Bing is a web search engine owned and operated by Microsoft. Bing also powers Yahoo! search.

Even though Bing isn’t as big as Google, it’s still very important your website can be found on Bing as a significant percentage of people use Bing as their search engine.  It’s is the default search engine when you use Microsoft software.

Who uses Bing?

Well, more people than you may think! I’ve researched statistics, and the most reliable ones were the US statistics. To give you an idea, in the US, around 30% of people use Bing and Yahoo, the remaining majority use Google.

Bing searchers are for the most part 35+ in age and commonly within the 55-64 age bracket. Bing users generally less tech savvy.

Some people get really annoyed with the tracking that Google does (with ads following you everywhere) and therefore use Bing. In China, people can’t use Google but they can use Bing!
So, you need to make sure your website appears on Bing.

It will only take a few seconds to submit your domain name (website address) to Bing, and it’s free. Click on the link below to register:
http://www.bing.com/toolbox/submit-site-url 

Next week, we'll look at how to make the most of Bing for your business.

Marijke

Here we go:
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1. Don't assume people enter your website through your home page! Have a look at your google analytics. Go to 'behavior' and then click 'landing page'. Here, you can see where people enter your website. On average, only 30% of your website visitors enter your site through your home page. So, if they land on another page, be clear of where they are and what your business is.
2. No more than 1 topic per page (this is also good for search engine optimisation!) and break up the text with subheadings. Avoid too much clutter and info on 1 page.
3. Keep the content clear and simple (and no jargon!!), especially if you are dealing with international visitors. Different languages are also a great way to appeal to international visitors whose first language is not English.
4. Make it visually appealing - great photos, videos and infographics make it much easier to illustrate what you sell. A responsive website (so the size and layout adjusts to the size of the screen) goes without saying!
5. Add a search box to your site, especially if you have a lot of content on your site (like I do with my Marketing Tips. It allows people to search for specifics.
6. Have a call to action on each page (ie booking button)  so that when they are ready to book/buy, they can do it from the page they are on without having to click back.
7. Have your contact details on each page (including contact person’s name and email – this makes it more personal and credible!

Have a look at your own website and what you can improve to make it more user-friendly.

Till next week, Marijke

Chances are that you're using Facebook for your business. You may have set up a few other social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, but most small businesses don’t use these as much.

My advice to you - especially if you operate a tourism business - is to consider Instagram much more than you are now! 

Here are 7 reasons why:

1. It’s easy! Instagram is very easy to use. Just take a photo on your smartphone (directly into Instagram or add it later) and post it. Add a few relevant hashtags, and you have something new on your social media.
2. Fresh content ALL THE TIME!! By having a live Instagram feed on your website, your Instagram posts will automatically appear on your site. You could have new photos on your website every day!
3. Link your Instagram account to Facebook so you can automatically post photos on your Facebook page too.
4. Involve your team – it makes them feel valued and it’s fun! Get your team on Instagram and encourage them to take client photos – works great with activity products!
5. Encourage customers to post photos of your product using your hashtag. Then, when people search your business using your hashtag, they will find these pics! Also use hashtags of other popular Instagram accounts (like your regional tourism organisation’s Instagram account).
6. Increase direct traffic to your website. Your Instagram page will have your website address so people can click on it to view your website. 
7. Instagram is on the increase with over 400 million active users. As it's a mobile app, and mobile use of the internet and social media is growing fast, so is Instagram.

To get started, go to: www.instagram.com 
Give it a go! Any questions? Use the comment box below!

Till next week, Marijke

First of all, what is bounce rate?
When you look at the google analytics (statistics) of your website, on the main dashboard you’ll see your bounce rate. This rate indicates the number of visitors that only look at one page of your website and then leave. Unless you have a lot of people looking at one page (such as I have with the weekly marketing tip), you can assume that your website visitors haven’t found what they were looking for. If you pay for google adwords, which can be quite expensive, you want to make sure that the people that click on your ad are not one page visitors and a bounce rate statistic. If they are, you are wasting your money and need to review your ad. 

But even if you don’t pay for ads, you want to ensure you get quality traffic and keep them on your site.

The aim is to keep your bounce rate under 40%. If you can get it under 30%, you’re doing extremely well! If you can keep people on your website longer, you have a higher chance to convert them to a sale or a booking.

Here are a few reasons people leave your website:

1. Poor webpage design (use of poor contrast: like dark background with coloured text, too much happening on the page)
2. Poor Navigation (such as too many navigation buttons – around 6-8 maximum works best)
3. Not using a responsive layout. So landing pages become hard to read on devices with different screen resolutions.
4. Too much text and sentences that are too long. If you are selling multiple products, only put three on your homepage. It’s easier to make a choice.
5. Not enough images and no video. A photo or video can showcase what you sell much easier than blocks or text – and it’s much easier on the eye!
6. Moving google ads – this can be very distracting.
7. No links in the text to other pages to find out more.
8. Little to no spacing between lines and paragraphs and lack of headings and sub-headings. Your headline and first paragraph must highlight the benefit of reading any further.
9. Landing pages which are slow to download. This is a major put-off for visitors to your site.
10. Noisy sites: Audio/video contents which auto play as soon as the page loads. This is very annoying for visitors. (I personally can’t stand this!)

So, set a goal to improve your bounce rate by improving your website.

Till next week, Marijke