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When was the last time you truly considered giving your business' professional website design a makeover with the help of a digital media marketing company?

 

If you can't remember, there's a good chance your website is still outfitted with outdated, obsolete web design elements -- and your website's visitors will be able to tell the difference. In fact, 40% of web users say they respond better to visual information over plain text, meaning your website's look and feel is just as important as any marketing content you produce.

 

Because web design is an ever-evolving field, something that may have been considered good web design in 2010 may appear antiquated today. Given this, it's essential for every business to update their web designs regularly.

 

Not sure which of the biggest website design ideas in 2015 are best for your business and its website? Here are three of 2015's top web design trends that you absolutely need to incorporate into your website design:

 

 

Did you know that 44% of web users have said that website navigation is difficult when they browse the web on their mobile devices? To help combat this, a growing number of websites are turning to large, attention-grabbing text and engaging visuals. This makes it easier for users to navigate around your website and makes it easy for them to find the information they seek on your page.

 

 

 

We've all seen a hamburger menu before. These icons, comprised of three horizontal lines, are the gateway to a website's navigation menu and tabs. Because they can be expanded and collapsed with the click of a mouse, they allow you to use more of your homepage on exciting, captivating design.

 

 

Of all the website design ideas in 2015, this one is impossible to ignore. Last year, the number of people using the Internet on their mobile devices surpassed desktop web use for the first time in history. As a result, today's web user expects each website to have responsive, mobile-ready web design. In fact, about 40% of users will leave your site and go to a different search engine result if the website isn't mobile-friendly.

When one thinks of a small, local business, the last thing that comes to mind is an advanced digital marketing campaign that incorporates the best aspects of web design and search engine optimization (SEO).

 

However, digital marketing should be the first thing small businesses think about. These days, when 39% of a business' customers come from search engine queries and 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine, the need for small businesses to make themselves visible in search engine rankings is clear.

 

In 2015, no small business should go without a qualified, reputable Internet marketing agency. Online marketing can make the difference between a local business' survival and failure.

 

To learn more about the strategies that can help you boost your local business' web traffic, take a look at these three tips that are helping small businesses everywhere optimize their search engine rankings today:

 

 

Responsive web design -- a type of web design that adapts to the device on which the site is being viewed -- is now virtually required of all websites. When users will make an impression of your website in less than 10 seconds, it's essential to provide web design that is mobile-ready. Pretty much every Internet marketing agency today offers responsive web design services, so you have no excuse not to invest in this!

 

 

Have you ever done a local search for a business near you, only to find that the business has listed outdated contact information on its Google listing? It's more than an inconvenience -- it will likely make you want to take your business elsewhere. Local directories like Yelp, Google My Business and industry-specific listings are now an important part of digital marketing as a result. Keeping your local listings updated will both increase your leads and help your SEO rankings.

 

 

Many small businesses think they're too small to adopt a social media strategy -- however, the exact opposite is often true. Social media can be a great way for you to engage and interact with your customers, strengthening your brand power and bringing in more business through word of mouth. However, don't over-use social media -- or you might find yourself wasting time on a futile effort.

 

Let us know if you have any questions on adopting the best digital media marketing strategies for local search engine optimization.

In 2015, it's hard to imagine that presidential campaigns ever succeeded without an online component. Yet as recently as 2008, when Republican candidate John McCain chose not to use social media when running for president, Internet marketing was not required for a successful campaign.

 

Looking back, it's easy to see how quickly times have changed. Today's consumers will make an impression of a brand or product within just 10 seconds, and the same goes for anyone hoping to rise to the top of the political field.

 

 

It's clear that the many Internet marketing benefits helped give Barack Obama a major advantage over his competition in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. Because of that, it will be highly unlikely that we'll see another election in which the candidates don't elect to adopt a digital media marketing strategy.

 

To see how online marketing is changing the game in the 2016 presidential election, take a look at how two of the leading candidates are taking advantage of digital marketing:

 

 

To kick off her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Clinton -- a former first lady, U.S. senator and Secretary of State -- officially announced her candidacy on April 12 via a YouTube video. It was a smart choice. Web users overwhelmingly prefer visual content over text, and there are an incredible 50 billion online video views each month.

 

Clinton continues to lead the Democratic candidates in both the polls and in use of social media. In addition to YouTube, she is actively utilizing Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and even Periscope. It's clear the Clinton campaign is well aware of the Internet marketing benefits for presidential hopefuls, and she's not shying away from these tools as a result.

 

 

Over in the Republican camp, Cruz isn't far behind Clinton herself in terms of web savvy. On March 23, the Texas senator announced his candidacy by live-streaming his first major speech on the web. Cruz continues to make use of every major social media platform to promote his stances on major issues currently facing the country. Additionally, by creating valuable content with which he can deliver his message, Cruz is developing three times the number of leads as outbound marketing would -- at a fraction of the cost.