Red Sofa Interviews

Caroline Kendhammer on The Red Sofa

Watch the full interview here

Interviewer: Good morning, and welcome to the Red Sofa. 

We have Caroline Kendhammer, web developer, SEO specialist and co-founder of Bubble Creative Solutions, with us today to bring us insights into maximising the value of your website as part of the overall marketing Strategy.

Caroline: Good Morning; thanks for having me today.

Interviewer: Caroline, give us a brief snapshot of your role within Bubble.

Caroline: My main role within Bubble is focused on web development, SEO and project management. My aim is to make projects run as smoothly as possible with the end goal of helping websites to get found on Google and other search engines. This also includes other digital marketing strategies, online advertising, and social media campaign ideas.

Interviewer: I’m sure most businesses want to understand how best to maximise the performance of their websites, especially within the ever-growing digital landscape. Can you give an example of core components that you believe constitute a high-performing website?

Caroline: A high-performing website can mean different things for different businesses. The best thing to start with is a goal or focus for your website. This could be traffic, leads, sales, user interaction, etc. So, the first thing you need to identify is what you want to get out of your website, then you need to consider things like;

• User experience – can the user easily find what you want them to find?
• Responsive Design – can your site be easily viewed on any screen size?
• Engaging Content – making sure the content is USEFUL as well as being easy to read and digest
• SEO – can the site be found on search engines?
• Call to action – give users something to do on every page
• Measurement – this has to be one of the most important aspects as this determines the success of your website. This is where we would set up conversion tracking based on your goals.

Interviewer: Ok, so as part of an overall marketing strategy, what should be considered to formulate an optimised website for sales and brand visibility?

Caroline: So, we’re looking at 2 elements of a website here; brand visibility and then sales, which we would class as a conversion.

For brand visibility, it’s important to consider elements which will get you found;

• Audience research – to find your target market so you know what content to create
• Content Marketing’s – blogs, Infographics
• Social Media – platform selection / Content / Paid

Then, for sales/ conversions, we need to consider the on-page elements which lead people to convert. We’d be looking at

• CTAs
• Content style and tone of voice
• UX – are people getting to where they need to get to – can they easily complete the conversion action?
• Analytics and Data – Monitor and refine

Interviewer: In an era where social media platforms have become primary touchpoints for many businesses, how do you view the importance of maintaining a standalone website? How does your website complement or differentiate from your social media presence in attracting and serving your target audience?”

Caroline: Firstly, a website shouldn’t be a standalone element of your marketing strategy – nothing should. Your social media and website should be integrated to get the most out of each area. Any new content you post on your website you should be sharing on social and any big updates that you’re sharing on social media you should also be adding to your website to really maximise both channels.

However, websites and social media channels do serve different purposes.

Social media is fantastic for instant engagement with your audience on a more personal level, real-time interactions, and quick company updates. It’s where you can have conversations, showcase your brand’s personality, and rapidly address customer queries or feedback.

Your website is your digital ‘home.’ It’s where we can provide in-depth information, process transactions, publish detailed content, and offer resources. It offers a more controlled and cohesive brand experience. In essence, while social media drives engagement, a website drives conversion.

Interviewer: Looking ahead, how would you plan to further leverage a website as a tool for business growth, and what role do you foresee SEO and Google My Business playing in these future endeavours?

Caroline: This is a really big question, and answering it in full detail would mean we’d be here for days, so I’ll try and keep this short.

SEO is so important for all websites, and for Google search results so it is Google My Business because it’s how people find you initially. Despite other platforms being used, search is still absolutely huge for brand awareness. It’s how people find anything, from new business to shopping to information when deciding whether to make a purchase, for booking holidays, everything in any industry incorporates search in some form.

We are aware that there are other platforms which are being used for searching also now, for example, TikTok, and a statistic which is being talked about in our industry at the moment is that there are more searches on TikTok nowadays than there are on Google – which is a true stat – however, what is important to still consider is that there aren’t any less Google searches than there were last year – there are more. The TikTok searches are additional searches – they’re not taking away from the search engine searches. Which means your website visibility on search engines is still more important than ever.

So, in order to leverage your site to grow your business through SEO – you need to consider what your users might search at various points of their buying journey and fulfil their needs at each different point. This should then give you a clearer strategy of what content you can create and where it would be best suited for placement. In most cases, there will be a channel which is more successful for each stage and this will give you an idea of where to invest the bulk of your time and budget.

Interviewer: In the future, how do you see the role of a website?

Caroline: The future of websites for businesses is dynamic and likely to be influenced by a combination of technological advances, evolving user preferences, and shifts in the business landscape. However, through all of these, a website is still so important for any brand.

There are a few topics which we’ll be keeping up-to-date on which could effect how websites perform and are used. Some of these are:

• Ai and Chat Bots – something that lots of people are using already
• Enhanced Personalisation – AI to adjust content to the user.
• AR and VR – People can try on products, experience locations, etc. Then, visit a restaurant or venue before they actually go there.
• Data pricey (blockchain) – personal data being protected.
• Progressive Web Apps

Web 3.0 – something to be considered for the future

Watch the full interview here