to think of content for content’s sake, but to view content as the driver of all actions you want your customers to take.

What does that mean, exactly, in real terms? Let’s take a deeper look.

Facebook is the second-most visited site on the web globally and in the U.S., according to the Alexa ranking service. Only Google gets more visitors. The average user, Alexa reports, spends an astonishing 21 minutes on the site each day, viewing 12.6 pages. The site has an extremely low bounce rate of 30.5 percent; a normal bounce rate is 50 percent. And 22 percent of Facebook’s visitors come from the U.S.

In short, people — particularly Americans — like Facebook, visit it often, and spend a good chunk of time on it at work, home and school, Alexa tells us. What better place to let the world know about your blog?

When you first start your business, it’s easy to find yourself obsessively thinking about one thing: getting new customers. But as you build up your customer base, it’s important to think not just about the high of scoring a new fan, but also about keeping your old customers happy. Repeat customers not only supply a steady base of income, but they’re often big brand evangelists, and can be essential in embedding yourself within a community.

However, there can be a bit of an art to turning a one-time customer into repeat business, especially if you operate in a competitive business. The following tips will keep your customers returning time and again — and it will likely help with your referral rates, too.

If you want to make a name for yourself as a fierce fashionista, make friends with Instagram. Beyond having a nose for clothes and a rocking blog, you need to get your name known. And for fashion bloggers and style gawkers, the holy road to fame (and maybe fortune, who knows?) is this highly visual service where photos and social engagement converge. Amp up your visibility on Instagram in these five steps.

Your startup has a story to tell, whether you are just beginning to outline your goals and objectives for an effective business plan, seeking operating capital from an investor or lender, your company has a compelling tale to tell. Even if your brilliant product or service can change people’s lives for the better, if you can’t effectively articulate your concept to those who are in a position to help you succeed, it won’t mean a hill of beans.

Successful brands understand how good UI/UX design can make or break a product or service from day one. But, what is UI/UX and what makes for truly extraordinary interface design and user experience?

As a small business owner or marketing manager, you know that you should Tweet regularly, write blogposts that establish your expertise, and make sure your website is fully search engine optimized. But here’s a little secret: you can’t do any of that effectively if you don’t have a firm grasp of who your audience is. […]