Category: Technology

The Rise of Augmented Reality and Its Impact on SEO

Posted on by deftsoft

When you hear the term augmented reality, your mind plays flashes of science fiction films where technology brings out real-life experience on screen. But, at present, AR is not only limited to movies; the way it blends’s in our daily life is just incredible. AR provides you with visual information layered on the physical world. The new-age technology uses a live picture and aligns it with the user’s real-world environment, resulting in an excellent virtual experience. AR has changed the game altogether for business houses, especially for firms offering SEO (search engine optimization services).

AR is the new buzzword and has plenty of features in store for SEO specialists. We can say without any doubt that augmented reality and SEO eventually go hand in hand. AR can add value, enhance user experience and solve problems online. Hence there is a dire need for firms to include AR in their marketing campaigns. But, before we talk about the impact of AR on SEO, let’s delve into some technical details.

What Exactly is AR, and How is it Related to SEO?

Have you ever tried your hand at Pokemon Go or applied filter to your face on Snapchat? If so, without knowing you have had the first-hand experience with augmented reality. However, there is much more in store for you. AR deals with using computer-generated images and putting it into the real world via the camera on a smartphone, tablet or any other digital device.

While most of the applications of AR deal with the world of gaming, we are now moving towards other applications that influence user reviews, find information about a place. AR will also change how customers shop ad work online. What does this mean? This means there is a great potential for business to up their SEO game by making use of game-changing technology.

We know all major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo use the primary search results technique. With the boom of AR, websites with AR-based content will rank higher in SERP via visual search. It’s just a matter of time when everything from digital content and activity to offline advertising, physical locations, product images will be searched through AR. There is a dire need for organic search professionals to include augmented reality technology into their marketing strategies.

5 Ways Augmented Reality Impacts SEO

 1. Growth of Local SEO:

For small businesses, local SEO is the point of focus. But, AR reality has made it more critical than ever. AR applications give a boost to local SEO by making it easy to use mobile devices to gain information about the surroundings. Now, using your phone camera, you can scan business around and acquire information about products, services, ratings, reviews and business operating hours. To stay at the top of local SEO, first firms have to maintain and optimize Google My Business Listing. You have to include full information on your GMB so that people using AR can reap the benefits. Use strong citations, reviews and ratings and build a directory of reviews that will appear when using AR.

2. Social Media:

AR can give a boost to your brand’s performances on popular social media accounts. By utilizing AR within your social media is a way to improve user engagement. You can use 360-degree images that use AR, Snapchat filters, Lens studio to entice your target audience. According to a study conducted, 74% of users within the age group of 12-24 use Facebook, and 57% use Snapchat. So, you can use AR to improve brand engagement and create a buzz for your brand on online platforms.

3. Make the Website More Interactive:

Social media is great for building and engaging the audience. But, for higher conversions, you have to make your website more interactive. You must offer interactive elements on your website that can be brought to life by using a camera. Just imagine AR on your webpage. Scanning it with your phone cameras and watching the webpage come to life. Wow, can be the only way to express your feelings. Although this idea is still in its initial stages, it has great SEO potential. The motive of the technology is to bring user engagement, and this is what AR does. With this feature, there will be a decrease in bounce rate, increase in session rate two factors that affect your web page rank.

4. User-generated Content:

When it comes to optimizing content, storytelling can play the role perfectly. People like the idea of becoming a part of the story when it comes to business engagement. It delivers a way to impress potential consumers through entertainment and information sharing. And, AR is going to amplify this experience, making customers feel like they are inside the story. What if you want to acquire information about the statue of liberty? With AR, you can see the live representation of the monument while being able to walk around the statue, see it from various angles. All this while text will appear on the screen where you aim the camera. This is how AR helps in creating creative content.

5. More Informed Purchases:

AR should be a part of your website, app or in-store application to simplify the shopping process for customers. Through AR, customers can try outfits, see how good they look, try out a different hairstyle or a pair of glasses. This feature makes it easy for customers to complete their purchase leading to fewer abandon carts. AR-based services enhance customer experience giving you a great selling point over competitors.

Augmented reality is constantly moving and has a bright future for SEO. With the above points, marketers will get an idea of how AR is going to change the world of SEO. Local SEO will be the key focus as the AR features for boosting local SEO are enormous.

Top 5 Futuristic iOS Application Development Trends in 2020

Posted on by deftsoft

Technology never fails to amaze us. With time technology brings something new, which opens doors of opportunity for businesses. In today’s tech world, one thing is certain; if you capitalize on the tech opportunity, you will come victorious in the fierce competition. Today in this blog, we are going to talk about one such technology that has changed the way users interact with their smartphones.

By now you would have guessed it that we are talking about mobile app technology. And, it’s impossible not to include iOS mobile development trends when we talk about the latest game-changing mobile app development trends. Going by the statistics, iOS apps will hit the 2 million mark soon, so it’s essential for the development community to stay up to date with the latest iOS application development trends. There are approximately 4 million apps for users. From the developer’s point of view, the more the apps, the more essential it’s to keep a tab on the latest happenings.

The future of iOS app development is right here!

What the future holds for iOS app development? What are the crucial iOS development trends? We will answer all your questions right here, right now! We can say it with 100% conviction that iOS is the platform of the future. In 2008 when the Apple store was first launched, there were only 500 apps. A decade later, 20 million app developers were registered on the platform, catering to 500 million weekly visitors. Impressive, isn’t it? And, what’s more, impressive is that the number is going to increase further in 2020.

Do you know iOS apps have surpassed the 2 million mark, making it the leading mobile development platform along with Android? This means there a great opportunity for developers to boost their business by keeping a close eye on the latest iOS app development trends.

Here are some of the iOS app development trends that will take the tech world by storm.

 

• Swift 5 programming language:

Recently, Apple launched its Swift 5 programming language, which comes with a stable application binary interface and binary compatibility. Now, the company is looking for a means to integrate this new language into their business. The mobile company will integrate Swift libraries with the present and future versions of macOS, iO, wearable OS, and TVOS. This means mobile application developers will no longer have to include these libraries, and application will become easy to build. The new software is compatible with Linux. Hence developers can easily upgrade their knowledge base for new Swift 5 while developing apps.

• Wearables and IoT:

Thanks to IoT, users can connect digital, mechanical, and computing devices to exchange and transfer data. According to a recent study by the end of 2020, there will be around 31 billion interconnected devices. iOS app developers can harness this technology to build apps that will attract new audiences and retain existing ones. iOS apps powered by IoT will help users to connect bands, wristwatches, and other wearable’s to smartphones. By integrating iOS apps with IoT technology, developers allow users to control anything remotely by using the apps.

• Apple HomeKit:

With Apple HomeKit, users can communicate as well as control the connected devices and accessories in the home while using the apps. With the HomeKit, users control the connected devices and get the option to create a group to trigger Siri’s voice command. Developers can create smart home products that they can integrate into such devices. Apple HomeKit will bring revolutionary changes in home automation, and the elements of IoT will grow simultaneously with these innovations.

• Improvements in-app security:

One trend that developers must watch out for is the improved app security. To maintain the privacy of users, it’s essential to stay upto date with the security measures. Customers prefer Apple because of its high-security policies. Hence, security is the first thing to look out for in iOS app development. iOS apps should protect user data without compromising the performance. To improve security, developers can add App Transport Security for every app they build. Developers and designers must include more security features in the beginning phases of the app development process.

• Transformation through AR and VR:

One IoT mobile app development trend that reflects the power of innovation and technology is AR and VR. Many eCommerce giants like IKEA, Gap, and others have already used AR and VR in their iOS applications to boost their sales. By 2020, AR and VR based ideas will be fully functional in iOS applications. By utilizing new technology, developers can build real-time applications to increase user experience and build a strong connection with customers. All this has been possible because of ArKit by Apple, which helps build standalone AR integrated iOS applications. Examples of iOS AR-VR based applications are Dance Reality and Houzz.

In the end, we can say king is the one who utilizes these trends on time. With these trends, one thing is sure that there will be fierce competition amongst developers. By integrating your application with the new trends, you will get the upper hand over competitors.

Mobile APP Acquisitions: Take on 5 Ways of Attracting New Users

Posted on by deftsoft

Have you created an excellent mobile app but are still not getting those satisfactory sales conversions? Have you ever thought what might be the reason behind it? Without any doubt, it’s the visibility of your mobile apps. What’s the point of spending your precious time on creating a mobile app when customers are not aware of it? But, the question is how you can stand out from the crowd of millions of app users and developers. Acquiring new customers when most of the smartphone users don’t download any app in a month is a tough nut to crack.

Trust us when it comes to mobile user acquisition; there is only one certain thing. And that’s you have more than one way to strike gold. The old saying” if you build it, they will come” does not always hold true in the mobile app market. Mobile app developers spend a considerable amount of money on creating apps only to find their dreams crashing when customers pay no heed to their newly developed apps.

Do you know more than one-third of all the retail website traffic comes from mobile devices? This means businesses have the opportunity to create an accessible mobile platform for customers on the go. Since 35,000 new apps are introduced on Android devices every month, still marketing your latest app to reach the right amount of people can become challenging and a daunting task. With over 8 million apps in Google Play Store and Apple App Store, acquiring new customers will become harder. Businesses need to generate revenue and market your app. Firms need to establish a personalized user acquisition strategy to acquire new customers. So, without further delay, let’s talk about the effective ways of acquiring new customers.

5 Mobile User Acquisition Channels You Must Know About

• Paid advertising: Want to draw more eyes to your newly developed mobile app? If so, take leverage of paid advertising as an effective user acquisition channel. In paid advertising, social media platforms will display your app’s advertisement to users. You have the freedom to select your target group of audience and set the visibility of your ads to target a broad category of audience. You also have the option to add actions to the ads to direct them to the landing page and give users an option to download.

• Influencer marketing: At present, social media platforms provide a great opportunity for app developers to boost their app downloads. Also, there has been a rise in the number of influencers who run paid user acquisition campaigns. If you can create a larger influencer follower base, it will be better for your mobile app. Well-known influencers have followers across different social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube. Their followers can drive a diverse set of audiences to your app. Recommendations from famous influencers will motivate people to explore your product/service application and even download and use it. According to a recent study, 89% of marketers believe that influencer user acquisition can generate more ROI than any other marketing platform.

• Email marketing: Yes, you heard it right. Email marketing can generate massive traffic to your mobile app. Do you know 70% of emails are opened on mobile? Here lies the opportunity for firms to drive more users to your mobile app. Let’s look at the potential of email marketing as a mobile app acquisition strategy.

1. Direct users to your store page or information content present in your mobile app.

2. Inform users whenever there is an update and send users targeted messages.

3. Take feedback from users, which will help in improving your app.

Note: When you send emails to target customers, insert deep links in it. According to a recent study, $3,000 revenue is lost for every 1 million emails sent if they don’t contain deep links.

• App store optimization: Without any doubt, an app store is the one essential driver of app discovery. App store optimization is an essential user acquisition strategy that will help you gain more customers. App store optimization (ASO) is no rocket science. It’s the practice of attracting users to download an app based on title, keywords, ratings, and other ranking factors. If done right, ASO will help in generating quality traffic to your app. In app store optimization, you have to focus on three things: page elements, localize app store pages, and optimize search discoverability and conversions.

• Video marketing: Interactive videos can drive more users to your app. A simple 30-second video of your app can do wonders for your business. YouTube plays an essential role in targeting the majority of the crowd. In addition to YouTube, you can also make use of other video streaming platforms to target a diverse audience. You can also provide reward points to users on the gaming app for watching an entire add.

Make use of the above channels to put your mobile app in front of the masses. Mobile user acquisition is a tough task, but with dedication and continuous efforts, you will reach your goals.

Role of Data Science in Understanding the COVID-19 Crisis!

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As the world is fighting its worst battle, data scientists work their fingers to the bone to understand the science behind COVID-19. In this technological era, data science can play an essential role in preventing the onset of pandemics. Data scientists can use their skills and give their best shot to develop technology to deal with the crisis. Data science is the bright light in the dark, which helps educate and empower those on the ground about the situations and help reduce the impact of COVID-19.

Epidemics and pandemics have threatened the human race in the past as well. But, with each outbreak, we learn new ways of fighting and managing the unknown diseases that can eradicate the human race. And, all this is possible because of technology and data science. With the rise in COVID-19 cases, people are feeling helpless and scared and look up to technology for some respite. Data science provides glimmers of hope to people to deal with the unknown virus.

At present, the field of data science is gaining a lot of attention from across the globe. People at the helm of affairs have realized its potential in dealing with the current crisis. Data science, AI, and machine learning communities publish data that are of immense help to front line doctors. In this blog, we will talk about how data science offers a modern approach to combat the COVID-19 crisis faced but the entire human race.
Data Science and COVID-19 pandemic

When we hear the word medical emergency, the only thing that comes into mind is the health care professionals. How can data scientists a white-collar job, working from the comforts of their home, repair the unprecedented loss of a human tribe? To answer this question, we first have to understand how data scientists work. Data scientists use available genomic data to understand the reactions of various kinds of drugs and their effect on the deadly disease. From giving accurate information to increasing transparency by sharing data, data science can contribute a lot amidst the current situation. Here we have enlisted some essential facts about how data science can help during COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Gives an accurate picture of coronavirus outcome:

In the fight against COVID-19, front line workers and doctors rely on the correct and up-to-date information. This is where data science comes to the rescue. Many IT firms, including IBM and Tableau and organizations like Johns Hopkins University, have created an interactive database that offers a real-time view of what’s happening with the virus. Any misinformation about the number of fatalities, diagnosis, and treatment options can make the situation worse and create panic amongst the general public. The result of this information can be more fatal than the virus itself. Widespread chaos, panic buying, hoarding of essential commodities are some of the outcomes of the spread of incorrect information. To overcome such situations, organizations like Google, Facebook, and YouTube work tirelessly to provide the right information to people. Correct information creates a transparent scenario informing people about the proper steps to follow to prevent the spread of the virus. Data scientists help in creating a database about the number of confirmed cases, fatalities, and recoveries.

Data science helps in contact tracing:

Contact tracing plays an essential role in reducing the spread of COVID-19. In contact tracing, we get in touch with individuals who have tested positive for the virus and ask them to self-isolate. Contact tracing can time-consuming; this is where data scientists can help front line doctors. Data scientists help in creating mobile phone-based solutions to overcome the less efficient traditional methods of contact tracing. In such situations, mobile-based IT solutions can be a real savior. Given the market penetration of phones and the extensive usage, using mobile-based solutions for contact tracing makes more sense.

Contribute in search of drugs:

In the morning, when waking up, the first thing we do is look at the news in the hope of a vaccine. While the world is in desperate need of a vaccine, it may take time for doctors to come up with a magic formula. To speed up the process, technology plays an essential. Data scientists suggest components of a vaccine by understanding the viral protein structures. Scientists have created AI tools, shared data sets, and research results to support vaccines’ search.

Track people with facial recognition:

In the present pandemic, big data analytics can help identify infected individuals. Facial recognition technology, along with data, can accurately identify people even if they are wearing masks. Facial recognition technology helps in monitoring movement and keeps track of people even when they are quarantined. Big data also helps in keeping a tab on people and determine if they come into contact with an infected person.

 You can play a part in fighting coronavirus:

Many developers have created an app that makes use of data sharing to support medical experts in learning more about the virus. People can contribute their bit by adding their data in the app, like their age, postal code, plus disclose their pre-existing condition. This information will help medical professionals in determining groups that are most affected or at risk.

Data scientists play an essential role in learning more about the virus and contribute towards a safer and better world.

Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak on On-Demand App Industry

Posted on by deftsoft

Is your on-demand business ready for the increase in demand due to the spread of COVID-19? If not, fret not, we are going to help you out.

Well, whether we like it or not, coronavirus is on the rise! The COVID-19 outbreak has caused chaos in not only people’s lives but bought the global economy to a standstill. With billions forced to stay indoors due to the pandemic, the demand for essential services has skyrocketed. There is an acute need for essential services to meet the daily needs amid the lockdown. This is where on-demand services come in the picture. With the rise in coronavirus cases, the global economy has faced an abrupt downfall. It’s not a theory but a reality that because of the virus, countries will face the biggest jolt on their economy. Due to this sheer panic and distress, companies are experiencing massive losses and debt.

However, being said that, there are specific industries that are enjoying a significant gain in revenue and profit, which they only dreamt of in the past. Yes, we are talking about the on-demand app industry. But, before we talk about the impact of the pandemic on the on-demand industry, first, we should get our basics right.

Do you know about on-demand apps? Let’s find out!

 

In layman’s terms, on-demand apps refer to the mobility solutions that allow customers to acquire services that, too, in real-time or at their doorstep. These services include on-demand food delivery, on-demand beauty services, on-demand ATM services, and more. The on-demand apps come with a list of technical features that make real-time delivery possible. These features include tracking, creating a wish list, a suitable payment service, multiple bookings, ability to give reviews. With these features, the on-demand industry has made a significant difference in the market today amid the pandemic. And, going by the stats, the market growth of the on-demand apps will be higher than expected.

Keys in the hands of coronavirus tighten the locks on doors. With the strict government regulations and social distancing being followed everywhere, there has been a sudden surge in demand for on-demand services. Modern technology has made it easy for businesses to come up with an innovative solution to meet the growing demands of people. With the use of smartphones, companies have made it easy for customers to purchase the daily need products in the comfort of their homes. From food delivery to ecommerce and healthcare to home services, everything is now accessible to customers on a single click of a button.

How are on-demand apps rising?

Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, people are looking for ways to live their life peacefully and stay away from the deadly virus as far as possible. And, this is what on-demand apps have been focusing on for a long time. So, without any delay, let’s explore why on-demand apps are increasing.

• Social distancing and lockdown: People are in a desperate need of vaccine to protect themselves from the deadly virus. While it may take time for scientists across the globe to come up with a magic formula, till then, social distancing is the way to go. Because of social distancing, people don’t prefer to come out of their houses. This leads to an increase in the use of on-demand services to meet daily home needs. Pandemic has changed the way of life, and these apps are here to make the new era hassle-free for customers.

• Contactless delivery: As advocated by WHO, people have to avoid contact with others. And, this is what on-demand apps focus on. The apps have multiple payment options making it easy for people to choose their desired mode of payment. And, with the virtual payment method, customers can purchase their favorite products without coming in contact with the delivery agent.

• Quick service: Trust us; on-demand apps are capable of delivering services to customers quickly as compared to conventional methods. It’s the instant gratification and trust, which has led to the popularity of these apps. They serve the basic needs of people which can’t be compromised at any cost.

• Increase in revenue: Without any exaggeration, on-demand apps have taken a boom amidst the pandemic. People prefer to buy products from such apps as compared to stand-alone shops. The greater the demand, the higher will be the revenue for business owners. So, on-demand apps create a win-win situation for customers and businesses alike. People are happy with the real-time service of products, and business owners are content with the increase in revenue.

• Rise of multi-niche delivery apps: This pandemic has resulted in the rise of on-demand multi niche delivery apps. With these apps, now, customers can order food and do grocery shopping at the same time with the same app. Exciting, isn’t it! These apps provide more control to users over their orders. Some examples of on-demand multi niche apps include:

1. Food delivery
2. Grocery delivery
3. Medicine delivery
4. Essential products delivery

In the end, we hope the world comes to terms with the new normal. And, on-demand apps play a crucial role in adjusting with the new way of life. As a business owner, you must take the opportunity and make use of the technology to contribute your bit amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.

6 Effective Ways to Boost Your SEO with Google Podcasts

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Flashback to 2019, when Google CEO Sundar Pichai, made the big announcement that Google will add podcasts to search results. Since then, digital marketers, SEO professionals, and content creators are looking for ways to brush up their technical skills and make effective use of the new technology. However, there are many people out there who have no idea of what Google podcasts are and how they help in enhancing search engine results. And, the sad part is many of them have been a part of the digital community for a long time.

When you think of SEO, what are the things that come in your mind? Keywords, how to target them or strong content strategies. People don’t associate podcasts with search engine optimizations, which is the reason they miss out on the key growth opportunities. Trust us, including podcasts in your marketing strategy, is an excellent way of boosting your ranking authority with Google. Since mid-2019, Google started scanning audio files, thus creating favorable territory for podcasts and content marketing.

Podcasting and SEO, is there a relation between the two terms? Let’s find out!

Podcasts offer excellent opportunities to not only producers and consumers but advertisers and SEO experts as well. You can either include your advertisement in somebody else’s podcast or create your own from scratch. Now sit back and see the perfect blend of textual and audio content as it will help in increasing website traffic and bring you soaring profit. By adding podcasts to search results, firms can tackle the notorious discoverability problem. If you want to share your expertise with the target audience, make use of podcasts. It also provides an opportunity to create a new page on the website where you can discuss your content and podcasts with the target audience.

When it comes to SEO content marketing, podcasts can be of great help. You can promote your podcast by using emails at the same time encouraging listeners to subscribe to your newsletters. Well, you can also use social media platforms like Instagram to create a unique cover for your podcasts. By doing so, you will be able to establish a positive relationship with your audience and ultimately boost your brand awareness. Do you now podcasts allow you to collaborate with leading distribution and hosting networks? But being said that, does this feature offer any opportunity to SEO marketers? Well, the answer is crystal clear. By collaborating with hosting networks, people will find your content even if they are not aware of your brand. According to experts, it’s advisable always to choose reliable podcasts to transfer data without any hassles.

What are the SEO benefits of podcasting? How it helps in Boosting Your SEO?

Natural backlinks: Yes, you heard it right! Podcasts offer an effective way to get the most natural backlinks for your website. We will explain this a little further. Let’s say if you are a guest on somebody else podcast, the host will include show notes helping the audience to read a quick summary on who you are with a transcript of the episode. Also, hosts include links to your website, social media profiles, or exclusive offers. In this way, your website gets natural backlinks.

Effective optimization: In simple terms, podcasts are nothing but audio blogs. And, this means podcasts can be optimized just like other blogs. For better content optimization, you can use targeted keywords when creating meta titles and meta descriptions. Another trick to encourage the audience to click and listen to a new episode is by adding relevant text and optimizing images as well. This means you can use a perfect blend of podcasts and traditional blogs and have the freedom to focus on podcasts only whenever you want.

Affordable: Many people have the misconception that podcasts are expensive. But, this is the opposite of the truth. Podcasts are one of the cheapest marketing methods you can imagine. According to recent stats, if you have at least a 1% customer conversion rate, podcasts will cover all your production costs. The best thing is, podcasting demonstrates a much higher conversion rate; this means podcasting is worth all your efforts.

No expiration date: Trust us, podcasts have no expiration date. Even if you post new videos regularly, the old ones continue to attract customer’s attention. Also, to create effective podcasts, consider not only who it’s for, but also how your audience will use it, and how it will fit in their lives.

Regular content updating: By regularly updating content on your website, you will be able to secure a high position on SERP. The more relevant your content, the higher your podcast will rank on Google. By doing so, you will give reason to your audience to come back again. You can post transcripts and show notes of your podcast. Also, add a blog to your podcast that contains headings with your targeted keywords and recaps of your latest episode.

Use authoritative websites: Well, we can safely say search engines love content with inbound links, especially from high-ranking websites. Create a list of reputable sites that will feature your episode and add a podcast description. By doing so, you will get more traffic to your podcast, and, in turn, the podcast will drive traffic to your website.

Although creating effective podcasts involves a lot of hard work and determination, but the plethora of benefits it has for your SEO will take you by surprise. So, it’s time to make use of Google podcasts to boost the visibility of your brand.

6 Reasons You Should Upgrade Your Mobile Site into a Progressive Web App

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People working for their brands with mobile sites would know that it is definitely not the best way to promote conversions for the brand due to the distressing cart abandonment rate. This is something that directly limits the user experience. Though we can say the mobile apps are the effective way to drive more transactions, still, we can’t ignore the factor that people avoids the hassle of downloading the app which takes the space in their devices, which is already limited.

Studies say that only 3 out of 100 filled shopping carts on a mobile site end up converting into sales, and this fact clearly states the huge amount of loss for the retails in mobile revenues. In such conditions, if you need a solution, you need to leverage the performance of the site on mobile. This is where the Progressive Web Apps comes into play. Progressive Web Apps or PWA is the medium through which we can think about providing the users with a site that provides app-like experience.

PWA is exactly the perfect option for the businesses which seek to create a faster and more seamless web experience for mobile customers. This concept is embracing all the strengths of the app and website, presenting it to be a solution which is the best of both worlds. PWA ensures you with instant access on any browser, app-like features, fast speed and shareable and indexable content on any platform or device. There’s a lot more which the Progressive Web Apps can offer.

Smooth and Fast User Interactions

The customers these days are regularly migrating to mobile, with the expectation that the site will load faster and will offer smoothness to their online interactions and work. More than 50% of the mobile visitors will end up abandoning the website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. Unfortunately, a lot of mobile sites are even taking 10+ seconds to load, which is simply resulting in loss of mobile traffic by retailers. This is where PWA becomes a smart choice for improving the loading time, which could ensure better results.

Presents as a Feature-Rich App

Being rich in features, PWA can ensure the users with the app-like shopping experience. It allows the customers to handily search between the different items, look for the availability of the product, add to check, and then proceed to payment. What makes PWA more unique is that it even allows access to device hardware including camera, code scanner, app, language, geolocation, etc. This is how the PWA can feel like the app on the device which offers immersive user experience. Along with the ability to push notifications, PWA has the capability to acquire a similar retention rate just like the native apps. This will allow the users to get the latest updated and offers from your PWA.

Feature to Work Offline

Mobile sites are dependent on data connection due to which there can be times when the users have to face poor experience, which is usually due to long waiting time which ends up frustrating the users. On the other hand, PWA offers the users with interruptive mobile experience, which ultimately benefits the businesses to offer a reliable experience to the customers. Instant and stable user experience is something that remains the focal point of PWA, which doesn’t get bothered due to network availability or quality. PWA has the feature to pre-cache key resources which help in fast loading, even on a low-quality network which provides the users with the content even when they are offline. With PWA, the users won’t have to struggle with any janky scrolling or the trouble of slow-to-respond interface, even if they are in an area where the connection is poor or slow.

Ability to Share on Social Media

In the Progressive Web Apps, each individual page includes a unique URL, which is deep-linkable. Due to these deep links, it becomes easier for the users to share the app content at any platform where the URL is supported. It even allows the users to bookmark the URL so that you can use it whenever you want for sharing it on social networks through text messages. Thus with PWA, it is easier to open different pages of the site by tapping on the links, which would be directly accessed on different new windows of the browser.

Visibility of Your Business in Search Results

One of the major benefits of PWA is that it could be crawled and indexed by the Search Engine platforms like Google. This is the factor which ultimately increases the visibility of your brand to the audience. In both the terms of accessibility and discover, there’s no way Progressive Web Apps can be defeated. Being visible in the search results of Google simply improves the opportunities of more visitors to the business website, which will help in converting the sales. This is how PWA is exactly the best option that the businesses prefer considering for enhancing the visibility of the brand to the customers.

Powers up The Mobile Strategy for Your Business

Progressive Web Apps is not just a question to think about; instead, it has become a requirement for the business which seeks for ways to deliver the best shopping experience to the people who prefer shopping on mobile. If looked upon broadly, Progressive Web Apps are able to completely focus the overall mobile strategy, including the ease of reaching out to the visitors and converting them into the customers of your brand.

When it is about bringing the visitors towards your website, the main constraints are to offer them the best user experience through quick loading time and ease of access on different platforms. This is where the Progressive Web Apps excel, providing the businesses with all the means through which the traffic rates towards the site can be improved, with improvement in the conversion rate. Clearly, it’s high time to switch from the traditional mobile site of your business to Progressive Web Apps.

How Effective are Push Notifications for Web Applications?

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Website push notifications are messages sent by a website to the user’s browser, which is clickable. They work like mobile app notifications but here for the websites instead of mobile apps.

Push notifications play a significant role when it comes to advertising eCommerce applications. The difference here lies that the push notifications are not ignorable messages. The purpose of push notification campaigns is to deliver exceptional results for online stores. Let’s get started to explore the hidden layers of push notifications.
Terminology Used for Push Notifications

• Notification – a message appearing at the user’s browser

• Push Message – A detailed note from the server to the client

• Push Notification – A notification created to give the response to a push message

• Notifications API – An interface created to configure notifications to the end user

• Push API – An interface designed to subscribe app to a push service and receive push messages

• Web Push – A simple word which refers to the processor components taking part in the complete process of pushing messages from a server to a client on the web.

• Push Service – A system that routes push messages from a server to a client. Each browser implements its push service.

• Web Push Protocol – describes how an application server or user agent interacts with a push service.

Significance of Push Notifications

The eCommerce apps have discovered numerous ways to promote their business and to increase web traffic. The various channels get engaged in introducing online campaigns to reach and engage users. Let us take a dig on the multiple channels before going more in-depth to explore push notifications:

– Email

Email is most frequently used channel to deliver curated complete information, elaborating upcoming sales and discount offers, details of product reviews, recover abandoned carts, providing transactional information such as order confirmation, tracking features, etc. The broad scope of email is its advantage to reach the masses. Another significant advantage is its enormous capacity to accommodate data in the inbox.

– Social Media

Social media networks work faster than email marketing when it comes to delivering instant offers and discounts as people spend more time on social media websites than on any other online activity. FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are the main social media channels which cover almost the entire world’s internet users.

– SMS

SMS is a quick way to introduce a new concept. However, due to the limitation of the 60 characters, the details can’t be delivered. If we send the repetitive message, it doesn’t have an impact on the user. Another disadvantage of SMS is its short lifespan.

– Push Notifications

Push notifications provide a default way to communicate. It ranks no. 1 over the email for promotional content delivery in real-time. The higher response rates compared to email are tempting to think of push notifications. The opt-in/opt-out options in-app push notifications provide greater control over messages which he/she wants to receive.  However, SMS often comes unsolicited, and it is harder for the user to disable.
Where does Website Push Notifications fit into the picture?

Desktop usage still has 42% exclusive audiences. Web push notifications are engaging these 42% users in advertising eCommerce deals and offers. The cost factor is another advantage to use these Push Notifications for eCommerce applications.

Building a quality app is a costly affair, and sometimes, the ROI is difficult to justify. In fact, for small and medium-sized companies, mobile websites may reach more people than mobile apps do. It makes website push notifications more crucial as they provide businesses the ability to send push notifications without introducing a mobile app.
All in all, the website push notifications are a versatile channel for eCommerce. It provides websites the power to communicate, to the end users instantly.

Working of Website Push Notifications

By default, whenever a mobile app gets installed, you permit the app to send you to push notifications. However, websites have to explicitly take permission from users before sending them to push messages. It is how website push notifications work:

The first step involves with opt-in from visitors. As soon as someone arrives on a website, an opt-in box is triggered. If the visitor clicks on “Allow,” he/she is added to your subscriber list.

As soon as a ‘visitor’ becomes a ‘subscriber,’ The title message and the text message are customizable within some character limits, with a specified URL. These notifications will arrive whenever the browser is open. Once you click the link, you will reach to a specified URL.The look of Push Notifications

Optimizing Push Notifications

Now that you are aware of the importance of push notifications and how they work let’s take a step ahead to maximize your push notifications to drive better sales from your existing users. Here we are mentioning a few ways to do it effectively:

– writing excellent push notification copy
– Time to send a push notification
– Frequency to send push notifications
– Segmentation to send personalized notifications
– Metrics to track notifications

Copywriting for Push Notifications

Since push notifications have character limits on the title as well as the message, the copywriting becomes that much more critical since you have to squeeze your message into a small sentence while still retaining its effectiveness. Whenever you write the title and message text for push notification, an essential tip is a purpose to get subscribers to click. People will click on the push notification if they find it valuable.

Here are a few tips you can follow:

In the busy schedule, you have very less time to impress your subscribers. It will not be wise to expect them to keep patience. The message which you like to deliver to your customers must be clear to have the highest click rate by the very virtue of the fact that it is action-oriented.

– Be crisp in your message – Most of the browsers have the limitation of  40-120 characters for writing push notification. Thus, it is essential for you to be very concise in writing a message. It often means that you need to identify the one most important value proposition of news and how you can highlight that message.

– Use scarcity to create urgency –The Psychology of depicts that the potential of failure has more influence over the possibility of success. It is a human tendency that we get responsive when the offer is going to get over. By making use of this trick, a valid push notification becomes easy to write

– Use Social Proof –In push notifications, social proof can be used to increase the click rate. For example, you can write figures. Internet users like to listen to numbers, not to theoretical concepts.
When to send Push Notifications?

Website Push Notifications, require an instant response on the part of the receiver. The correct timings play a vital role. A typical mistake when sending push notifications is not to consider the time zone of subscribers.
You can quickly fix this; you need to have a clear understanding of your subscribers and their time zones. It’s complicated to send a notification in a single batch but to find favorable results; you need to do that.
A wrong time to send notification

Another point of consideration is the various notifications work with multiple times during the day.  In case, you are sending a promotional message; you expect your users to be in a state of mind to read your offer carefully. Choosing to post something funny and light-hearted? Go for the afternoon, when people are feeling bored in the office and want something to crack them up.

How Frequently to Send?

The essential point to consider as you scale up push notification campaigns is the frequency of messages. Since push notifications are high-engagement communication media, you need to be careful not to inundate your users with limited notifications which they can handle.
The website push notifications are an advanced technology where. At this stage, you need to carefully monitor click rates, time on page, bounce rate, and opt-outs after every push notification to find out which frequency works best for your audience.

Using Segmentation to Send Personalized Notifications

As E-commerce marketers, personalized messages are nothing new for us. We all know that they work. However, it is doubly critical not to follow the spray-and-pray approach when it comes to website push notifications, simply because opting-out is so easy and there is no way for you to get those unsubscribe back unless they change their settings. For example, this guy is opting-out after receiving this notification.
A poorly personalized push notification

eCommerce players, therefore, need to categorize subscribers into different buckets to categorize them narrowly. One way of doing this is to ask subscribers for preferences at the time of opting-in. Another very effective way is to go for behavioral segmentation, i.e., putting subscribers into different segments based on their on-page activities like the type of pages viewed, number of views of a particular page, etc. For example, if I’ve been checking out books in the spy thriller genre lately, the store should mark me as someone interested in the style and send me a notification whenever something new gets published in that category.

What Metrics to Track?

The most immediate metric that comes to mind when thinking website push notifications is click rate. Many people clicked on the push notification as a percentage of the number of people to whom that notification was delivered.
However, just focusing on this one metric can lead your analysis astray. Instead, you should strongly focus on the business goals you deem most important, which in this case would be sales and visits to the checkout page, add to cart. Tag your notification links with the proper UTM parameters and then swift through the data in Google Analytics and other analytics tools you are using to find out how many people arriving on your website via push notifications are performing the above actions? It is the only way that you will be able to determine whether website push notifications are working for you or not.

It covers almost everything you need to know as you start with website push notifications for your online store. Note down that listening to your audience and iterating based on that is the best policy for the eCommerce business to survive!

Conclusion

To summarize, website push notifications have proved to be a powerful tool in the hands of businesses to communicate with their audience in real-time at a personalized level. Being aware of this fact is critical if you want to maintain a healthy and engaged subscriber base and get more clicks along with business results out of web push notifications.

A Comprehensive Guide of WEB- VR (Virtual Reality)

Posted on by deftsoft

After the successful launch of virtual reality, still, it was becoming a challenge for the web developers to use it in web applications. Now, the virtual reality designs have taken a practical shape, and we can expect web developers to make use of VR in applications such as eCommerce, retail, marketing and so on.

What is Virtual Reality?

Virtual Reality is a 3D computer technology used to simulate the user’s presence in an imaginary environment using a Virtual Reality headset. Virtual reality is a dynamic and immediate way to see and experience information. It creates a simulated 3D – the environment around the user to interact with people, objects, and other situations. Many devices are used to create such an environment like special gloves, earphones, and goggles. These devices send their output to the computer system. The user actions leave a noticeable impact on the content of the virtual environment.

Virtual Reality

Components of a Virtual Environment

– The VR techniques are used in mobile gaming and videos for quite a sometime now but let’s look at the ingredients used for web design and development.

– The visual displays have web development. These will prevent web applications to avoid sensory impressions from the real world.

– A rendering system for graphics is used to produce the ever-changing images at 25 to 35 frames per second to help in creating an excellent experience.

– A system tracker: It will record the position of web application users. It will note down the hand or cursor movements of users.

– Uses in the database construction and maintenance system to create a detailed realistic model of the virtual world to show the demographic trends on the present data.

– A sound system to produce directional sounds and simulated sound fields creating development a system audible to ears which are a new addition to web development.

– Devices for users to specify their interaction with virtual objects such as tracked gloves with pushbuttons.
Number of web browsers to view VR applications

Virtual Reality Web Design

The web developers are working for a long to make VR application to benefit web development. The libraries are required to use them with the other web languages. JavaScript libraries are introduced to create VR applications a reality. Facebook is among the first few successful web applications. Google WebGL and Microsoft Hololens are few applications running successfully. Let’s track out the integration of Virtual reality apps and web.

VR Coalesces into Web Browsers

VR applications can run on various browsers.  Soon, we will see a browser-based VR application available to ordinary consumers. They have to click a button to enter into the immersive world of VR web design. No need for downloads. The WebVR API is now available in several browsers. Like Firefox Nightly, Chrome 56+ for Android, Samsung Internet Browser for Gear and also the experimental builds in Chromium for Windows.

Virtual Reality for Apps

The real web apps using VR have already launched in the market. Developers are creating web apps for businesses to give a virtual experience of product/Services to a customer. The primary use of VR apps will be on e-commerce websites, real-estate websites, tour & travels websites, etc.

VR is a Wide Spectrum

Virtual reality web design can benefit many online businesses. WebVR simulates real-life situations. It can give an aerial view of a building, particular area or product. Customers can view the 3D view of the image. On the other end, WebVR might be useful in healthcare applications, eCommerce applications, marketing, transportation and so on. The possibilities are endless. A survey shows that there will not be any field where virtual reality doesn’t seem fit.

Virtual Reality Web Design

VR could apps are making the web apps more comfortable, functional, and personal for the typical user. Virtual reality web design would bring more challenges to a developer’s work.

Content Creation with VR

As the vast content creation to expand the businesses. The VR applications will have their share in creating more sophisticated and relevant content. Some open source libraries are already in use with the help of APIs. Many popular platforms support the use of VR in content creation. Some of them are  A-Frame, PlayCanvas, Sketchfab, and Vizor, etc.

Big Market Investments for VR

Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance announced $10 billion worth of investment in VR and augmented reality projects. So, the development of VR web design technology is not going to hinder any soon. Indeed, the VR market is forecast to be worth around $162 billion market by 2020. And this is a thoughtful, long-term view of the potential of something techies and entrepreneur belief.

Challenges in Implementing VR Web Design

The big technologies which bring a paradigm shift in the regular development process are not adapted so soon as they require lots of modifications in the existing software practices. In the same accord, Virtual reality web design also has to face a couple of challenges to win its race; some of them are as follows:

Responsive Web Design

It’s not easy to develop a website that functions for both virtual reality headset wearers and typical web applications. Software developers are working for a long to integrate both of them. Many issues exist such as eye-tracking menus that work better for virtual reality web design but certainly not for desktop browsers. Most of the VR apps are quite big which is against the ethics of responsive designs especially they are to be run on mobile apps.

Bandwidth

Page speed is a deciding factor for excellent user experience. Users can wait for a video to load occasionally. But for daily web browsing, it is nearly impossible. The integration of VR applications and to change the mindset of the frequent users is not easy.

Out of Reach Technology

According to the stats, less than one percent of computers in the world have the graphical capabilities to run VR applications. High-end optimized machines would overshoot the cost of hardware.

At present, if we see the VR technology in its present form, it seems complicated to implement VR in web development. In some high-end applications, we can use them, but again it’s a challenge to maintain the high cost in comparison to AI tools which are comparatively cheaper.

Price

As we have already discussed, VR applications shoot up the cost to manifolds. More research will hopefully change the scenario in the future. There can be probably a virtual set up which will allow the access of VR imaging available for the regular consumers.

Health issues

VR application makes use of high ratings for which one has to wear 3D glasses. The VR naturally has side effects on the eye side. The VR manufacturers are aware of this fact, and they try to minimize the impact. However, every web user is not going to use them in such a healthier manner.

An average user is in front of his laptop or smartphone at least 5-6 hours a day. For such extended use, VR apps will not at all be suitable in its present form.

Progressive texture loading, web app manifests & other best practices on the client side can assure WebVR remains a no install. And even, no long download. More interactions with Web App Manifest, Service Worker, WebGL, Web Imaging, Gamepad, Workers are needed.

Performance-enhancing WebGL capabilities include multi-view instancing to reduce overhead, geometry tools, and compute shaders. In whole, more performing WebVR is desirable. The new execution model of browsers is a must to get benefited from WebVR optimizations.

Final Words

Despite so many challenges, VR has successfully made its entry into web applications in the form of visual images. At the same time, there is extensive use in gaming and mobile apps. VR is a powerful tool for various verticals such as healthcare, marketing, education, communication, and so many others.

So, it’s time to discover new VR apps. More than 1 million people are already using VR apps. However, the use of VR is still for research activities and some major applications. In the coming years, virtual reality will undoubtedly revolutionize the web world. It is known as the “Platform of Tomorrow.”

You can also gear your web design world today with a list of the best web design software by adopting new invented VR based templates. It’s a website designer who will bring this incredible technology to the masses. We can already view some 3D logos of the companies. Gradually, VR will considerably save your time as providing drag & drop features to design a website!

5 Ways to Optimize Website for a Great Digital Experience

Posted on by deftsoft

The optimization of the web site has a more significant impact on the search engine ranking. The online platform is the ultimate platform to conduct business activities. For maintaining your search engine ranking, you make use of digital marketing techniques.

Unfortunately, search optimization results are not static. They keep varying from time to time. Around 90% of internet users are using Google search whose algorithms are continually evolving in an attempt to provide the best results for specific searches. It might help you change your advertising. Your website has to keep up. You can’t only hire an SEO expert to optimize your site once and forget about it for years; you’ll begin to see diminishing results.

With that in mind, you should continuously hunt for new ways which can optimize your website on a constant pace to stay ahead of the search curve. The first steps to optimize your website are:

Work on Building Strong Keyword Research

The SEO process starts with the selection of keyword research. You need a clear understanding of the current search landscape and the required keywords. It is critical to do before website launch, but you need to re-evaluate quite often. The results always change, so it becomes mandatory to keep a record of the latest results.

As per the Google Keyword Planner, you have to start with a particular industry and specific targeted location. The tool will then introduce you to a wide range of search terms, their frequency of search and the competition over those words.

The best method would be to search for the maximum relevant keywords for your business with low competition and higher search numbers.

After identification, make a note of these keywords. Any changes in the basic design of the website will bring variations on your identified keywords which might hurt the optimization process. The selected keywords will help the website optimization and will let you move forward.

Create Great Content with Appropriate Use of Keywords

We all are aware of the fact that the content of the website has a more significant impact on the marketing of the website. To remain in the race of Google listing the entire content should be unique and original. You need to frame the sentences by keeping the keywords in mind. The whole point of content creation is to reach the right and genuine audiences. You shouldn’t leave a single chance to treat your content as a springboard for content ideas. You must try to work on keywords by using them into the posts regularly. The more helpful your content is with the keywords, the closer you are on Google ranking. The right placement of keywords helps in achieving the best SEO results.

Track the Loading Speed

The web development tools and techniques are growing. The languages such as NodeJS and React are already helping to achieve minimum load time. But the websites having more data often have slow speed. We must be aware that Google is going to list out slow sites. So maintaining a reasonable rate of the website has become mandatory, not the option. Here we are not discussing only the home page speed, but the overall speed of inside pages also matters.

Checking speed is again a routine task which webmasters keep on performing regularly. The activities such as posting new content, new products added on pages might slow down the speed of the website. A growing business can’t afford to get penalized for slow speed.

Use Landing Pages

While you are creating landing pages for website optimization., don’t forget to stuff the right keywords. In case, a new promotional strategy or social marketing technique gets added to a marketing campaign, the correct use of keywords is selected. Most relevant keywords concerning individual product into the title and body of the website page.

While designing the landing pages, we must focus on one keyword on one page. If there is more than one keyword on which the focus, is required, then we must create different landing pages. Again this will not be a onetime task. Whenever you add new keywords, the process is revised again.

Update Page Titles

For the SEO purpose, every webpage of your website must have a different title and a meta tag. In some of the site,  the web pages have the same title as their business name. In case your business name is fully optimized there is no issue in using it, but it is highly impractical. The best practice is to add a slogan to the title of the page decently utilizing the keyword.

Optimal Results

The website building and optimizing is more of a practice rather than a one-time designing process. The maintenance of a consistent ranking of the website, it is mandatory to keep updating on design and removing the unused pages or data. The webmaster should keep in mind that SEO is an incredibly deep and ever-evolving strategy, but that means there is always a scope of improvement in your website.

Another aspect of SEO is its linking with the conversions. Both are closely linked. A good SEO, more traffic is expected to provide more opportunities to convert potential customers. Moreover, the website optimized for conversions typically has better metrics, such as load time of page and bounce rate, to rank Google in top searches.

From the above discussion, we have attained an overview to know that website optimization and SEO strategies are the two shores which can never be aligned, but they have to go side by side to maintain optimal web solutions which can result in improved ROI. Some of the must-have features to optimize your website are:

–  Make your site useful for your specific audience to create a pleasant user experience

–  Grow your organic traffic by focusing on the normalization of the website design as per the latest designing standards.

–  Capitalize on existing traffic by maintaining old leads and generating new leads

–  Force your website to work harder to have a high conversion rate

–  Give your audience, what they are aspiring.

– The sites are for customers, not for the technocrats to give unachievable business targets to the competitors.

Once the website is optimized, we should consider applying optimized SEO techniques to drive more business. Some must have SEO optimization methods are:

–  Analyze all of your website data

–  Produce long and value-rich content in a customer friendly manner

–  Focus more on-page SEO

– Optimize for off-page SEO by creating guest blogging, social media activity, influencer marketing, and brand mentions.

– Optimize the website for mobile users

–  Google’s Page Speed Insights gives you valuable listing about page load and the specific things you can fix to make your site faster.

–  Create quality back links.

Conclusion

You must snag the opportunities to optimize your website to make it customer friendly keeping the SEO requirements in mind. In most of the cases, a customer friendly website has high SEO ranking but in fact, the results differ, you can make the changes in the SEO strategy by finding new ways of creating high ranking. Our entire focus should be on creating a UI and UX based websites to pass through search engine reports. With time, you’ll gradually attain good traffic and conversions based on dedicated efforts.

Furthermore, even older content can help you to gain more significant achievements. Don’t discount your efforts as only relevant to the moment. So, keeping rocking by applying right optimizing strategies!