Why A Successful Brand Needs To Be Consistent

When building a brand, one of the most important things to consider is consistency. Your brand is the face of your business and delivering the right message to your target audience at all times is key to being successful. Let’s explore four reasons why your brand needs to be consistent and how to create a reliable experience for every customer.

Increases Brand Recognition

The main benefit of brand consistency is brand recognition. This marketing strategy helps to build a strong association between your core values and the visual elements of your brand

Sets You Apart From The Competition

In a competitive environment with a variety of near-identical offerings, brand consistency often means the difference between earning a client’s approval or losing them to the competition. You should take advantage of brand consistency to frequently communicate what makes your company better than the rest.

Improves Brand Awareness

Clients are more likely to buy from a brand they recognize for its image and uniformity of content. Therefore, it's very important to create awareness with a consistent brand and marketing. Your content should be posted at similar times, have the same color theme, photo quality, and logo placement. This way, your audience will easily recognize your brand when they see it.

It's Marketing on a Higher Level

Consistency takes your brand to the next level in marketing. People will think of your company without showing them a slogan, a price, or even a name. Your brand is so consistent that potential customers are already thinking about making their next purchase from your store. As a result, you’re no longer convincing consumers to stop by or purchase your products.

Builds Trust & Loyalty

According to Global Banking and Finance, people are 71% more likely to purchase from a brand or company that they trust. For example, no one wonders if a bottle of Coca-Cola will taste good because brand consistency ensures that it’s always the same. You'll build a successful brand that clients will identify whenever they go.

Brand Consistency is Essential for Every Business

Brand consistency is a must for any business that wants to build brand awareness and build trust among its target audience. Without it, they won’t recognize your brand or associate it with positive values and emotions.If you want to give your customers a reliable experience and make sure your voice and tone are consistent, get in touch with S-FX Small Business Solutions. With several decades of combined experience, our skilled and talented business consultants will help you identify and establish the right brand for your business. CONTACT US NOW

What Are SEO Backlinks?

Backlinks, also called “inbound links” are created when another website links to yours. Needless to say, backlinks are very important for SEO in many different ways. Search engines use backlinks as a ranking signal because it is a way to show that your page or content is relevant to other people. Plus, a relevant site that links back to yours can get you more traffic regardless of your ranking.

A Good Backlinks IS HARD TO FIND

When someone links to your site, you gain a backlink. If you write an article and link back to a relevant article from another site, they have gained a backlink. So, it is a really simple concept. However, not every backlink you gain will be beneficial to you.

Backlinks vs High-quality Backlinks

Years ago, Google’s algorithm took backlinks really seriously. To the point that the more backlinks you had, the better your site would rank, regardless of their quality. Nowadays the algorithm works in a different way. This is because many websites were using what is known as “black hat techniques” to gain a bunch of useless backlinks from irrelevant websites (making them rank higher). Spam websites that link back to your site are no good. Not only the chances of getting traffic from those sources is very low, but there’s also a good chance that Google or other search engines will recognize your site as a spam site. That’s a major reason why you should take backlinking seriously.

Why Backlinks Are So Important

There are 2 main reasons why backlinks are important for your SEO:

You rank higher in search results
You get referral traffic

High-quality backlinks signal search engines that other people vouch for your content. To better illustrate how this works, imagine writing an article on your website, and you start getting mentioned by other people in your industry, and some well-known companies. This would indicate to Google and other search engines that your content is really good, thus, your article will probably rank higher.Referral traffic is also a good reason why you should consider taking on that backlinking strategy more seriously. Websites get a great deal of their traffic through search engines, but there’s always a good percentage of traffic coming from other sources. Yelp, Yellow Pages, and other listing websites are good examples of this. These visitors wouldn’t have found your website otherwise. Having backlinks from other relevant websites related to your business will drive more people into your webpage, increasing your reach and the chances of closing a deal.

Backlinks and Website Authority

You’ve probably heard the term Website Authority before. Although this term is vaguely used sometimes, it is something you should take into account when building backlinks. Usually, websites with more authority will transfer some “strength” to websites with less authority, which is one of the reasons why you should not overlook the quality of your backlinks. An inbound link from Forbes Magazine will have more impact on your SEO than a small website that hardly gets any traffic.

Improving Your Organic Ranking With A Proper Backlinking Strategy

Backlinks provide websites and businesses with plenty of benefits. Whether by impacting your traffic and ranking directly or indirectly, the more high-quality backlinks you are able to get, the better. To achieve this and get the most out of it you should simply focus on providing people with relevant content and information. The more useful your website is for visitors and other people in your industry, the more chances of getting some good backlinks and increasing your ranking. And that’s why backlinks are so important for your SEO.

What is CMS?

A CMS is a user-friendly software that allows you to build, manage, and modify websites without having to code it from scratch. In other words, it is a tool that allows users to create a website without having to write all the code or knowing how to code. The acronym CMS stands for Content Management System and it refers to a system solution that allows people without any experience to build websites in an easy way.Statistics say that more than half of the websites on the internet are built with CMS.

How does it work?

CMS will take the whole coding and HTML process and make it almost as simple as writing a Word document. Technically, it is composed of two main cores:

Content management application (CMA): The part that allows users to manage or add content to the website.
Content delivery application (CDA): The part that takes what users put in the CMA, stores it and makes it visible.

All the two parts work equally to maintain the website.

Benefits of using CMS

Minimum or No Coding Skills Needed

Build, manage, and reshape a website without any coding knowledge. A CMS is designed to make things easier for non-developers.

Makes Collaboration Easier

CMS allows multiple users to work at the same time on the landing page. For instance, some users can add marketing content while others work on security protocols.

SEO-friendly

Some CMS's are excellent for SEO purposes. On the other hand, with extensions, you can easily detect SEO issues and repair them in order to improve your website.

Templates

With CMS platforms like WordPress, you can choose from a wide range of predesigned templates to customize your website.

Updates

CMS allows users to update websites in a quick and easy way. Users will be able to make major changes like a website redesign to minor changes like changing images on the landing page.

Examples of popular CMS platforms:

WordPress: Perhaps the most popular one. At least a third of websites online are using WordPress today. Extremely customizable with hundreds of templates and plugins to choose from. WordPress allows users to create a unique experience for their company or brand.
CMS Hub: Optimized for search engines, with CMS Hub users can build strong and secure websites. Ideal for businesses looking forward to growing up.
Joomla: Ideal for social and community websites. What makes Joomla different from other CMS platforms is that it offers multilingual support.
Magento: Even though Magento is highly flexible and secure, it might be pretty difficult to use. Suitable for eCommerce, it allows users to manage several online stores and shipping providers.
Drupal: It’s an open-source CMS, very flexible. Used by at least 3% of the websites online. Although a web developer it’s required to fully use everything offered by this CMS, Drupal users won’t have to start their website from scratch.

Build your website with a CMS

Easy to use and quick to update, content management systems are suitable for users looking to build a website that can grow over time. However, design, UX/UI, SEO, and functionality will always require technical knowledge. If you want to get the most out of your website, web designers and web developers can help you achieve just that.----S-FX.com Small Business Solutions is a boutique web design and technology consulting agency geared towards start-up businesses, small businesses and non-profit businesses. We specialize in implementing low cost technology solutions to maximize efficiency and reduce business operating costs.Discover how to elevate your business getting the right tools and services!

What is a CRM?

In our tech-driven world, it’s all about finding the right solution that will allow you to find better and more efficient ways to improve your customers' experience and the company’s performance. CRM is one of those solutions. Although it stands for Customer Relationship Management, over the years the definition has changed.Nowadays, CRM refers to a data-driven system and integrated solutions that ameliorate the way we do business and interconnect with our customers. It enhances customer’s experience by allowing us to maintain relationships with them, tracking and identifying potential leads, saving sales data, improving productivity, and a lot more.

Benefits of using a CRM

Know your customers

By collecting your customers' information in just one place, a CRM system allows you to personalize communication with your contacts and therefore enhance your customers’ experience. Also, CRM stores all the information related to sales activity and contacts.

Customer segmentation

A CRM will analyze and organize data into different categories that will permit you to deal better with potential clients. For instance, you’ll be able to run targeted marketing campaigns to a specific group of clients.

Customer retention

A happy customer is a customer that will keep making business with you. CRM can help retain customers by reminding you what customers have not been contacted in a while or by keeping track of appointments and sales activities. It will greatly improve your customer service.

Anticipation of needs

By knowing all your customers’ buying habits and business history, CRM will help you to sell more and faster. Also, CRM email templates will permit you to respond faster and better to each of your customer’s inquiries.

Better analytical information and reports

Gain insights on your company’s performance by having reports that will permit you to know how your customers are doing and how they interact or do business with you.

Examples of popular CRM:

Freshsales: Designed for businesses of all sizes, with an easy to use interface and a wide range of expansive features such as built-in phone and email or customizable sales reports.
Keap: Great for small companies or startups, Keap will allow you to manage all your contacts and sales information better.
Less annoying CRM: Even though it doesn’t offer all the features that competitors have, Less annoying CRM is designed to be a much simpler and easy to use solution. Another big plus is that it’s way less expensive compared to other CRM systems.
HubSpot: HubSpot offers small businesses or startups an easy way to enter the CRM systems world. It has a free trial version that can allow you to run your business entirely and improve your customer interaction at no cost.
Zoho: Modern, easy to use, and inexpensive, Zoho it’s a great option for any company looking to boost its performance.

Make your customers a priority

Whether you chose a low-cost solution or a more professional one, CRM systems will boost your performance and improve your customer’s experience in ways you can even imagine. Start today.----S-FX.com Small Business Solutions is a boutique web design and technology consulting agency geared towards start-up businesses, small businesses and non-profit businesses. We specialize in implementing low cost technology solutions to maximize efficiency and reduce business operating costs.Discover how to elevate your business getting the right tools and services!

How iWorker’s Remote Work Model Helps Small Businesses

There are over 30 million small businesses in the US, and they make up 99% of all businesses in this country. One of the biggest challenges that small business owners face is how to expand their team (and hire quality people) without breaking the bank.S-FX focuses on helping small businesses grow through technology, web design, and marketing. But helping businesses to grow their team is an area that S-FX doesn’t cover. That’s why we use iWorker. They provide a great solution to hiring additional people for small businesses, and we recommend giving them a look.

What is iWorker?

iWorker is a social enterprise that connects skilled English-speaking freelancers with business owners around the world. They recruit college-educated professionals from developing countries (with a particular focus on countries in crisis, like Venezuela) and then line them up with work online where these remote professionals can earn in USD and generate a steady income for themselves and their families. As a business owner, the hiring process is straightforward.When you connect with iWorker, they’ll ask you what kinds of tasks you need a hand with (whether it’s SEO, copywriting, social media, data entry, customer service, etc). They’ll then send you a range of profiles of different workers on their team. If any of these profiles catch your eye, you can jump on a call with the worker to get to know them better before you decide whether you’d like to hire. At S-FX, we’ve been working successfully with iWorker for several years. One of our iWorker hires, for example, works on our social media and weekly blog posts, freeing up our time to serve our clients better. We’ve even connected several of our own clients with her through iWorker, and they’ve also had a great experience.“Forging a relationship with iWorker has given me the opportunity to connect with talented freelancers that I'd normally have not been introduced to,” says Shane Skwarek, our Chief Technologist. “In our industry, it's important to be diverse and have knowledge that spans across multiple sectors. iWorker granted us the ability to diversify our team and expand our knowledge base.”

iWorker’s Social Impact

But what makes iWorker unique are not just the benefits it provides to business owners for expanding their team at an affordable rate, but its social impact in the countries in which it hires.iWorker began as a response to the situation in Venezuela. As inflation worsened, the local currency became nearly worthless, jobs became scarcer, and crime became endemic. Remote work was a powerful tool for Venezuelans in a country in economic freefall.Through iWorker, Venezuelans and now other Latin Americans in similar situations can find remote work for which they get paid in dollars, a stable currency, and earn significantly above the average of other workers in their country. This helps not just them, but their families and their local economies.One of our iWorker freelancers at S-FX lives in Nicaragua, where a political upheaval led to a huge economic turndown and unemployment. Through iWorker, she found reliable and well-paying work.

Remote Freelancers: The Key To Growth

Freelance workers can be the key for small businesses to grow. They’re often more affordable than full-time employees, and they can be highly skilled and hard-working. Through iWorker, small businesses can access talented workers at affordable prices -- between $6 and $12 an hour.iWorker also does a lot of the necessary legwork: they filter and select from hundreds of freelancers, hiring only around 5%, and then manage payment, time tracking, and a variety of other logistics, making the process for small business owners that much easier.

Scale With iWorker

Interested in taking part in iWorker’s social mission while growing your business? Start the process today and connect with a skilled freelancer.

What is SaaS? A Quick Guide For Your Business

Software as a Service (SaaS), also known as cloud-based software, is a cloud-based service where you can access an application via a web browser instead of downloading the software on your desktop PC or business network. These apps can be anything from simple office software to very complex and powerful business apps.From small shops to big companies, SaaS is mainstream and one of the default deployment methods nowadays. Business apps delivered via cloud services are easier to use, less expensive, and don’t have as many compatibility issues as software that would otherwise be installed on your computer.

How SaaS Works And Why It Is So Relevant

Software as a Service allows you and your company to use the same software without certain limitations such as compatibility with Operating Systems, software, and hardware. The application resides on a remote cloud network and can be accessed through the web, and instead of purchasing the software you usually pay an annual (or sometimes monthly) subscription, which also means that the upfront cost is much lower.Some good examples of SaaS are most Google Apps, and certain applications like Salesforce, Mailchimp, Hubspot, ZenDesk, and Dropbox. If you’ve ever used one of these then you already know how easy to use and convenient they can be, as long as you have an internet connection. You do not need specialized software, you don’t have to worry about updates, and you can access them for any device.

Advantages of SaaS for your business

Lower Cost

This is probably one of the most noticeable and benefits of SaaS. Medium and Big companies can save thousands or even millions of dollars in software by subscribing to a cloud-based service, small companies can even benefit from SaaS without paying a single cent.

Convenience

You and your team can access your apps from anywhere in the world without having to worry about compatibility with the machine they’re using. If your PC crashes and stops working, simply move to another computer. If some of your employees use a different OS, no problem either. All they need is a proper internet connection and a web browser.

Maintenance Free

This is a big one. Cloud-based software does not require any maintenance on your part. Regular checkup and computer maintenance will still be necessary, but your provider is in charge of everything related to bugs, compatibility, functionality, and updates of the software.

Scalability

You don’t need to pay thousands of dollars upfront if you only have 3 employees using the software. Plans are inexpensive and in most cases, the bigger your plan is the less you pay. Even if you’re a multinational, you won’t have to worry about setting up new servers, and licenses.

Your Company Will Benefit From Using SaaS

Not all software is created equal, not every business has the same needs, and not every provider will be a perfect fit for you and your business. However, once you find the right provider you will notice how beneficial and impactful SaaS can be. The only downside is that you need a stable internet connection, which is simply not possible for every business due to their nature.----S-FX.com Small Business Solutions is a boutique web design and technology consulting agency geared towards start-up businesses, small businesses and non-profit businesses. We specialize in implementing low cost technology solutions to maximize efficiency and reduce business operating costs.Discover how to elevate your business getting the right tools and services!

How to Clear Your Cache on Any Browser

Clearing cache in any web browser is relatively easy and you don’t need to be tech-savvy to do it. Edge, Chrome, Safari, and Firefox allow you to clear your cache with just a few clicks and improve your surfing experience.When you’re having issues with your browser and F5 just doesn’t cut it, clearing your cache is the way to go.

Clearing Cache on Edge Chromium

There are 2 ways you can do this on Edge Chromium (the newest version of Microsoft’s Edge); whether using a keyboard shortcut or through the menu.

Clear data with the keyboard shortcut.

Press the keys [Ctrl], [Shift] and [Del].
A new window will open. Select your preferred options.
And click “Clear Now”.

Delete the cache through the menu.

Click on the three dots on the main menu.
Browse to "History".
Select "Clear Browsing Data".
A new window will open. Select your preferred options and click “Clear Now”

Clearing Cache on Chrome

Chrome is a very popular web browser. Just like in Edge, you can delete your cache through the menu or using keyboard shortcuts.

Clear browsing data using the keyboard shortcut.

Press the keys [Ctrl], [Shift] and [Del].
"Clear Browser cache" window will open
Select for which time period you want to delete the cache data.
Check the box in front of "Images and Files in Cache".
clicking the "Delete Browser data" Button.

Delete Chrome’s cache through the menu.

Click on the Menu (three dots in the upper right corner of Google Chrome)
Open the Browser setting.
Select the option "more tools".
Click on "Delete Browser data".

Clear Cache on Safari

With its pros and cons, Apple is known for making it exceptionally easy to perform an action and Safari is no exception. Deleting browser cache can be done quickly through a keyboard shortcut or through the menu.

Clear browsing data using the keyboard shortcut.

The fastest way to clear your cache is to use the following shortcut: [CMD] + [ALT] + [E].

Delete cache through the menu.

You can also enable the developer menu to access several professional options.

Select "Safari" in the main menu and then go to "Preferences"
Click on the tab "Advanced"
Check the option "Show Develop menu in menu bar" at the bottom. A new menu item called “Develop” will appear.
Click on "Develop" then select "Empty Caches"
Reload the site.

Clear Cache on Firefox

Clearing the cache on firefox is simple. Just like Chrome and Edge, it offers to do it from the menu or through shortcuts.

Clear browsing data using the keyboard shortcut

Press [Ctrl], [Shift] and [Del]. A popup will open "Clear recent history".
Define the time range you want to delete the cache.
Click on the arrow next to "Details" to choose which data should be deleted.
With a click on the button "clear now" you delete the cache.
Reload the site.

Delete cache through the menu.

Press the "Alt" key on your keyboard to open the menu.
Go to "History" and select "Clear Recent History"
You will see a window like the one described above.
Follow steps 2, 3, 4, and 5 as explained above.

What Is Cache And Why Is It So Important?

Cache is very important, but in some instances is like a double-edged sword. It can improve your surfing experience by making pages load faster, but it can also make pages look odd or show outdated information. This happens because certain items like images, icons, and even entire web pages are stored on your browser so you don’t need to download all that information every time you visit a site. However, even though the cache can make page load a lot faster, when too much information is stored, browsing the internet can become a painfully slow experience. When this happens, it is necessary to try refreshing the webpage (usually by hitting F5) or clearing the cache, which deletes all these saved files.

Why Your New Website Should Be Built on WordPress in 2020

If you’re not a technology expert and you’re in the process of setting up a website for your company or business, it’s possible that you might find yourself confused. Setting up a website can be easy and accessible for everybody, and WordPress is perfect for that. It allows you to take advantage of powerful tools, it can be customized and it is one of the preferred content management systems for SEO purposes.What is WordPress? WordPress has been in the market for around 17 years. It’s not a web hosting service, as many people tend to think: it started as a blogging platform online, but in recent years it has evolved into a powerful content management system. A content management system (CMS) is basically a system that allows you to create, display, and arrange content on your website, and it’s a platform that runs completely online. Today, at least a third of the websites worldwide are using WordPress and it might be due to the fact that it has the enormous advantage of being as easy or as complex as you want.Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced user, WordPress can be the perfect fit. Here’s why.

Benefits Of Building Your Website In WordPress

Managing, designing, and controlling your website

Since it runs completely online, you can manage your website from any computer. Plus it allows you to have multiple users and assign them different levels of access. Another feature is that your site can be fully customizable, meaning that you get to choose the look and feel of your site, providing an extraordinary experience for your users.

Pricing

Even though WordPress it’s an open-source system, which means that it is free for everyone to use, if you want to do more than just a personal website, there are plenty of paid options, plugins, and a wide range of affordable plans to choose from. You can choose whether or not to pay for advanced builders, themes, plugins, and much more. The price range of WordPress hosting plans can go from 4$ to 45$ per month, depending on the web hosting provider.

Plugins & security

Whatever you have in mind for your website, it can be done with the thousands of plugins and themes offered by the WordPress service. And the best part is that most of them are free or have an affordable price. Plugins can include social media posts and feed, calendar, security, optimizing speed, communication tools, etc… Expand your website functionality and let your site grow as your business grows. It’s safe to say that WordPress is a secure and reliable system. Offering automatic software and plugins updates you can easily enhance your site security and prevent hacks and malware.

Language and file support

When we talk about WordPress support there are two things that you should keep in mind. First is that WordPress supports more than 150 languages therefore it gives you the possibility of reaching a worldwide audience with your site. And second, is that it supports a significant type of media file. Audio, video, images, or documents can easily be embedded on your website.

You Can’t Go Wrong With WordPress

You should absolutely use WordPress to build your website. With a vast community of users, more than 50,000 plugins you can use for extra security or features, and an easy to use interface, WordPress is the perfect fit for anyone looking to build a website.Whether you want a small personal website that serves as a business card or you’re setting up a huge e-commerce store, achieving a fully functional, SEO friendly, and professional-looking website is possible. Plus, it is so widely used that it’s actually easier to maintain than other CMS. ----S-FX.com Small Business Solutions is a boutique web design and technology consulting agency geared towards start-up businesses, small businesses and non-profit businesses. We specialize in implementing low cost technology solutions to maximize efficiency and reduce business operating costs.Discover how to elevate your business getting the right tools and services!

3 Benefits Of Hiring A Single Web Design Agency To Design & Code

The terms “web design” and “web development” are often used interchangeably nowadays. However, it is important to keep in mind that both terms refer to two different aspects of website building. Being able to work with a single agency that is capable of both designing and developing your website can bring you and your business some great benefits.Before getting into the benefits of hiring a single web design agency, it’s important to differentiate between designers and developers. Since both are involved in the process of building a website, it’s easy to get them mixed up.

The designer is the person that will make sure all the visual elements are correctly placed. They do this by combining creativity with the understanding of how the design principles can affect your user’s experience.
Once the design is ready, it is the job of the developers to bring this idea to life. In other words, developers will make a fully functioning website out of the designer’s concept.

3 Benefits Of Hiring A Single Web Design Agency

Seamless Work Experience

This is one of the biggest benefits you will perceive from hiring an agency that can take care of both aspects of website creation. By having a single dedicated team that can address both design and coding, you’ll benefit from the easier communication and the overall experience becomes seamless.With a web design agency, there is no need to manage various teams and individuals. Instead, you will only need to communicate with your agency to make sure that everything is going as planned. All the aspects of creation, including User Interface Design, User Experience Design, and all the complex HTML, CSS, and JavaScript programming, can be addressed by the same team.

More Manageable Budget Expectations

The financial benefits of working with a single agency are noticeable, especially when you need to make modifications in the design. In such a case, working with two different teams would require more time and more resources.Hiring a single web design agency, on the other hand, will give you more control over your expenses. Depending on your requirements, the budget will not vary even if you need to perform certain modifications. Even unexpected expenses become less of a problem.

Quicker Turnaround

You don’t need to wait days or weeks to have a design ready before sending it over to the developers. Instead, design and development can be addressed simultaneously by the same agency. When working with different teams to address this, communication can become a problem. With all the information going back and forth between you, the designers, and the developers, the process can become bogged down.With a single design agency to take care of design and development, you can save a lot of time.The benefits of working with a single agency are not independent of each other – a seamless work experience translates into quicker turnaround and more manageable budget expectations. Today’s fast-paced world requires you to find ways of performing tasks faster and more efficiently. So, hiring a web design agency that can take care of design and coding, will be able to bring you faster results, with overall better quality.