hoping to step up their game. Of course, because of the number of new trends being set day in and day out when it comes to search engine optimization in Chicago, it does get challenging to swim with the tide and still come up with the results you are expecting. With these tips below, you can help your business not just to stay afloat, but to actually excel and be recognized.

• Stick to relevant content.

This will always be a basic rule when it comes to SEO in Chicago. You may be working with the best in Chicago web design, but without relevant content to back you up, all you efforts will be in vain.

Don’t just talk about what’s trending at the moment, especially if it does not exactly fit your niche. Think about what’s most relevant to your target audience and focus on that. This way, they know that you truly want to give them the value they’re looking for.

• Be mindful of how you present links.

Reading through content that’s filled to the brim with “Click here” is not only distracting, it does not bring any real value to your content. If you find any relevant keyword that can be linked to an external or internal source, then go ahead and add a hyperlink to the exact keyword instead of adding “Click here” after the statement. This makes the content more natural in flow and allows your readers to go through the text with more focus.

• Don’t underestimate the power of alt tags.

Any expert in Chicago UX design will tell you that visuals on every page will pull up your rankings. However, don’t think that just because you already have all the videos and images you need, the clicks will start pouring down. Aside from the visual content, make sure you add alt tags to each relevant image and video as well.

Alt tags are alternative text descriptions that allow search engines to recognize images and videos. Without alt tags, your images and videos are invisible to the search bots crawling through the internet. But when you assign relevant keywords to each of them, the text will be recognized, allowing your chosen search engine to pick up your visual content.

• Steer clear of popular keywords.

Wait, what? Aren’t we supposed to use keywords that majority of people use? Although this is the common practice, you have to realize that going for the more popular keywords would mean having to compete with all of your other competitors in ranking.

Go for a more specific keyword that may not be on top of the list, but still has a pretty good chance of being picked up. Remember that having the chance to be seen by 100 people out of 1000 who typed in a popular keyword does not really count much. What matters is being seen by 100 out of 100 people who typed in a less popular set of keywords.

With so many people searching for a product or service like yours, it’s impossible not to have any chance of luring them in. All it takes is following these tips – the rest will follow.

This does not mean that coming up with the perfect design that shows the most effective Chicago UX approach – while still making room for any adjustments that need to be done for the sake of localized search engine optimization in Chicago – is impossible.

Here are a few tips that would help you boost your web design, especially if you’re targeting the Chicago market:

• Start with gray, then move on to color.

A lot of designers (even the most experienced ones) often fall into the trap of overdesigning. They want to add so much, that their final output appears overboard.

When you start out with a wireframe, make sure all designs are in grayscale. After this, start adding photography in. From here, you can start adding color to the other design elements. This way, you can easily quit when you have enough color, which is always easier than having to decide what to remove when you already have too much.

• Put those social media icons somewhere less glaring.

Yup, you heard that right. Although marketers are always telling people to focus on social media, you would always have to go back to the basics – what is the goal of your social media profiles? More often than not, you engage in social media so that you can get people to visit your website. When you place your social media icons in a prominent place on your website, you do not only ruin the overall look of the design, you also do the opposite of your goal – you’re trying to get them to leave your website. This, without a doubt, will ruin your efforts to excel in local SEO in Chicago as well.

• Forget the carousel.

The slideshow (otherwise known as the carousel) was such a big hit because it allowed marketers to pack so much stuff on a single page. Imagine having the ability to promote your main product, market a short-term promo, and ask people for their emails all in one page! All this, without making the page seem filled to the brim.

Here’s the problem with the carousel, however – it requires time for people to go through all  slides, and most people have little time (and attention span). Choose a main point and use that on your homepage. Remember that clean and focused will always be better.

• Don’t forget to do a squint test.

Before deciding that a project is finished, always do the squint test first. Move away from your computer screen. Once there’s enough distance there, squint. By doing so, you will see everything else dissolve into a blur except for the exact design element that you want to highlight. Don’t see anything standing out? Then you have a big problem on your hands.

So are you ready to start taking your web design to the next level? Start out with these tips and find your projects improving significantly.

Here are some of the most common UX design mistakes that you should avoid:

• Navigation Woes

One thing that could lead people away from your website is bad navigation. No matter how amazing your local SEO tactics may be, if your visitors end up getting lost as they try to find the things that they need, then they would just decide to leave and try elsewhere instead of trying their luck clicking on random buttons just to try to make the solutions they need appear right before them.

• Lengthy Forms

You have launched a fail-proof campaign that proves to be most effective when it comes to search engine optimization in Chicago and promised everyone something really cool if they decide to visit your website – an email, a free item, or possibly, free subscription to something. But if they end up on your homepage and find out that they would have to answer an incredibly lengthy form to qualify, then they’ll probably just pass up the offer. Stick to the basics, like their email address and their whole name. Don’t make it hard for them to get what you promised.

• Bad Graphic and Content Combinations

When you look at some of the demands that come with SEO in Chicago, you’ll find that no matter how on point your content may be, if the overall design of the pages where it will be placed does not match your content’s mood or message, then you will only leave everybody confused.

Always make sure that the goals of both the designer and the content creator are aligned. Otherwise, you might end up with great design and great content that clashes when put together. And that’s such a waste.

• Time-Wasting Surprises

Imagine clicking on something that you initially thought would be a way to reach out to the brand’s customer service team and being led to an FAQ page instead. This is one surprise that visitors will not be happy about.

Make sure each button does exactly what it says it does. Otherwise, you’ll have people feeling cheated out of a few seconds of their lives.

• Poor Psychology

Yes, you read that right. Good UX design requires a good understanding of how people think – in other words, psychology.

Don’t forget that every color you use, every image you place, and every visual trick you apply will have a certain effect on the people viewing it. Always think about what mood you want them to have and what decisions you want them to make.

Remember that in anything you design, your priority should not just be on creating aesthetic beauty or showing off how impressive your graphic design skills are. It should always be about how at ease every single visitor will be once they step on the site.

The moment you effectively learn how to avoid these common UX mistakes, the better your overall design would be, and the more people will enjoy visiting page after page.

This is why you also have to understand best practices that do not just cover Chicago UX design, but that of UI design as well. Here are some of those design trends that promise to move your user interface to the next level:

• Going beyond traditional apps and screens

The rise in wearables and other forms of tech is becoming more and more evident. This means that when it comes to UI, you would also have to think beyond the usual. You’re not just designing for the usual mobile screens anymore. You have to be ready to think innovative, think different, think unique.

• Using design to tell a story

Ask any expert in SEO in Chicago and they’ll tell you that aside from using the right keywords, you also have to be a great storyteller to create effective content. The same thing applies to UI design.

When you use your design to tell a story, you take every visitor on an interesting journey. The brand you’re trying to represent becomes more relatable and it becomes easier for visitors and followers to believe in what the brand can do simply because they know how far it has gone and what it has been through.

• Card-style interfaces

One of the biggest challenges UI designers face is keeping everything in its proper place. Through a card-style approach, this becomes an easier hurdle to jump over. With cards all over your pages, it is easier to group similar content together, making it easier for audiences to focus on what they’re looking for and interact with all the right buttons. It makes scanning a page easier on the eyes, especially if each card is given the right kind of headers or the right kind of visual emphasis.

• Use of more effective iconography

People are more visual than they would like to admit. After all, when they browse through their smartphones, they don’t exactly pay attention to each icon’s caption – they look at the icons alone and decide which apps they want to open.

The same thing goes for web design. Sure, you may have the most attention-grabbing headers. But if you pair them up with eye-catching icons, the more people will be able to process what each section means as well.

• Vertical patterns and the return of scrolling

There was a time when web designers worried about how people would react to the incessant need to scroll down through every page. This is why a few years ago, designers concentrated on keeping every design aspect to a minimum so that people didn’t have to scroll up or down to see everything.

As screens get smaller however, the power of the scroll has become an important factor once again. Today, there is more emphasis on putting everything on a single vertical layout, prompting users to scroll up or down to get to where they need to go.

Remember that your local SEO efforts must always be partnered with effective UX and UI design. Without an effective collaboration among all three, your goals would be harder to reach.

Consumers buying online think nothing of taking their business anywhere else. Using the internet, brand loyalty is hard to get a hold of because just the slightest flaw in the website’s UX can easily drive shoppers away.

Online user experience must be among the top priorities of every internet marketer. Online users expect a flawless experience when checking out any website not only on their computer but also on their handheld gadgets. This means cross-channel regularity is vital.

To guarantee a positive user experience and boost the conversion rate and the sales of the site, a website must be created for the absolute best experience whatever channel the visitors are using. Buyers now expect businesses to give a functional experience across all platforms. There are three key components to take into account with regards to creating a cross-channel user experience. These are:

• Consistency

A website’s prospective client must be able to shift from one platform to another, like from a buyer’s laptop to his smartphone, for instance. This has to be done without the need to relearn the ins and outs of the website. Online users crave for convenience. They rarely want to constantly master new systems. Regularity and consistency throughout the visual design, communications and content help online users to move between platforms with ease.

• Availability

The site’s clients must be able to carry out all steps no matter what channel they’re using to access the website. While the mobile site must be optimized for the device and as a result fairly trimmed down, the website must not be constrained and should not provide less functionality.

• Continuity

Preferably, the website must offer the ability to carry out an action throughout multiple channels. For instance, if a buyer places a merchandise in the basket while accessing the site on his smartphone, that same product must still be in the cart if he decides to log in using his laptop to complete the purchase.

Website designers must also consider the checkout time, the checkout process and most importantly, the measurement of the customers’ online experience. The brand does not just need to have a strong online presence across the board, but also needs to calculate the reaction of the customers. Working with analytics, it’s possible to evaluate the time people are investing in the site, how they are navigating from page to page, and what degree of conversion is there.

Repeat purchases must also be evaluated, which is something many businesses neglect. Failing to review these figures will affect loyalty as the brand puts too much focus on bringing in new clients and not enough emphasis on keeping the existing shoppers and the business they already give.

Here are tips on how website owners can get their ideas across to ensure an effective and savvy graphic design. These tips are general application – they apply to the demands of Chicago web design as well as to other area-specific graphic styles.

1.  Exercise clarity.

Every designer starts with a blank canvas. To develop a design that the site owner imagines, the designer requires as much insight and information to capture the visual images. Unclear briefs, poor outlines, and ambiguous instructions will inevitably cause a mark-missing design. If the site owner doesn’t inform the designer what he wants, he simply won’t get it. Instead:

• Be crystal clear on the design’s ideas and objectives. Add visual details.
• Impart as much information as possible about the business, the product or campaign and the brand’s target market. The graphic design must reflect the tradition and customs of the company. The more the designer knows about the brand, the more accurate the design will be.

2.  Respond to queries promptly.

A graphic design brief is a stepping stone for the designer. However, to reach the final product, there will be lots of back and forth communication. The site owner must be present whenever the designer requires his assistance.

• Give regular feedback to the designer. This is essential in guaranteeing that the end product is what was originally planned.
• Use communication tools such as email, Skype or other messaging apps provided by crowdsourcing services.
• Let the designer know right away if the design is a yay or a nay. This way he can either improve his work or proceed to the next task on the project.

3. Create a mood board.

Visualization is an important part of the design industry, and both the site owner and the designer must visualize their ideas using a mood board. A mood board is a presentation of colors, pictures, designs and inspirations that aesthetically display the design concepts and ideas of the project.

• Use programs such as PowerPoint and platforms like Pinterest to create a mood board.
• Share the board with the website designer.

4.  Spell out the absolute “No’s”

A site owner must have a good idea about what he wants out of the design. Likewise, he must also know what he doesn’t want.

• Clarify what designs or concepts to avoid. These include trends, photos, colors, and ideas
• Provide visual examples of the no-no’s to make the point clear.

5.  Get technical.

The majority of the crowdsourcing questions will pertain to technical specs and features. It’s in the best interest of the site owner to convey this data upfront.

• Include specifics of size, resolutions, file format and type, font types and size, and so on.
• Present the specific branding color of the company that the designer must use.
• Explain where the final design will end up. This vital information helps the designer to determine what ideas will and won’t work.

When dealing with a graphic designer, it pays to speak up at the onset to avoid confusion or miscommunication.

Create great content at all times.

Excellent content is where everything starts. A content writer can have all the right search phrases in the world, but if his article is substandard, online users will not stay on the website, and search engines will not deem the site worthwhile.

Write distinctive content.

Unique content is extremely important. The writer must offer content that features valuable information that can’t be found on other websites, particularly on the brand’s competitors.

Upload new content on a regular basis.

Sites with new content put in regularly come across as more dependable than sites that hardly ever do. This likewise helps in increasing relevant materials on the site, which eventually boosts its rankings.

Use excellent keywords or key phrases.

The first thing a content writer must do when focusing on local SEO is to find an excellent keyword for the topic. He must not try to optimize the entire website for one specific keyword alone. Rather, he must focus on creating web pages for certain keywords and key phrases.

Pick a phrase that is widely used, yet not extremely popular.

When trying to settle on a keyword phrase, a content writer must pick one that is popular but not exceedingly so. This might appear counterintuitive, however, as extremely popular search phrases are certainly appealing and thus highly competitive. It’s far better to optimize for keywords that rank higher. This results in more page views from a less popular keyword when the site is on the first page of search engines, rather than from an extremely popular keyword that only reaches up to page 50 of the listings.

Come up with an accessible website.

Accessible HTML is readily available to both search engine bots and online users. The more accessible the web pages are, the simpler it is for search engines to evaluate and rank the pages.

Establish a reasonable keyword count.

The number of times a keyword appears compared to the total number of words in the text is the keyword density. It is critical to repeat the keywords in any content, however, not excessively. For a regular-length article (average of 600 words), the keyword density must always be 3 to 7% for the primary keyword, and 1-2% for secondary keywords.

Use the keyword in the anchor text of links.

Link text is yet another excellent spot to position the content keyword. Links stick out on most web pages and are given higher priority than its surrounding text.

Get links from other reputable websites.

Content writers must aim to get links from reputable websites to boost their site’s reputation. If a reliable website thinks that the site is worthwhile enough to connect to, this means that the page features more quality and value than others. It’s easy enough to tell if a website is considered reputable by how high it ranks on different search engine results. Additionally, .edu sites get a higher status since they speak for schools and universities.

Practice and use these tips to hit the SEO rules out of the park.

When you reach a point where any local expert in SEO in Chicago is not showing the results you need, you would have to consider all other techniques in search engine marketing to pull your numbers up.

What is Search Engine Marketing?

A lot of people mistake SEM with SEO. Some even use these terms interchangeably. But when you look at their core, they are different, yet related.

Search engine marketing means promoting one’s website online to increase visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs). This is done through both advertising and optimization. So yes, SEO is actually a part of SEM. But aside from this, it also includes paid marketing and advertising tactics.

How does it help my home business?

When people start their own business, they get excited to start their own website. After all, times have changed and this era dictates that every business should have a digital presence. Because of this, business owners rush to talk to Chicago web design companies as well as Chicago UX designers.

But they are not the only people you should talk to. Make sure you add SEM experts on your list. SEM helps you:

• Improve your conversion rate.

Anyone who owns a website knows how important conversions are. The better your SEM approach, the higher your conversions would also be. People will be more enticed to sign up for an offer you are advertising or buy a new product you are promoting.

• Reduce your costs.

When you go through the pay-per- click route, you pay each time a person clicks on your ad. Yes, that means less guessing on whether your investment will pay off. Through SEM, you only pay when people click on your ad. And once people click on your ad, it’s time for your amazing content to do its work in sealing the deal.

• Get the right kind of people.

When you apply best practices in SEM the industry, you can forget visits from people looking for entirely different products or services. Because your ads are often optimized based on relevant keywords, you can make sure that every person who clicks on them are already interested in what you have to offer – it’s up to you on how you can entice them even further to make that buying decision.

SEM may not be as commonly heard as SEO, but it’s definitely one tactic that can help any home business see the growth it deserves. Home businesses often have more heart and have a more personal touch compared to huge empires. Because of this, they deserve the chance to be discovered by the audiences they cater to – something that SEM can help them do.

Websites have made it possible to have a single place where people can find out more about you, your products, and your services. Of course, the better your website looks, the more people will be enticed to dig deeper into it. This is why dealing with no one else but the best in Chicago web design would always be a top priority for a lot of business owners, aside from looking for experts can help them with their local SEO.

But how do you choose who the best web designer is?

• Look at the sites they have designed.

Choosing a web designer means choosing someone who can effectively portray your brand’s personality. Unfortunately, different designers also have different techniques and approaches, which means that even the top-rated web designer in the area may not necessarily be able to give you the best fit for your business.

Take a peek at other websites that they have designed in the past and see if their technique suits you and your brand. This way, you can avoid asking the designer for things that aren’t really their forte.

• Look at what kind of information they are asking from you.

Remember that your website should be a reflection of your business. They may be the most recommended Chicago UX firm, but if they know very little about your business, how can they effectively portray who you are as a brand?

When you check around for possible web designers, look at how intently they want to learn more about you and your business. Remember that the more they know about you, the better they will be able to express all these on your website. Others may ask very little and create a website that, while visually appealing, may not be a perfect representation of your name. Avoid the latter and go for those who want to know you more.

• Knowledge in SEO in Chicago is a plus.

When a web designer is somehow knowledgeable in search engine optimization in Chicago, that’s a huge plus! This means that they will be able to give you recommendations on how you can optimize your pages and attract more people into your site. They will also be able to easily make adjustments in case you need to add extra content or pages that will make your site more SEO-friendly.

• Billing is seamless and convenient.

How will they bill you? Will it be on a monthly basis, or a per milestone basis? Always ask about billing and invoicing and see if their process is convenient for you. Check on payment options as well. The best fit for you would always give you options that will be convenient for the both of you, ensuring faster and hassle-free transactions.

Ready to hire your official web designer? Choose well and expect bigger things for your business.

How do you make sure that your headlines will get the nod of approval from experts in SEO in Chicago? Here are a few ways:

• Check on your best performing pages.

A quick look at Google Analytics will tell you which pages are performing well. Now zoom in on the headings on those pages. Do you see a pattern that you can replicate? This will help you pinpoint the kind of headlines that instantly attracts the eyes of your specific audience.

• Monitor search queries.

If you have a search bar on your website, it is best to monitor what queries top the list. These are going to be the perfect keywords to use on your headlines. They will not only attract the right kind of people to your pages, anybody who stumbles onto your homepage will also easily see that this is the place where they’ll find exactly what they’re looking for.

• Make them pop visually.

Although not exactly an SEO factor, the way your headlines appear will make a huge difference on how huge your headline’s pull would be if people stumble across your content. Any great Chicago web design company knows that when headlines are designed to attract attention, people are more likely to read the rest of the content, therefore improving the chances of conversion as well.

• Check the web for similar content.

Look for similar content online and check out their titles. Do they all sound the same to you? Sometimes, content creators forget to compare their work against everybody else’s that they fail to realize how common their content, especially their titles, sound. If everybody else is calling their article “5 Ways to Improve SEO” or “5 Tips in Improving SEO”, why not call your piece “5 Innovative Ideas in Improving SEO”? Compared to the previous two, the third one definitely pops out.

• Make things simple.

Just because you want your titles to pop does not mean that it’s time to bring out the big words. This will only ruin your reader’s experience, as they might think that the rest of your content will be too technical or complicated. What do the best Chicago UX designers do? They make it simple. This is one concept that you can borrow and apply to content creation, specifically to the creation of headlines.

A lot of content writer find it challenging to make wonderful headlines that instantly catch their readers’ eyes, but with the tips above, you can gradually master the secrets to creating amazing titles. Once you see that increase in visitors, you’ll know that all your efforts have paid off and that these pieces of wisdom definitely work.