Unlock the Secrets to Selling Real Estate on the Costa del Sol

Introducing “Sell Property Like Crazy”, a powerful, battle-tested marketing guide specifically tailored for real estate agencies operating in the luxury property market of Southern Spain.

Why This Guide is a Game-Changer

The Costa del Sol real estate market is unique. Seasonal fluctuations, fierce competition, regulatory changes, and shifting buyer demographics (especially post-Brexit) make it a tough arena. This guide cuts through the noise with proven strategies adapted from the world’s most successful sales and marketing techniques—customized just for you.

Our latest articles:

• The 8 Digital Marketing Trends That Will Define 2026: A Complete Strategy Guide
• Top 5 Pain Points for Costa del Sol Real Estate Agencies in Online Marketing
• Unlock the Secrets to Selling Real Estate Like Crazy on the Costa del Sol
• How to Choose the Best Digital Marketing Agencies for Your Business
• Real Estate Lead Generation: Proven Techniques for Success

Unlock the Secrets to Selling Real Estate: What You’ll Learn

• The Costa del Sol Challenge: Understand the market’s unique hurdles and how to overcome them.
• The Billionaire Real Estate Mindset: Discover how top agencies focus on high-impact activities that drive the majority of their revenue.
• Targeted Marketing for International Buyers: Learn how to craft messages that resonate with British, Scandinavian, German, and Middle Eastern buyers.
• Your #1 Job as an Agency Owner: Shift your focus from just managing properties to mastering marketing and sales.
• The Ultimate Client Acquisition System: Build a predictable, scalable system to attract and convert your dream buyers.
• A 90-Day Action Plan: Step-by-step guidance to build, launch, and optimize your lead generation and sales system.

Why You Can’t Afford to Miss This

Most agencies fail because they lack a consistent, profitable sales system. This guide empowers you to create one—turning your agency from unpredictable and stressful to dominant and thriving. It’s not just about selling properties; it’s about selling your agency’s services with precision and impact.

Ready to Transform Your Real Estate Business?

Download the “Sell Property Like Crazy” guide today and start implementing strategies that will revolutionize your agency’s growth on the Costa del Sol.

For more information or to discuss how to apply these strategies in your agency, contact FML Marketing at +34 6 50 80 12 43 or services@fmlmarketing.com.

The post Unlock the Secrets to Selling Real Estate Like Crazy on the Costa del Sol appeared first on FML Marketing.

Web Design and CMS: Choose a SEO-friendly system with our 10 checkpoints

Therefore, we have this checklist with the 10 most important SEO (Search Engine Optimization) features for your website,

1. Clean URLs

Clean URLS are important. You look at a website and see for example the url www.tweedomein.nl/ index4.php?option=en_content&do_pdf=1&id=5. That looks awful. It is certainly not clean. It is cheap.
A (clean) URL should have a descriptive character. Both a search engine and a user can read from a URL what a web page is about. A good URL for example is www.tweedomein.nl/pagina-met-8-tips.
In a good CMS, a user can write or modify this clean URL himself. Pay attention to this when purchasing a CMS. If you see such a cheap url, stop judging the CMS immediately. This is really very bad. Usually there are other things wrong with the CMS.

2. URL for the homepage

If you are on the homepage of a site (e.g. www.yourdomain.nl) click on the home button in the navigation bar. You are probably wondering why. Sometimes you will see that the url then changes to www.eendomein.nl/index.htm. In another homepage so…
This actually means that there are 2 homepages: www.yourdomain.nl and for example www.yourdomain.nl/index.html.
And if Google sees 2 homepages (because that’s what happens) then that’s not ideal. Why is that not ideal? Because Google doesn’t like duplicate URLs with the same content. Google prefers single URLs.
That is why it is important that you choose a CMS that doesn’t have this problem of double homepages.

3. Title tags can be filled in separately

Do you want to improve your SEO with title tags? The title tag is important for Google. It is pleasant for search engine optimisation (SEO) if you can fill in the title tag (the title of the page at the top of the browser) yourself in the CMS. In some CMSs the title tag is generated automatically. But that is not allowed. At least, that is not SEO friendly
In a good CMS you as a user fill in the title tag. Why should I do this? Because you can put your important keywords in it.

4. Heading tags + visual editor for pages

A bit reasonable CMS provides the possibility to add heading tags. Examples of heading tags are H1, H2 and Hx tags.
A heading tag is actually no more than a title or subtitle of a web page. For example, the word “Heading tags” as a subtitle of this part is an H2.
A CMS is primarily intended to manage content, as the name suggests. A CMS should therefore be easy to use for non-technical editors, online marketers and employees of marketing and communication departments. A CMS that is built by and for developers overshoots the mark.

5. Canonical tag

In a good CMS you can enter a canonical tag on every page. A canonical tag is a preferred URL. I’m trying to explain in Pinocchio-language what this is. Earlier in this article I discussed 2 homepage URLs. www.yourdomain.nl www.yourdomain.nl/index.htm There is a problem here.
Google sees these URLs as double. What can you do about this? Set a preferred URL: you set which URL is most important. Suppose you find www.eendomein.nl most important. What you do then is the following. On the page www.yourdomain.nl/index.htm you indicate that www.yourdomain.nl is the main page.
In most cases, Google will take over this. And this in turn ensures that Google does not see pages with the same content as double.

6. Meta description

Although the meta description no longer counts for seo, it is still desirable to write a good meta description. Visitors click on an attractive title and a good meta description from the Google results.

7. Meta robots tag

A CMS must provide the possibility to enter a “meta robots tag” on every page. With a meta robots tag you can indicate whether a page can be indexed by Google or not. Sometimes you don’t want certain pages on your site to be indexed by Google. And that is possible with this tag.
A meta robot tag also has some other advantages, but this is the most important one.

8. 301 redirects + 404 page

A 301 redirect is difficult to explain to a layman. I am going to try anyway. If you change the URL (for whatever reason) then you can place a 301 redirect from the old to the new URL. Suppose you have the following URL www.yourdomain.nl/example-page.html.
You are going to change CMS and change this URL to www.yourdomain.nl/example-page.
As you can see these are 2 different URLs. Both Google and users now end up with a dead URL at www.yourdomain.nl/example-page.html.
What you do about this is the following: you create a sort of rerouting which automatically converts www.yourdomain.nl/example-page.html. to www.yourdomain.nl/example-page. This redirect has a 301 redirect and is good for SEO. An SEO-optimised CMS must have the ability to enter 301 redirects.

9. XML sitemap

In an SEO friendly CMS you can generate a dynamic XML sitemap. An XML sitemap is a page that contains all the pages of your website. As a kind of table of contents. It is an XML file that has been specially created for Google. As soon as a page disappears or is added to your site it is immediately reported to Google via the XML sitemap.

10. Alt tags with images

Google actually only reads text. That is very brief but a good rule of thumb. This means that Google does not read images. What Google can read, however, are alto texts in images. Alt texts are very important for search engine optimisation because an alt text indicates what an image is about.

The post 10 tips for an SEO friendly CMS (Content Management System) appeared first on FML Marketing.

The advantages of setting up an e-commerce website

Easy to use

Nowadays, ease of use is playing an increasingly important role among consumers. Of course, it is much easier to order products from behind your computer than visiting different shops to find the right product. With the internet, it is possible to order products without leaving the house and the internet has a huge assortment. Because of the large number of webshops on offer, the chance of success for consumers is many times greater. If, in addition to a webshop for desktop, a website for mobile or tablet is also created, the convenience for the customer is increased even further. This, in turn, has a positive effect on the traffic that is drawn to the site.

E-commerce in Europe: 60% buys online

Online shopping had already become more popular throughout the European Union over the years. Partly due to increased use of the Internet and improved security standards. But driven by the measures taken to contain the coronavirus, eCommerce has recently taken quite a breakthrough. Eurostat does not yet show these figures, so we have to do with the 2019 stats. It shows that six out of ten people in the European Union, aged between 16 and 74, shopped online last year. By way of comparison: a year earlier, that percentage was 4 percentage points lower, at 56 percent. And compared to ten years ago, the share has even almost doubled, from 32 per cent in 2009.

Opportunity for unknown brands

Where the big brands are mainly about brand awareness, this is not the case with e-commerce. It is much more important to attract visitors to the website than to generate brand awareness. In addition, many large webshops now also offer a partner program. As a small supplier of, for example, clothing or electronics products, you can pre-purchase on the site of the large webshop. In Holland,  leading webshop such as Bol.com and internationally Zalando.nl and Amazon already work according to this principle to expand the range of products. Also Google Shopping can play a huge part in the success of your online business. In April 2020, Google changed its policy, allowing all online stores to advertise on the platform for free.

Google is making a significant change to its Google Shopping platform by letting any business owner that sells products online list their inventory for free. Usually, an e-commerce operation would need to pay for ad placement on Google Shopping. But the company says it will now let anyone who operates a website or manages a store on a marketplace platform list without paying. Google still plans to charge companies for top placement as promoted listings.

For more information, please visit the Google Merchant Center website.

In addition, literally and figuratively a world opens up once a webshop has been set up. Where a physical store has a relatively small reach, in a webshop the world is at your feet. Worldwide, almost everyone is a potential consumer.

Your 24/7 sales office

Because there are no opening hours, you can sell your products 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Customers sell your products

By using a webshop and allowing reviews on the website, many more potential consumers are reached than when only using a physical store. In physical stores, positive feedback will only reach people who are close to the consumer, such as family and friends. Reviews on the internet, on the other hand, reach almost all consumers who click on the product in question. These people are often interested in the product, but also how others think about the product. However, this can also have negative consequences. The same applies to negative feedback.

Low costs

Setting up an online store can be done for a fraction of the costs if compared to a physical store. There is no rent to be paid, there is less staff and the physical stock needed is smaller. The fact that marketing costs are lower can also save a lot of money. By setting up the webshop in the right way, consumer confidence is also gained. When the website looks good, the customer is more inclined to buy products and the owner of the webshop can respond much better to the wishes of the customer. It is possible to look at the number of clicks per product, the number of purchases per product or the turnover per product. This allows a webshop owner to adapt his assortment to the wishes of the customer faster. By using Search Engine Optimization, the traffic to the website can be further increased.

Security and Data of the consumer

However, it is important to protect the data of the consumer. Consumers are forced to provide a delivery address, personal information and payment details when purchasing a product. It is therefore important that this personal information is properly protected.

Starting your E-commerce website the smart way

In order to run a webshop successfully, you have to take into account many things, such as marketing, logistics and the ability to pay online. But first, you need to select your CMS (Content Management System) and E-commerce platform.

To learn more about this aspect, please read the following content thoroughly:

• What website software? Choose the best website software!
• Web Shop and Ecommerce Design
• Content: The first step to a successful website
• 9 Ways to boost your webshop
• Content Marketing Strategy: The Start to Finish guide

Ecommerce: Online Marketing is the cornerstone for your online store

In order to sell online, you need website traffic. The RIGHT website traffic that is. In order to open the gates and provide a solid stream of visitors, you need to get started with marketing. Basically, this means you need to get out of the obscurity. Sales-mogul Grant Cardone puts it brilliantly in the following video. Long story short: People do not know you! And you need to make sure they do. You need to make sure people are convinced about your product. Time to step out of the shadow and to start with online marketing.

Content marketing

Content marketing is an important part of your overall marketing strategy. A slogan like this used to be very effective. Maybe you remember it: “We from WC duck, recommend WC duck”. Nowadays this no longer works and you have to do your best to build trust with your target group. Visitors and potential customers want more, they want proof that they have really come to the right place. Content marketing helps with this.

By placing and distributing content, you create value for visitors. They are looking for certain information and you give it to them. If you do this right, you not only create engagement with your visitors, but you will soon be seen as an expert in your field. Moreover, content marketing strengthens the position of your webshop in search engines.

Of course, there are many forms of content. Below are a number of forms you can use for your webshop.

Get started with content marketing today with our FREE WINNING content strategy of 2020. Click here: The winning SEO Content Strategy of 2020

Blogs and articles

Blogging is an excellent method to share your knowledge, to inform your target group about news and to bring your web shop to the attention of your customers. Every webshop should have a blog. Share not only news about your webshop, but also background information about products, new collections and useful tips.

Videos

Not everyone likes to read (long) articles and blogs. Therefore use video as a marketing tool. For example, make videos with product reviews, show how products can be used and answer questions in videos.

Reviews

Telling yourself that you are the best no longer works (see also the video of WC duck above). Visitors are more likely to assume from your current customers that your products are good. Give customers the opportunity to share their experiences and post these reviews on your website.

Infographics

An infographic is a nice variation on your content. An infographic is an illustration that displays information in an orderly manner. It is often a combination of text and image. You can use it, for example, to explain the production process.

E-books

E-books are ideal tools to share your knowledge and expertise. Write an e-book about a subject that your target group is interested in and that matches the products you sell. You can also use this to collect more subscriptions to your newsletter.

Email marketing, indispensable in your marketing strategy

It is often thought that e-mail marketing, sending newsletters and mailings to your target group, is outdated. But nothing could be further from the truth. Of course, it is true that consumers receive an awful lot of e-mails and newsletters these days, but that does not mean that it is better not to send them.

E-mail marketing is a great way to reach your target group and customers and keep them informed about new products, promotions and other news. Moreover, if you send a regular newsletter, the reader is constantly reminded of your webshop. The moment the consumer needs something, you are top of mind.

Collecting email addresses

By placing a registration form on your website and giving visitors a reason to register, you can collect e-mail addresses, even from people who are not customers at that time. By subscribing to your newsletter they can indicate that they are interested in your products. Then use the newsletter to introduce these potential customers to your webshop and gain their trust, so that they can still make a purchase.

Offer value in your newsletter

Do not turn your newsletter into a digital advertising brochure. Take a different approach than your competitors, so that you stand out in those overflowing mailboxes. Provide tips, background information and sneak previews in your newsletter. Make something valuable out of it, that works much better than simply saying ‘these are the new products and these are this week’s offers’. Of course, you have to mention them as well, but always offer a little added value, so people will keep opening your newsletters and even look forward to them in the long run.

Social media for your webshop

The proper use of social media for your webshop can bring you enormous brand awareness, online visibility, fans and customers. But don’t underestimate it. Setting up and implementing a good social media strategy takes time and perseverance.

You don’t have to be present everywhere. Choose the channels where your target group is present and post messages that suit both the channel and your target group. On Instagram and Pinterest, for example, it’s all about the photos and you can use Facebook to share links to blogs you’ve written.

Search engine marketing

Worldwide, Google processes nearly 4 million searches per minute. Many online shoppers start their search for a particular product or for inspiration in a search engine. If you make sure that your shop scores well in search engines, that’s a great way to attract more free visitors to your shop.

There are several things that are important when you optimize your website for search engines. One of those things, which I’ve had a lot of success with last year, is adding a knowledge base to the website. Here you can share a lot of basic information. Information that is interesting for new visitors, but that doesn’t really belong on your blog. In addition, blogging ensures a better position in the search results, especially if you include relevant search terms in your articles.

Discover more about our Search Engine Marketing Sevice: Ranking within 90 days! – FML SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Google Ads

If you are not yet found well in the search engine on certain search terms, you can place advertisements in the Google advertising program: Google Ads. By advertising in Google or other search engines (SEA – Search Engine Advertising) you can attract many extra visitors to your webshop.

In the search results of Google, for example, standard places are reserved for the advertisements. In the image below you can see that the first four search results contain the abbreviation ‘Adv.’, which indicates that these are advertisements. On the right side of the screen you will also see the Google Shopping results. These are also advertisements.

Logistics

Logistics is one of the most important parts when it comes to optimising your business, especially if it’s an online shop. Sometimes we assume that everything goes well, but if you take a closer look at the figures and possibilities, you will see that you can probably perform even better. So always look for new opportunities to optimise. We explain here how you can do this best for your logistics.

Payment

As you can read, a webshop offers numerous advantages. Besides the lower costs, there is a larger market that can be tapped into, products can be sold 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and positive feedback reaches more consumers. The use of e-commerce is therefore highly recommended for companies, so increase the chances and put on that webshop!

But in order to be successful, you must ensure flexible payment options!

The post Start selling online: The advantages of e-commerce websites appeared first on FML Marketing.

We are regularly asked if we know of any sites where you can download good free stock photos. Since we’ve been in web design for roughly 10 years, we know them all, so it’s just as handy to share this information with you in this article. There’s plenty of choice in this area, but we’ve listed our personal top 6 (in random order) below for you.

Freepik

Our favourite recourse for free stock pics is for sure Freepik. This website is a must for anyone active on social media or with content marketing. And it even goes beyond just photos. You can also download icons, vector/psd.ai files to customise later with photoshop or Illustrator. Best of all…the database is updated every day and we are sure you will find some relevant pictures here.

Unsplash

Unsplash’s database is impressive with more than 200,000 high-resolution photos. The platform grows daily with hundreds of new photos thanks to more than 40,000 photographers who have all made their photos available free of charge for both personal and commercial use. Visit website: https://unsplash.com/

Above we give the creator credits for his/her work, but this is not mandatory. We do it for blogs, but not for other pages on the website.

You can create an account on the website with which you can create your own collections. With an evening of inspiration you can easily create a beautiful collection where you can have a great time in your blogs or social posts. You can easily search for individual photos, but with each search term you immediately get to see the collections that others have already made on that search term.

Pixabay

Another very nice site with a lot of choice is Pixabay. This platform has over a million images to choose from and besides photos, it also has illustrations, vector files, illustrations and videos. As with Unsplash, you can use all materials freely and it is not mandatory to mention the source of the photo.

Pixabay is available in Dutch, so if your English is not too good, then this is probably a better option than Unsplash, for example. On Pixabay you can also create a free account with which you can save your favorite images, follow other users and even send messages.

Pexels

Pexels is a bit smaller than the other free stock photo services, but still a nice site to browse through. With an estimated 50,000 images, there’s always something in between for a blog post or a social post (maybe together with Canva). The database of Pexels grows monthly with about 3000 images, so it’s definitely worth a bookmark!

Magdeleine

One of the nicest free stock photo websites is Magdeleine. Although this platform does not have the offer of all previously mentioned websites, they make up for that with the quality of the photos. Magdeleine prides itself on the fact that all photos on the site have been personally selected on quality and nothing has been lied about. The many original images lend themselves perfectly to blogs or posts for inspiration. Especially if you do something in coaching or management we would definitely look for the tag “People” on the website.

Burst

Burst is a free photo database from Shopify (an e-commerce platform) and offers a nice collection of photos that you can use without mentioning any source. You can use and edit the photos commercially as well as non-commercially.

There is no need to create an account on this website and you can download photos in both low and high resolution. The latter is for example super handy if you need an image for printed matter such as a flyer or brochure. You can search the site in English, but you can also browse through various collections to see if there is something in between for you.

FML Marketing

Client that create a website or webshop with us always wget access to a number of paid stock photo services. For example, you can use up to 20 Freepik Premium photos to build your website or shop at no extra cost.

Thank you for reading our blog! FML Marketing is an online marketing agency, located in Alkmaar, The Netherlands and Estepona, Spain. We specialise in web design, SEO and PPC marketing campaigns.

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Of course, you can also send visitors to your homepage or a product page, but if your landing page fits in seamlessly with your advertisement, the visitor will need to make less ‘effort’ to orientate him/herself.

The landing page is, in fact, a transition page that you place between the advertisement or expression with which you get the visitor on your website and prepared to show more about the products and services you want to show. Sometimes a landing page can’t be found in a menu because it’s specially designed to ‘receive’ visitors who have clicked on an advertisement. You don’t make a landing page per se to be easier to find. It is better to use (blog) articles in which you can place links to a landing page.

What’s the purpose?

as indicated, it is not so much about attracting as many online visitors as possible, but about attracting the right customers. In other words, the target group where all offered information, products and services are aimed at. Links and banners to these pages are distributed on the web, advertised and made findable in Google via SEO in such a way that they can reach customers with possible interest in the product optimally. Then landing pages make the visitors a suitable offer, in exchange for information or data.

Striving for more conversion

Landing pages are entirely focused on so-called conversion. Within internet marketing, this means that a certain predetermined goal must be achieved with the launch of the page. For example, generating more purchases, collecting customer data or registering for a meeting. In marketing, conversion goals are always described in measurable terms, often in percentages. For example, a conversion rate of 2% can be aimed for. Then it is assumed that at least two out of 100 visitors perform the action on the landing page.

What do landing pages yield?

Conversion does not always have to be about an actual purchase by the visitor. There are more online customer actions to which companies attach great value, such as:

• Subscribe to a newsletter
• Register for an event
• Information request
• Download demo
• Contact service
• Establish contact, for example with a callback request

For all these actions, the visitor deliberately, and sometimes also unconsciously, leaves data behind. Data that the company can use for product positioning and targeted web marketing. For example, web administrators and marketers use these landing pages for:

• Expanding the so-called ‘brand awareness’ among the target group.
• Offering more in-depth content
• Selling (online) products and services
• Getting to know existing and new customers better
• Generating valuable leads

What are leads?

An important goal of a landing page is to win leads. These are so-called ‘traces’ that can lead to potential customers. By collecting them and approaching them in a targeted way, sales transactions can ultimately be realized. Leads include telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and other contact details that visitors leave behind by subscribing to a newsletter or requesting information, a demo or a quotation.

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Importance of SEO and keywords

Keywords are central to landing pages. These keywords or related terms ensure that search engines and then the target group track down the page and visit the website. But it also important to match the keywords from campaigns to the keywords on your page. (See below: The advantages of a landing page)

Researching the right search terms and well-thought-out use of them in the web content is, therefore, an essential part of the composition of landing pages. But it does take some time. It is important that the focus is kept on the subject and that the number of primary keywords is not expanded too much.

The advantages of a landing page are

• Because your landing page matches your advertisement, your visitor does not have to think or search. This results in fewer visitors who drop out and more visitors who will read the message on the landing page.
• An additional advantage is that Google Ads looks at the relevance of your landing page and your advertisement. The closer they are to each other, the better you will be judged and you will have to pay less for a ‘click’. In other words, a good landing page will save you advertising costs.
• You can convince the visitor step by step. In your advertisement, you attract the visitor with an advantage. On your landing page, you can mention more advantages and confirmations with ‘social proof’. Think of reviews, quotes, references. Always provide a name and photo, otherwise, the “proof” has no value.
• All these elements together make the conversion go up.

4 Tips for a successful landing page

1. Make sure the message matches your ad. A very eye-catching title of your landing page may seem funny, but it’s not your goal to attract attention. If all goes well, the ad will do that for you. It’s all about trust and persuasion now!
2. Convince with advantages for the visitors. No list of specifications, but focus on concrete benefits. You finally have time to spare because of our solution… You save money thanks to our tool… etc. etc.
3. Keep it clear and make sure there is as little noise as possible. All elements that do not directly contribute to the connection between advertisement and offer can be removed.
   It is important that you keep it simple for the visitor. One goal, one call to action.
4. I don’t mean just one button. You can show multiple buttons, as long as there is only one goal. And the best goal is a page on which you can go into more detail about what you have to offer. More background information, specifications, references, reviews, and examples.

A solution to the above ‘noise problem’ is that you divide the benefits, social proof and information into several pages. You link these pages together so that the visitor is convinced step by step. This is also called a funnel.

Measuring success

The success of your landing page is very easy to measure within Google Analytics. The basic question is: “How many people come to the landing page and how many people go to the product/service page?” The larger the number of people who click through, the better and you can adjust your content to see if you get influence on this number.

Sometimes small differences, such as the text of your call to action button, can make a big difference. Once you have created landing pages, it is worth testing A/B and optimizing your landing page. See also: Within 5 minutes your first A/B test

With an A/B test, you can create different variants of your landing page and test if “Start today” works better as a call to action than “Request a trial period”. Do you have questions about landing pages? I like to read and answer them in the comment section below.

Thank you for reading our blog. If you would like to learn more or get started with landing pages, please do not hesitate to contact FML Marketing. We are a digital marketing agency, located in Estepona on the Costa del Sol.

The post What’s a landing page and why do you need it? appeared first on FML Marketing.

7 reasons to consider a website redesign

1. The technique is outdated

A few years ago, websites were built with Flash. Responsive was not an issue at all. How different is it now? Now a mobile-first approach is important for your Google ranking and Flash doesn’t even work on the average Mac. The technique is fast, so make sure you are aware of the latest developments and change your website if necessary.

2. Your logo and corporate identity are restyled

Sometimes it’s not necessary to redesign your website aesthetically, but other things do lead to a redesign. For example, if you get a new logo and/or a new corporate identity, your website will probably also have to rely on a few changes. Of course, this doesn’t have to be super rigorous, but you do want all expressions of your company to be consistently recognizable for your customers.

3. Your current website is not SEO friendly

The purpose of a website is of course that it can be found. Many outdated websites are not completely up to date in terms of code. This means that on other points the SEO is probably a bit outdated as well. Google’s requirements for a good ranking for your website change regularly, so you should keep an eye on it and adapt your website accordingly.

4. Your website can’t be updated easily

Thanks to WordPress, coding is no longer necessary. This means that having a website is a lot more accessible than just having one ten years ago. Thanks to WordPress, having and maintaining a blog is easier than ever. A blog is also a great tool for SEO. Google ranked websites that are regularly updated with new content are higher than websites that are not.

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5. Your website built with a platform like Wix

With Wix, you can easily create your own website. The problem with this kind of website builders is that they are limited. That’s why these kinds of websites are not so distinctive. Also, the functionalities in the field of SEO are limited. And let’s face it, most business owners are not necessarily well versed in the field of design, which also quickly results in an amateurish website.

6. Your nephew, niece, neighbor designed your web page

Although the person who designed your website is a professional, it is usually not a good idea to have your nephew, niece or neighbor build your website. Cheap is usually expensive. It is possible that you are missing out on great opportunities because your website is not optimal. That’s a shame.

7. Your Facebook page functions as a website

Some companies don’t have a website at all, but only use their Facebook page as a replacement for a real website. However, it is important to have your own website. Most customers do their research online and your website can help them with this. A website can serve in this way to inform your (potential) customers. After all, you can put a lot more information on your website than on a Facebook page. Also, having a website builds trust. This way, people get a better feeling that they are dealing with a “real” company.

In addition, it is also quite possible that Facebook will hardly be used anymore in a few years’ time. Just look at Hyves. When these kinds of channels disappear, it is good to have a website where you can fall back on.

Website redesign round-up

There are plenty of reasons to consider a website redesign. The fact is that you may miss out on opportunities due to an outdated website. Still doubting whether your website is ready for a redesign? Please contact us for free and non-binding advice.

Did you like this blog post – Website Redesign: When is it time? –  and would you like to receive more of these messages? Subscribe to our newsletter. You will receive the latest news, tips, and inspiration in the field of branding, search engine optimization, graphic design, and web design.

FML Marketing – Digital solutions Marbella area 

Considering a redesign of your website in the Marbella area (Gibraltar, Manilva, Estepona, San Pedro de Alcántara, Fuengirola)? Contact FML Marketing. We are a boutique online marketing agency, specialized in high-quality, responsive web design.

The post Website Redesign: When is it time? appeared first on FML Marketing.

Good content is half the battle

Knowing what is relevant starts with finding out which words your target group uses in search engines. With the right keywords, you can write specifically and answer the question your visitor has. Process the keywords in strategic places in your text. But don’t force it and stay relevant. You write a text to inform your visitors, not to please Google. Moreover, Google is becoming smarter and smarter and content is becoming more and more important.

Learn more: Content SEO Audit

Faster websites are better for SEO

Good websites don’t just look sleek and neat, it also meets a large number of standards that are used. These standards help search engines to better index your website, allowing potential visitors and customers to find their way to your website. A website that meets modern requirements for SEO, will not only make a good impression on visitors but will also be displayed much higher in the natural search results. The design of your website definitely plays an important role in this.

Well coded functionalities

Websites are often equipped with all kinds of functionalities that enable visitors to perform certain actions. A like-button, a contact form or a registration field for the newsletter are examples of small and simple functionalities. Larger functionalities that are used in websites are, for example, the integration of a webshop, a forum or a photo album. The more functionalities your website contains, the more coding is required to display all of them correctly. All these codes can cause your website to react less quickly or to malfunction. This is not only noticed by visitors, but search engines also judge your website on good use of programming code.

How to solve it?

It is therefore important to use good and clean programming codes when building and designing your website, so that not only does every functionality work well, but this also does not have any negative consequences for the speed and findability of the website in search engines.

Read more: Why free websites are often not a good idea

Conclusion: Good design is important for SEO!

The content on your website, interaction with visitors and search engines all play an important role in the success of your website. Yet, all these things are packaged in the design of your website. After all, the design of your website reflects what you stand for as a company or as a private individual. It says something about your company, yourself or about the products or services you offer. A well-chosen design also fits in with the target group you have in mind and meets the important requirements for a good website. It is important to ensure that the design looks good, not only for visitors but also for the search engines. A website with a good design will be better indexed, will be higher in the search results and will, therefore, attract more visitors.

FML Marketing – Web Design & SEO Experts Costa del Sol

Thank you for reading our blog Does Web Design affect SEO?

FML Marketing is a digital marketing agency, specialized in Search Engine Optimization, SEO-optimized web design, social medial, and online marketing solutions. We are based in Estepona, near Marbella on the Costa del Sol.

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Times are changing

Before 2005, most websites were created manually. By this, we mean that the source code is written by hand. A web designer has to know various programming languages such as HTML, CSS, javascript, and PHP, for example, in order to be able to deliver a professional website that meets the client’s requirements. Nowadays there are many more website software possibilities for creating a website. Even without knowledge of programming languages and source codes, you can have a professional website made. There are various software packages that write this programming language for you, as it were.

3 possibilities in terms of website software

Roughly speaking, the possibilities for creating a new website can be reduced to 3 main categories:

• Manually coded websites
• SaaS solutions
• CMS systems

This enumeration is somewhat simplified. There are solutions that fall between the above categories, so-called niche products. Because these niche products do not necessarily add anything to this article and we would like to keep it clear, these have been left out here.

1. Manually encoded website

Manually coded websites are tailored to the exact needs of the client. They can be as simple or as complex as you like. Design and functionalities can be put together completely according to your wishes. You really start with a white sheet and everything is built completely ‘from the ground up’. Commonly used software for creating manually coded websites is Adobe Dreamweaver, Google Web Designer, WebStorm, KompoZer and for example Coda.

Advantages of this website software

Because it is completely custom made, a manually coded website can fully meet your requirements. It has been developed specifically according to your wishes and situation. Another advantage of a ‘hand-coded’ website is that it is almost always safer than a CMS system, provided it is well developed of course. By ‘good’ we mean according to industry standards with an extra layer of security if necessary. Hacking a ‘standard’ CMS system is generally more attractive than hacking handmade software because with the popular software a hacker can abuse many websites at the same time.

Disadvantages of this website software

A handmade solution will cost you more time and money, as opposed to using a standard system. The starting rate for a complete custom solution is quickly about € 5000,- to € 10.000. If you have a more extensive website with specific functionalities, this can be as much as € 25.000,-. For an extensive website with advanced functionalities, the amounts can be as much as € 100.000,- or a multiple of this.

2. SaaS solution / Website builder

In addition to a hand-encoded website, you can also opt for website software in the form of a SaaS solution. SaaS (Software as a service) is a service in which a software application is offered via the internet instead of being installed on a computer or server. With a SaaS solution, your website is hosted on the server of the provider. You pay for the use of the software and receive a license that allows you to use the platform. You do not own the software, but by purchasing licenses you have the right to use the software. Examples of SaaS solutions such as website builders are Jimdo, Wix, and Weebly.

With ‘website builders’ you can build a website without design skills and knowledge of programming language. Website builders offer various themes (designs) and built-in functionality. You choose a theme and can start filling the content, i.e. placing text, images, and videos. With most website builders you can also make a number of standard changes to the design of the theme by moving certain blocks with the so-called ‘drag and drop’ function.

Advantages of this website software

The biggest advantage of website builders is, of course, the ease of use. Without technical knowledge, anyone can make a professional website.

Disadvantages of this website software

The main disadvantage of such solutions is their lack of flexibility. The adjustment options will be largely limited to choosing colors and shifting ‘movable’ blocks. So you can’t add custom functions or styles that aren’t included in the website builder. Although website builders like Wix or Jimdo seem attractive because of their simplicity, they lack a dynamic power compared to a CMS system.

3. CMS platforms

Content Management Systems are systems that allow you to create a professional website without any technical knowledge. CMS systems differ from website builders because they contain basic functionality that can be expanded with various ‘add-ons’.

A CMS is a piece of software that has already been built by a company or an individual and is now offered for mass use. Some of these CMS systems are commercial, so you have to pay a license or usage fee for them. Other CMS systems are ‘open source’ and therefore free to use. Open source means that the source code is completely open and freely available to absolutely everyone. You can download the code for free, after which you can get started yourself or together with a development team.

The CMS market is very diverse. The solutions differ per form, functionality, and cost. In general, CMS systems can be divided into 2 categories:

• Open-source CMS platforms (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal)
• Enterprise CMS systems (Adobe, Microsoft Sharepoint, Oracle WebCenter).

3a. Open Source CMS systems

Open source is software whose source code (sources) has been published and is freely available to everyone. Anyone can and may copy, modify, supplement, and distribute this software without any cost in terms of copyrights and/or surcharges.

An open-source CMS system can be used for free and can be modified as often as you like. A lot of work is done with add-ons, parts or functions that you can add to your website. Some parts (themes and plugins) can also be paid for or work with for example license fees. Even with paid parts, you are free to change them to your own wishes.

Because of the diversity, knowledge of the CMS is a prerequisite for a professional result. You have to think carefully in advance about which functions you want to implement and make a choice in the various add-ons (called plugins) that meet this need. In most cases, these plug-ins have to be configured manually.

For setting up a website based on a CMS platform, technical knowledge is an advantage. Basically it is possible to use such a CMS platform without technical knowledge to create a website. If you are not demanding and have the time to get to know such CMS systems, then this is certainly possible. If you really want to provide a professional website with various functionalities, then you still need to hire a specialist who can help you with the technical realization of your website.

TOP 3 CMS platforms

The top 3 CMS platforms are:

WordPress (58.9% market share)
Drupal (7% market share)
Joomla (4.7% market share)
WordPress is by far the most popular platform with a market share of almost 60%. open-source CMS is a perfect solution for small and medium-sized companies with an average budget. You can develop fairly quickly, are flexible and have a scalable website that can grow with your business. When it comes to webshops (e-commerce), Magento is the most popular CMS platform.

Advantages of this website software

Compared to website builders, CMS systems offer much more flexibility. You have thousands of themes (designs) to choose from that can still be adapted to your own wishes, provided you have the technical knowledge (HTML, CSS, PHP, javascript). In addition, you can add all kinds of functionalities with the help of plugins. These functionalities can also be adapted to your own wishes if you have the technical knowledge. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but start from a base developed by another company or individual and adapt it to your own wishes.

Disadvantages of this website software

A disadvantage of an open-source CMS system is that it is more vulnerable than a manually encoded website or an enterprise CMS system that we will discuss in the next chapter. This is mainly because it is more interesting for hackers to attack a popular open-source system than a custom-made website because with the popular systems a hacker can ‘abuse’ many websites at the same time. Technical knowledge and understanding of the CMS system is very important in this respect. You have to know the do’s and don’ts to be able to adequately secure your website. Open-source CMS systems are not necessarily unsafe, but you need to use them properly, secure them and keep the software up-to-date.

3b. Enterprise CMS systems

Enterprise CMS systems are complex proprietary systems designed for large organizations. According to research, organizations go for an enterprise solution in the following situations:

• Complex websites in terms of cross-channel, contextual and interactive customer experiences for robust websites
• Integrations with other systems
• System must support multiple websites with many languages
• Have a substantial budget
• In other words, these systems are made for large companies with complex user interactions and complex operations. Therefore, enterprise CMS systems are also robust and feature-rich to meet these needs.

Advantages of this website software

Enterprise CMS systems are highly advanced and rich in functionality. Because these are commercial products, there is often good support. This applies to both system updates and technical support.

Disadvantages of this website software

The main disadvantage of such solutions is the price. An enterprise CMS solution can easily have a price of six digits. Another disadvantage is the limited flexibility compared to a manually coded website. The capabilities of such systems are very extensive but at the same time the limiting factor.

Conclusion

Manually encoded website software

Manually encoded websites offer a great deal of flexibility. They are built from the ground up and can be developed entirely according to your own wishes. Yet, the development time is quite long and the costs are high. Manually coded websites quickly exceed € 10.000,- and can cost up to 6 digits depending on your wishes and the size of the website. Manually coded websites are in a good solution for large companies with a large budget and very specific needs.

SaaS solution

Website builders or SaaS solutions (such as Jimdo and Wix) are the easiest to use and the fastest development time. Nevertheless, you have to be satisfied with the functionality and styles they offer, because you can’t change much and the flexibility is nil. Prices for using a website builder are quite favorable compared to the other options and are about € 15,- per month depending on your needs. A SaaS solution is an excellent option for a hobbyist who wants to make his own website.

Open-source CMS platform

Open-source CMS platforms (such as WordPress and Drupal) offer more room for customization, but you do need to have some technical knowledge or hire a platform expert. Possibilities are almost endless, you are flexible and your website is highly scalable so it can grow with your company. The development time is short and you should be able to launch your website pretty quickly. Security is a point of attention, especially when processing personal data. It is important that you call in a platform expert who can take precautions regarding the security of your website. Prices for a website based on an open-source CMS are between € 500,- and € 10.000,- depending on your wishes and the size of your website.

Enterprise CMS platform

As far as enterprise-level systems (such as Adobe Experience Manager) are concerned, most of them offer advanced functionality for managing multiple websites, channels, and complex organizational processes. Enterprise CMS platforms are very expensive and quite flexible. An enterprise CMS is a good option for a large company with a large budget without very specific requirements in terms of functionalities.

About FML Marketing 

We thank you for reading our blog What website software? Choose the best website software! FML Marketing is a digital marketing agency located in Estepona. Our team specializes in web design, search engine optimization, social media solutions, and graphic design.

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The clear and present danger of not owning your website 

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Compare it to decorating your house. Every once in a while you add new stuff to your house. A side table, or perhaps a new color paint for the wall. The same story repeats itself in the world of web design. You must take a long-term approach to the design and maintenance of your website. Let’s take a look at why this is really important

The clear and present danger of not ‘owning’ your website

• My uncle made my website and he is the only one with the access
• My web designer is the only one that has access to my website
• This web designer left me with a homegrown CMS (Content Management System)

This is just a short list of common errors. I hear them allllll the time. Very unlucky if you suffer from this problem too! Because if you have zero control over your website, you are in for bad times…

Web Design…why long-term is winning

So what are the dangers of not owning your website? Let’s take a look at several scenarios that we encountered the last couple of years.

• Emails are not reaching you. People that require your service or product are neglected. This costs money and hurts your reputation.
• People think your website is shit. Another variant to the point above. Your website looks so terrible that people refuse to contact you, or make purchases.
• Your website content is outdated. But your uncle, or BUSY web designer, never respond to you. Do you leave your money on the table too when you leave a restaurant?
• I have a new phone number. But your website is featuring your old one. Now you need to change it, but how!? Your uncle, or BUSY web designer, are both still BUSY!
• The website is not protected.
• Your website is not SEO optimized.

Why is this happening!?

• My Web Design Agency charges me a fortune!

We have a client that was once charged with €495 to update 12 plugins in WordPress. That is stealing in the finest form. Updating plugins in WordPress take about minutes and often, DOES NOT REQUIRE manual work! So be aware of dodgy web design agencies that are trying to bleed you dry!

• My website sucks! But eh…it is family

Ok, this is about the saddest thing I have ever heard. Let’s break this down. One of your family members is an expert in web design (made two lame websites ever) and now he is in charge of your new business website. So this inexperienced person is in charge of your digital brand. YOUR BRAND!

I mean, that is just outrageous. About the saddest thing, I have EVER heard. Your business is hurt. You are losing money. But YOUR FAMILY could not care any less. But I guess the fun and jokes on the regular birthday parties make up for all that…

• My website is built with a NONO CMS

Writing is code is probably not your core, or am I wrong? Allow me to spill the beans. YOU DON’T NEED CODING EXPERIENCE TO MAKE SMALL EDITS TO YOUR WEBSITE! But here is the catch. Provided that your website is built with WordPress, and features a modern WordPress theme! With a few hours of CMS training, you will be able to make minor updates to your own website. Such as changing your mobile number, email address, or some pictures perhaps of your latest project.

Get your act together, take the professional road

Don’t comprise on bad quality. Don’t be overcharged. Send your uncle on a holiday and hold possession of your website credentials. Your access details. Get back behind the driver seat. And you will retake control over one of the most vital parts of your business, your website! Your lead generator. The 24/7 salesman. Your online powerhouse that never gets tired of educating your audience (FUTURE CLIENTS!). Thank you for reading our blog. FML Marketing is a Dutch Web Design agency in the Marbella area.

For more Web Design Tips, please check our blog regularly!

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The post The clear and present danger of not ‘owning’ your website appeared first on FML Marketing.

Small Business Website

As of January 28, 2019, FML Marketing launches its complimentary Small Business Website Services. This is a web design solution created for companies with smaller budgets and often no direct need of a website, other than using it as an online business card.

Quality should not be expensive

Damn right! Quality does not have to be expensive. And we prove it! We offer business website templates from €395! All our templates are built in WordPress, include Yoast SEO plugin, Schema.org tools and a PREMIUM version of WP Rocket! In other words, with the addition of quality content, your website is ready to rock the search engines….for only €395!

Your Business Website ready in 48H

WordPress Installation

All the websites are built in WordPress. This means that there a no limitations, full possibilities to scale up or install your own plugins. Moreover, the website is yours! You are the owner and nobody else. This might sound strange, but try telling that to people that have monthly or annual contracts with Wix, Squarespace or other online website builders…

Premium Page builder

All the websites we deliver come with a page builder. This means that you don’t need any coding experience to alter or add new content to your own website. Embrace the flexibility and enjoy the ease and speed of building your website!

Yoast SEO for WordPress

With every website, we deliver a free version of the Yoast SEO plugin built in. To ensure your content is optimized for SEO!

Premium WP rocket

Pagespeed is becoming increasingly important! Google loves a fast website, so this is vital for your Search Engine Optimization! WP Rocket is recognized as the most powerful caching plugin by WordPress experts and included in all plans of Small Business Websites. WP Rocket is GDPR compliant and worth €45 stand-alone.

Small Business Website Features

Check our business website templates for more information and all functionalities. Moreover, we off integrated Online Marketing services to kickstart your business website!

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