Archive for the ‘webdesign’ Category
Why You Need Static Blog Pages
WordPress offers bloggers two choices in publishing their material. They can choose to publish it immediately as a blog post, in which case it will appear as the first post on your homepage with others following suit.
Or, another choice is to publish it as a ’static page’…a page that stands on its own…meaning it is literally a separate page with a separate address from your homepage. Your readers access these pages by clicking on a link that you have provided on your blog.
Most often you will find these navigation links listed in the sidebar, on the top near the header and sometimes even at the bottom of the blog page. (Make sure these pages open in a ‘new window’ so that your customer can easily navigate back to the home page…you don’t want to loose them.)
An example of some ’static’ pages that should or can be included on your blog are:
1) About Page: This is probably the most common page used among bloggers and the first place I head to after I’ve read a post I like on a particular blog. Use your ‘About Me’ page to allow your reader get a more personal view of you. This page gives your new readers a glimpse or snapshot of the person behind the posts. You can and should include a picture of yourself. Additionally, you can explain a bit of why they should subscribe to your blog on this page.
2) Contact Page: Many times your readers will have questions after reading through one of your posts…or maybe something captured their interest and they would like to partner with you on a project. Whatever the reason, you should have a page dedicated to contacting you. Without this page, you will never know how many opportunities you may have missed with your readers and potential partners. Someone may even have been impressed enough to want to advertise with you. Make it easy for them to locate this important page…don’t test their patience by making it difficult to locate…they may walk.
3) Disclaimer Page: With the new FTC rulings about bloggers that came out late 2009, it is imperative that you inform your readers what you ‘get out of your blog.’ If you make money from your blog through affiliate associations or ads, you must inform your readers of this fact or risk big trouble from the FTC. You can balance this revelation by explaining to them some of the costs associated with your blog.
4) Service Related Pages: Any kind of services that you may offer your blog readers such as coaching or consultation services should be given their own page. Your readers will be more likely to buy your services from a dedicated page that you have set up than a flash in the pan mention in one of your posts.
5) Best of Page: Also referred to as a ’sneeze page’…not squeeze page! All your most favorite or most popular blog posts can be included on this page. Use this page to highlight anything about your blog that you want front and center or you know your readers will enjoy because of its previous popularity.
6) 404 Page: Most bloggers are aware of their 404 Error page. This error page is what someone sees when they navigate to a broken or deleted link or a link that is not working for some reason. What most bloggers are not aware of is the fact that they can customize this page to their advantage so that readers are directed to what they are looking for. Additionally, it provides the reader with something else to keep their interest. A blank 404 Page is a wasted opportunity.
7) Unique Projects: Should you participate in any kind of event…charity or otherwise, it is always a good idea to create page dedicated to this particular event. This gives the event much more importance and allows those with interest a place to follow up on any dates or updates that they need be aware of.
Testimonial Page: Selling an item or even selling yourself can be much more impressive if you include testimonials from others that have used the product or service and can provide their details. Once again, there are new strict rules concerning using testimonials so make sure you understand the new FTC rulings before placing any on your blog.
By Kathy Dobson
5 Things Bloggers Shouldn’t Do
There are a lot of articles and blog posts on the web that will present a list of things you should do in order to run a successful blog, this is not one of those articles. I want to discuss some of the things you shouldn’t do, opinions may differ but most of these you will likely agree with.
1. Don’t call yourself, “An Authority” or, “Expert” on your blog’s subject.
If you run a great blog and seem to have a great answer for everything, then yes, you are likely an expert or authority; but the minute that you announce to your readers that you are, you become a jerk instead. Think about it, the people who we admire the most are those that are modest and in denial about their own talents, whether they fake the denial or not, it is the cool thing to do. Same thing goes for heroes right? When was the last time some guy pulled a kid from a burning building, and when the reporter calls him a hero he says, “Yup, absolutely, I am incredible, aren’t I?” Never, that’s when. Anyone in that position knows that they have to say, “Hero? Nah, I was just doing what anyone else would do, I ain’t no hero.” Otherwise, he would be a jerk.
2. Don’t argue with your readers.
It doesn’t matter if he is the biggest idiot in the world, and you are right as rain; you are the only one with something to lose: your readers. If you think that your content is so good that you can say whatever you want to whoever you want, then people will go out of their way to ignore your blog and tell all of their friends to do so also. Treat everyone with the same respect that you would want, even if they are wrong, it will make you look like the better of the two.
3. Don’t fail to remember your theme.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but there are so many blogs that ramble on and never recover. Please do not get the wrong idea here. If you write a blog about playing baseball, then each and every one of your posts do not have to be about baseball, but if the last twelve posts are about your mother-in-law’s divorce struggle, then you seem to have lost direction. Yes, people want to understand that you are a real person, with real problems, but unless your blog is specifically about those problems, then stick to the subject.
4. Don’t alienate the “majority.”
Now this is a big one I see continually. Please don’t think that just because two or four people want your blog to go a particular route, that ALL of your readers want it to go that way. Keep in mind, a successful blog is about pleasing the majority of your readers. Just because you have a few people who LOVE a particular type of content, it doesn’t mean that all of them do. Remember, you likely have many readers whom you will never hear from on your comments, but are extremely in to your blog. So how are you supposed to know which direction they want you to follow? Well, try using the poll feature in Blogger or Wordpress, and ask your readership what they like best; you may be surprised. Also, keep a mailing list that is up to date, and ask your members for their view; most people jump at the chance to offer their voice in a matter that concerns them. Plus, it will make you look great that you are asking for their input.
5. Please do not be a rolling billboard.
Look, everybody understands that advertising is what pays the bills for a full-time blogger, but when you jam ad copy down their throat at every single turn, it gets annoying. Take care of the most vital thing, the content, and the rest will take care of itself. Yes, ads are significant, and you should optimize your ads and put a ton of work into it; just don’t be overbearing with them. They are there, people see them, and if they are interested, they will click.
By James Junior
How to use the Google Trends Website
The Google Trends Website was made public in 1996 but many marketers on the Internet don’t know about it. Some know but don’t understand it and so don’t get the benefits out of it that are possible.
The Google Trends website is a service offered by Google to users that want to get some fantastic data about keyword searches in the Google search engine. For example if you wanted to know how popular Levi jeans were over the past 6 years you could type in “Levi Jeans” and get data that would show you the search trend for Levi Jeans. It will not only give you the search trend but you can begin to focus the searches on country, city or even by language.
For anyone looking for a Niche to market and make money Google Trends is something they should not do without.
How to use the Google Trends website Practically?
PPC Marketing – If you are primarily a PPC marketer Google Trends is going to help you in your geo-targeting. I was involved in a niche that was hot in the United States but it gradually tapered off in the USA but got real hot in the Japanese market and so you set up your Adwords campaigns to target Japan. Thank you Google for saving me money on advertising and making me money by knowing where the buyers were.
Spying on Competition – To the right of the trends graph there are a list of links that show you articles that are ranked high for the keyword that you chose. Look over those articles, get some ideas, spin it and submit it. Have you seen our page about Online Article Marketing?
Hot Trends for Bloggers – Google Hot Trends is a separate service and URL. When you are blogging you are in need of content and if you want to have something relevant to your crowd that is timely with world events or something else you can use Google Hot Trends to see what is real relevant. Not long ago Tiger Woods went through his hardship with his family and the reporters. If you type Tiger Woods into the Google Trends website you will see the spike that was created over the bad press. I would not use Hot Trends to determine a niche because it is only reporting the hot things that are very current and as we know, news is changing all the time.
Keyword Analysis – The Google Trends website should be a part of your keyword research in conjunction with a program like Traffic Travis (download Traffic Travis for FREE) and the Google external keyword tool. Google trends will save you money from choosing keywords or a niche that is no longer active in a particular country that you may be targeting.
Another cool part of the keyword analysis that I should mention is something I saw in a webinar. The Google Trends website was used to compare “table tennis” and “ping pong”. Which do you think is more popular? Which country would you think either is more popular? Curious? Well I am not going to tell you. Go to the Google Trends website and check it out for yourself. While you are there play with it and see if you should alter some of the marketing that you are doing.
Note – Remember that this is only Google traffic and does not account for the traffic on other search engines like Ask, Yahoo and Bing. Clearly Google dominates as a search engine and gives a good picture of what is most likely taking place in the other search engines.
Don’t Destroy Your Online Marketing Results with Bad Website Design
So, you’ve embarked on a search engine advertising program, maybe even SEO. Whether you’re doing this on your own or using an online marketing consulting firm, there are key points to become aware of.
If you miss these, you won’t increase conversions.
What good is a Number 1 organic search engine ranking or AdWords ad listing, if you don’t have increased sales or if you don’t generate more sales leads?
Too often, we get all focused about the Internet marketing — the ads, the offer — that we don’t think the whole process through step-by-step and consider the experience our website visitors will be having.
If we did, we’d be thinking “big picture” and we would head off some of these potential problems before they occur.
Overcoming Your Website Visitors Anxiety
When people come to our website it’s natural for them to feel anxiety. After all, look at all the cr*p on the Internet today, all the too-good-to-be-true products and services.
But when you and I offer REAL products or services, we have to overcome that concern, even if we’re treating our site visitors fairly and not making outrageous claims.
So, how can you overcome these anxieties?
1. Offer more than a 1-page website. Credible companies have multi-page websites, including Privacy Policy, Terms of Use | Service and About Us pages.
They also have more than 1 page about their products or services.
I’m surprised by the number of 1-page websites I see from companies using infomercials to advertise their products. Often, they have the purchase form right on their home page, their only page (and often their page isn’t secured for credit card ordering).
Websites that are only 1-page don’t seem credible. And having the purchase form right on the home page comes across as very pushy!
Doesn’t this type of site seem all about the company and NOT about their customers? Why would we want to buy from that type of company?
What kind of online marketing consulting firm did these companies use…or did they use any??
2. Next to any sign up or contact form buttons clearly state that you don’t sell your customers’ private information and link to your Privacy Policy page.
3. Effectively communicate what your Value Proposition is, also called your Unique Selling Proposition. If you don’t know why someone should buy your product or service versus your competitors’, now is the time to figure it out. (And by the way, based on my experience, if you don’t know this, you’re not alone, by any means.)
But our websites have to be about more than just us. They have to be about our visitors. What’s in it for THEM, to do business with us? What unique voids in the marketplace can we fill?
As a Small Business Owner, Personally Relate to Your Site Visitors and Communicate Directly with Them
People don’t buy from websites, they buy from people! So, how can you apply this to your own website?
1. For many small businesses and solo proprietorships, their website text should speak to your visitors directly in first person.
This should be written from the voice of the Owner or President. They shouldn’t use third person, institutional-sounding language, getting rid of “we” and “our”, using “I” instead, speaking first person, in an actual conversation. Don’t try to sound like you’re Microsoft!
And while your at it, be careful about overuse of words about you…whether “I”, or those words, “we”, “our” or “us”.
Check out the WeWe calculator (Google: wewe calculator). Make sure to focus on customer-focused words and NOT on words about you or your company.
2. Include your picture on your Web pages.
For a larger small business trying to make that personal connection with their website visitors, try the idea used by the nutritional supplement company Lumina. (Google: Lumina Health Contact Us)
In this execution, notice how Lumina gets you to relate to their customer service department. I still remember it was John I spoke with and that’s been over 1 year ago that I called them!
Again, people buy from other people, not from websites.
For us as small businesses, why should we sound large, pretending to be something we aren’t? And why should we run from our advantage of being small: low overhead, friendly, personal service and accountability, among other advantages.
Make Each Step in Your Marketing a Smooth Handoff from One Step to Another
Whether you’re using AdWords, SEO, or both, make sure your title and description matches the experience your website visitor will have when they come to your landing page.
Quite often when I’m Coaching my small business owner clients or performing online marketing consulting, I find the wording for their organic listing or AdWords ad says one thing and their landing page says something that doesn’t sound the same.
This causes confusion is the best case scenario. In the worst case, it causes a lack of trust. Dangerous!
We should understand our products or services. And we know what we want our visitors to do on our site.
Our potential customers may not understand either. We need to think like them, when we explain what we have to offer them and how to use our website to take advantage of what we have to offer.
And when “shifting” from one page to another, we need to hand-off from one page to another naturally and smoothly, like a car with a smooth automatic transmission.
Don’t advertise one offer in AdWords or organic search, only to have your landing page sound like it was written for another advertising offer. I see this problem a lot!
Often times, having an affordable online marketing consulting firm reviewing what you’re doing can offer easy, inexpensive fixes that can yield big improvements in your search engine advertising and SEO conversions.
Your Action Plan
Let’s review what we’ve talked about.
First, overcome visitors anxieties by offering a multi-page website which answers questions about your company and your services or products, while inspiring confidence in your company. Effectively communicate your Value Proposition.
Second, personally relate to your site visitors. Avoid using the wrong words that may put off your site visitors. Use your picture on your Web pages.
Third, hand-off from one page on your website and one step in your selling process to another smoothly and naturally. We should understand what we want our site visitors to do, but they won’t unless we make the process really clear.
Whether your using an online marketing consulting firm or doing the work yourself, if you take these steps, your search engine optimization | advertising plan will convert at a MUCH higher rate, when you take these steps.
By Paul Marshall in Web Design
What Comes First – The Web Design Or The SEO?
This really is the chicken and egg question of the internet age but depending on who you ask will determine the actual answer you receive.
A graphic designer based website development company will argue in a majority of cases that the design comes first of course. And let’s face it without that aesthetically pleasing to the eye design a visitor will bounce off your site within a matter of seconds or so they would have you believe. But then that raises the big question of how did they get there in the first place?
The most common web development curve goes along the lines of website gets designed ..looks great let’s go for it. Needs some content ok, copy and paste something out of our corporate /company leaflet…..time passes and no traffic!
And then more time until eventually perhaps 6-12 months later the situation is either so dire or the company are spending a fortune on Adwords that finally the SEO expert gets called in (or somebody gets intrigued by one of those SEO e-mails that seem to hound webmasters these days), and before you know it you are on a 6 month search engine marketing campaign to try and rescue some website rankings.
Is this really the best way to go? The thousands of business owners that have been through this exact cycle will certainly argue that it most definitely is not, as this hope and pray web development criteria delays any websites success by months and sometimes years, and even more frighteningly results in thousands in lost profit, turnover and ongoing prospect capture.
What is really laughable though is that if you actually read the sales pitch on any one of the myriad of web design companies own websites many of them blatantly claim to be SEO experts as if it is a badge of honour or perhaps a must have tick in the box but a quick check of their portfolio soon reveals that if they are the search engine marketing experts, then it is clearly evident that their clients are definitely not on the receiving end of this claimed expertise.
So what is the real answer, can you really optimise a website before you launch it? Absolutely, web design and SEO should go hand in hand and the thought process of optimising a website and SEO friendly website design should form the foundations of the web development brief right from the outset, as it is the site structure, and ultimately the content that will capture free organic web traffic and also mark the website as a potential authority site or an also ran.
The search engines don’t care about what the site looks like but so often this initial chance to make the best impact when the site first gets indexed is wasted, if all the search engines find is a poorly optimised site with scant regard paid to any SEO requirements or keyword capture.
Extra time and money spent on pre development SEO (which should at the very least include keyword research and SEO copywriting) gives an outstanding return on investment as invariably when the site goes live and gets indexed it will achieve a far better website ranking from day one and even in some cases a page one result straight away.
If a web designer is not promoting web design SEO as part of your initial client brief then they are selling not only themselves short but also the client, if they don’t have the expertise themselves then best practice would be to team up with a non competing SEO professional to give the client the best possible start and return on investment on their new website.
And to any business owners who are commissioning a new website, if your developer does not offer this service then find one who does as a little extra investment will see your website many months ahead of where it would otherwise be.
By Dave Talbot in SE Tactics
14 Steps to Good Business Website Design
How important is Website Design? Your Website needs to look professional and trustworthy in order to create buyer confidence. A poorly designed Website will cost you sales.
So where do you need to start ?
1. Choose a Domain Name.
A domain name is the web address of your website (i.e. www.bizhelp24.com). All websites must have a domain name before they can go live on the Internet.
If you have an advertising budget to promote your business, then it is beneficial to choose a domain name that is the same as your business or gives people an idea of what you sell. Alternatively, if you do not have a large budget, it may be more beneficial to use a domain name that includes a ‘keyword’ so that when people search for something specific your site has a better chance of being found.
For example if your site is about relieving back pain, a domain such as ‘www.backpainrelief.xxx’ will be more likely to show up in searches.
Either way, you need to use a name that benefits your long-term business aims, and not something that is restrictive. E.g. ‘wellheeled123.com’, might be a clever name for a business that sells exclusive shoes. But if that business then diversifies into other products, the website name is no use anymore.
2. Design Your Home Page.
The Home Page is probably the most important page. It’s the first page your visitors will see, so you need to make a good impression. On this page, you should communicate who you are and why you have a website. You want to make sure that your message is clear and not lost in many long paragraphs. Try to divide your text into sections that you can mark with headers in a larger font or using bold text. Don’t underline text as this can make it look like a link.
One of the most important aspects of the text on your home page is the “Call to Action”.
“Call to Action” is the text that tells your visitors what you want them to do next. Do you want them to call and schedule a consultation, visit your shop, or just browse the other pages in your website? Make this command prominent by changing its color or increasing the font size.
Also consider uploading an image or two onto your Home Page. A colorful image will help to captivate your visitors and they will be more likely to continue browsing your site.
You need a simple Home Page that clearly communicates your website’s purpose and goals.
3. Design Your About Us Page.
The About Us page of your website should be used to reveal a little more about yourself or your business. Consider any additional details that might be important to your customers.
You should also consider having a Map of where you are located. Having a Map on your About Us page creates a very professional feel for your website and makes your small business look big.
If you do not operate out of a physical location, think about other things that your customers would find interesting about your business. Perhaps you have an exciting company background that you could share or more details regarding the services you offer.
Whatever you decide to write, remember to keep the text in short paragraphs.
4. Design Your Contact Us Page.
You are now getting very close to having designed a good 3-page site. The last element that all websites should have is a Contact Us page.
Include the best way to contact you directly on this page. Make your phone number or email address prominent on the page, perhaps with different font styles.
Make sure to keep this page simple though, as you don’t want your customers to get distracted by other content. Ensure each page in your site has something valuable to offer. Don’t design ‘Pretty, But Useless’. Let’s step back and realise that a web page exists to provide something that’s useful or interesting to visitors. If your page doesn’t have that, then you must fix that problem before you worry about how to present it.
What are you offering to your visitors? Why is it worth their time to visit your site? Focus on that before you move on to how it should look.
5.Keep Advertising Ratio 25% or Less
Amazingly, I see some sites that are almost nothing but ads. We know that no one would turn on the telly if it were just adverts, or buy a magazine if it were just ads and no articles. By the same token, a website also has to have more than ads if it’s to be successful. If you are running ads on your website, then you should ensure that the ratio to editorial is no more than 25% to 75%. Your visitors came to your site to see what YOU had to offer.
If you have affiliations and partnerships that are relevant to your site, then by all means include them. Don’t do what I saw recently on a website for a large fabric retailer where the web designer had put her friend’s Aromatherapy Massage practice in as a link. It’s not professional.
6. Don’t Distract With Blinking/Scrolling Text Or Auto Play Video/Audio.
Animation and sounds are distracting. How can anyone concentrate on reading what’s on your site when there are things flying around the page? It’s like trying to read a newspaper when someone’s poking you in the shoulder repeatedly.
Scrolling text does nothing to serve the visitor. If it’s on a site it’s because the site owner thought, “Let me show how cool I am.” Don’t design the site for yourself, design it for the people who will actually use it.
If you have relevant audio or video on your site, make it so the visitor can play it when THEY want, not at start up.
7. Don’t Use Image Backgrounds.
Full Image backgrounds mean “amateur”. A site like this can also have extremely slow page-loading times. This is NOT a professional image, and will turn visitors away.
8. Put Thought Into Organization.
Think about what content you have and how it should be organized. This is just as important as what your site looks like, so spend time on it. You are not doing your visitors a favour if everything is thrown up higgledy-piggedly, and they have to leap about the site looking for what they want instead of being informed.
9. Minimize Clicking!
This is so important. Put as few clicks between the visitor and the information as possible. Clicking around will make the visitor abandon the site and go elsewhere
10. Limit Page Length To 2 Screens.
This is where it gets a bit difficult. While you should put a lot into the design to limit clicking, you should also avoid going too far in the opposite direction by putting too much on one page.
You should normally limit a page to 2 screens. Articles by their nature, like this, are exceptions to that rule.
11. Include a Navigation Menu on Every Page.
Always include a menu on the page. This allows the visitor to start all over again at ‘Home’, or to click on another page that interests them.
Don’t put navigation links only at the bottom of pages, because then users will have to scroll down to the bottom to get to them (unless your pages are very short).
12. Website Readability.
A line of text should be no more than about 600 pixels wide. What does THAT mean ? Well it means that your website page should be no wider than say the middle two thirds of your monitor screen. The reason that newspapers and magazines are printed in columns is to make the lines short, so after you read one line, it’s easy to find the start of next one when your eyes flick left.
The problem with wide layout is that the content will be too wide to read easily for those visitors with really large screens as the content expands to fit the screen (or window).
13. Use Contrasting Colours with Text. It is hard to read light text if it is on a light background, or dark text on a dark background.
There are also some combinations that just don’t work. For example I came across a website just yesterday that insisted I try to read a bright green font on a bright red background. I persisted only because the company owner was seeking my advice and help.
14. Seek Advice.
If all this seems too much to take in, remember you can always call in the professionals. A good designer will take all of the above into account, and much more if he or she is considering the area of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for your website. He wants it to work for you. There are many companies around who will do all the above and much more; for just a few hundred pounds.
By Neil Holley-Williams in Web Design
5 Things to Consider Before Choosing a Website Design Firm
It seems that everybody knows somebody that does “website design”. The term can refer to anyone from a high school student working on the weekends between book reports to an established professional website designer. Because of this, you need to be careful when choosing a website design company. Choosing the wrong individual or firm can mean the difference between having a website that turns out sales and ending up with a website that turns off customers. You need to do your due diligence when you sit down with your designer (or web design firm) to ascertain the level of competency and professionalism they have. It is important that business owners ask the following five questions in your initial conversation with any potential web design firm or individual.
- Can you show me your work?
Web design companies will tell you that they have done wonderful work for fantastic clients but ask for a list of client names and website addresses. This is the very first thing that you should do and will set the tone for the initial conversation. Reputable firms have a gallery or portfolio of websites that they have designed. This is where the proof is in the pudding. Take the time to actually go to the sites and check them out. Take note on how the site looks, how clear the site’s purpose is and how the site ranks in search engines. It is acceptable to call the design firm’s past clients and ask how their overall experience was during the design process and after the website design services were performed. If you hear a common negative theme, you may want to consider moving on to a different firm but keep in mind that there are two sides to every story and you should check with the firm to verify the validity of the negative comments.
- Can you see the project through to completion?
You’ve seen the work, now let’s find out who’s going to be doing it. It is very common for web design firms to use contracted web designers to assist with overflow and you should ask about this up front. You’ll want to know that this firm has the resources to be able to continue the project if that contracted employee leaves. Similarly, This if you choose to go with a self-employed web designer and that person gets sick, leaves or becomes uncooperative, you have nowhere to turn. Web design firms usually have multiple employees and a chain of command to ensure your concerns are addressed. Just be sure to clarify what will happen should the person working on your project become unavailable.
- How much will this cost?
Cost is a sensitive issue to any website design firm. It’s not unusual for to pay anywhere from $800-$8,000 for a 20 page static website design, depending on the level of design and functionality included. I always consider the level of work the firm can produce, as well as the relationship and customer service. A firm that is going to stick with me and keep my business needs at heart (even after the site is completed) is worth it’s weight in gold. “You get what you pay for” really holds true in website design and development. I’ve had customers come to me because their sites completely crashed a week after launch and they can’t get a hold of their economy priced design firm. There is a tradeoff between price and service and I always suggest that you stay in the middle.
- Do they build search friendly sites?
I have long sung the benefits of working with a web design firm that truly knows the benefits of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and its practices. Many firms will say they create SEO friendly websites, but the only optimization on the site are a couple meta tags that give virtually no value. This is NOT and never has been SEO! It is rare to finding a design firm that truly understands how to optimize sites and can create powerful SEO websites but this combination of talents truly separates that web design firm from the rest of the pack.
Ask your web design firm about SEO and see what they say. If they emphasize meta keywords and make no mention of link building or site architecture RUN AWAY! Also, if they promise first place rankings right away, turn and run in the opposite direction since it takes time to rise in the search engine ranks. Test the sites in the firm’s portfolio for SEO by seeing where they rank in search engine results for the company’s targeted keywords. This is the true test of any web design firm claiming to be able to perform SEO
- What kind of feeling do I get with this firm?
As funny as it sounds, first impressions do make a difference and the gut feeling you get from interviewing a firm can go a long way. Whether you feel that you can trust the firm or alarm bells are going off inside your head, listen to your instincts, because they generally are right. To me, the relationship is the most important thing – it is the one thing that will outlast any project and is the most valuable service a web design firm can provide. Without a good relationship, the project is doomed to fail.
Picking a design firm is as important as picking a valued employee and maybe even more so. The design firm will be designing the voice for your company that will be speaking for you 24/7 and all over the world. Take your time and find the design firm that truly fits with your company and understands your needs.
By Oliver Feakins in Web Design
When Should You Fire Your Website Designer
Your online business is not a wild crazy idea, but a source of your income. Trust the right people to design your website. Your 17 year old nephew may be able to create your website or you can get a free one from several services…they might even be kind of pretty. In my research and experience, less than 2% of businesses that have websites have planted the seeds to online success. Many of them are your competitors.
The problem is web designer’s focus on the technical aspects of the site. They don’t have a clue how to build a website that makes you a ton of money, drives floods of traffic, and gets you top placement on search engines.
Why Do You Have a Website?
The reason you have a website for your business, no matter what business you are in, is you want to rake in bundles of cash. May be not now but definitely later it should be bringing returns on the investment. .
Your Website is Like Your Business.
Make sure that your web designer owes a successful online business and knows about how to run it.
Your sole purpose in having a website should be to use it as a marketing and communications tool. It is not there to be pretty. It should not be there to win awards. It is there to make you money. Even if you have a better product or service than your competition, the one who attracts more prospects and customers – wins! Being the best at marketing is all that matters.
Online Marketing Is Completely Different Than Marketing Offline
All of the tools, techniques, communication, etc. in the online world are different than those offline. A very common mistake is to think because it works offline you can just put it on the website! It’s important to realize the reader of offline thinks and processes information in a different way than someone reading online copy. What works offline may be a complete flop online.
They are two different worlds. For example, online marketing REQUIRES you to know how to get your site ranked high, very high, in the search engines like Google and Yahoo….so you routinely appear on the first page for the optimal search terms for your business.
Of course, this assumes you know how to find the optimal words for your business, your marketplace, your niche, etc. Just so you know, the “include all words” strategy has proven to be a total failure.
And, most designers and businesses do not know that SEO (search engine optimization) is not SEM (search engine marketing). If you do one and not the other you will probably be very disappointed with your results.
Studies have shown that you need to be on the first page of search engine results to get enough people coming to your site. SEO and SEM are not optional for online success – they are mandatory!
Increase your ROI: Only Work with People Who Know Website and Online Marketing.
When you are planning your financial future, you hire a financial planner or an attorney who specializes in that area of law. When you want plastic surgery you don’t go to a podiatrist, unless you want to end up with your nose looking like a foot.
Did you know that 99% of web design companies don’t know how to devise online sites that actually market your products or services?
You need people who can help you with how to create “hot” products or services that your customers really want.
You need people who make it possible for you to have a “money tree” business. People who can produce money like it grow on trees. People who have the communication skills you need to capture the attention and “cash the order” with your customers. Online or offline. (That means using multiple marketing channels and starting with the lowest cost = online!)
You need people with real world experience as well as online experience that can combine the two for the benefit of…YOU.
No one has the time to learn everything about their business, the internet, marketing, copywriting, finances and so on. That is why…
“The price of ignorance is paid forever!”
Successful entrepreneurs value all the real-world experience they can get. Where do they get it? By surrounding themselves to a team of experts, who can provide the knowledge, guidance and successful experience for a wide variety of businesses.
Always Remember Your Website is your Marketing Machine
It is all about driving people to your website. This is more than “being found” for the right search terms. This is about having a comprehensive strategy that links your offline and online marketing together to create leverage for your business and get maximum results.
You need to be sure your online partner can:
- Create a site that entices visitors to convert from information seekers to paying customers
- Generate a stream of online and offline leads
- Show you what functions of your business can be automated to save you money…and put that savings to good use…getting more customers
- Show you the secrets of capturing information and how to utilize it for easy access and follow up
- Show you how to make more sales with your existing customers
- Help you set up marketing campaigns that get real results and build customer loyalty
- Help you use email marketing ethically and effectively
Seriously, if your web designer/dungeon master/graphic Zulu cannot do ALL of these things and more, FIRE them now. You are wasting time and money! And time is often worth more than money!
Test, Test, and Test Some More & Collaborate Results and Changes
If you really want online success, or even offline success, then you must understand the importance of successful marketing testing. It is Crucial.
Businesses that are wildly successful with their offline and online strategies are always rabid about testing and knowing how and what to test.
Track and Measure…Correctly
You want to know everything that is happening on your website, or not happening. All of that testing will do you no good if you are not measuring and tracking all of the data associated with it.
Here are some of the tracking measures you should be talking to your web designer/builder about. In fact, they should be talking to you about these things. If you have to bring them up you are already in trouble, with a capital T.
- How many visitors are coming to the site
- How many of the visitors aren’t visitors (i.e. spiders, crawlers, etc. from search engines)
- How many visitors are new vs. old
- How long does each visitor stay on your site
- What does each visitor look at
- What graphics, words, pictures, etc are generating the most responses
- Which search engines are getting you the best prospects
- Where else are your customers coming from
- How many pages does the visitor look at
- What are your website rankings
- How much money have you made from the average visitor
- Who are your biggest money-making customers
- If you use PPC is it working and paying for itself
- Which links are bringing your visitors and are they converting to customers
- And so on
This is not a comprehensive listing, rather, it gives you an idea of how many things you could or should be tracking when it comes to your online marketing.
If you are like most people, you are thinking “there is no way I could remember all of that, much less do it.” You would be right. Remember, that is why we all need a team of experts around us to do the things we either don’t know or don’t have time for.
But, if you use these kinds of tools and tracking you will join the 1-2% of successful online businesses. You do want to make money with your website, right?
It is simple; your website should bring in more money than it costs to maintain it!
Some Final Thoughts
Today, you must be ONLINE with a WEBSITE to be successful. Research has shown that people are abandoning the yellow pages and many other ‘traditional’ forms of advertising. The internet is the #1 SOURCE for information on virtually every topic or subject you can imagine…and still growing rapidly.
It is as it has always been – survival of the fittest. Those businesses which combine their offline and online strategies to maximize their effectiveness are going to survive and thrive. The others will die. And in these times there will be more deaths than usual. You see it, the ‘for lease’ signs appearing everywhere, the ‘announcement’ each week of another big business failure, the empty spaces in office buildings.
The key to lasting success is to create lasting value. Turn transactions into relationships. In fact, the last sentence may be the most important and valuable one you read.
By Ajay Prasad in Web Design
When Should You Fire Your Website Designer
Your online business is not a wild crazy idea, but a source of your income. Trust the right people to design your website. Your 17 year old nephew may be able to create your website or you can get a free one from several services…they might even be kind of pretty. In my research and experience, less than 2% of businesses that have websites have planted the seeds to online success. Many of them are your competitors.
The problem is web designer’s focus on the technical aspects of the site. They don’t have a clue how to build a website that makes you a ton of money, drives floods of traffic, and gets you top placement on search engines.
Why Do You Have a Website?
The reason you have a website for your business, no matter what business you are in, is you want to rake in bundles of cash. May be not now but definitely later it should be bringing returns on the investment. .
Your Website is Like Your Business.
Make sure that your web designer owes a successful online business and knows about how to run it.
Your sole purpose in having a website should be to use it as a marketing and communications tool. It is not there to be pretty. It should not be there to win awards. It is there to make you money. Even if you have a better product or service than your competition, the one who attracts more prospects and customers – wins! Being the best at marketing is all that matters.
Online Marketing Is Completely Different Than Marketing Offline
All of the tools, techniques, communication, etc. in the online world are different than those offline. A very common mistake is to think because it works offline you can just put it on the website! It’s important to realize the reader of offline thinks and processes information in a different way than someone reading online copy. What works offline may be a complete flop online.
They are two different worlds. For example, online marketing REQUIRES you to know how to get your site ranked high, very high, in the search engines like Google and Yahoo….so you routinely appear on the first page for the optimal search terms for your business.
Of course, this assumes you know how to find the optimal words for your business, your marketplace, your niche, etc. Just so you know, the “include all words” strategy has proven to be a total failure.
And, most designers and businesses do not know that SEO (search engine optimization) is not SEM (search engine marketing). If you do one and not the other you will probably be very disappointed with your results.
Studies have shown that you need to be on the first page of search engine results to get enough people coming to your site. SEO and SEM are not optional for online success – they are mandatory!
Increase your ROI: Only Work with People Who Know Website and Online Marketing.
When you are planning your financial future, you hire a financial planner or an attorney who specializes in that area of law. When you want plastic surgery you don’t go to a podiatrist, unless you want to end up with your nose looking like a foot.
Did you know that 99% of web design companies don’t know how to devise online sites that actually market your products or services?
You need people who can help you with how to create “hot” products or services that your customers really want.
You need people who make it possible for you to have a “money tree” business. People who can produce money like it grow on trees. People who have the communication skills you need to capture the attention and “cash the order” with your customers. Online or offline. (That means using multiple marketing channels and starting with the lowest cost = online!)
You need people with real world experience as well as online experience that can combine the two for the benefit of…YOU.
No one has the time to learn everything about their business, the internet, marketing, copywriting, finances and so on. That is why…
“The price of ignorance is paid forever!”
Successful entrepreneurs value all the real-world experience they can get. Where do they get it? By surrounding themselves to a team of experts, who can provide the knowledge, guidance and successful experience for a wide variety of businesses.
Always Remember Your Website is your Marketing Machine
It is all about driving people to your website. This is more than “being found” for the right search terms. This is about having a comprehensive strategy that links your offline and online marketing together to create leverage for your business and get maximum results.
You need to be sure your online partner can:
- Create a site that entices visitors to convert from information seekers to paying customers
- Generate a stream of online and offline leads
- Show you what functions of your business can be automated to save you money…and put that savings to good use…getting more customers
- Show you the secrets of capturing information and how to utilize it for easy access and follow up
- Show you how to make more sales with your existing customers
- Help you set up marketing campaigns that get real results and build customer loyalty
- Help you use email marketing ethically and effectively
Seriously, if your web designer/dungeon master/graphic Zulu cannot do ALL of these things and more, FIRE them now. You are wasting time and money! And time is often worth more than money!
Test, Test, and Test Some More & Collaborate Results and Changes
If you really want online success, or even offline success, then you must understand the importance of successful marketing testing. It is Crucial.
Businesses that are wildly successful with their offline and online strategies are always rabid about testing and knowing how and what to test.
Track and Measure…Correctly
You want to know everything that is happening on your website, or not happening. All of that testing will do you no good if you are not measuring and tracking all of the data associated with it.
Here are some of the tracking measures you should be talking to your web designer/builder about. In fact, they should be talking to you about these things. If you have to bring them up you are already in trouble, with a capital T.
- How many visitors are coming to the site
- How many of the visitors aren’t visitors (i.e. spiders, crawlers, etc. from search engines)
- How many visitors are new vs. old
- How long does each visitor stay on your site
- What does each visitor look at
- What graphics, words, pictures, etc are generating the most responses
- Which search engines are getting you the best prospects
- Where else are your customers coming from
- How many pages does the visitor look at
- What are your website rankings
- How much money have you made from the average visitor
- Who are your biggest money-making customers
- If you use PPC is it working and paying for itself
- Which links are bringing your visitors and are they converting to customers
- And so on
This is not a comprehensive listing, rather, it gives you an idea of how many things you could or should be tracking when it comes to your online marketing.
If you are like most people, you are thinking “there is no way I could remember all of that, much less do it.” You would be right. Remember, that is why we all need a team of experts around us to do the things we either don’t know or don’t have time for.
But, if you use these kinds of tools and tracking you will join the 1-2% of successful online businesses. You do want to make money with your website, right?
It is simple; your website should bring in more money than it costs to maintain it!
Some Final Thoughts
Today, you must be ONLINE with a WEBSITE to be successful. Research has shown that people are abandoning the yellow pages and many other ‘traditional’ forms of advertising. The internet is the #1 SOURCE for information on virtually every topic or subject you can imagine…and still growing rapidly.
It is as it has always been – survival of the fittest. Those businesses which combine their offline and online strategies to maximize their effectiveness are going to survive and thrive. The others will die. And in these times there will be more deaths than usual. You see it, the ‘for lease’ signs appearing everywhere, the ‘announcement’ each week of another big business failure, the empty spaces in office buildings.
The key to lasting success is to create lasting value. Turn transactions into relationships. In fact, the last sentence may be the most important and valuable one you read.
By Ajay Prasad in Web Design
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