While it might be written off by some as a new trend, mega-sized images seem to be getting results for sites that utilize them. As a person who uses the internet, I have noticed the shift to larger images taking hold on several popular sites. Personally, I find these larger images to be more aesthetically pleasing, even if it does not result in me making unplanned purchases. However, I would likely imagine that people who are browsing or are undecided about a purchase might be easily swayed by these larger images.

This article from webdesignerdepot.com presents several case studies to show how larger images can have a positive impact on conversions. However, this article should come with the caveat that these are case studies. There does not seem to be any solidly compiled statistics to show larger images will always work. However, I would argue that once larger companies establish a trend, consumers come to expect (and respond to) similar things from other companies.

One example given by webdesignerdepot.com of a site with mega-images is McDonald’s. I strangely found myself clicking on the below image to see what McDonald’s is up to with its marketing these days. I would largely say this was due to the mega-sized image and the overall aesthetic appeal of the page.

In closing, I would venture that larger images would help most sites with their conversions. The things to be cognizant of are your brand, your product, and ultimately your particular image. The best thing to do would be to test any changes image by image to see what works best for your site. To read the full webdesignerdepot.com article, click here.

Since mobile-friendliness is particularly relevant right now, a lot of small business owners are probably looking for a good resource to turn to for bringing their site into the mobile-friendly realm. This article from SitePoint provides a very good introduction into the world of mobile-friendliness. The article covers the following points:

• What mobile-friendliness is
• Why it is particularly important to be mobile-friendly now
• What steps you should take to achieve mobile-friendliness

For several small businesses (up to 94% according to the SitePoint article), mobile has not been much of a consideration up to this point. However, given the sharp increase in the number of people who use it as their main resource to access the internet (especially for shopping), the time to address the mobile marketplace is certainly at hand. The image below is a good example of how a standard website appears as opposed to one that is mobile-friendly.

The above image is a great example of how a non-mobile website impacts how mobile customers interact with your business. One of the most important goals for any business is to take down the walls between the customer and your product; this interaction needs to be as easy as possible for the purposes of driving sales. To this end, why make it more difficult for a large portion of your customer base to be able to read and access your content?

I am certainly not saying that every business needs to have a mobile site, or even a website at all. However, with the changing trends regarding how the average consumer is interacting with businesses and their goods, now is certainly the time to re-evaluate whether or not your business needs to take the leap to mobile-friendliness. Click here to read the full SitePoint article on Mobile SEO.

For several small-to-medium sized internet businesses, approaching SEO (search engine optimization) can be very daunting. A lot of small, online businesses might be adept in the niche of their services, but levels of “tech-aptitude” can vary greatly. In this article from SitePoint, several tips are given on how to improve search rankings. Some of these tips are very easy to implement. For the ones that are not, references are given on where to look or how to get started.

One of the more timely tips, is to ensure your site is mobile-friendly due to Google’s recent changes to their search algorithms. Our previous post on this change can be read here. Google’s change will affect your search results on mobile devices. However, since more and more people are using mobile devices as their primary (and often only) way to access the internet, this is extremely important for any site’s visibility.

Another of the tips discusses content – most importantly, proper use of keywords and ensuring the generation of new content. As the SitePoint article mentions, it is much better for you to check with Google to find what keywords are being searched as opposed to guessing on your own. This is particularly important if you have a niche industry. People might not be 100% familiar with what they are searching for, so they might use related terms in searches that you might not have considered. The image below from the SitePoint article shows keywords in use:

However, content and mobile-friendliness are just a couple of the topics discussed in the previously mentioned article. If you are looking for clarification or help on SEO concepts and starting points, you should read the full article.