Heatmaps are dynamic and interactive reports to visually show you what users are doing not only on your website but in great detail on a given page. A heat map will overlay colors on your website to show where users are clicking, where mouse movements are (e.g. this is considered eye tracking as well!), how far down on a page someone scrolls, percentage of clicks on a given area, and many will even allow you to export the information for deeper dives in analytics software or spreadsheets.

Digital Marketing is one of the key areas that we cover for our clients and creating a digital marketing plan is critical to any success. What I will be covering today is the foundational blocks to creating a plan that will allow any small business to grow online. A digital marketing plan can be done on a single sheet of paper. It won't be complete but will give you a start. What I am going to cover is something a bit deeper than the single page start and not as complete as a book. This is what I feel every business needs at a minimum to be successful and grow their business online

Our lives today run at a blazing and rapid pace. As a society, we have put ourselves here with technologies like text, email, and phone. We are now more used to the instant gratification lifestyle. That doesn't mean we should be in a rush. In fact, by slowing down I actually will get more done than I would if I rushed. It took me twenty years to come to this realization. I've had many bosses over time explain this to me. Many times, I listened just to appease and shut them up as I thought I knew better than what their experience was trying to teach me. It is only in the past four months that I have truly started slowing down and "enjoying life" the way it should be. It's truly hard and I am going to cover the core areas I am focusing on and how it's helping me get more done in the same amount of time.

The internet is a visual medium and when you look at an image online it can be in one of several formats. Each format has pros and cons, key differences, and specific use scenarios. We are going to look at the top four image file types used on the internet and when you should use each. We chose these top image formats as these are the image file types that most internet users will run across on a daily basis. For many web developers and designers, they will run across countless more but for the masses, these formats will do.

As a company that everything is based on "no lying" it's always good to cover some of the biggest lies that we know people have been told. Today we're going to cover search engine optimization and the most common lies that we routinely here. Slick talkers will say whatever they can for a sale. Business owners want to get as high on the search engines and when they hear a deal, even one too good to be true, many will jump on board.

We've been asked many times over the past month how we do what we do. Our prices are unreal, our tactics are not normal yet produce continuous results, and our work/life balance is only like the most successful and profitable businesses. I thought it would be good to start telling people how we do what we do being we are always asked the question every month. I feel that it will also help other businesses. We will start with the most basic of processes which are hiring of the right people to do the job.

Today's team challenge is to talk about the pain points and top challenges many make in social media when they are beginning. We started this as only a top 10 list. That became eleven, then twelve, and we ended up with nineteen ways new users mess up when they start with social media. We actually had another but everyone does 19 lists and we wanted to be just a bit different. As Facebook and other social media outlets continue to change the rules you definitely want to make certain you do the right thing on each platform to reach the largest audience. We have all been in the beginning stages of social media marketing – even experts had no knowledge and grew over time. Over time we have seen some pretty horrific mistakes and these are what we are calling the top 19 social media mistakes any new user will make.

What many don't realize is that eCommerce is and has been the fastest growing segment of our Valparaiso Indiana company for over three years. When you think of a web design and marketing company the thought of eCommerce doesn't seem to be the thought of many. What is more interesting for us is why it isn't. A good eCommerce site requires a beautiful design, software development to make it function the way you want, and a way to market it to the masses. Even those that come into our office for eCommerce don't fully know the core capabilities of what eCommerce provides to a business. They think Amazon, Shopify, or Etsy when it comes to online sales but selling is just a very small part of it. Let's take a look and discover what online sales are and why your business needs it.

What readers don't realize is that when we write we are doing more than just writing. We are telling a story about a subject that we hold dear to our heart. The story that we are telling has a deep meaning to us that can be informative, educational, and sometimes even therapeutic. Sometimes when I write a story it is written for no one other than myself but more often it is for the audience to educate and inform. Today is one of those informing times where we look at the English teacher version of an article having a beginning, middle, and end.

We have talked about the benefits of blogging but never truly covered why you really want to blog. Think of a blog as a short story that covers a core area of expertise you or your business is good at. You want people to learn from you, you want them to learn about what you offer, and you definitely want them to buy from you. If you run a small business you blog (or should) so that people can see you as an effective leader and expert. Sharing content shows you know the power of copy/paste. Writing shows the power of wanting to reach the masses, educate, and influence others. You blog as you want to improve the internet, the lives of your customers, and the lives of those that may one day be a customer (or at least more educated).