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Hear ye! Hear ye! We're excited to announce our new #partnership with Ecwid by Lightspeed! Now integrated into our #WordPress Install Assistant tool, Ecwid by Lightspeed makes it easy for you to launch, manage, and grow your #ecommerce store. 🛒 And it's fast, too — with Ecwid, you can quickly set up your online store and showcase your brand to the world! Once your #onlineshop is live, get started selling products or services through multiple channels! Ecwid is an easy, efficient, and budget-friendly e-commerce platform with a transparent cost structure that helps scale your business more easily, allowing you to upgrade to premium features as your business grows. It's got… 🌟 Seamless WordPress integration 🌟 Multi-channel selling 🌟 Centralized inventory and simplified order management 🌟 Powerful built-in marketing tools 🌟 And, zero transaction fees Set up your WordPress site with DreamHost today and install Ecwid by Lightspeed for an incredible online selling experience!

If you’ve ever felt like your #businesswebsite is hidden away from the world, you’re not alone. 🫣 In fact, over 96% of websites never receive a single click from Google! Enter #GoogleSearchConsole, a free tool that puts your website in front of #Google and gives you the power to understand, track, and optimize your site’s #performance on #Googlesearch. In our latest guide, we cover: ✔️ How to introduce your site to Google using #GSC, and get it indexed ✔️ Tracking and improving your site's performance in real-time with GSC ✔️ Using more advanced features, like Core Web Vitals and page experience scores ✔️ Fixing errors that might be holding your site back Take the guesswork out of #SEO and start making data-driven decisions to increase your website visibility. 📊👉

In today's fast-paced digital world, every second of #website loading time counts. ⏱️ And since images are the single most popular element featured on most websites — optimizing the size, speed, and quality of every #image on your website is critical to the #userexperience. 📷 You’re surely familiar with #PNGs and #JPEGs, but what about some of the more modern #imageformats like #AVIF and #WebP? The truth is — both have their perks! AVIF may offer sharper images in more instances, but WebP may be the more versatile workhorse all around. Which one will strike the balance between the quality, speed, and usability that you need? Here’s everything you need to know about both. 🔗👉

With a massive average #ROI of over $30 for every dollar spent — #emailmarketing can be an incredible tool for small businesses! 💸 But here's the catch: No matter how brilliant your message is, it won't have an impact if people don’t open or engage with your emails. Do you know how to optimize every element of an #email to increase readability, drive action, and build brand trust? Much of it comes back to core #design elements like white space, accessibility, color psychology, using the inverted pyramid, and beyond. 🎨 Our latest article will guide you through 15 important ways you can waste less time and get more impact from your email #marketing efforts. 💡🫵

That football-themed Snuggie ad you keep getting on Facebook. 🏈 The local goat-petting and cheese-making class that just popped up in the Wired article you're reading. 🐐 Targeted ads are somethin’ else. Somehow they always seem to know what you want, when you want it, and exactly how to get it to you. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could get your #smallbusiness offering in front of ideal customers in the same way? We’re so happy to deliver this news to you: You can! Up now — exactly how to ID and work with your #targetaudience. 👇👇👇 👨👨👧👧 0. Get Prepped: Understanding Target Audiences Your #idealaudience is the specific group of people who are most likely to resonate with your product or service. It's the demographic and psychographic mix of traits that define those who will see your offering and say, “That’s exactly what I need!” 🤝 1. Define and Connect With Your Target Audience Tools for Discovering Their Digital Haunts: Use apps like SparkToro and Reddit to find where your audience spends time online and dive into their conversations. Leverage #SocialMedia Trends and Keywords: Keyword research and hashtag analysis can help you stay on top of what your audience is talking about. Analyze Competitor Audiences: Learn from what’s working for others in your industry and identify gaps you can fill. 👋 2. Reach Out and Engage Join Relevant Online Communities: Actively participate in discussions and provide valuable insights — without coming across as salesy. Advertise on Podcasts and Collaborate with #Influencers: These platforms offer highly engaged audiences ready to listen and connect with your message. Create Valuable Content: Share #content that addresses your audience’s pain points, interests, and needs to establish yourself as a trusted resource. 🔄 3. Refine Your Approach A/B Test Marketing Strategies: Experiment with different approaches to find what works best for your audience. Use Analytics to Measure Engagement: Keep an eye on your data to understand what content resonates and what needs adjustment. Wrapping Up: Why’s It All Matter? Every Marketing Dollar Counts: Targeting the right audience ensures you're spending your #marketingbudget wisely and increasing your return on investment. Level the Playing Field: By focusing on a niche audience, you can craft personalized messages that resonate deeply — more so than any generic ad campaign. Build Genuine Connections: Knowing who you’re speaking to allows you to build meaningful, long-lasting customer relationships. Save Time and Energy: Skip the “spray and pray” approach. A well-defined audience lets you focus your marketing efforts and avoid wasted time. Don’t have an endless #marketing budget? You don’t need one when you tap into your target audience. Which of these smart strategies will you use — or what unique approach are you already taking? Sound off (and find the link to the full guide to everything audience engagement) below. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Crafting an informative and effective #pressrelease is an art — unfortunately not one that many #smallbusiness owners get a lot of training in. 🎨🖌️ #Journalists can receive dozens or more of these daily. How can you make yours stand out and drum up some conversion-causing attention? It comes down to a handful of things… 📄 Following the preferred format 🪶 Crafting a powerful headline 🥱 Including key context and info (in a not-boring way!) 🖼️ Featuring multimedia elements But what is the preferred format? Are there any tools that can help you hit all the above elements? And what else can you do to make life easier for journos and get your story in front of more eyeballs? We cover it all in our latest guide to simplified #PR for biz owners 🤩👉

💬 Customer reviews and testimonials are your #conversion-driving superpower. Don’t hide them! 📺 Media mentions? They just might be the badge of #credibility wary shoppers seek. 📢 Social media shoutouts from celebs? Fast track to transforming skeptics into customers. All of these things provide #socialproof — a key factor people consider when making decisions, based on the actions and opinions of their peers. Incorporating social proof into you #smallbusiness #marketing and/or #website design plans may be one of the best ways to boost trust, sales, and loyalty. And the best part is, it’s free and easy to incorporate. Ready to put in a little elbow grease for a big return? We’ll guide you through 12 different ways to implement social proof today. 🧐

#ABtesting is proof that small actions can lead to game-changing results! Knowing how to conduct A/B testing opens up a whole world of possibilities with your products, website, content, marketing, and beyond. 🌐 With just a tweak of a button or quick edit of a page, you could make a big impact on your #revenue and #UX. But there are some things you should be aware of before you dive in — such as how long to run your tests, best practices for building variants, what tools to use, and so on. However, we can get you caught up in no time at all. ⏱️ Everything you need to know is waiting in our latest guide. 🔗👉

Did you know that the average website conversion rate is just 2.2%? Woof. 😮💨 In other words, most #businesswebsite owners would be better off looking beyond just driving #traffic — and focusing on #conversionrates! Lucky you, we just got done documenting over a dozen powerful strategies + helpful #conversion rate optimization tools all tailored for small business success. If you're ready to see your traffic turn into leads, sales, or subscribers, we’ve got all the tips you need. 🔗👉

LinkedIn Whether you were that front-of-the-room A+ student in school or more in the “C’s get degrees!” group — everyone remembers how important report cards were to understanding your grasp of a topic and identifying areas for improvement. 🤓 Well the #CoreWebVitals report from #Google is akin to the report card concept of old, only now it’s for your #businesswebsite. There are three top sources for generating one: ⚙️ PageSpeed Insights: This tool from Google is our preferred tool for measuring Core Web Vitals. Simply enter your #URL to spin up a report and suggestions any time. ⚙️ Chrome User Experience Report: Visit your Google Search Console > Experience > Core Web Vitals to access this report, which reflects how real-world users experience your site. ⚙️ Core Web Vitals Chrome Extension: Just install this add-on to view the vitals for any website you’re visiting — great for competitive research. Checked out one of the above and aren’t totally thrilled with your grades? Use these 10 tips to ace your next test: 📷 Use Modern Image Formats: Optimize images with formats like WebP, and use SVG for icons/logos to improve loading speed. 🔤 Try Fewer, Optimized Fonts: Stick to 2 #fonts (heading + body), limit font weights, and prioritize system fonts (common ones are Arial, Helvetica, etc.) for faster load times. 🏷️ Limit Google Tag Manager: Only use essential, site-wide tags to avoid slowing down your site. Use less critical or page-specific tags manually as needed. 🗃️ Implement Caching: Use browser, server, or object #caching to reduce load times. WordPress #plugins like W3 Total Cache help optimize further. 🚫 Eliminate Render-Blocking Resources: Minify and remove unused HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You can also combine files to improve load times and reduce delays. ⏳ Defer JavaScript Loading: Another way to eliminate render-blocking elements is to defer #JavaScript loading, which loads the rest of your content faster. Also set up “above the fold” CSS to load first. 🌐 Use a Content Delivery Network (#CDN): Distribute assets globally so there’s a fast-loading copy anywhere visitors are. #DreamSpeed from #DreamHost is a cutting-edge option. 📏 Properly Size Images: Ensure you’re not using large images unnecessarily. Adjust video/image sizes with CSS for faster loading. 🖼️ Implement Lazy Loading: Load images as users scroll to them. This trick is easily added with the loading="lazy" attribute on <img> tags, or plugins like Smush. 🖥️ Upgrade Hosting: No matter what, upgrading to a better #webhosting provider like DreamHost is a great way to speed up your website and grow conversions. Did the above tricks take your site from slacker to newest honor roll member? We wanna know! Hop in the comments below to share your web vital metrics and your top tip for boosting them. While you’re perusing, don’t forget to hit the link for a full walkthrough to understanding, generating, and improving your Core Web Vitals report. 🔗👉