6 Tips for Small Businesses to Rank in “Near Me” Searches

Being the best at what you do doesn’t help much if no one knows you exist. For small businesses, having a strong local presence is often the difference between steady foot traffic and an empty shopfront. The good news? You don’t need a huge budget to compete—you just need to show up when and where people are searching. And that’s why you need strong local SEO to help you achieve this goal.

“Near me” or local searches—like “café near me”, “travel agency nearby”, or “SEO services Auckland”—are now part of everyday life, especially on mobile. People who make these searches usually have a specific reason behind their queries, whether that’s looking for a store’s location or booking a service on the spot. Think of them as fundamentally different from your general SEO, which targets wide audiences and zeroes in on specific locations. Overall, local SEO is a perfect match for small businesses looking to make a big impression in their own backyard.

This blog post walks you through some practical tips for improving how your business ranks in “near me” searches, so you can stay visible, competitive, and just a few taps away from your next customer.

Optimise Your Google Businenss Listings

Let’s be honest—if your business doesn’t show up on Google Maps, it might as well not exist for a lot of potential customers. Claiming and fully optimising your Google Business Profile is one of the most powerful things you can do to boost visibility in “near me” searches.
Make sure your listing is accurate, complete, and regularly updated. That means checking your business name, hours, phone number, website link, and address. Add quality photos that reflect your services or space, and pick the most relevant category for your business. It’s also worth posting updates like promotions, events, or occasional announcements. The more active and informative your profile is, the more Google (and potential customers) will trust it.

Get Listed in Reputable Local Directories

It’s not just your own site that affects how much you show up in people’s search results—it’s everywhere else you appear online too. Local directories act like digital signposts that guide people and search engines towards your business. The more consistent, trustworthy mentions you have across the web, the better.

Reputable websites like Yelp, Yellow, and Finda are perfect places to start. From there, you can look into niche or industry-specific directories as well. Just make sure your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent everywhere—right down to the formatting. You’re effectively giving Google extra proof that your business is real and easy to find.

Add Local Schema Markup to Your Website

Search engines are clever, but they’re not mind readers. Schema markup is a bit of behind-the-scenes code that helps clarify what your business is all about—your location, services, hours, and more. It’s like giving Google a cheat sheet to better understand your site.

Local business schema tells search engines, “Hey, this page belongs to a business located right here that offers these services.” While it may sound technical, most website platforms or SEO plugins make it fairly easy to add. If you’ve got a developer or agency helping you out, it’s worth asking them to check that this is properly set up. You’ll be helping your website speak Google’s language more fluently.

Write Local-Focused Blog Posts or Content

If your website only talks about your products or services, you’re missing a golden opportunity to connect with your local audience. Why not write content that highlights your community involvement, supports local events, or simply answers questions people in your area are asking? It may just surprise you what a big impact that bit of extra effort can make.

Think blog posts like “5 Easy Plumbing Fixes Before You Call a Pro (Wellington Edition)” or “Where to Find the Best Flat Whites in Hamilton.” Not only does this help with your rankings, but it also shows you genuinely know and care about the people you’re serving. It’s local relevance with a personal touch.

Use Google Maps Embed on Contact Pages

Nothing says “we’re right here” quite like a live map on your contact page. Embedding a Google Map is a basic but extremely useful way to help customers figure out where to find you. In the process, it reinforces your physical presence to search engines too.

This simple addition acts like a little trust signal. It tells Google, “Yes, this business really does operate at this location,” and it helps users get directions in just one click. For a step that takes only a few minutes to implement, it packs a solid punch in the local SEO department.

Link to Other Businesses in the Area and Get Links in Return

When it comes to search rankings, links are like digital endorsements. And local links? Even better. Getting backlinks from nearby websites—other small businesses, local blogs, community groups—can help boost your authority in your area.

You can start small by linking to a nearby partner on your website, and ask if they’d be open to doing the same. Collaborate on content or events. Support a local fundraiser and get a mention on their site. These reciprocal connections help loads with SEO. They also build a stronger sense of community around your business, which customers tend to notice and appreciate.

At the end of the day, the steps you take to make sure your site shows up consistently in people’s “near me” searches all help stitch your business into the local fabric. Ready to claim your rightful place as a community favourite in your niche? Let us at Author Digital help you out. Get in touch with us today for an up close and personal chat about improving your SEO rankings, digital marketing, website design, and anything else you need.

A note

Henry Blackwell

Henry Blackwell is a marketing professional. He has spent the last 10 years working in-house and within agencies, growing profitable businesses through brand and customer-centric digital marketing in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.

“My approach to marketing is a combination of heart and head. My heart brings an empathetic and intuitive approach to deeply understanding the qualitative requirements of marketing that many simply do not care to do. My head brings an analytical mindset that leverages data-driven insights to deliver profitable performance for the businesses I work with.

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director

From Leads to Sales: How to Build a Conversion-Driven Digital Marketing Funnel

Picture a funnel. Not the kind you use to pour juice or petrol with, but a hypothetical one that takes in sales leads on the wide end and turns them into customers when they reach the other end of it. While it’s certainly not a perfect analogy for how customers convert, the funnel model has been used as an example to explain conversions for decades, being modified and adapted to better fit various sales and marketing needs.

However you choose to define your marketing funnel, it helps to think of it as potentially your best-ever salesperson. Once built, the processes that make up your funnel will be constantly drawing new and old customers. However, unlike your most charismatic and vivacious salespeople, your funnel will be working silently in the background as it improves all your sales efforts, including those initiated by your sales team.

Unfortunately, funnels have a way of becoming bloated, especially when a business operates across multiple digital and offline channels. It can’t always be helped, but regardless, an overly complicated model of customer behaviours can lead to confusion and bad decisions later on. For instance, with an overly complex funnel, you can be running expensive ad campaigns that result in a lot of clicks and views but still have dismal sales overall.

When you go into the limitless expanse of online markets, what you want is a conversion-driven digital marketing funnel. This way, your whole organisation always has its eyes on the prize, saving resources and ensuring more of your activities are geared towards conversions—the thing that truly matters for a functional business.

There’s no better time to fix your funnel than the present. To make things simpler, you can consult with a trusted marketing agency. They can help you come up with a digital marketing strategy NZ-based customers will respond to, ramping up your conversions, brand, and profits. In any case, let’s look at some things you can do to make your digital marketing funnel focused on conversions.

1. Know Who You're Talking To

Before you build anything, you must know the ins and outs of your audience. No, your audience cannot be just whoever wants to buy, otherwise you will find yourself screaming into the void with no conversions to show for it. If you do have a target audience, you must dig deep to understand their pain points, motivations, and deal-breakers. Aim to build your funnel like you’re designing it for your best mate and you should be in the right place.

2. Hook Your Audience with an Offer That Makes Sense

Digital marketing has changed significantly since the 2000s. Most customers now demand some kind of exclusivity. This can come in the form of discounts, eBooks—anything that holds unique value to your target audience should be good.

The key here is to focus on real value. Your hook must talk about things that resonate with your customers. After that, good copy, professional visuals, and a solid call to action should be created to guide your leads through your funnel.

3. Set Up a High-Converting Landing Page

Your landing page should be optimised to convert. Declutter it to highlight the benefits, include a bit of social proof, and a call to action that makes it easy to buy. While that sounds simple, these things can be deceptively difficult in practice. Designing a high-converting landing page isn’t always so straightforward, but a good digital marketing agency should be able to help with that.

4. Use Retargeting to Draw Back Errant Leads

While real-world funnels direct all the stuff down to the spout, it’s possible for leads to escape at different points in a digital marketing funnel. That’s why retargeting is so important. Remarketing can warm your lost leads back up and set them back into your funnel where they can convert later on.

Treat remarketing efforts like ads, social media, content, and email campaigns as necessary, ongoing expenses to stay top of mind with your leads and existing customers. When warranted, give occasional incentives to drive more of your customers down the spout.

5. Don't Forget Mobile Users

Chances are that a majority of your online visits come from smartphones and other mobile devices. If your business targets young adults or teens, an overwhelming majority of your visits and conversions are going to originate from mobile devices. Even if your customers prefer to use a desktop for purchases, they may still have found your business over mobile. This is all to say that your funnel should look good and work smoothly on every screen size.

Mobile friendliness is no longer a negotiable part of web design. Regardless of who your customers are, make sure your website has fast loading times, readable text, and zero annoying pop-ups. Depending on your audience’s behaviours, you may even want to develop a mobile app to make it even easier for customers to buy.

6. Test, Optimise, Repeat

A funnel isn’t a one-and-done thing. Your first version will never be perfect, and if by some miracle it is, it won’t be for long. Knowing all that, it’s a good idea to run A/B tests on your campaigns, landing pages, subject lines, headlines, and other digital marketing elements as your resources allow. This will give you points of comparison for conversion rates and bounce rates, giving you a clue if there’s something that needs fixing.

7. Track What Matters

Vanity metrics are the bane of any serious business. Sure, it’s nice to see a bump in visits or have a post get a thousand likes. Still, these things mean little if they don’t bring in any conversions.

At the end of the day, you want your sales and marketing teams to be focused on:

Conversion rates
Repeat sales
Cost per acquisition
Email open rates
Return on ad spend

Though other metrics can be useful, you want to focus on the ones that tell you if your funnel is doing its job. Work with an agency with a solid track record to build a funnel that boosts all the right numbers.

Ready to Funnel Leads Like a Pro?

Whether it’s the first time you’ve ever heard of a funnel or you simply want some clarity in the one you have, give these ideas a try. If you want to avoid the trial-and-error of refining your funnel yourself, give the experts at Author Digital a call. Our multidisciplinary team can help you look at your funnel from all angles, guiding you towards a solid pattern of success through simple, results-driven journeys.

A note

Henry Blackwell

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director

How SEO and Web Development Work Together to Drive Business Growth

Many businesses see SEO and web development as two buzzwords that seem to orbit in completely different galaxies—one tied to keywords and content, the other revolving around code and other technical nuts and bolts. But when you break it down, both work towards the same goal: helping your website perform better and bring in more customers.

When it comes to search engine optimisation, it’s all about making sure your website shows up when people search online for the terms that are closely related to it. It covers things like choosing the right keywords, writing helpful content, and making sure your pages are easy for both users and search engines to understand.

Web development, on the other hand, is the behind-the-scenes work that brings your website to life. It handles things like your site’s structure, loading speed, design, and functionality—all the elements that make your site usable and enjoyable, rather than just visible.

At the end of the day, you can’t optimise what’s broken, and you can’t convert traffic if the site is clunky or confusing. Any successful website will have both SEO and web development working in smooth harmony. Want to know even more about how and why they make such beautiful music together? Let’s get into it.

Performance and Page Speed Directly Affect Rankings

Ever clicked on a site that took forever to load, then gave up and closed the tab? Google doesn’t like that either. A slow website is frustrating for users and sends all the wrong signals to search engines, which can hurt your chances of ranking well.

Lots of different factors can influence page loading speed: how big your images are, how efficient your code is, how fast your servers respond, and more. This is where web developers come in, whether you employ them in-house or work with third-party web development services. They can optimise your site’s performance by compressing images, minimising scripts, and cleaning up the code. Once they’re all done, you’ll get a faster, smoother experience that keeps visitors on your site longer and improves your standing in search results.

Mobile Responsiveness Is a Must, Not a Maybe

More people browse on their phones than ever before, so your website has to look and work just as well on a tiny screen as it does on a desktop. If buttons are too small, text is hard to read, or pages don’t load properly on mobile, visitors are likely to bounce. In turn, Google will definitely notice the negative user experience your site is bringing and bump your search rankings down. This is because they’ve taken a mobile-first indexing approach in recent years, so they’ll always assess the mobile version of your site before the desktop one.

A developer can build you a layout that adapts well to all screen sizes and devices. SEO strategy, meanwhile, will make sure that the mobile content is just as relevant and user-friendly as the desktop version. Together, they’ll get your site up and running for the modern web in no time flat.

Clean Code Helps Search Engines Understand Your Site

Even the smartest search engines will still need help understanding what’s on your website. That’s why you can’t skip out on clean, well-structured code. If your site’s HTML is messy or inconsistent, it can confuse search engines and make it harder for your pages to rank correctly.

Proper use of things like header tags (H1, H2, etc.), alt text for images, and structured data helps search engines scan your content efficiently and interpret it correctly. A good developer will make sure these elements are implemented correctly, while SEO best practices ensure that your website is using them in meaningful ways. It’s a quiet collaboration that can make a big difference to your visibility online.

Technical SEO Needs Developer Support

The parts of SEO happening behind the scenes are just as important as those you can see working upfront. Aspects like setting up XML sitemaps, configuring your robots.txt file, implementing canonical tags, or adding structured data all help search engines crawl and understand your site more effectively. These aren’t tasks you can usually tick off in a content management system without a bit of technical know-how.

That’s where your web developer becomes your best friend. They can properly set up and maintain all these back-end elements for you, so you’re not accidentally blocking important pages from search engines or sending mixed signals about your site structure. It’s not glamorous work, but you need it if you want your SEO strategy to actually get results.

Good UX Means Better Engagement (and SEO)

If visitors land on your site and don’t know where to go, they’re unlikely to stick around no matter how good your content is. A confusing layout, broken links, or cluttered navigation will just send users heading for the exit. And when that happens, your bounce rate goes up… and your rankings can go down.

Search engines pay attention to how people interact with your site. A clean design and intuitive, logical navigation encourage people to explore and engage. While developers focus on creating a smooth, functional user experience, your SEO strategy should make the content clear, relevant, and easy to find. The result? Visitors who are happy to spend extended amounts of time on your site and also more likely to take action while they’re there.

A strong website isn’t built by code or keywords alone. When SEO and web development work together, you’ll get a site that performs, attracts, and converts like a dream. We at Author Digital think every business should benefit from the perfect synergy of these two key elements, and we’d be glad to make that happen for you. Reach out to us for top-tier advice and attentive service today!

A note

Henry Blackwell

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director

How to Optimise Your Website for Local SEO and Google Maps Ranking

If you’ve ever Googled something like “best fish and chips near me,” then you’ve already seen local SEO in action. Local search engine optimisation (SEO) is all about helping businesses appear in search results when people are looking for products or services in a specific area. One key part of this is how your business shows up on Google Maps—because let’s face it, if you’re not on the map (literally), there’s a good chance your potential customers will end up taking their business somewhere else.

Getting noticed locally isn’t just a nice bonus—it can help your business make big waves in your local community. Small businesses in particular need strong local SEO and good placement on Google Maps to keep foot traffic steady from day to day. You’ll also find that people are often ready to take action when searching locally. After all, they’re always happy to book a service they need, visit an interesting-looking shop, or make a quick decision on where to eat. When you make your business easy to find online and ensure it leaves a reliable impression when it pops up, you’re already ahead of a good chunk of the competition.

So, what can you actually do to improve your visibility in local search results and on Google Maps? The good news is that you don’t need to be a tech wizard to get results. This feature will walk you through some practical, no-fuss tips to help your website and business stand out where it matters most—right in your own backyard.

Create Localised Website Content

While there’s no need to mention your suburb five times on every page, weaving in local references can work wonders for your rankings. Creating content that reflects your neighbourhood, your city, or the areas you serve tells Google that your business is rooted in a real location—and that’s exactly what local searchers are looking for.

Think of it this way: New Zealand cities each have their own character, so it only makes sense for Auckland digital marketing content to differ from the content that businesses in Dunedin and other parts of the country produce. Try writing blog posts about local events, customer stories, or services. Even simple tweaks—like naming the suburb on your homepage or having location-specific landing pages—can help. Just keep it natural. You’re not trying to trick search engines; you’re helping them understand where you operate and who you’re for.

Claim and Optimise Your Google Business Profile

Imagine walking past a shop with no signage, no opening hours, and no suggestion of what’s inside. You’d probably keep moving, right? The same logic applies online, as you can basically think of your Google Business Profile as your digital shopfront. Claiming it is step one in making sure people actually find you, and know what to expect when they do.

Once you’ve claimed your profile, filling it out with correct and complete information is going to do wonders for your online presence. Choose the most accurate business category, add your location, phone number, and website, and upload high-quality images that reflect your brand. It’s also a good idea to use the “Posts” feature to share updates, promotions, or events. A well-maintained profile helps you show up in local results and signals to Google that your business is active and trustworthy.

Ensure Your NAP Information Is Consistent Everywhere

Say you run a business named “Joe’s Bakery,” but one listing shows you as ‘Joes Bakery Ltd’ and another as ‘Joes Bakery’. These variations might seem really minor, but even tiny inconsistencies in your business information can damage your local search credibility. If your name, address, or phone number (also commonly known as NAP information) is even slightly different across multiple platforms, search engines might not realise it’s all the same business.

Quick audits of the places where your business appears online are always a good idea, just to stay on the safe side. It’s well worth it to go over your website, social media, local directories, and anywhere else you’ve been listed. You want your NAP info to match exactly, right down to abbreviations and punctuation. The more consistent you are, the more legit you’ll look to Google. In the process, you’ll also keep potential customers from getting confused—or worse, lost.

Get Backlinks from Local Sites

Backlinks—other websites linking to yours—act like online votes of confidence. But when those links come from local sources, they’re even more valuable for improving your local search ranking. It tells Google that your business matters not only generally but specifically in your area.

The good thing is that you don’t need a viral campaign just to get noticed. You can start by reaching out to local bloggers, collaborating with community groups, or getting involved in events where your business could be mentioned. Even sponsoring a neighbourhood sports team or charity drive could earn you a link from their website. No matter what kind of business you run, it’s always worth it to build local connections both on and offline.

Collect and Respond to Reviews

A glowing five-star review can do more than boost your ego—it can bump up your rankings too. Google values businesses with regular, authentic reviews because they show that customers trust and are happy to engage with these companies. The more genuine feedback you receive, the more credible you appear in local search results.

Given this, there’s no shame at all in encouraging happy customers to leave a review, maybe through a follow-up email or a friendly sign at the counter. Just as important: respond to those reviews, good or bad. People will appreciate it if you thank them for their kind words, and even more if you address complaints calmly and constructively. It shows you’re paying attention and that you’re the kind of business that people want to support.

When you make it easier for customers to find and trust your business, you’re paving the way for them to have a good experience and stick around for more. Need a hand getting your foot in the door on Google Maps? We at Author Digital would love to give you a hand. Let’s talk about how our digital marketing services can help make your business a community mainstay both online and on the streets.

A note

Henry Blackwell

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director

Key Tips to Strengthen Your Brand Identity Through Consistent Web Design

While “good” web design can include many things, consistency is the one thing it should always have. Online businesses these days typically operate over multiple channels, including their own e-commerce site, third-party marketplaces, and possibly even dedicated mobile apps. No matter where your business is, your customers must always be able to recognise it at a glance.

Without consistency, it becomes significantly harder for your customers to trust you. Not necessarily because they think you’re sketchy but because they simply don’t understand what to make of you when they see you. Once every landing page, call to action, social media profile, and touchpoint is aligned with your visual brand, you can expect your credibility and conversions to improve.

Let’s be clear — maintaining consistency across your entire online presence isn’t easy. Setting your brand apart in all the right ways requires finesse and an intimate understanding of your market. If you primarily deal with a domestic audience, engaging with web design services in New Zealand can give you better results than more generic solutions.

That said, once you’ve got the right people, it’s time to get down to business. Let’s break down some key ways you can use consistent web design to strengthen your brand.

1. Start With Your Story and Brand Values

Before you fix your web design, you need to have a solid definition of what your brand is all about. This may mean revisiting your brand’s story and its reasons for existing. If your business has been around a while, you’ll also need to look at what your customers feel about your business. Once you’ve fully defined your brand, making the right web design decisions will become so much easier.

2. Create a Visual Identity System

Your logo, colours, icons, and other visual elements should form a defined system. They should never be just a random mix of things you fancy. Pick consistent shapes, styles, and layout patterns across all your online and offline assets so that you can build and maintain a familiar user experience wherever you go.

These elements can’t be just “close enough” either. For instance, you want to use the exact same colours and font systems across your entire brand, not just things that look similar. All these choices must be compiled into a brand guidelines document, and any updates should be intentional. This brings us to our next tip.

3. Be Intentional With Your Brand Fonts and Colours

Fonts and colours are more than aesthetic choices, since they can also evoke very specific emotions. What’s more, fonts and colours are front and centre in your copy and web design, possibly even more than your logos.

As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to choose a small set of colours and fonts and use them consistently. Work with experienced designers so that your choices pass readability and accessibility tests that won’t get in the way of your conversions.

4. Use Repetition Without Being Repetitive

The goal here is to build “visual familiarity” without being dull or fatiguing your audience. We already mentioned using the same fonts and colours, but this also applies to other visual elements that you might use online. Keeping consistent patterns, iconography, or layout blocks can make different parts of your site feel connected, which ultimately builds recognition and trust in your brand.

5. Develop a Copy Writing Style That Matches Your Visual Design

Copywriting and visual design must be able to fit like a glove. At the most basic, your web copy should avoid the dreaded “wall-of-text” effect commonly seen on amateur websites. When in doubt, go with clear, concise copy and a tone that matches your visual elements’ personality.

6. Prioritise the Typical User Experience (UX)

If you have a traditional brick-and-mortar business, building your brand identity can be a straightforward affair. People might walk into your shop and buy something just because it looks nice or the ambience seems right. Online businesses, however, have slightly different concerns. You’ve got a fraction of a second to make an impression before a visitor clicks off to your competitor.

While you do want a good-looking site, it’s best to first focus on proven UX elements like site speed, navigation, and CTAs. Consistency in these areas avoids frustration, makes things easier to find, and creates a sense of comfort, boosting both trust and conversions. At the end of the day, no one ever complained about a website being “too easy to use.”

7. Design With Mobile Responsiveness in Mind

While websites are usually designed and coded on desktops, most users access them over mobile devices. Even in cases where customers convert over desktop, chances are they first found and explored the site over their mobile devices. Knowing that, make sure your site design adjusts elegantly to different screens so that it maintains consistent visuals and performance. If you also have a mobile app, the user interface and visual design should also be fully aligned with your web experience.

We’ll Make Your Brand’s Pieces Fit—From Logo to Landing Page

Brand identities are more than just logos or standard sets of colours. If businesses were people, brand identities would be their personalities. As with real people, personalities matter a great deal for everything from making good first impressions to owning a conversation.

Of course, brand identities often need to do much more. They need to convince people to hand over their money. Not an easy feat when there are now millions of other businesses trying to do the same. Bring the technical aspects of web design to the mix and things start to get really dicey.

Author Digital can help you overcome these challenges, leaving you with a brand identity and web design language that works for your business and its customers. We build systems that fuse design, strategy, and performance, so your leads don’t just admire your website, they turn into loyal brand advocates. Contact our team to discuss what’s next in your branding and web design journeys.

A note

Henry Blackwell

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director

9 Web Typography Best Practices That Can Help Streamline Your Website

When was the last time you thought about typography? Perhaps it’s been a long time, unless you’re a designer or the kind of person who notices when fonts clash like a bad fashion choice. But the way words look on your website should certainly concern you, especially if the website is integral to your business operations. More than just making words look pretty, typography is about making your website readable, engaging, and easy to navigate. After all, no one sticks around on a site that makes their eyes hurt.

Clearly, you want visitors to actually read what you have to say and not just bounce the moment they land on your page. To that end, here are some web typography best practices that a professional web development services provider will implement to make your site look polished and professional —without putting anyone to sleep.

Pick Fonts That Are Actually Readable

Sure, that fancy script font looks stunning, but if people have to squint to read your content, you’ve already lost them. Because of that, it’s a good idea to steer clear of serif fonts. Why? The golden rule in typography: stick to clean, legible fonts that don’t require a magnifying glass to be legible.

Sans-serif fonts like Arial, Helvetica, and Roboto are great choices because they’re crisp, modern, and easy on the eyes. These qualities make them a breeze to read, allowing users to quickly understand your message. That said, don’t be afraid to explore other fonts that match your brand’s personality—just make sure they’re clear enough that your readers don’t feel like they’re deciphering ancient scrolls.

Don't Go Overboard with Fonts

Using a different font for every heading, subheading, and paragraph might seem like a fun way to spice things up. In reality, however, it just makes your site look chaotic.

The best practice is to stick to two, maybe three complementary fonts—one for headings, one for body text, and an optional accent font if you must. Seriously, less is more when it comes to the variety of fonts used on your website. Also, keep font weights consistent to maintain a sleek and professional look.

Guide the Reader's Eyes by Creating a Clear Hierarchy

Keep in mind that your visitors don’t want to work hard to figure out where to look first. They want the process of exploring your website to be as intuitive as possible. Help them out by using a clear typographic hierarchy. That means:

Headings should be bold and bigger so they stand out.
Subheadings should be slightly smaller but still noticeable to guide readers through sections.
Body text should be clear and easy to follow because this is where the real value is.

When done right, hierarchy helps people scan your content quickly and find what they need without feeling even a tinge of confusion or frustration.

Give Your Text Some Breathing Room

Ever tried reading a website where the lines of text are crammed together like sardines? It’s exhausting. Proper line spacing or leading makes your text more digestible and stops readers from abandoning ship. Ideally, set your line height to 1.4 to 1.6 times the font size. This keeps things easy on the eyes and encourages people to actually keep reading.

Letter Spacing Matters More Than You Think

If your letters are too close together, your text starts looking like one giant, unreadable blob. Too far apart, and it starts feeling disjointed. When you’re deciding the details of your body text, make sure to keep letter spacing or tracking balanced. For headings, a slight tweak in spacing can make them pop just enough to grab attention.

No One Likes a Mess, so Be Sure to Align Your Text Properly

Left, centre, or right? Here’s the deal:

Left-aligned text is the best choice for readability because it follows natural reading patterns.
Centred text works for headlines, short phrases, or quotes. However, using this alignment too much can make text hard to read.
Right-aligned text is tricky. It’s best to use it only for design accents, never for long-form content.

Consistency is key to get it right, so set standards for yourself when deciding on text alignment. Don’t randomly switch alignments, as doing so will only confuse your readers and make your site feel disorganised.

Make Sure There's Enough Contrast Between Text and Background

You want your website to be easily accessible to all types of customers and clients. Poor contrast can keep you from achieving this goal. If visitors have to strain their eyes to read white text on a light grey background (or neon yellow on electric blue—please don’t), they’ll give up quickly.

Stick to high-contrast colour combos like dark text on a light background or vice versa. If you want to use subtle or creative colours, make sure they’re still readable—otherwise, all that effort in crafting great content will go to waste.

Ensure Your Typography Works on All Devices

People are browsing your site from all sorts of screens, like desktops, tablets, and smartphones. If your text is too tiny or doesn’t adjust properly, users will get frustrated fast and look for alternatives that are easier to look at. Instead of using fixed pixel sizes, opt for relative units like em or rem so the text scales appropriately across devices. This way, no matter what screen someone’s using, your content remains clear and accessible.

Use ALL CAPS Sparingly (Unless You Want to Yell at Your Readers)

All-caps text can be useful, and it’s great for short headings, call-to-action buttons, or branding elements. But for body text? Not so much. Reading long sentences in all caps feels like someone is shouting at you the entire time. So, keep it for emphasis only and stick to sentence case or title case for the rest.

Wrapping It Up

Good typography isn’t just about making your website look nice—it’s about making sure people can actually read and enjoy your content. A clean, well-structured font choice and layout can make all the difference in keeping visitors engaged and coming back for more.

So, take a step back and look at your website’s typography. Is it easy to read? Does it feel inviting? If not, now’s the time to make some adjustments. And if you need help fine-tuning things, a professional web designer like Author Digital can always help you strike the perfect balance between style and readability. Get in touch with our team so we can offer you bespoke options.

A note

Henry Blackwell

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director

The Business Impact of SEO: How Small Investments Can Lead to Big Returns

These days, digital marketing conversations are buzzing with talk of social media and paid ads. But there’s one underrated powerhouse strategy that often gets overlooked—SEO. Some businesses see it as an extra cost, something only the big players can afford. But here’s the truth: even small investments in SEO can pay off massively over time.

Unlike paid ads, SEO doesn’t need constant spending to keep delivering results. It also builds long-term digital equity, giving your brand visibility that lasts long after you’ve stopped spending . The better SEO services in New Zealand know how to seamlessly weave optimisations into your overall marketing strategy, making sure every pound you spend works harder for you.

Yet, for a multitude of reasons, businesses hesitate. “Is SEO really worth it?” “Doesn’t it take ages to see results?” While SEO does require patience, the long-term gains make it well worth the effort. Even small, consistent tweaks—like refining your website’s structure, publishing high-quality content, and optimising keywords—can significantly improve visibility and conversions.

Let’s dive into how even modest SEO investments can completely transform your business.

1. SEO Gives You Lasting Visibility and Credibility

The simple truth of it all is that social media posts come and go, while paid ads disappear the moment you stop spending. When you think about it in this light, SEO is an investment that keeps on giving.

When you optimise your site, you’re doing way more than just sliding in a couple of keywords. You’re crafting an experience that’s valuable to visitors. Search engines take notice when users engage with your content and when reputable sites link back to you. That’s how you climb the search engine results pages (SERPs) and attract organic traffic without spending a fortune on ads.

And here’s the best part. Overall, users trust organic search results more than paid ones. If your site ranks highly, you’re automatically seen as more credible. Over time, this trust leads to more clicks, higher conversions, and long-term customer loyalty.

2. SEO is a Cost-Effective Way to Attract Leads

A well-optimised website pulls in organic traffic without the need for constant ad spend. Once your site is fine-tuned, you’ll see a steady rise in visitors without paying for every single click.

Unlike pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns that stop working the moment you pull the plug, SEO-driven traffic sticks around. Even better, SEO helps you connect with high-intent users—people actively searching for what you offer. These leads are far more likely to convert compared to those coming from outbound tactics like cold calls or display ads.

And that’s just the start. If you invest in areas like link building and content marketing, your lead generation potential becomes virtually limitless.

3. A Well-Optimised Site Creates a Better User Experience

Think SEO is just about climbing the SERP rankings? Think again! Investing in SEO also improves your website’s user experience.

Search engines are products, which means they must offer a good experience to retain users. To secure their user bases, market leaders like Google and Bing must prioritise fast-loading, mobile-friendly, well-structured sites. When you optimise your website, you’re not just helping search engines, you’re also making your site more enjoyable for real people to use.

A smoother experience means lower bounce rates, better engagement, and happier visitors. And when people love being on your site, they’re more likely to stick around, buy from you, and recommend you to others.

4. SEO Supercharges Your Other Marketing Efforts

No other digital marketing approach complements other marketing efforts quite like SEO. Your social media campaigns, email marketing, and paid ads can all benefit from a strong SEO foundation.

For example, well-optimised blog content can be repurposed for newsletters, social media posts, and e-books. SEO insights can fine-tune your PPC campaigns, helping you target the right keywords and lower your ad costs. And a well-structured, user-friendly website that ranks on Google also supports better conversion rates across all marketing channels. In short, SEO makes every marketing dollar go further.

5. Even Small SEO Efforts Give You a Competitive Edge

Many businesses either don’t fully understand SEO or see it as too much effort. This gives you a golden opportunity to get ahead.

SEO isn’t a passing trend, as some people may assume. As long as people use search engines to find things they’re looking for, the underlying principles of SEO will remain essential. Even social media algorithms use search behaviour to tailor content to users. Investing in SEO ensures your business stays visible, no matter how digital trends evolve.

And the best part? SEO benefits compound over time. The more quality backlinks you earn, the more authority you build. The more useful content you create, the more people (and search engines) trust you. And unlike paid ads, the more effort you put in, the harder it is for competitors to catch up.

Build Authority, Visibility, and Trust for the Long Haul

The best thing about SEO is that you don’t need a massive budget to see good results. With small, consistent investments, you can grow your brand’s authority, improve conversions, and secure a lasting online presence.

We specialise in strategic SEO solutions tailored to your business goals. Our team is ready to draw from their diverse digital marketing experience and deep technical know-how to optimise your online assets in ways that directly meet your goals. Get in touch to learn how we can secure your brand’s lasting online presence.

A note

Henry Blackwell

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director

Understanding the Importance of Consistent Branding in Web Design

Do you ever feel like it’s getting harder and harder to do business these days? Modern markets are more competitive and crowded than they’ve ever been, and it feels like a miracle when a business manages to do more than just stay afloat.

If you’ve ever wondered how successful companies do it, most will say branding is one of the strongest tools in their arsenal. A consistent brand image does a lot to help customers remember you and encourage them to check out what you’ve got on offer. You build this image by bringing together all sorts of different elements—from your brand’s logos and colour schemes to the tone of its written content, just to name a few.

No matter what sort of business you run, you’ll find your website is going to be one of the most important spaces for maintaining consistent branding. It’s usually the first place where potential customers encounter your business, after all. And this means that every aspect of it needs to show your customers what makes you special. You want a site that your users love to visit and spend time on–one that they’ll recommend enthusiastically to people they know.

Whether you’re building your website in-house or have enlisted professional web design services in New Zealand to help you, you have everything to gain from learning more about why consistent branding matters so much in web design. Here’s what it can do for your website:

Build Brand Recognition

People will have an easier time recognising and remembering your brand if they always see it presented in the same way. Now, this doesn’t mean constantly beating them over the head with the same content and messages. It’s more about exposing them repeatedly to memorable design elements that they can associate with you—like specific colour schemes, logos, and typography. If these aspects are uniform across all your website’s pages, you’ll stand out from the crowd in an instant. One study by Forbes even says that using consistent branding elements can boost brand recognition for companies by as much as 80%!

Establishes Credibility and Trustworthiness

Think about it: would you want to interact at all with a website that had clashing colours, an unstructured layout, or multiple different logos? Seems fishy, doesn’t it? At best, it suggests inexperience; at worst, it signals trustworthiness.

In contrast, a polished, professional-looking website with strong branding is a major green flag for most internet users. It sends the message that they’re dealing with a legitimate business—one that pays close attention to details and cares about quality.

Enhances User Experience

Consistent branding in web design goes beyond visual elements and also includes aspects that affect user experience (UX), like your website’s layout and navigation systems. Users love it when elements like menus and buttons look and function consistently across different pages. They also like seeing content formatted in the same way across pages, too, as it makes for a fully seamless experience. When you apply these principles to your site design, you make it a breeze for your visitors to find whatever information they’re searching for. Don’t be surprised if many end up staying longer when they discover what a pleasure your site is to use.

Improves SEO and Digital Presence

The consistency of your branding also helps determine how well your site performs on search engine optimisation (SEO) rankings. Search engines are programmed to bump up websites that give users a positive experience, and they do this mainly by monitoring user behaviour. If a site’s users are exploring lots of different pages, interacting with their content a lot, and just generally spending a lot of time there, it’ll probably nab a spot high up in the search rankings. That makes an even stronger case for a visually coherent, user-friendly website, don’t you think?

Simplifies Future Design and Expansion

Your business will evolve over time—and your website should too. Occasionally, you’ll need to update or expand it. You might have to add some new product pages, say, or start a blog. The better-defined your brand identity is, the easier it will be for you to get these things done without disrupting the site’s overall look and feel. On top of that, you’ll sidestep the risk of introducing any clashing elements and implement needed changes smoothly, even as your business evolves.

Make Digital Marketing Easier and More Cost-Effective

It’s possible for your digital marketing efforts to extend beyond your website and include email marketing, online advertisements, and social media campaigns—just to name a few. These efforts need to align well with your website’s branding, however, if you want them to really soar. You don’t want your audience second-guessing your credibility because your social media pages or ads look so drastically different from your main site.

There’s plenty of practical value to be had as well from aligning your branding across all your digital marketing channels. Want to keep your branding consistent? Then you’ll probably end up having to make guidelines, templates, and even reusable assets that your team can adapt easily for different platforms. You won’t need to waste precious time and money on creating new materials from scratch every time you launch a new campaign.

It might seem like a lot of work to put together a cohesive, well-branded website, but we promise that any effort you put in now will pay off in spades in the long run. There’s also no need to do it all on your own, as Author Digital is right here to take care of the nuts and bolts of web design for you. We’d love to have a chat about how to make your website the perfect online face for your brand, so don’t hesitate to contact us.

A note

Henry Blackwell

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director

Why Every Business Needs a Multi-Channel Digital Marketing Strategy

Remember when advertising depended on traditional media like print ads and radio or TV commercials? Well, those days are long gone. Customers today interact with brands on more platforms than ever–and it’s up to businesses everywhere to meet these people where they are. Confine your brand to just one or two marketing avenues, and you’ll inevitably miss out on the golden opportunities waiting for you out there.

The solution? Multi-channel marketing.

As its name suggests, multi-channel marketing is a contemporary approach to marketing that involves promoting your brand on lots of different platforms. Ideally, you want to build your marketing strategy around a healthy mix of both online and offline channels—think social media, emails, events, and good old physical storefronts. This way, your brand is always on customers’ minds, wherever they go and whatever they do.

Still unsure why you should adopt a multi-channel digital marketing strategy? Let’s take a deeper dive into the many benefits this innovative approach can bring to just about any business.

You'll Reach More Customers

A few years back, it might have been enough for customers to just check out a few sources for information on a product, but that approach won’t fly with today’s consumers. In fact, many will now hop between different devices and platforms to learn more about your brand before they buy anything. Some will also like certain platforms and communication methods better than others. This means that the more channels you’re on, the more opportunities you have to connect with different audience segments.

Why does multi-channel work so well for broadening your business’s reach? It sets you up in places where your customers are already active and comfortable. They’ll get to encounter your brand organically, without making extra effort to search for it. Sure, not every customer will choose to buy something from you at the first point of contact—say, a Facebook or YouTube ad. But you can be confident that your chances of converting them will only improve as they see more of you elsewhere.

You'll Build Brand Loyalty

It’s rare for a customer to choose a random brand they heard of once in the wild over one that they’re familiar with. Engaging your customers consistently across multiple channels is a surefire way to earn their trust and secure their business. If they like you, chances are they’ll keep coming back and even recommend you to others in their network.

Keep in mind that multi-channel marketing isn’t just a great way for building a rapport with new customers—it’s ideal for retaining your existing customers as well. This is a group of people that actively wants opportunities to communicate and interact with you. Make it easy for them to do so, and you’ll be opening doors to long-term, fruitful customer relationships.

Your Business Will Be More Adaptive

The world of digital marketing keeps businesses constantly on their toes by design. Every day, you’ll see algorithms and consumer behaviours changing. Social media platforms that everyone used to love can decline without warning and new ones can spring up pretty much overnight to take their place. If your business fails to adapt to these changes, you’ll find yourself losing your competitive edge faster than you can blink.

Luckily for you, multi-channel marketing is super-adaptable, especially if you choose to work with an expert partner. Digital marketing agencies are forever studying industry trends and excel at pivoting agilely whenever the need arises. Whenever they spot a new opportunity you can take advantage of or a challenge you have to sidestep, they’ll have the know-how needed to work a change of strategy into your larger marketing plan.

You Can Customise Your Messaging

A good multi-channel marketing strategy will always do more than just bombard your audience with the same ads everywhere they look. Different platforms play host to different types of content, and the users themselves will also be looking for something unique from each one.

The best way to make these differences work to your advantage? Tailor your marketing materials according to what the platform does best. Your brand’s Instagram page is the best place for stunning product photos, for instance, but YouTube is probably a better home for in-depth video content like tutorials and demonstrations.

You'll Gain Valuable Customer Insights

The last thing you want to do is to approach marketing like you’re playing a guessing game. Multi-channel marketing gives you access to a treasure trove of data from every touchpoint, which you can then use to determine how well your campaigns are doing and what you need to improve upon. Think beyond basic indicators like website traffic and sales figures. Metrics like website traffic, social media interactions, email open rates, and event attendance all have something important to say about how your audience engages with your brand.

Wondering how to unlock the full power of multi-channel marketing? Author Digital is here to make sure your business doesn’t have to go it alone. We’re experienced at designing bespoke digital marketing strategies for businesses of any size, and we’ll gladly help your venture take the digital world by storm. Get in touch with us for a consultation today!

A note

Henry Blackwell

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director

Understanding Customer Behaviour Through Marketing Data Analytics

What does it really mean to know your customers? If your business is the only game in town, intuition might be enough. You see your customers every day, chat with them, and understand what they need. They might have complaints or misgivings, but they may not be able to leave you.

But in today’s choice-filled consumer markets, businesses don’t have that luxury, especially if they have their hands full managing their own growth. So how do you keep pace with your customers as your business grows? The answer may lie in marketing data analytics.
Importantly, data analytics doesn’t just tell you what’s happening right now. It also helps you predict what your customers will want next. That’s why major corporations rely on it to make billion-dollar decisions.

But here’s the great news: you don’t need a massive budget to make marketing data work for you. With the right approach, businesses of all sizes can use analytics to create seamless, personalised experiences that keep customers coming back.

The Challenges of Understanding Customer Behaviour Through Data

Most business owners know data analytics is valuable, but getting started can feel overwhelming. Where do you collect data? How do you organise it? What do you even do with all that information?

First, you need to gather data from multiple sources. This can include your website, social media, email campaigns, and direct customer interactions. But the tricky part is that it all has to be accurate, useful, and collected in line with data privacy laws.

The next challenge is making sense of it all. Sorting through mountains of data, filtering out irrelevant information, and figuring out what actually matters can be a time-consuming nightmare.

This is where digital marketing services NZ businesses trust make a difference. The best agencies don’t just throw buzzwords and automation tools at your problem. They will sit down with you to figure out how best to transition your business into today’s data-driven paradigm. They’ll help you sift through data noise to extract meaningful insights and craft information-driven campaigns. In other words, they can help you skip the frustrating trial-and-error phase and fast-track your way to better results.

Key Metrics to Analyse Customer Behaviour

Once you’ve got your analytics set up, it’s time to track the numbers that matter. Not all data is equally useful, so focusing on the right metrics will give you a clear picture of what’s working and what’s not.

1. Conversion Rate

Your conversion rate tells you how many people visiting a given webpage take an action that moves them down the sales funnel. Conversions can mean purchases, but they can also be sign-ups for a newsletter, filled-out contact forms. Tracking this across different channels helps you see which marketing efforts are bringing in real results and which ones are a drain on your resources.

2. Engagement Metrics

Sales are the ultimate goal, but engagement can be just as crucial. Engaged customers are more likely to remember your brand and come back later to be converted. Pay attention to click-through rates, time spent on your site or in your physical store, and social media interactions to gauge how well your content is resonating with your audience.

3. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

This reveals how much you are spending to get a new customer. A high CAC might mean your marketing isn’t as efficient as it could be. Lower CACs are generally better since they imply you’re bringing in customers without spending a fortune.

4. Churn Rate

Getting customers is one thing but keeping them is another. If people are buying once and never returning, your churn rate will be high, pointing toward a potential problem. A high churn rate could mean there’s something about your product, service, or experience that needs improvement. Low churn and continued engagement, on the other hand, means happy customers who are likely to stick around for the long haul.

5. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) & Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Numbers are great, but sometimes you need to hear from customers directly. CSAT and NPS surveys let you measure how happy people are with your business and how likely they are to recommend you to others. Good scores in these surveys mean you’re probably on the right track.

Drive Your Business Forward With Better Marketing Data Analytics

Intuition alone isn’t enough anymore. It’s subjective, prone to bias, and virtually impossible to scale in today’s limitless markets. At the same time, data analytics won’t replace intuition entirely—after all, markets are deeply human systems driven by emotions as much as they are by logic. For all the technology used to streamline marketing, human insight still remains invaluable.

In today’s market environments, combining intuition, data-driven insights, and real-world experience is the key to staying ahead. That’s where we come in.

Our team of strategists, analysts, and marketers offers years of collective digital marketing experience, formidable technical expertise, as well as a nuanced understanding of NZ’s diverse markets—just what you need to turn data into measurable growth. Get in touch to discuss your business’s information-driven future.

A note

Henry Blackwell

This skill set allows me to deliver systematic customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.”

– Director