Thursday, August 23, 2007
Web Site No Worries
Web Site No Worries
by: Florie Lyn Masarate
How should it be promoted? What should it look like? Can it be done on my own or should a professional be hired to do it?
These are just some of the questions that need to be answered first before designing a web site. Experts on this field can be turned to help and do the job for you.
Doing it yourself would also be an option if you are taking into consideration the expenses and the time that can be saved by doing so. There are things that needed to be considered in designing your website. And questions, too.
What is the goal of the site? It would be helpful if you know from the start what you want your site to do. Simple as it may seem, you need to get ideas organized into clear details first. Think of the site in the point of view of others.
The impressions that they would surely have upon seeing your site. Putting graphics and pictures into the site as attention-seekers is important to keep up with the many sites available nowadays. Having a site does not only mean having information to give and share. It also means creating an art work that people will be interested enough to see and read through.
What have the others got? By doing your homework and looking up probable competition sites, you can get an edge on what your site should possess.
Do your homework. You can get lessons, feedbacks and even inspiration in seeing the works of other people. Looking them up does not mean you have to copy them. It means you have to think of other ways to get leverage over the others. Once this has been done, consider yourself on the frontline and be ready to set some trend.
How do you find a good designer? In this case, you have chosen someone to do the designs for you. In finding the right designer, choose someone who understands and is in harmony with what you want your site to be.
It is important to note that some designers want their designs put into your site and not your designs into yours. Consider someone who is interested in what you’re doing, think your thoughts and makes them the center of their goal.
Is it accessible? Make it easy for people to see your site and contact you for any complaints or suggestions. Putting contact details would make it easier for people to not only get into your site but you as well.
What is there to remember? Keeping it simple. From the words to the logos to the graphic designs. People did not come into your site for those so stick to the more important things.
For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.webplacements.com.
by: Florie Lyn Masarate
How should it be promoted? What should it look like? Can it be done on my own or should a professional be hired to do it?
These are just some of the questions that need to be answered first before designing a web site. Experts on this field can be turned to help and do the job for you.
Doing it yourself would also be an option if you are taking into consideration the expenses and the time that can be saved by doing so. There are things that needed to be considered in designing your website. And questions, too.
What is the goal of the site? It would be helpful if you know from the start what you want your site to do. Simple as it may seem, you need to get ideas organized into clear details first. Think of the site in the point of view of others.
The impressions that they would surely have upon seeing your site. Putting graphics and pictures into the site as attention-seekers is important to keep up with the many sites available nowadays. Having a site does not only mean having information to give and share. It also means creating an art work that people will be interested enough to see and read through.
What have the others got? By doing your homework and looking up probable competition sites, you can get an edge on what your site should possess.
Do your homework. You can get lessons, feedbacks and even inspiration in seeing the works of other people. Looking them up does not mean you have to copy them. It means you have to think of other ways to get leverage over the others. Once this has been done, consider yourself on the frontline and be ready to set some trend.
How do you find a good designer? In this case, you have chosen someone to do the designs for you. In finding the right designer, choose someone who understands and is in harmony with what you want your site to be.
It is important to note that some designers want their designs put into your site and not your designs into yours. Consider someone who is interested in what you’re doing, think your thoughts and makes them the center of their goal.
Is it accessible? Make it easy for people to see your site and contact you for any complaints or suggestions. Putting contact details would make it easier for people to not only get into your site but you as well.
What is there to remember? Keeping it simple. From the words to the logos to the graphic designs. People did not come into your site for those so stick to the more important things.
For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.webplacements.com.
Why Accessibility Is Easy
Why Accessibility Is Easy
by: Paul Grant
Anti-discrimination legislation did not happen overnight. Indeed, the process of inclusion for citizens of all demographics has been on the agenda of governments and human rights activists the world over for many years.
It’s not a new agenda
Most policy makers and corporate watchdogs actively encourage the employment and inclusion of all people regardless of ethnicity, social or economic standing, religion, mental capacity or physical attributes.
Some countries also enforce these policies to create a fair and socially responsible business climate.
Private and public organizations likewise have long understood the importance of providing facilities for staff members and visitors with special needs, particularly in their legal place of business or operations.
Not providing such amenities would likely result in litigation, and so in many cases these companies feel compelled to address any inadequacies as a high priority business agenda.
What about the Internet?
Surprisingly many companies had not even considered the idea of ensuring their business’ Internet premise was also accessible.
After all, why would a person that has vision impairment use the Internet?
Well of course they would want to use the Internet, just as any sighted person would want to access such a vast and rich resource. Vision impairment is also only one of many other conditions that can potentially inhibit the use of information resources like the Internet.
Many people who have difficulty using digital or interactive media may not necessarily be technically classified as having a disabling condition either.
Thankfully, there are now various technologies to aid users with special needs in their use of media.
Included in a large variety of assisting technologies are items such as screen readers or Braille machines for people with vision restrictions, subtitles for those with hearing difficulties, and speech recognition for those without the full use of their appendages.
In spite of the existence of these tremendous technologies, the ability of a machine to accurately render content in a meaningful way often relies on that content being formatted with careful consideration of accessibility standards.
Why is this suddenly so important?
The issue was not really even on the corporate radar until a recent lawsuit mounted by the US National federation for the Blind (NFB) on behalf of claimants with disabilities, stated that they were being discriminated against because a well known company’s online content was only accessible by able-bodied people.
The NFB had raised concerns with the Target corporation (a major US-based discount retailer which operates more than 1,300 stores in 47 states) more than ten months before, and stated:
“The website is no more accessible today than it was in May of last year, when we first complained to Target.”
The issue bubbles away in boardrooms even now as legal teams scramble to advise their clients on the best way to conform to changes in the Disability Discrimination Act, Section 508, and other such legislative decrees from various governments of the world.
Whose problem is this?
Website developers have long known about the technical requirements and specifications as determined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Any developer that has been in the industry for a length of time has already had acknowledge and adapt to changing technological standards both in hardware and software design.
Why aren’t website companies just building accessible sites anyway?
Yet many website developers felt that the stringent requirements of the Website Accessibility Initiative (WAI) would restrict their design capability too much, when in essence the real issue was a reluctance to subject their working practices to higher standards that are easily measurable by anyone with a browser and a little bit of knowledge.
Their previously ‘easy’ way of doing things was in their opinion much quicker, cheaper, and visually more interesting.
The truth however was that this new (and improved) way of doing things would require busy agencies to take the time to retrain.
They do say that you ‘can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. In this case, there are now quite a few old dogs in the maturing digital media industry.
Are there any other benefits besides avoiding legal action?
Actually not only is designing accessible websites easy, it makes a lot of sense on many different strategic levels. Consider the following insights as documented in the “Guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites” (British Standards Institute 2006, ISBN_0 580 46567 5):
* The Family Resources Survey [2] found that there are almost 10 million disabled people in the UK with a combined spending power in the region of 80 billion pounds per annum. Furthermore there are millions of other individuals that are affected by sensory, physical and/or cognitive impairments, including those resulting from the ageing process.
* Research undertaken by the DRC “The Web: Access and inclusion for disabled people” [3] has confirmed that people without disabilities are also able to use websites that are optimised for accessibility more effectively and more successfully.
* Content developed upholding World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines and specifications can be more easily transferred to other media, such as interactive TV, mobile phones and handheld computers.
* Accessible content, for example where a text equivalent is provided for graphical elements, is highly visible to search engines, often leading to higher rankings.
Certainly these benefits will be of interest to executives considering the perceived expense associated with building accessible interactive content, yet there are also other benefits in the form of corporate social responsibility and public relations.
What does the stakeholder need to do about accessibility?
Whenever a digital media project is commissioned by a company the only consideration to be made by stakeholders is to what level of compliance the content should adhere.
There is a small amount of flexibility in this context because there are some elements within the standard which are considered compulsory, some which are recommended yet are not necessarily essential, and others which are desirable to create something which has the maximum possibility of being viewed by any user, regardless of their situation.
Ultimately, a design or development company can adopt a more stringent approach depending on the design criteria set by executives.
Should the stakeholder be reading more about the standards?
There are a lot of technical and specification documents full of jargon that can be overwhelming to conscientious companies attempting to embrace the need for accessibility.
In reality all of this content should instead be assimilated by the agencies that intend to create the content rather than the corporations who simply want to develop an interactive strategy.
Why is everyone trying to sell consultation about accessibility?
Given that there is suddenly some confusion amongst the corporate world as executives scramble to become legally watertight, many so-called consultancies have sprung up to exploit these vulnerable companies by charging great sums of money to analyse current websites or digital content for accessibility inadequacies.
There are certainly tools available that can easily interrogate the code of a website and examine the structure to identify any obvious ‘rule-breaking’.
Some consultants will go as far as to use these free tools to create reports on accessibility, when this is only one component of whether a website is usable and “friendly” for people with special needs.
These same ‘consultants’ would like to also have large corporations paying them to help with search engine optimisation (SEO), which should not really be an issue if a website is built correctly in the first place.
What alternatives are there to external consultancy reports?
Actually, corporate executives may be surprised to know that money spent on consultancy reports could be better spent simply paying some users with actual disabilities to visit the website in question and offer constructive feedback through a usability workshop.
So what about Usability?
Usability is a little different, and perhaps an even more important concept for consideration than the subject of this paper.
Usability could be defined very basically as how intuitive some content is for the ‘average’ person to use, regardless of any special needs.
If the website is accessible, is it also a good website?
It is possible to check all the boxes of the W3C Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and yet have a layout and content that actually makes very little sense to users of the site.
Usability on the other hand benefits everyone, which ultimately translates into a positive experience for all users as they interact with a company’s branded presence.
A positive user experience logically leads to results, such as increased sales, brand interaction, positive word of mouth, and other business benefits.
Isn’t accessibility a bit complicated?
Although there can appear to be some complexity (and therefore consultancy work) involved in building highly accessible or usable content, this is actually a fundamental service which should rather come as a standard inclusion with any development proposal that is worth its salt.
Indeed, commissioning an accessible website should be no different to commissioning any ‘ordinary’ website.
They are certainly the same thing in the eyes of an accomplished website development company.
It is really as simple as making sure the site is built correctly in the first place.
This means a good foundation, standards compliance, craftsmanship, good project management, together with attention to detail and great build quality.
Building a website is like building a house
The process could be compared to building a new house.
As the homeowner you would want an architect and builder who are abreast of the latest trends, techniques, standards and processes to build your house.
You would not expect them to charge you a consultancy fee on top of the house design and build fees.
How would you feel if you then found your brand new home was illegal because it did not adhere to the current building code?
The enforcement agents would instruct for your house to be razed to the ground.
Likewise, building a new website in the new millennium should take all current design and technical specifications into consideration by default.
What if I have existing websites that need to become accessible?
As opposed to building, renovating an existing house can be considerably more problematic.
What can seem like a single simple task may end up becoming five other quite complicated tasks.
This can make budgeting quite difficult, and milestones seemingly without a definitive end.
In the same way the processes used in the original construction of an older website will be dated and likely no longer compliant.
This often means that major re-engineering may be required to bring the site up to the standards set in legislation.
Sometimes, it can be easier to knock down the outdated house (or website) and start again.
Are there any websites that can be easily updated to conform to accessibility requirements?
Fortunately database driven dynamic websites have a distinct advantage over static websites when it is time to ‘renovate’.
If the content is being loaded into a browser from a database, it is then also possible to modify the way that content is displayed (or rendered by aiding technologies) through page templates. These templates can be updated or replaced with greater ease to create an entirely new website that is completely accessible.
Will renovating an old database driven website be expensive?
Perhaps most importantly, this renovation process need not be tremendously expensive as there is no complete website rebuild, nor the creation of hundreds of new web pages manually as in the case of a static website rebuild.
Which websites will require a complete rebuild?
If a site has been built statically, it could be compared to a building that was originally set in concrete with steel reinforcement.
Unfortunately in these cases it is better to simply demolish and start again.
Of course this also affords the opportunity to use the latest trends and building techniques to create something fresh and contemporary, perhaps even prize-winning.
In these circumstances, the work (and therefore expense) involved in making the website accessible could be compared to a new build website project.
Recommendations for stakeholders
Certainly it could be said that if there is any one recommendation to be made in the design and building of websites, stakeholders should make sure that all content is dynamically driven from a database.
By doing this the company can ensure that the site can be continually modified as Internet technologies and standards change.
The content will at the end of the day always just be content.
Businesses that are maintaining websites with a content management system (or CMS) will have this functionality built in already and are a step ahead of the game.
That’s not so hard, all in all.
So accessibility is not complicated after all, nor is it necessarily expensive.
The foundation of a great interactive and accessible project that returns measurable results is starting with a great interactive strategy.
* Define the market, milestones, means, and measurement methodology.
* Direct the organization to ensure company-wide commitment, content, continuity, and contribution.
* Design the technical and aesthetic solution.
* Develop the content and assets in keeping with the latest thinking in website design and construction.
Deploy optimised and accessible content, and then enjoy the added advantages of creating a resource that people all over the world can enjoy…regardless of their accessibility constraints.
by: Paul Grant
Anti-discrimination legislation did not happen overnight. Indeed, the process of inclusion for citizens of all demographics has been on the agenda of governments and human rights activists the world over for many years.
It’s not a new agenda
Most policy makers and corporate watchdogs actively encourage the employment and inclusion of all people regardless of ethnicity, social or economic standing, religion, mental capacity or physical attributes.
Some countries also enforce these policies to create a fair and socially responsible business climate.
Private and public organizations likewise have long understood the importance of providing facilities for staff members and visitors with special needs, particularly in their legal place of business or operations.
Not providing such amenities would likely result in litigation, and so in many cases these companies feel compelled to address any inadequacies as a high priority business agenda.
What about the Internet?
Surprisingly many companies had not even considered the idea of ensuring their business’ Internet premise was also accessible.
After all, why would a person that has vision impairment use the Internet?
Well of course they would want to use the Internet, just as any sighted person would want to access such a vast and rich resource. Vision impairment is also only one of many other conditions that can potentially inhibit the use of information resources like the Internet.
Many people who have difficulty using digital or interactive media may not necessarily be technically classified as having a disabling condition either.
Thankfully, there are now various technologies to aid users with special needs in their use of media.
Included in a large variety of assisting technologies are items such as screen readers or Braille machines for people with vision restrictions, subtitles for those with hearing difficulties, and speech recognition for those without the full use of their appendages.
In spite of the existence of these tremendous technologies, the ability of a machine to accurately render content in a meaningful way often relies on that content being formatted with careful consideration of accessibility standards.
Why is this suddenly so important?
The issue was not really even on the corporate radar until a recent lawsuit mounted by the US National federation for the Blind (NFB) on behalf of claimants with disabilities, stated that they were being discriminated against because a well known company’s online content was only accessible by able-bodied people.
The NFB had raised concerns with the Target corporation (a major US-based discount retailer which operates more than 1,300 stores in 47 states) more than ten months before, and stated:
“The website is no more accessible today than it was in May of last year, when we first complained to Target.”
The issue bubbles away in boardrooms even now as legal teams scramble to advise their clients on the best way to conform to changes in the Disability Discrimination Act, Section 508, and other such legislative decrees from various governments of the world.
Whose problem is this?
Website developers have long known about the technical requirements and specifications as determined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Any developer that has been in the industry for a length of time has already had acknowledge and adapt to changing technological standards both in hardware and software design.
Why aren’t website companies just building accessible sites anyway?
Yet many website developers felt that the stringent requirements of the Website Accessibility Initiative (WAI) would restrict their design capability too much, when in essence the real issue was a reluctance to subject their working practices to higher standards that are easily measurable by anyone with a browser and a little bit of knowledge.
Their previously ‘easy’ way of doing things was in their opinion much quicker, cheaper, and visually more interesting.
The truth however was that this new (and improved) way of doing things would require busy agencies to take the time to retrain.
They do say that you ‘can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. In this case, there are now quite a few old dogs in the maturing digital media industry.
Are there any other benefits besides avoiding legal action?
Actually not only is designing accessible websites easy, it makes a lot of sense on many different strategic levels. Consider the following insights as documented in the “Guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites” (British Standards Institute 2006, ISBN_0 580 46567 5):
* The Family Resources Survey [2] found that there are almost 10 million disabled people in the UK with a combined spending power in the region of 80 billion pounds per annum. Furthermore there are millions of other individuals that are affected by sensory, physical and/or cognitive impairments, including those resulting from the ageing process.
* Research undertaken by the DRC “The Web: Access and inclusion for disabled people” [3] has confirmed that people without disabilities are also able to use websites that are optimised for accessibility more effectively and more successfully.
* Content developed upholding World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) guidelines and specifications can be more easily transferred to other media, such as interactive TV, mobile phones and handheld computers.
* Accessible content, for example where a text equivalent is provided for graphical elements, is highly visible to search engines, often leading to higher rankings.
Certainly these benefits will be of interest to executives considering the perceived expense associated with building accessible interactive content, yet there are also other benefits in the form of corporate social responsibility and public relations.
What does the stakeholder need to do about accessibility?
Whenever a digital media project is commissioned by a company the only consideration to be made by stakeholders is to what level of compliance the content should adhere.
There is a small amount of flexibility in this context because there are some elements within the standard which are considered compulsory, some which are recommended yet are not necessarily essential, and others which are desirable to create something which has the maximum possibility of being viewed by any user, regardless of their situation.
Ultimately, a design or development company can adopt a more stringent approach depending on the design criteria set by executives.
Should the stakeholder be reading more about the standards?
There are a lot of technical and specification documents full of jargon that can be overwhelming to conscientious companies attempting to embrace the need for accessibility.
In reality all of this content should instead be assimilated by the agencies that intend to create the content rather than the corporations who simply want to develop an interactive strategy.
Why is everyone trying to sell consultation about accessibility?
Given that there is suddenly some confusion amongst the corporate world as executives scramble to become legally watertight, many so-called consultancies have sprung up to exploit these vulnerable companies by charging great sums of money to analyse current websites or digital content for accessibility inadequacies.
There are certainly tools available that can easily interrogate the code of a website and examine the structure to identify any obvious ‘rule-breaking’.
Some consultants will go as far as to use these free tools to create reports on accessibility, when this is only one component of whether a website is usable and “friendly” for people with special needs.
These same ‘consultants’ would like to also have large corporations paying them to help with search engine optimisation (SEO), which should not really be an issue if a website is built correctly in the first place.
What alternatives are there to external consultancy reports?
Actually, corporate executives may be surprised to know that money spent on consultancy reports could be better spent simply paying some users with actual disabilities to visit the website in question and offer constructive feedback through a usability workshop.
So what about Usability?
Usability is a little different, and perhaps an even more important concept for consideration than the subject of this paper.
Usability could be defined very basically as how intuitive some content is for the ‘average’ person to use, regardless of any special needs.
If the website is accessible, is it also a good website?
It is possible to check all the boxes of the W3C Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and yet have a layout and content that actually makes very little sense to users of the site.
Usability on the other hand benefits everyone, which ultimately translates into a positive experience for all users as they interact with a company’s branded presence.
A positive user experience logically leads to results, such as increased sales, brand interaction, positive word of mouth, and other business benefits.
Isn’t accessibility a bit complicated?
Although there can appear to be some complexity (and therefore consultancy work) involved in building highly accessible or usable content, this is actually a fundamental service which should rather come as a standard inclusion with any development proposal that is worth its salt.
Indeed, commissioning an accessible website should be no different to commissioning any ‘ordinary’ website.
They are certainly the same thing in the eyes of an accomplished website development company.
It is really as simple as making sure the site is built correctly in the first place.
This means a good foundation, standards compliance, craftsmanship, good project management, together with attention to detail and great build quality.
Building a website is like building a house
The process could be compared to building a new house.
As the homeowner you would want an architect and builder who are abreast of the latest trends, techniques, standards and processes to build your house.
You would not expect them to charge you a consultancy fee on top of the house design and build fees.
How would you feel if you then found your brand new home was illegal because it did not adhere to the current building code?
The enforcement agents would instruct for your house to be razed to the ground.
Likewise, building a new website in the new millennium should take all current design and technical specifications into consideration by default.
What if I have existing websites that need to become accessible?
As opposed to building, renovating an existing house can be considerably more problematic.
What can seem like a single simple task may end up becoming five other quite complicated tasks.
This can make budgeting quite difficult, and milestones seemingly without a definitive end.
In the same way the processes used in the original construction of an older website will be dated and likely no longer compliant.
This often means that major re-engineering may be required to bring the site up to the standards set in legislation.
Sometimes, it can be easier to knock down the outdated house (or website) and start again.
Are there any websites that can be easily updated to conform to accessibility requirements?
Fortunately database driven dynamic websites have a distinct advantage over static websites when it is time to ‘renovate’.
If the content is being loaded into a browser from a database, it is then also possible to modify the way that content is displayed (or rendered by aiding technologies) through page templates. These templates can be updated or replaced with greater ease to create an entirely new website that is completely accessible.
Will renovating an old database driven website be expensive?
Perhaps most importantly, this renovation process need not be tremendously expensive as there is no complete website rebuild, nor the creation of hundreds of new web pages manually as in the case of a static website rebuild.
Which websites will require a complete rebuild?
If a site has been built statically, it could be compared to a building that was originally set in concrete with steel reinforcement.
Unfortunately in these cases it is better to simply demolish and start again.
Of course this also affords the opportunity to use the latest trends and building techniques to create something fresh and contemporary, perhaps even prize-winning.
In these circumstances, the work (and therefore expense) involved in making the website accessible could be compared to a new build website project.
Recommendations for stakeholders
Certainly it could be said that if there is any one recommendation to be made in the design and building of websites, stakeholders should make sure that all content is dynamically driven from a database.
By doing this the company can ensure that the site can be continually modified as Internet technologies and standards change.
The content will at the end of the day always just be content.
Businesses that are maintaining websites with a content management system (or CMS) will have this functionality built in already and are a step ahead of the game.
That’s not so hard, all in all.
So accessibility is not complicated after all, nor is it necessarily expensive.
The foundation of a great interactive and accessible project that returns measurable results is starting with a great interactive strategy.
* Define the market, milestones, means, and measurement methodology.
* Direct the organization to ensure company-wide commitment, content, continuity, and contribution.
* Design the technical and aesthetic solution.
* Develop the content and assets in keeping with the latest thinking in website design and construction.
Deploy optimised and accessible content, and then enjoy the added advantages of creating a resource that people all over the world can enjoy…regardless of their accessibility constraints.
Proper Keyword Selection Can Save Money
Proper Keyword Selection Can Save Money
by: George Morris
Google AdWords™ are increasingly becoming widely used in the product and services sector as a sure fire method to rank on the first page without scrolling, or as the industry calls it "above the fold". AdWords give businesses a way to control their search engine ranking through a bidding process. The concept is simple, the more you pay, the bigger your budget, the higher your rank.
In search engine speak the terms "natural / organic results" and "paid results" are often used. Natural results are what most people think of when looking for the search engine results. These results are often flanked by the paid results, in Google these adds appear in the very top, very bottom and the right of the natural search results. User experience studies have shown the 80% of the clicks on search results go to the natural results, while only 20% click on the paid results.
Paid results, as they pertain to product and services are more "relevant" then natural results because an interested party is paying for the placement of a particular add.
Paid placement is highly recommended, however you must be careful in the keywords you choose. Follow this rule when using pay-per-click ads, general terms = high cost and low quality traffic, specific terms = low cost and high quality traffic.
Keyword Choice is Everything
Selecting the proper combinations of keywords can make a significant difference in the traffic received and the cost paid for a particular keyword phrase. Take for instance our company, Imulus. Quick background, we are a full service design + interactive agency which means we build websites, web applications and marketing collateral. Also, we are located in Boulder, Colorado. So here goes:
Campaign 1 / Local
We are trying to reach out into our own backyard, where we ultimately have greater success they compared to trying to reach clients in Portland, Oregon. The few selected terms below give you an idea of the level of traffic we might expect. Google allows us to select a budget to keep that number reined in.
Denver Web Design
Returns 44 Clicks per month / 2,681 times shown / Avg position 2.2 ?Total 1 Month Cost $240.89
Boulder Web Design
Returns 13 Clicks per month / 1,115 times shown / Avg position 1.2?Total Cost 1 Month $62.36
Obviously market size will have a direct link to the number of times your keywords are searched upon.
Campaign 2 / National
In this campaign we are going to reach outside of the Denver metro / Boulder market. Our new target market is the United States. Qualifiers of Boulder and Denver will be dropped in favor of more national terms. These numbers are not actuals, just estimates.
Web Design / 1290 Clicks per month / $8,550 per month
Web Developer / 168 Clicks per month / $497 per month
Website Design / 1110 Clicks per month / $5,146 per month
Notice the cost per month, as we market more general terminology the number of clicks per month increases drastically and so does the cost. The only part of the equation which diminishes is the quality of the leads.
Better Traffic Quality
Campaign 2 will drive more traffic then Campaign 1 but will the traffic be worth it? Using the terms Web Design, those ads will appear when anyone searches using those terms even if they have qualifiers on the term. By using general terminology we might be picked up on searches for "Alaskan web design" in which case the odds of us landing that client are pretty remote. Adding qualifiers narrow the clicks to just those which are qualified for our business, adding Denver and Boulder gives us focused results.
For more information visit Imulus at http://www.imulus.com
by: George Morris
Google AdWords™ are increasingly becoming widely used in the product and services sector as a sure fire method to rank on the first page without scrolling, or as the industry calls it "above the fold". AdWords give businesses a way to control their search engine ranking through a bidding process. The concept is simple, the more you pay, the bigger your budget, the higher your rank.
In search engine speak the terms "natural / organic results" and "paid results" are often used. Natural results are what most people think of when looking for the search engine results. These results are often flanked by the paid results, in Google these adds appear in the very top, very bottom and the right of the natural search results. User experience studies have shown the 80% of the clicks on search results go to the natural results, while only 20% click on the paid results.
Paid results, as they pertain to product and services are more "relevant" then natural results because an interested party is paying for the placement of a particular add.
Paid placement is highly recommended, however you must be careful in the keywords you choose. Follow this rule when using pay-per-click ads, general terms = high cost and low quality traffic, specific terms = low cost and high quality traffic.
Keyword Choice is Everything
Selecting the proper combinations of keywords can make a significant difference in the traffic received and the cost paid for a particular keyword phrase. Take for instance our company, Imulus. Quick background, we are a full service design + interactive agency which means we build websites, web applications and marketing collateral. Also, we are located in Boulder, Colorado. So here goes:
Campaign 1 / Local
We are trying to reach out into our own backyard, where we ultimately have greater success they compared to trying to reach clients in Portland, Oregon. The few selected terms below give you an idea of the level of traffic we might expect. Google allows us to select a budget to keep that number reined in.
Denver Web Design
Returns 44 Clicks per month / 2,681 times shown / Avg position 2.2 ?Total 1 Month Cost $240.89
Boulder Web Design
Returns 13 Clicks per month / 1,115 times shown / Avg position 1.2?Total Cost 1 Month $62.36
Obviously market size will have a direct link to the number of times your keywords are searched upon.
Campaign 2 / National
In this campaign we are going to reach outside of the Denver metro / Boulder market. Our new target market is the United States. Qualifiers of Boulder and Denver will be dropped in favor of more national terms. These numbers are not actuals, just estimates.
Web Design / 1290 Clicks per month / $8,550 per month
Web Developer / 168 Clicks per month / $497 per month
Website Design / 1110 Clicks per month / $5,146 per month
Notice the cost per month, as we market more general terminology the number of clicks per month increases drastically and so does the cost. The only part of the equation which diminishes is the quality of the leads.
Better Traffic Quality
Campaign 2 will drive more traffic then Campaign 1 but will the traffic be worth it? Using the terms Web Design, those ads will appear when anyone searches using those terms even if they have qualifiers on the term. By using general terminology we might be picked up on searches for "Alaskan web design" in which case the odds of us landing that client are pretty remote. Adding qualifiers narrow the clicks to just those which are qualified for our business, adding Denver and Boulder gives us focused results.
For more information visit Imulus at http://www.imulus.com
Proper Keyword Selection Can Save Money
Proper Keyword Selection Can Save Money
by: George Morris
Google AdWords™ are increasingly becoming widely used in the product and services sector as a sure fire method to rank on the first page without scrolling, or as the industry calls it "above the fold". AdWords give businesses a way to control their search engine ranking through a bidding process. The concept is simple, the more you pay, the bigger your budget, the higher your rank.
In search engine speak the terms "natural / organic results" and "paid results" are often used. Natural results are what most people think of when looking for the search engine results. These results are often flanked by the paid results, in Google these adds appear in the very top, very bottom and the right of the natural search results. User experience studies have shown the 80% of the clicks on search results go to the natural results, while only 20% click on the paid results.
Paid results, as they pertain to product and services are more "relevant" then natural results because an interested party is paying for the placement of a particular add.
Paid placement is highly recommended, however you must be careful in the keywords you choose. Follow this rule when using pay-per-click ads, general terms = high cost and low quality traffic, specific terms = low cost and high quality traffic.
Keyword Choice is Everything
Selecting the proper combinations of keywords can make a significant difference in the traffic received and the cost paid for a particular keyword phrase. Take for instance our company, Imulus. Quick background, we are a full service design + interactive agency which means we build websites, web applications and marketing collateral. Also, we are located in Boulder, Colorado. So here goes:
Campaign 1 / Local
We are trying to reach out into our own backyard, where we ultimately have greater success they compared to trying to reach clients in Portland, Oregon. The few selected terms below give you an idea of the level of traffic we might expect. Google allows us to select a budget to keep that number reined in.
Denver Web Design
Returns 44 Clicks per month / 2,681 times shown / Avg position 2.2 ?Total 1 Month Cost $240.89
Boulder Web Design
Returns 13 Clicks per month / 1,115 times shown / Avg position 1.2?Total Cost 1 Month $62.36
Obviously market size will have a direct link to the number of times your keywords are searched upon.
Campaign 2 / National
In this campaign we are going to reach outside of the Denver metro / Boulder market. Our new target market is the United States. Qualifiers of Boulder and Denver will be dropped in favor of more national terms. These numbers are not actuals, just estimates.
Web Design / 1290 Clicks per month / $8,550 per month
Web Developer / 168 Clicks per month / $497 per month
Website Design / 1110 Clicks per month / $5,146 per month
Notice the cost per month, as we market more general terminology the number of clicks per month increases drastically and so does the cost. The only part of the equation which diminishes is the quality of the leads.
Better Traffic Quality
Campaign 2 will drive more traffic then Campaign 1 but will the traffic be worth it? Using the terms Web Design, those ads will appear when anyone searches using those terms even if they have qualifiers on the term. By using general terminology we might be picked up on searches for "Alaskan web design" in which case the odds of us landing that client are pretty remote. Adding qualifiers narrow the clicks to just those which are qualified for our business, adding Denver and Boulder gives us focused results.
For more information visit Imulus at http://www.imulus.com
by: George Morris
Google AdWords™ are increasingly becoming widely used in the product and services sector as a sure fire method to rank on the first page without scrolling, or as the industry calls it "above the fold". AdWords give businesses a way to control their search engine ranking through a bidding process. The concept is simple, the more you pay, the bigger your budget, the higher your rank.
In search engine speak the terms "natural / organic results" and "paid results" are often used. Natural results are what most people think of when looking for the search engine results. These results are often flanked by the paid results, in Google these adds appear in the very top, very bottom and the right of the natural search results. User experience studies have shown the 80% of the clicks on search results go to the natural results, while only 20% click on the paid results.
Paid results, as they pertain to product and services are more "relevant" then natural results because an interested party is paying for the placement of a particular add.
Paid placement is highly recommended, however you must be careful in the keywords you choose. Follow this rule when using pay-per-click ads, general terms = high cost and low quality traffic, specific terms = low cost and high quality traffic.
Keyword Choice is Everything
Selecting the proper combinations of keywords can make a significant difference in the traffic received and the cost paid for a particular keyword phrase. Take for instance our company, Imulus. Quick background, we are a full service design + interactive agency which means we build websites, web applications and marketing collateral. Also, we are located in Boulder, Colorado. So here goes:
Campaign 1 / Local
We are trying to reach out into our own backyard, where we ultimately have greater success they compared to trying to reach clients in Portland, Oregon. The few selected terms below give you an idea of the level of traffic we might expect. Google allows us to select a budget to keep that number reined in.
Denver Web Design
Returns 44 Clicks per month / 2,681 times shown / Avg position 2.2 ?Total 1 Month Cost $240.89
Boulder Web Design
Returns 13 Clicks per month / 1,115 times shown / Avg position 1.2?Total Cost 1 Month $62.36
Obviously market size will have a direct link to the number of times your keywords are searched upon.
Campaign 2 / National
In this campaign we are going to reach outside of the Denver metro / Boulder market. Our new target market is the United States. Qualifiers of Boulder and Denver will be dropped in favor of more national terms. These numbers are not actuals, just estimates.
Web Design / 1290 Clicks per month / $8,550 per month
Web Developer / 168 Clicks per month / $497 per month
Website Design / 1110 Clicks per month / $5,146 per month
Notice the cost per month, as we market more general terminology the number of clicks per month increases drastically and so does the cost. The only part of the equation which diminishes is the quality of the leads.
Better Traffic Quality
Campaign 2 will drive more traffic then Campaign 1 but will the traffic be worth it? Using the terms Web Design, those ads will appear when anyone searches using those terms even if they have qualifiers on the term. By using general terminology we might be picked up on searches for "Alaskan web design" in which case the odds of us landing that client are pretty remote. Adding qualifiers narrow the clicks to just those which are qualified for our business, adding Denver and Boulder gives us focused results.
For more information visit Imulus at http://www.imulus.com
5 Steps To Ensuring Your Website Is Secure
5 Steps To Ensuring Your Website Is Secure
by: John Lenaghan
Anyone who is doing business over the internet needs to have secure web hosting. There are many security threats, and anytime you're dealing with customer data you need to be sure it's safe from prying eyes. This is especially true if you're using a shared host, where multiple websites are hosted on a single server.
If you're considering shared hosting for your business website, check with your hosting company to find out what kind of security they use on their systems. You want to be 100% sure that your website is not accessible by any of the other people hosted on that same server.
You should also find out about the host's policies regarding scripts and software installed on the server. If unproven code is allowed, it can lead to problems if someone else on the server is running a program that is poorly written.
The third thing you need to check is what the host's policies are regarding operating system upgrades and maintenance. Windows gets most of the bad press about security problems, but they happen on Linux and Unix as well. You want to be sure your host applies these fixes quickly once they are released.
Fourth, find out how often your host audits their security, and whether they do it themselves or use a third-party to do it for them. Even the best maintained systems can sometimes fail, and having an audit done - especially by a third-party - can sometimes uncover problems before they get exploited.
Finally, take steps to protect yourself as well. Don't use easy-to-guess passwords for your website, and don't use the same password for everything. If someone can guess your password, they can wreak havoc on your site.
These five steps will go a long way to ensuring that your website and - most importantly - your customers' personal data are safe and secure from attack or theft.
by: John Lenaghan
Anyone who is doing business over the internet needs to have secure web hosting. There are many security threats, and anytime you're dealing with customer data you need to be sure it's safe from prying eyes. This is especially true if you're using a shared host, where multiple websites are hosted on a single server.
If you're considering shared hosting for your business website, check with your hosting company to find out what kind of security they use on their systems. You want to be 100% sure that your website is not accessible by any of the other people hosted on that same server.
You should also find out about the host's policies regarding scripts and software installed on the server. If unproven code is allowed, it can lead to problems if someone else on the server is running a program that is poorly written.
The third thing you need to check is what the host's policies are regarding operating system upgrades and maintenance. Windows gets most of the bad press about security problems, but they happen on Linux and Unix as well. You want to be sure your host applies these fixes quickly once they are released.
Fourth, find out how often your host audits their security, and whether they do it themselves or use a third-party to do it for them. Even the best maintained systems can sometimes fail, and having an audit done - especially by a third-party - can sometimes uncover problems before they get exploited.
Finally, take steps to protect yourself as well. Don't use easy-to-guess passwords for your website, and don't use the same password for everything. If someone can guess your password, they can wreak havoc on your site.
These five steps will go a long way to ensuring that your website and - most importantly - your customers' personal data are safe and secure from attack or theft.
Ratings Of Web Site Building Software
Ratings Of Web Site Building Software
by: Shane Hunte
The ratings of web building software and how they stand up against each other can only be found through testing, trial and error. Websites must be user and search engine friendly which both are very important so you would need to find a software that cater to both effectively in order to have a profitable site. You need to make the search engines love your site by giving great content and making them aware of what the site is about; you also need to have a structure that even a baby could navigate through as well. They're a number of software packages out their but most doesn't balance the search engines and user friendliness effectively.
So I'm going to give you the top three I've found out there.
I rank them in the order of the results I have received from search engines, profits and amount of visitors to the sites.
They are:
1. "Site Build It" from sitesell.com
This browser based software gets number one in my ratings of web site building software. This allows its users to build web sites for the search engines and human users without any web site building experience. It has a step by step guide that takes you by the hand to building a web business; it helps you market that business as well. It helps you manage you pay per click campaigns, affiliate programs, site hosting, newsletter distribution; it also teaches you the fundamentals of building an online business. This is much more than just software.
The developers of this software also monitor the search engines to make sure you're following their rules at all times.
If you also have an existing web business then you can still use this software on that as well, it allows you to transfer your site to their software or you can just build another bigger better website from scratch; that would be my recommendation.
I give this tool 10 out of 10.
2. Websitewizard.com
This beauty is your next best bet to building a decent web based business.
It helps you do a lot of the leg work to get started, you get some excellent shopping cart and card processing software and you please your human and search engine users as well.
You can't ask for a lot more than that. Well actually you can but that is what they offer along with some great customer service.
I give this software 7 out of 10.
3. Instantestore.com
This piece of software is good because it sets you up to take orders from the first time you open up your e-commerce store.
Although it is great for building web sites and it can hold its own when it comes to the search engines, it needs a little work to become a full fledge marketing and web building tool.
For now it could get you up and running where site users and search engines are concerned. You will have to handle the other marketing aspects on your own.
I give this software 6 out of 10.
Balancing both search engines and human users can be tricky sometimes even difficult but these three software packages makes it easier for you to manage and to get targeted visitors to your site.
My ratings of web site building software are from experience and from that I can say these do the best job in balancing the important aspects of web building although they're more aspects you should consider.
by: Shane Hunte
The ratings of web building software and how they stand up against each other can only be found through testing, trial and error. Websites must be user and search engine friendly which both are very important so you would need to find a software that cater to both effectively in order to have a profitable site. You need to make the search engines love your site by giving great content and making them aware of what the site is about; you also need to have a structure that even a baby could navigate through as well. They're a number of software packages out their but most doesn't balance the search engines and user friendliness effectively.
So I'm going to give you the top three I've found out there.
I rank them in the order of the results I have received from search engines, profits and amount of visitors to the sites.
They are:
1. "Site Build It" from sitesell.com
This browser based software gets number one in my ratings of web site building software. This allows its users to build web sites for the search engines and human users without any web site building experience. It has a step by step guide that takes you by the hand to building a web business; it helps you market that business as well. It helps you manage you pay per click campaigns, affiliate programs, site hosting, newsletter distribution; it also teaches you the fundamentals of building an online business. This is much more than just software.
The developers of this software also monitor the search engines to make sure you're following their rules at all times.
If you also have an existing web business then you can still use this software on that as well, it allows you to transfer your site to their software or you can just build another bigger better website from scratch; that would be my recommendation.
I give this tool 10 out of 10.
2. Websitewizard.com
This beauty is your next best bet to building a decent web based business.
It helps you do a lot of the leg work to get started, you get some excellent shopping cart and card processing software and you please your human and search engine users as well.
You can't ask for a lot more than that. Well actually you can but that is what they offer along with some great customer service.
I give this software 7 out of 10.
3. Instantestore.com
This piece of software is good because it sets you up to take orders from the first time you open up your e-commerce store.
Although it is great for building web sites and it can hold its own when it comes to the search engines, it needs a little work to become a full fledge marketing and web building tool.
For now it could get you up and running where site users and search engines are concerned. You will have to handle the other marketing aspects on your own.
I give this software 6 out of 10.
Balancing both search engines and human users can be tricky sometimes even difficult but these three software packages makes it easier for you to manage and to get targeted visitors to your site.
My ratings of web site building software are from experience and from that I can say these do the best job in balancing the important aspects of web building although they're more aspects you should consider.
Tips on Creating a Site Map
Tips on Creating a Site Map
by: Rachel Gawith
A quick search on Google for advice on creating a site map initially threw up many links to software you could buy or download for free to create a site map.
But why do you need a site map?
Basically as websites get larger and more complex both the human browser and the search engine spiders need an easy to follow map to find all the pages within your site. A site map gives them a simple navigational tool.
Site maps have 3 main benefits:
1) A site map allows visitors to easily find what they are looking for by simply visiting your site map and clicking on the link to go directly to the page they want to visit.
2) Often technologies employed to assist in reading webpages such as web page readers and screen readers can only follow text links. For practical reasons it may not always be possible to show a text link to every other page within your site on your main page and other pages within your website and so use a site map.
3) Search engine spiders like text and text links. If they cannot follow a text link to a page of your site it may not get indexed. Make it easy for the spider to index all your pages through a site map.
A site map consists of the two things search engines love - text and keywords. To build a good site map combine relevant keywords with a hyper text links. For example on your site map you may have a link to your webpage about website promotion so your hyperlink should contains the words 'website promotion' and link directly to that page within your site.
A site map does not need and indeed should not be fancy, but should be clear and easy to navigate.
Here are some tips for a good site map:
1. Place a prominent link to your site map on every page and lable it SITE MAP.
2. It should show all your webpages through different levels as basic text links.
3. Use standard colours for links and visited links.
4. It should show a quick, easy to follow over view of the site without the need to scroll around in the web browser.
Google started allowing people to submit site maps to their account as a way of letting google know about all your webpages and updates to your site. It does not increase your page ranking at all but is worth taking the time to set up properly.
You can find free software for creating site maps at:
http://www.likno.com/sitemap.html
http://www.freesitemapgenerator.com/
http://www.sitemapspal.com/
And when you are done, don't forget to tell Google about your site map so they can trawl and hopefully index all the pages of your site.
http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login
A well planned site map can ensure your Web site is fully indexed by search engines.
by: Rachel Gawith
A quick search on Google for advice on creating a site map initially threw up many links to software you could buy or download for free to create a site map.
But why do you need a site map?
Basically as websites get larger and more complex both the human browser and the search engine spiders need an easy to follow map to find all the pages within your site. A site map gives them a simple navigational tool.
Site maps have 3 main benefits:
1) A site map allows visitors to easily find what they are looking for by simply visiting your site map and clicking on the link to go directly to the page they want to visit.
2) Often technologies employed to assist in reading webpages such as web page readers and screen readers can only follow text links. For practical reasons it may not always be possible to show a text link to every other page within your site on your main page and other pages within your website and so use a site map.
3) Search engine spiders like text and text links. If they cannot follow a text link to a page of your site it may not get indexed. Make it easy for the spider to index all your pages through a site map.
A site map consists of the two things search engines love - text and keywords. To build a good site map combine relevant keywords with a hyper text links. For example on your site map you may have a link to your webpage about website promotion so your hyperlink should contains the words 'website promotion' and link directly to that page within your site.
A site map does not need and indeed should not be fancy, but should be clear and easy to navigate.
Here are some tips for a good site map:
1. Place a prominent link to your site map on every page and lable it SITE MAP.
2. It should show all your webpages through different levels as basic text links.
3. Use standard colours for links and visited links.
4. It should show a quick, easy to follow over view of the site without the need to scroll around in the web browser.
Google started allowing people to submit site maps to their account as a way of letting google know about all your webpages and updates to your site. It does not increase your page ranking at all but is worth taking the time to set up properly.
You can find free software for creating site maps at:
http://www.likno.com/sitemap.html
http://www.freesitemapgenerator.com/
http://www.sitemapspal.com/
And when you are done, don't forget to tell Google about your site map so they can trawl and hopefully index all the pages of your site.
http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login
A well planned site map can ensure your Web site is fully indexed by search engines.
Bulk Email, Spam, and Email Marketing
Bulk Email, Spam, and Email Marketing
by: Steve Lillo
Excerpted from PlanetLink's Enews - an email newsletter delivered for FREE to your computer. To subscribe, go to www.planetlink.com
This issue focuses on the effective use of email lists and bulk email for website and business promotion. Bulk email essentially consists of sending the same message to some number of recipients at the same time. Spam is characterized as sending bulk mail to recipients whom you have had no prior contact or permission.
The issue of whether or not to send Spam can be summed up in three words - "don't do it." While it's not currently illegal under Federal law, (although sending bulk non-approved faxes is), it is generally not permitted by Internet Service Providers under their "terms of service" agreement (PlanetLink's terms of service can be found at http://www.planetlink.com/policy.html). Most ISPs will issue a warning on the first occurrence and cancel a client's service on the second. The reason for zero tolerance is that while the responsible party can literally send millions of messages almost for free, the costs associated with sending, delivering and receiving spam are incurred by the recipient whose time is spent processing unwanted mail as well as the ISPs that transport and store email. A recent European Commission report found that the world wide cost is $9.36 billion per year.
The other reasons for not sending Spam are the impact it has on the reputation of the company and the risk of interruption or cancellation of service. The other issue of importance for ISPs whose client's repeatedly send spam is that mail sent from their network can be blocked by other ISPs trying to stop spam from reaching their clients; potentially affecting thousands of customers. Under California Bus. & Prof. Code Section 17538.45, sending spam through a mail server based in California is illegal and allows for damages of $50 per message.
So, if we can't send Spam, what can we us bulk email for?
Bulk email is great tool for keeping in touch with your clients and customers, sending newsletters, service messages, announcing special offers and more. It can also be used to keep in contact with prospects on an ongoing basis and is an effective sales tool for generating new business. Systems can be implemented that make it easy to send automated messages on a regular basis. Systems can also be implemented which make it easy for visitors to subscribe to your list. Subscriber management features also make it easy for you to add, delete, schedule and send messages as required.
PlanetLink can assist you in setting up an effective email list system for your business and can implement anything from a fully automated system to a manual system. For more information, call us at 415-884-2022 or email info@planetlink.com.
Important Tips:
Create an opt-in email list on your website.
Don't buy a database of email addresses and send them bulk email - this is Spam.
Spam can be reported to http://www.spamcop.net.
Collect email addresses on a "sign up sheet" at public events, trade shows and presentations. Let them know on the form that they will be added to your email list and give them a check box to confirm their participation.
If you send bulk email to your list, make it easy for them to unsubscribe.
In the bulk message that you send, remind them of how and/or why they are on your list.
Be sensitive to your list - people are busy and they get lots of email.
by: Steve Lillo
Excerpted from PlanetLink's Enews - an email newsletter delivered for FREE to your computer. To subscribe, go to www.planetlink.com
This issue focuses on the effective use of email lists and bulk email for website and business promotion. Bulk email essentially consists of sending the same message to some number of recipients at the same time. Spam is characterized as sending bulk mail to recipients whom you have had no prior contact or permission.
The issue of whether or not to send Spam can be summed up in three words - "don't do it." While it's not currently illegal under Federal law, (although sending bulk non-approved faxes is), it is generally not permitted by Internet Service Providers under their "terms of service" agreement (PlanetLink's terms of service can be found at http://www.planetlink.com/policy.html). Most ISPs will issue a warning on the first occurrence and cancel a client's service on the second. The reason for zero tolerance is that while the responsible party can literally send millions of messages almost for free, the costs associated with sending, delivering and receiving spam are incurred by the recipient whose time is spent processing unwanted mail as well as the ISPs that transport and store email. A recent European Commission report found that the world wide cost is $9.36 billion per year.
The other reasons for not sending Spam are the impact it has on the reputation of the company and the risk of interruption or cancellation of service. The other issue of importance for ISPs whose client's repeatedly send spam is that mail sent from their network can be blocked by other ISPs trying to stop spam from reaching their clients; potentially affecting thousands of customers. Under California Bus. & Prof. Code Section 17538.45, sending spam through a mail server based in California is illegal and allows for damages of $50 per message.
So, if we can't send Spam, what can we us bulk email for?
Bulk email is great tool for keeping in touch with your clients and customers, sending newsletters, service messages, announcing special offers and more. It can also be used to keep in contact with prospects on an ongoing basis and is an effective sales tool for generating new business. Systems can be implemented that make it easy to send automated messages on a regular basis. Systems can also be implemented which make it easy for visitors to subscribe to your list. Subscriber management features also make it easy for you to add, delete, schedule and send messages as required.
PlanetLink can assist you in setting up an effective email list system for your business and can implement anything from a fully automated system to a manual system. For more information, call us at 415-884-2022 or email info@planetlink.com.
Important Tips:
Create an opt-in email list on your website.
Don't buy a database of email addresses and send them bulk email - this is Spam.
Spam can be reported to http://www.spamcop.net.
Collect email addresses on a "sign up sheet" at public events, trade shows and presentations. Let them know on the form that they will be added to your email list and give them a check box to confirm their participation.
If you send bulk email to your list, make it easy for them to unsubscribe.
In the bulk message that you send, remind them of how and/or why they are on your list.
Be sensitive to your list - people are busy and they get lots of email.
Five Common Web Design Mistakes
Five Common Web Design Mistakes
by: Charles Nixon III
There are often many mistakes encountered when creating a webpage or website. Learn about the top five website mistakes, and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1
Web page size. If your website takes longer than 10-15 seconds to load you should consider optimizing it for the web. This is one of the biggest mistakes a web designer can make. You may have cable and love to fill your website with graphics, but if your visitors don't have cable or a fast connection at all your chances of getting them to wait that 10 to 15 seconds for your page to load is very slim.
Mistake #2
Flashy ads. Ok, so you have to bring in some cash some how right? So you sign up to a bunch of banner ad affiliate programs. Only problem with this is their banners are animated and constantly flashing while your visitors view your website. This can be good in some cases for getting some extra cash. But visitors can be easily annoyed by these banners.
If your trying to get customers, having these flashy banners increases your chances of your visitors leaving. Lots of people may be drawn into these ads (probably your best customers) and if they click that ad, they are now a customer to someone else thanks to your affiliate program.
Mistake #3
Confusing Navigation. Before you build a website you should make a sitemap for how everything is going to be setup. Come up with a plan to have some form of contact information on each page. If your visitor comes to a page and wants to purchase something and they cant find a contact link they will most likely change their mind while searching for it. Keep your navigation consistent on each page. If your visitor has to learn to use a different type of navigation system on every page they will become easily annoyed.
Mistake #4
Confusing Content. You want to make everything easy to read and navigate. If you know someone thats in their teen years you should come up with some questions to ask them about your website. Like: What do you think my site is about? Would you buy this product on my website? Can you understand the information on this(blank.html)page?
If you can get a teen, or even any average person to answer these question's honestly you can find ways to change your setup so that anyone and everyone is drawn in to purchase from you.
Mistake #5
Advertising. When you advertise your website the number one thing that you do not want to do is spam. It is very easy to advertise your website all over the web for free! You can use forums, article submission groups, online communities, chat groups, news feeds, and much more. If you do resort to spam this could hurt your website sales. A lot web surfers will go around and if they find spam they will report it to someone that will post it on a website that degrades or gives bad reviews on your website.
If you can avoid these five mistakes that almost every webmaster experiences than you will be on your way to success in no time.
by: Charles Nixon III
There are often many mistakes encountered when creating a webpage or website. Learn about the top five website mistakes, and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1
Web page size. If your website takes longer than 10-15 seconds to load you should consider optimizing it for the web. This is one of the biggest mistakes a web designer can make. You may have cable and love to fill your website with graphics, but if your visitors don't have cable or a fast connection at all your chances of getting them to wait that 10 to 15 seconds for your page to load is very slim.
Mistake #2
Flashy ads. Ok, so you have to bring in some cash some how right? So you sign up to a bunch of banner ad affiliate programs. Only problem with this is their banners are animated and constantly flashing while your visitors view your website. This can be good in some cases for getting some extra cash. But visitors can be easily annoyed by these banners.
If your trying to get customers, having these flashy banners increases your chances of your visitors leaving. Lots of people may be drawn into these ads (probably your best customers) and if they click that ad, they are now a customer to someone else thanks to your affiliate program.
Mistake #3
Confusing Navigation. Before you build a website you should make a sitemap for how everything is going to be setup. Come up with a plan to have some form of contact information on each page. If your visitor comes to a page and wants to purchase something and they cant find a contact link they will most likely change their mind while searching for it. Keep your navigation consistent on each page. If your visitor has to learn to use a different type of navigation system on every page they will become easily annoyed.
Mistake #4
Confusing Content. You want to make everything easy to read and navigate. If you know someone thats in their teen years you should come up with some questions to ask them about your website. Like: What do you think my site is about? Would you buy this product on my website? Can you understand the information on this(blank.html)page?
If you can get a teen, or even any average person to answer these question's honestly you can find ways to change your setup so that anyone and everyone is drawn in to purchase from you.
Mistake #5
Advertising. When you advertise your website the number one thing that you do not want to do is spam. It is very easy to advertise your website all over the web for free! You can use forums, article submission groups, online communities, chat groups, news feeds, and much more. If you do resort to spam this could hurt your website sales. A lot web surfers will go around and if they find spam they will report it to someone that will post it on a website that degrades or gives bad reviews on your website.
If you can avoid these five mistakes that almost every webmaster experiences than you will be on your way to success in no time.
Learning Basic HTML
Learning Basic HTML
by: Robin M Powers
Ok, no getting around it, you've got to learn some HTML! You don’t have to be great at it, but you really do need the basics. Even if you choose to write and format everything in Word and use PDFs for your ebooks, white papers, articles and the like. You will still need to be able to change headlines on your website, create or change ‘thank you’ and ‘sales’ pages, and add things quickly to your website.
There is a wonderful membership website that I once enjoyed. The site is filled with Internet Entrepreneurs who are successfully running an internet business. There are a series of detailed interviews discussing how each of them got to be successful. Without exception, every single business owner said ‘you have got to do your own website’. The number one regret by those who hired others was the money they spent on web designers. They all learned HTML in the end.
Now I am not saying that you will be stuck building your own websites forever and ever… in fact, I encourage everyone to have "propellerheads" on their team. Its just that even when others are building the sites for you, you will still want to be able to gain access and do some minor changing of copy, colors, font sizes and the like.
HTML is the language of websites. You use HTML to make your fonts large, change colors...
Start a new paragraph, insert a picture…
I am not the best source to teach you. However, Annabella is! She has a wonderful website where I learned HTML. It’s located at:
http://www.annabella.net/html.html
Once you get through Annabella’s site here is a handy HTML reference guide:
http://www.devx.com/projectcool/developer/reference/tag-table.html
Here is one more great learning site:
http://www.utoronto.ca/webdocs/HTMLdocs/NewHTML/htmlindex.html
There are other languages that have been created after HTML. Java, php, and others. However, you will find that for most needs, a bit of HTML is all you need. Anything more complex is best handled by your propellerhead, unless you have plans to really master this area of web design.
At some point you will need an HTML editor. This is a handy tool that lets you see what it is you have created. Let’s take a quick look at the most popular ones.
Microsoft FrontPage® is very popular. It has a lot of great functionality allowing you to build a site from scratch. It’s a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that lets you graphically design your web pages. It’s one of the easier ones to learn. Though you will still spend a week or two banging your head trying to figure it all out (assuming you are a beginner). One of the things I like about it is the ability to “split” the screen and see the HTML code along with what the web page looks like.
Dreamweaver is supposed to be the best. It’s the high end program that does everything but the dishes with regards to website design. The learning curve is high. And frankly, if you aren’t going to be building sites right along, it’s expensive.
There are website builders out there that take all the pain out of building websites. You provide the copy and the graphics, and they manage the rest. The one we like at the moment is XSitePro. It is relatively easy, quick and inexpensive as these things go. They also don’t appear to leave a “footprint”… something that the search engines look for to see if your sites are mass-produced.
Check out our resource page at http://www.BizRecipes.com for this resource along with our many, many favorite things.
I have used a little free HTML editor that is quite delightful.
You can download it at: http://www.evrsoft.com
It’s called 1st Page 2000 and we used it for several years before moving to FrontPage®. I always like to include a free tool wherever possible for those who must be extra careful with their dollars.
What can I say? You just have to sit down in front of your computer and do it. This is one of those skills that you will have forever. And you will be very glad you learned it.
by: Robin M Powers
Ok, no getting around it, you've got to learn some HTML! You don’t have to be great at it, but you really do need the basics. Even if you choose to write and format everything in Word and use PDFs for your ebooks, white papers, articles and the like. You will still need to be able to change headlines on your website, create or change ‘thank you’ and ‘sales’ pages, and add things quickly to your website.
There is a wonderful membership website that I once enjoyed. The site is filled with Internet Entrepreneurs who are successfully running an internet business. There are a series of detailed interviews discussing how each of them got to be successful. Without exception, every single business owner said ‘you have got to do your own website’. The number one regret by those who hired others was the money they spent on web designers. They all learned HTML in the end.
Now I am not saying that you will be stuck building your own websites forever and ever… in fact, I encourage everyone to have "propellerheads" on their team. Its just that even when others are building the sites for you, you will still want to be able to gain access and do some minor changing of copy, colors, font sizes and the like.
HTML is the language of websites. You use HTML to make your fonts large, change colors...
Start a new paragraph, insert a picture…
I am not the best source to teach you. However, Annabella is! She has a wonderful website where I learned HTML. It’s located at:
http://www.annabella.net/html.html
Once you get through Annabella’s site here is a handy HTML reference guide:
http://www.devx.com/projectcool/developer/reference/tag-table.html
Here is one more great learning site:
http://www.utoronto.ca/webdocs/HTMLdocs/NewHTML/htmlindex.html
There are other languages that have been created after HTML. Java, php, and others. However, you will find that for most needs, a bit of HTML is all you need. Anything more complex is best handled by your propellerhead, unless you have plans to really master this area of web design.
At some point you will need an HTML editor. This is a handy tool that lets you see what it is you have created. Let’s take a quick look at the most popular ones.
Microsoft FrontPage® is very popular. It has a lot of great functionality allowing you to build a site from scratch. It’s a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that lets you graphically design your web pages. It’s one of the easier ones to learn. Though you will still spend a week or two banging your head trying to figure it all out (assuming you are a beginner). One of the things I like about it is the ability to “split” the screen and see the HTML code along with what the web page looks like.
Dreamweaver is supposed to be the best. It’s the high end program that does everything but the dishes with regards to website design. The learning curve is high. And frankly, if you aren’t going to be building sites right along, it’s expensive.
There are website builders out there that take all the pain out of building websites. You provide the copy and the graphics, and they manage the rest. The one we like at the moment is XSitePro. It is relatively easy, quick and inexpensive as these things go. They also don’t appear to leave a “footprint”… something that the search engines look for to see if your sites are mass-produced.
Check out our resource page at http://www.BizRecipes.com for this resource along with our many, many favorite things.
I have used a little free HTML editor that is quite delightful.
You can download it at: http://www.evrsoft.com
It’s called 1st Page 2000 and we used it for several years before moving to FrontPage®. I always like to include a free tool wherever possible for those who must be extra careful with their dollars.
What can I say? You just have to sit down in front of your computer and do it. This is one of those skills that you will have forever. And you will be very glad you learned it.
Step by Step Guide to Setting up a New WHM cPanel Server for Web Hosting Accounts
Step by Step Guide to Setting up a New WHM cPanel Server for Web Hosting Accounts
by: Rodney Ringler
This is a guide to setting up a new WHM/cPanel Server to be used for web hosting accounts. It is intended for web hosting company administrators and dedicated server owners. For under $99 per month, it is easier than ever to manage and run your own dedicated server. You can have guaranteed uptime from your datacenter, and outsourced support starting at $30/month. All you need to do is set up the server and get going. Whether it is for a web hosting company or a couple of personal websites, an inexpensive linux server is powerful, reliable, and easy to setup.
WebHostManager(WHM) is a common linux based tool for managing websites on a server. cPanel is a common control panel to manage an individual website. It allows you to add email accounts, view stats, make backups, install programs, etc. These 2 tools are the most inexpensive set used commonly to manage hosting accounts, and you will find them very prevalent in the budget shared hosting world. It usually adds about $20/month to the cost of a dedicated server but provides most of the features of the more expensive tools.
Whenever you order a dedicated server from a datacenter, you will receive a welcome email with details of the server including the server name, ip addresses, and root password. This information will allow you to setup and configure WHM so that you can host websites and use your own custom Domain Nameserver instead of a raw IP address.
The first thing you need to do is the setup of WebHostManager(WHM). This includes configuring the default Domain nameservers, main IP address, and server contact email address.
1) Login to root WHM (http://:2086)
2) In the left margin, click Next to run the setup wizard
3) Agree to the end-user license agreement
4) Edit setup
a. Server contact email address: info@yourdomain.com
b. Default Cpanel theme: x
c. Default home directory: /home
d. Home directory prefix: home
e. Main shared virtual host IP: xx.xxx.xxx.xx (should be main IP of server)
f. Hostname: server.yourserver.com
g. Primary nameserver: dns1.yourserver.com
h. Secondary nameservers: dns2.yourserver.com
i. Leave everything else unchanged
j. Click Save
Next, you need to setup the system quota. To do this follow these instructions:
5) Click Next Step in left margin – system sets up initial quota. No need to wait for initial quota to setup…. Click Next Step again
6) DO NOT enable namesever. Click Next Step again
Now we need to setup the Resolver. This is specific to your datacenter and the information will be provided in the Welcome details for your dedicated server.
7) Resolver setup:
a. Click Continue
b. Primary Resolver: xx.xx.xx.xx (this is datacenter specific)
c. Secondary Resolver: xx.xx.xx.xx (this is datacenter specific)
d. Tertiary Resolver: leave blank
e. Click Continue
f. Click Next Step
8) Not necessary to enter a MySQL root password
9) Click Finish
Initial setup is done, and you should now be able to login to root WHM. Now you can create the accounts needed to setup the nameservers that you want to use on this dedicated server.
1) Login to root WHM again
2) “Create a New Account” (this is to be the main account: yourserver.com). Do not give this account a dedicated IP…. It will use the main server’s shared IP address.
3) Under “IP Functions”, click “Show IP address usage”. If only the main server IP is listed, that means you have to add the additional IP address to the server. Click “Add a New IP address”, and enter: xx.xx.xx.xx-xx Leave subnet mask unchanged, and click “Do It”
4) Click Show/Edit Reserved IPs, and check an IP to reserve it, and enter a reason (i.e. dns2.yourserver.com)
5) Under “DNS Functions” click “Edit DNS Zone”, then select yourserver.com and click “Edit”. Use the main IP address for the first 2 lines and the next IP address assigned to the server for the third line.
a. Under “Add new entries below this line”, enter:
server 14400 IN A xx.xx.xx.xx (leave far right box blank)
dns1 14400 IN A xx.xx.xx.xx (leave far right box blank)
dns2 14400 IN A xx.xx.xx.xx (leave far right box blank)
b. Note: The above entries are DNS entries for the two nameservers being created, and the sever name dana.hostyourself.com. Once you’ve enter the three entries, click “Save”
6) If you get an “Error reloading BIND” error, go to “Restart Services” and click “DNS Server (BIND)”, then click YES to restart Bind.
That’s it! Now the server is all setup and ready to host cPanel hosting account with the nameservers dns1.yourserver.com and dns2.yourserver.com. Of course you still need to go to your registrar and register these 2 new nameservers and wait for normal propagation of 24-48 hours until the new nameservers will work.
If this is a server being setup for a dedicated customer, be sure to tell them:
1) IP addresses of nameservers so he can register them with his registrar
2) Root login information
3) Login info of main account you created for him
4) Tell him NOT to delete the main account, since doing so will also delete the DNS zones you setup above
5) New DNS zones should be added to the old server to help with DNS propagation.
If you follow these simple instructions once you get your server from the datacenter, then you will be ready to load websites and hit the internet. With cheap outsourced support companies available and world class datacenters providing under $99 servers there is no reason not to tackle the world of dedicated servers and web hosting for yourself.
by: Rodney Ringler
This is a guide to setting up a new WHM/cPanel Server to be used for web hosting accounts. It is intended for web hosting company administrators and dedicated server owners. For under $99 per month, it is easier than ever to manage and run your own dedicated server. You can have guaranteed uptime from your datacenter, and outsourced support starting at $30/month. All you need to do is set up the server and get going. Whether it is for a web hosting company or a couple of personal websites, an inexpensive linux server is powerful, reliable, and easy to setup.
WebHostManager(WHM) is a common linux based tool for managing websites on a server. cPanel is a common control panel to manage an individual website. It allows you to add email accounts, view stats, make backups, install programs, etc. These 2 tools are the most inexpensive set used commonly to manage hosting accounts, and you will find them very prevalent in the budget shared hosting world. It usually adds about $20/month to the cost of a dedicated server but provides most of the features of the more expensive tools.
Whenever you order a dedicated server from a datacenter, you will receive a welcome email with details of the server including the server name, ip addresses, and root password. This information will allow you to setup and configure WHM so that you can host websites and use your own custom Domain Nameserver instead of a raw IP address.
The first thing you need to do is the setup of WebHostManager(WHM). This includes configuring the default Domain nameservers, main IP address, and server contact email address.
1) Login to root WHM (http://:2086)
2) In the left margin, click Next to run the setup wizard
3) Agree to the end-user license agreement
4) Edit setup
a. Server contact email address: info@yourdomain.com
b. Default Cpanel theme: x
c. Default home directory: /home
d. Home directory prefix: home
e. Main shared virtual host IP: xx.xxx.xxx.xx (should be main IP of server)
f. Hostname: server.yourserver.com
g. Primary nameserver: dns1.yourserver.com
h. Secondary nameservers: dns2.yourserver.com
i. Leave everything else unchanged
j. Click Save
Next, you need to setup the system quota. To do this follow these instructions:
5) Click Next Step in left margin – system sets up initial quota. No need to wait for initial quota to setup…. Click Next Step again
6) DO NOT enable namesever. Click Next Step again
Now we need to setup the Resolver. This is specific to your datacenter and the information will be provided in the Welcome details for your dedicated server.
7) Resolver setup:
a. Click Continue
b. Primary Resolver: xx.xx.xx.xx (this is datacenter specific)
c. Secondary Resolver: xx.xx.xx.xx (this is datacenter specific)
d. Tertiary Resolver: leave blank
e. Click Continue
f. Click Next Step
8) Not necessary to enter a MySQL root password
9) Click Finish
Initial setup is done, and you should now be able to login to root WHM. Now you can create the accounts needed to setup the nameservers that you want to use on this dedicated server.
1) Login to root WHM again
2) “Create a New Account” (this is to be the main account: yourserver.com). Do not give this account a dedicated IP…. It will use the main server’s shared IP address.
3) Under “IP Functions”, click “Show IP address usage”. If only the main server IP is listed, that means you have to add the additional IP address to the server. Click “Add a New IP address”, and enter: xx.xx.xx.xx-xx Leave subnet mask unchanged, and click “Do It”
4) Click Show/Edit Reserved IPs, and check an IP to reserve it, and enter a reason (i.e. dns2.yourserver.com)
5) Under “DNS Functions” click “Edit DNS Zone”, then select yourserver.com and click “Edit”. Use the main IP address for the first 2 lines and the next IP address assigned to the server for the third line.
a. Under “Add new entries below this line”, enter:
server 14400 IN A xx.xx.xx.xx (leave far right box blank)
dns1 14400 IN A xx.xx.xx.xx (leave far right box blank)
dns2 14400 IN A xx.xx.xx.xx (leave far right box blank)
b. Note: The above entries are DNS entries for the two nameservers being created, and the sever name dana.hostyourself.com. Once you’ve enter the three entries, click “Save”
6) If you get an “Error reloading BIND” error, go to “Restart Services” and click “DNS Server (BIND)”, then click YES to restart Bind.
That’s it! Now the server is all setup and ready to host cPanel hosting account with the nameservers dns1.yourserver.com and dns2.yourserver.com. Of course you still need to go to your registrar and register these 2 new nameservers and wait for normal propagation of 24-48 hours until the new nameservers will work.
If this is a server being setup for a dedicated customer, be sure to tell them:
1) IP addresses of nameservers so he can register them with his registrar
2) Root login information
3) Login info of main account you created for him
4) Tell him NOT to delete the main account, since doing so will also delete the DNS zones you setup above
5) New DNS zones should be added to the old server to help with DNS propagation.
If you follow these simple instructions once you get your server from the datacenter, then you will be ready to load websites and hit the internet. With cheap outsourced support companies available and world class datacenters providing under $99 servers there is no reason not to tackle the world of dedicated servers and web hosting for yourself.
Web-site designing Pillars (part2)
Web-site designing Pillars (part2)
by: Pavel Lenshin
USABILITY
Usability is what makes your WS pleasant to deal with. While everyone defines personally for her(him)self how to make design nice to look at, memorable (in respect to branding) and serve customer/business needs in the best way possible, the technical side of usability can and should be corrected using the standard requirements.
SOURCE CODE OPTIMIZATION
Firstly about the four problems that come to my mind with "dirty" HTML source code:
Potential cross-browser conflicts as some particular useless Tags (a piece of HTML source code) may be neglected by one browser but create some visual errors, when viewed in other browser.
The more useless HTML Tags web-page has, the more drive space it occupies.
As the derivative of the previous problem, the more size of that web-page, the longer it takes to visitor to load and view it.
Search engines like plain and clear textual information for easy search and scan. By having a lot of useless pieces of HTML code, you prevent SE spiders to proper index your web-pages. The result is the obvious decreasing of your Search Engine rankings. That is why Meta Tags correcting is not the only thing you should pay attention to.
Statistic shows that more then 85% of all WSs online demands graphics or HTML code optimization. That is actually a common problem, the core of which lies in the use of highly popular "home" web editors like FrontPage or other.
The "winner" among the worst is well-known Netscape Composer, due to the extremely "dirty" HTML code it generates while editing old or creating new web-pages. If you have ever used Composer and no one have "cleaned" those web-pages afterwards, they definitely contain a lot of HTML "garbage".
Based on my own experience every 50Kb Netscape Composer's web-page can be easily optimized to the 40Kb file size or less, as a simple result of the deleting junk HTML tags. If you implement Cascade Style Sheet and HTML compressor you will get the same, but "clean & shiny" web-page totaling 25-30Kb (40-50% space savings) with the enhanced visual effects.
The example above shows saving on a single web-page, but if we speak in terms of 50-60 pages WS, that occupy (without graphics) 3-5Mb of hard drive space, the potential savings as a result of HTML optimization may reach 1-3Mb. So if you are experiencing the lack of hard drive space with your hosting provider, the solution to that problem lies in simple WS optimization. It doesn't only save a lot of space, but, as we know, eliminates potential cross-browser mistakes, helps SE spiders to properly index your web-pages and make your visitors' surfing more quick and smooth and therefore pleasant.
GRAPHICS OPTIMIZATION
When we speak about poorly optimized graphics we get two problems: more occupied space and worse load time. Given that the first obstacle may be overcome by acquiring personal server with several Gigabytes of hard drive space, the letter problem will continue to exist as the majority of web visitors have low speed dial-up connection.
To make your graphics optimized on the basic level, you should save it in the proper graphic format. Many popular pictures of eBook covers can be easily optimized simply by re-saving .JPG format into .GIF or vice versa depending on particular file. That tactic alone can bring 15Kb file to occupy 7-10Kb in the matter of 2 min.
The basic math shows that 10 optimized pictures (without HTML optimization) on a web-page are capable to decrease the overall size of it from 120Kb to 70Kb with no visual loss in the quality of picture. Are you aware of statistics how many visitors leave your site just because they are tired to wait until all pictures load? It doesn't mean that you have to simply delete these pictures completely as some people suggest, what it does mean is that they are better to be optimized because in case with eBook covers, they proved to triple selling potential and their absence will be hardly compensated by new visitors.
To choose the right format, follow one simple rule: "If the target picture is more likely to be a photo, with many colors, unshaped objects and different lights, this file should be saved in .JPG format. If, on the contrary, a picture is more likely to consists of a number of vector objects like circles, triangles, squares, doesn't have too many colors or similar to some drown comics, then .GIF format is the best to use."
If it is hard to determine, then save it in both formats and compare quality/size ratio. Not much work, big effect.
Having semi- or fully professional graphic editors will allow you to get even better results by selecting compression rate, smoothness, sharpness of edges – if we speak about .JPG format; or palette, colors, rate of transparency, animation features etc. – if we deal with .GIF format.
Today's technological opportunities are vast, so it is you to decide how deeply you want to "dive in".
CROSS-BROWSER & SCREEN RESOLUTION OPTIMIZATION
The numbers are the following:
2% have outdated 14'' with 640*480 pixels in width and height respectively.
49% of web-surfers use 15" monitors with preferable "standard" screen resolution of 800*600 pixels;
45% surf the web with 17" monitors with reasonable 1024*768 resolution;
4% of users enjoy 18-19" monitors with 1152*864-1280*1024 screen settings.
What should these numbers tell you? The very simple thing – if you created the WS on your 15" monitor, don't assume that it will look as good on other monitors as on yours.
Let me draw several notes here about the tendency that monitor market will follow in the nearest future. First is that all 14" monitors are gradually going to their deserved eternal rest. Even the share of notebooks with 15" TFT screens growing exponentially. There are even several new versions with 16" active matrixes. Don't also forget that notebooks' 14" TFT screen have almost the same diagonal inches as usual 15" CRT (Cathode-ray tube) monitors. Secondly, the number of 15" monitors is also decreasing, due to growing number of 17" monitor owners that is the third point.
One sentence conclusion of the above statistics is that your WS should look fine, at least, under 800*600 and 1024*768 resolutions. This is a market demand to your WS and, as we know, you better not joke with The Market.
Without going deep into theory, there are two ways:
more simple;
more complex.
Both correct, both satisfy the demand above but the letter way, given it is more complex, usually perfectly fits any screen resolution, whether it is 14" or 21" and more favorable to WS space usage.
The easier way would be to make the borders of your web-page (tables of your web-page) to be fixed with certain number of pixels.
The most popular settings are something between 650 to 750 pixels just to fit that 800 pixels width screen under the most popular 15" monitor 800*600 resolution. If you go that way your web-page will have the same look under different sets of resolutions.
If we try to see it at 14" monitor with 640 pixels in width, the unpleasant horizontal scroller would appear because our fixed setting in 700 pixels is wider then 640 and it just won't fit in it. If, on the other hand, we look at our imaginable site under 1152*864 or 1280*1024, it will look too narrow, as it will occupy only 60% of the screen width (our 700 in comparison to 1200 screen pixels width). Why does this designing way simpler? You just won't have any problems building it: no need for resolution or cross-browser optimization, as fixed pixels are read correctly under almost every browser.
The more complex way is to have width of one or several HTML tables columns on your site to be set in percents like 75% or 100% and, therefore, poses the ability to automatically broaden or narrow according to the specified percents, depending on what screen resolution the site is being viewed under.
If you have 600*800 screen settings (the screen width is 600 pixels) and one of the table width of your site is set to 100%, then this particular table along with all included text and graphic will narrow to 600 pixels, if we set the monitor to 1200*1024 resolution, i.e. having 1200 pixels wide, our site's table will stretch to the specified 100%, in that case, 1200 pixels.
That's why it looks more attractive under different resolutions but demands additional optimization, including cross-browser optimization, as Netscape Navigator browser has some problems with proper interpreting of percent settings in multi column tables. Which way to choose depends on the tasks and your preference.
I wish you endless creativity and no more then 70Kb per page
copyright (c) Pavel Lenshin
by: Pavel Lenshin
USABILITY
Usability is what makes your WS pleasant to deal with. While everyone defines personally for her(him)self how to make design nice to look at, memorable (in respect to branding) and serve customer/business needs in the best way possible, the technical side of usability can and should be corrected using the standard requirements.
SOURCE CODE OPTIMIZATION
Firstly about the four problems that come to my mind with "dirty" HTML source code:
Potential cross-browser conflicts as some particular useless Tags (a piece of HTML source code) may be neglected by one browser but create some visual errors, when viewed in other browser.
The more useless HTML Tags web-page has, the more drive space it occupies.
As the derivative of the previous problem, the more size of that web-page, the longer it takes to visitor to load and view it.
Search engines like plain and clear textual information for easy search and scan. By having a lot of useless pieces of HTML code, you prevent SE spiders to proper index your web-pages. The result is the obvious decreasing of your Search Engine rankings. That is why Meta Tags correcting is not the only thing you should pay attention to.
Statistic shows that more then 85% of all WSs online demands graphics or HTML code optimization. That is actually a common problem, the core of which lies in the use of highly popular "home" web editors like FrontPage or other.
The "winner" among the worst is well-known Netscape Composer, due to the extremely "dirty" HTML code it generates while editing old or creating new web-pages. If you have ever used Composer and no one have "cleaned" those web-pages afterwards, they definitely contain a lot of HTML "garbage".
Based on my own experience every 50Kb Netscape Composer's web-page can be easily optimized to the 40Kb file size or less, as a simple result of the deleting junk HTML tags. If you implement Cascade Style Sheet and HTML compressor you will get the same, but "clean & shiny" web-page totaling 25-30Kb (40-50% space savings) with the enhanced visual effects.
The example above shows saving on a single web-page, but if we speak in terms of 50-60 pages WS, that occupy (without graphics) 3-5Mb of hard drive space, the potential savings as a result of HTML optimization may reach 1-3Mb. So if you are experiencing the lack of hard drive space with your hosting provider, the solution to that problem lies in simple WS optimization. It doesn't only save a lot of space, but, as we know, eliminates potential cross-browser mistakes, helps SE spiders to properly index your web-pages and make your visitors' surfing more quick and smooth and therefore pleasant.
GRAPHICS OPTIMIZATION
When we speak about poorly optimized graphics we get two problems: more occupied space and worse load time. Given that the first obstacle may be overcome by acquiring personal server with several Gigabytes of hard drive space, the letter problem will continue to exist as the majority of web visitors have low speed dial-up connection.
To make your graphics optimized on the basic level, you should save it in the proper graphic format. Many popular pictures of eBook covers can be easily optimized simply by re-saving .JPG format into .GIF or vice versa depending on particular file. That tactic alone can bring 15Kb file to occupy 7-10Kb in the matter of 2 min.
The basic math shows that 10 optimized pictures (without HTML optimization) on a web-page are capable to decrease the overall size of it from 120Kb to 70Kb with no visual loss in the quality of picture. Are you aware of statistics how many visitors leave your site just because they are tired to wait until all pictures load? It doesn't mean that you have to simply delete these pictures completely as some people suggest, what it does mean is that they are better to be optimized because in case with eBook covers, they proved to triple selling potential and their absence will be hardly compensated by new visitors.
To choose the right format, follow one simple rule: "If the target picture is more likely to be a photo, with many colors, unshaped objects and different lights, this file should be saved in .JPG format. If, on the contrary, a picture is more likely to consists of a number of vector objects like circles, triangles, squares, doesn't have too many colors or similar to some drown comics, then .GIF format is the best to use."
If it is hard to determine, then save it in both formats and compare quality/size ratio. Not much work, big effect.
Having semi- or fully professional graphic editors will allow you to get even better results by selecting compression rate, smoothness, sharpness of edges – if we speak about .JPG format; or palette, colors, rate of transparency, animation features etc. – if we deal with .GIF format.
Today's technological opportunities are vast, so it is you to decide how deeply you want to "dive in".
CROSS-BROWSER & SCREEN RESOLUTION OPTIMIZATION
The numbers are the following:
2% have outdated 14'' with 640*480 pixels in width and height respectively.
49% of web-surfers use 15" monitors with preferable "standard" screen resolution of 800*600 pixels;
45% surf the web with 17" monitors with reasonable 1024*768 resolution;
4% of users enjoy 18-19" monitors with 1152*864-1280*1024 screen settings.
What should these numbers tell you? The very simple thing – if you created the WS on your 15" monitor, don't assume that it will look as good on other monitors as on yours.
Let me draw several notes here about the tendency that monitor market will follow in the nearest future. First is that all 14" monitors are gradually going to their deserved eternal rest. Even the share of notebooks with 15" TFT screens growing exponentially. There are even several new versions with 16" active matrixes. Don't also forget that notebooks' 14" TFT screen have almost the same diagonal inches as usual 15" CRT (Cathode-ray tube) monitors. Secondly, the number of 15" monitors is also decreasing, due to growing number of 17" monitor owners that is the third point.
One sentence conclusion of the above statistics is that your WS should look fine, at least, under 800*600 and 1024*768 resolutions. This is a market demand to your WS and, as we know, you better not joke with The Market.
Without going deep into theory, there are two ways:
more simple;
more complex.
Both correct, both satisfy the demand above but the letter way, given it is more complex, usually perfectly fits any screen resolution, whether it is 14" or 21" and more favorable to WS space usage.
The easier way would be to make the borders of your web-page (tables of your web-page) to be fixed with certain number of pixels.
The most popular settings are something between 650 to 750 pixels just to fit that 800 pixels width screen under the most popular 15" monitor 800*600 resolution. If you go that way your web-page will have the same look under different sets of resolutions.
If we try to see it at 14" monitor with 640 pixels in width, the unpleasant horizontal scroller would appear because our fixed setting in 700 pixels is wider then 640 and it just won't fit in it. If, on the other hand, we look at our imaginable site under 1152*864 or 1280*1024, it will look too narrow, as it will occupy only 60% of the screen width (our 700 in comparison to 1200 screen pixels width). Why does this designing way simpler? You just won't have any problems building it: no need for resolution or cross-browser optimization, as fixed pixels are read correctly under almost every browser.
The more complex way is to have width of one or several HTML tables columns on your site to be set in percents like 75% or 100% and, therefore, poses the ability to automatically broaden or narrow according to the specified percents, depending on what screen resolution the site is being viewed under.
If you have 600*800 screen settings (the screen width is 600 pixels) and one of the table width of your site is set to 100%, then this particular table along with all included text and graphic will narrow to 600 pixels, if we set the monitor to 1200*1024 resolution, i.e. having 1200 pixels wide, our site's table will stretch to the specified 100%, in that case, 1200 pixels.
That's why it looks more attractive under different resolutions but demands additional optimization, including cross-browser optimization, as Netscape Navigator browser has some problems with proper interpreting of percent settings in multi column tables. Which way to choose depends on the tasks and your preference.
I wish you endless creativity and no more then 70Kb per page
copyright (c) Pavel Lenshin
What to Publish on Your Website: Content Development
What to Publish on Your Website: Content Development
by: John Simms
Many businesses want a simple website where they tell people what their business is about, some information on the products they offer and a means of contacting them.
However, content is vital in the growth of your Internet presence. Information is your asset and all you need to produce it is the knowledge you attain over time.
For some, they simply don’t know where to start. Here are some things to consider that could lead you to providing great content and a value-adding website.
1. Write what you know
Knowledge is power. Post articles to your website that show that you are well informed in your industry. If you can position yourself as an expert in your industry you can boost perceived credibility of your business on the whole.
2. Entertain
Everyone likes to be entertained.
For example, if you are marketing African tours, you might publish photo galleries or post stories on the African people, travel tips, the climate, etc.
3. About Your Business
Are people interested in the current happenings in your business? Post news items on your website. Eg. “New branch in Gauteng”
4. About Your Product
What do your customers often ask you about? What are their uncertainties? If you offer a “complex” product, which requires much learning on the part of the consumer, a website is a great place to teach them! This in mind, you might not want to be too technical in your copy – tell them about the benefits, not the features.
A great way to clarify uncertainties is to publish a “Frequently Asked Questions” or a “Q&A” section.
5. Back to the Plan
Take a look at your marketing and / or business plan – what goals are you trying to achieve and how are you trying to position yourself in the market place?
6. Watch your competition
6.1. What are competitors offering through their website that you are not?
6.1.1. Determine why they publish this content, then think of ways that you can improve it and use it on your website. Don’t copy – enhance.
6.2. What are you offering on your website that competitors are not
This raises two questions:
6.2.1. Is the information you offer really satisfying? Does it need to be there?
6.2.2. And, if the information does give you a kind of competitive advantage, how can you capitalize on that?
7. User Behaviour
Consider your Internet market – what do they do on the Internet.
7.1. Do they like to communicate with other Internet users about your industry? Consider having a forum on your website where you can allow website visitors to do this
by: John Simms
Many businesses want a simple website where they tell people what their business is about, some information on the products they offer and a means of contacting them.
However, content is vital in the growth of your Internet presence. Information is your asset and all you need to produce it is the knowledge you attain over time.
For some, they simply don’t know where to start. Here are some things to consider that could lead you to providing great content and a value-adding website.
1. Write what you know
Knowledge is power. Post articles to your website that show that you are well informed in your industry. If you can position yourself as an expert in your industry you can boost perceived credibility of your business on the whole.
2. Entertain
Everyone likes to be entertained.
For example, if you are marketing African tours, you might publish photo galleries or post stories on the African people, travel tips, the climate, etc.
3. About Your Business
Are people interested in the current happenings in your business? Post news items on your website. Eg. “New branch in Gauteng”
4. About Your Product
What do your customers often ask you about? What are their uncertainties? If you offer a “complex” product, which requires much learning on the part of the consumer, a website is a great place to teach them! This in mind, you might not want to be too technical in your copy – tell them about the benefits, not the features.
A great way to clarify uncertainties is to publish a “Frequently Asked Questions” or a “Q&A” section.
5. Back to the Plan
Take a look at your marketing and / or business plan – what goals are you trying to achieve and how are you trying to position yourself in the market place?
6. Watch your competition
6.1. What are competitors offering through their website that you are not?
6.1.1. Determine why they publish this content, then think of ways that you can improve it and use it on your website. Don’t copy – enhance.
6.2. What are you offering on your website that competitors are not
This raises two questions:
6.2.1. Is the information you offer really satisfying? Does it need to be there?
6.2.2. And, if the information does give you a kind of competitive advantage, how can you capitalize on that?
7. User Behaviour
Consider your Internet market – what do they do on the Internet.
7.1. Do they like to communicate with other Internet users about your industry? Consider having a forum on your website where you can allow website visitors to do this
Why Optimize Your Site For Search Engines?
Why Optimize Your Site For Search Engines?
by: John Metzler
Sometimes a search engine optimization company will miss that glaring question posed by potential clients and assume the benefits of search engine optimization are obvious to everyone. While shelling out a couple thousand on an SEO campaign is common sense to some, others may find it hard to part with the cash unless they know it is an investment in their business that is sure to bring a good return.
Search engines account for a huge portion of traffic to web sites. Data varies depending on what sources you read, but the bottom line is that search engines are used millions of times each day by consumers searching for goods and services. And having your business displayed at the top of search results is essential if you want to do any business from the major search engines. Nine in every ten users will find what they're looking for in the top 10 results and won't go to page 2.
It's obvious that people can make a lot of money from online sales, but how you advertise your products has a large bearing on what kind of profit you make. If you buy advertising space on Google AdWords or other services that charge per click, you may only shell out 10 cents for every visitor to your site - But what if it takes 100 clicks to make one sale? If your products only sell for $10 a piece, then there is no profit being made. Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns will also never stop costing you money. Search Engine Optimization, on the other hand, can be very affordable over months and years.
Many SEO and Internet Marketing companies will say that ongoing maintenance is needed to reach and keep top search engine rankings. While this is true, be careful how the company says they do it. There is an affordable way and then there's a way to pad the pockets of the "experts." For more on this issue, read my other article entitled "What Constitutes a Complete and Effective SEO Campaign?" In short, the affordable way will involve an intense content optimization followed by work to raise link popularity. This link popularity development should be the bulk of any ongoing maintenance. A couple times a year keyword research should be done again and the content should be looked at. Search trends can sometimes fluctuate so you want to make sure your content is still aimed at the right audience.
What is affordable and what isn't varies greatly from company to company, industry to industry. In the bed and breakfast industry, $30 per month may be enough to keep a top 5 ranking on Google if the market is not very competitive. A web site competing for a top spot in a database administration field may be looking at several hundred a week if not more. The bottom line is, if you pick the right Search Engine Optimization company, your return on investment from an SEO campaign can be over 1000%.
While there are other ways to advertise a web site (No, search engine optimization is not the be-all and end-all of online advertising) very few can match the wide targeted audience and affordability that search engines provide.
by: John Metzler
Sometimes a search engine optimization company will miss that glaring question posed by potential clients and assume the benefits of search engine optimization are obvious to everyone. While shelling out a couple thousand on an SEO campaign is common sense to some, others may find it hard to part with the cash unless they know it is an investment in their business that is sure to bring a good return.
Search engines account for a huge portion of traffic to web sites. Data varies depending on what sources you read, but the bottom line is that search engines are used millions of times each day by consumers searching for goods and services. And having your business displayed at the top of search results is essential if you want to do any business from the major search engines. Nine in every ten users will find what they're looking for in the top 10 results and won't go to page 2.
It's obvious that people can make a lot of money from online sales, but how you advertise your products has a large bearing on what kind of profit you make. If you buy advertising space on Google AdWords or other services that charge per click, you may only shell out 10 cents for every visitor to your site - But what if it takes 100 clicks to make one sale? If your products only sell for $10 a piece, then there is no profit being made. Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns will also never stop costing you money. Search Engine Optimization, on the other hand, can be very affordable over months and years.
Many SEO and Internet Marketing companies will say that ongoing maintenance is needed to reach and keep top search engine rankings. While this is true, be careful how the company says they do it. There is an affordable way and then there's a way to pad the pockets of the "experts." For more on this issue, read my other article entitled "What Constitutes a Complete and Effective SEO Campaign?" In short, the affordable way will involve an intense content optimization followed by work to raise link popularity. This link popularity development should be the bulk of any ongoing maintenance. A couple times a year keyword research should be done again and the content should be looked at. Search trends can sometimes fluctuate so you want to make sure your content is still aimed at the right audience.
What is affordable and what isn't varies greatly from company to company, industry to industry. In the bed and breakfast industry, $30 per month may be enough to keep a top 5 ranking on Google if the market is not very competitive. A web site competing for a top spot in a database administration field may be looking at several hundred a week if not more. The bottom line is, if you pick the right Search Engine Optimization company, your return on investment from an SEO campaign can be over 1000%.
While there are other ways to advertise a web site (No, search engine optimization is not the be-all and end-all of online advertising) very few can match the wide targeted audience and affordability that search engines provide.
SEO in a BOX?
SEO in a BOX?
by: John Krycek
Are profitable, top search ranks possible without the help of an experienced search engine optimization company?
Can a software package or online miracle site touting testimonials and grandeur guarantees of success elevate your online presence enough to really increase sales?
Unfortunately, unless the software or miracle website were able to research your market, find hidden niches within it, author intriguing, creative, relevant and keyword laden content, house it in a framework that meshes precisely with that content, dissect and analyze your ranking competition and apply that statistical data within the afore mentioned tasks, you'll be using that money back guarantee.
The same goes of number one rank promises for a keyword for $49. Now I'm not suggesting a claim like that is bogus or false advertising. But, ask if that keyword or phrase has actually had more than one search somewhere in the world in the past month. Or to shake them, insist your keyword phrase they must bring to the number one spot is "online casino.
IS THERE INEXPENSIVE HELP THAT WORKS?
Is there a working alternative for smaller businesses and sites that can't budget pro SEO right now? There are techniques that would give your site a chance of rising higher in the ranks. You'll find countless articles and instructions online and in bookstores about general things you can do to your site to improve it's online presence.
While helpful and usually accurate, blindly applying techniques to your site without some further knowledge of your own site, your competition, and your online market will hinder your efforts.
With some real world, current analysis of YOUR individual situation at your disposal, you can greatly improve your efforts with even the smallest copy, title or content adjustment. It is going to require some work on your part, no matter what do-it-yourself tactics you employ.
HOWEVER, there are tools and analysis reports available to you that can give you a towering leap for the do-it-yourselfer. Some plain English comparisons of your page vs. the top 10 ranking pages in a particular engine for a particular keyword phrase will define dozens of parameters to begin your do – it –yourself optimization.
How many links do you need, are there better keywords you should choose, and then what do you do with all this information once you have it? Comparisons and analysis of your site and your competitors are usually presented in an easy to understand format and reveal patterns and collected intelligence that can help you re-write and revise your content and page layout and begin your SEO efforts a lap ahead of everyone else.
SET REALISTIC GOALS
You must remember, legitimate, professional search engine optimizers are immersed in their field and are educated with experience. The time, knowledge, talent and effort that you get with a pro is worth every penny.
A professional SEO's approach involves research of your market, competition and many times a significant renovation of your existing site from code to content. The in-depth detail and deep analysis, content development, link and page structure requires a significant amount of time, experience, and a lot of hand work.
In other words, if you want to feel better and improve your self image, you don't have to pay a doctor to tell you that eating healthy, taking a vitamin and regular exercise will make a marked improvement in your well being.
If you want the large scale, lasting and radical change a facelift can give you, you must pay a plastic surgeon for his education, experience and talent.
Don't forget to use some common sense when looking at your market. If you think you're going to rank for a highly competitive keyword that has several well known companies at the top without the aid of a professional, you'll probably end up disheartened.
Achieving first page ranks for competitive keywords in a saturated market is a mammoth task, and at the very least would require a full time effort by an experienced firm with resources to take on such a challenge. Don't be discouraged; with some brainstorming you can think of some related, less competitive keywords and niche markets to target.
HOW A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE CAN GO A LONG WAY
Some very simple copy adjustments in the right place can go a long way on less competitive sites. Let's look at a few easy changes anyone can make.
Page Titles
The page title, the words that display in the top of your web window, is one of the most crucial elements on the page as far as the search engines go. When you do a search for something what do you type in the search field? Unless it's a company's specific name, you type in a keyword or key phrase like "mens cross training air sneakers".
A very common mistake is to put your company name in the page title. Sometimes it's appropriate, but for ranking purposes, use a concise description of your page with a prime keyword from that page.
Bonus Hint- Start your first sentence with that same keyword!
Content Quality
You'll surely find as many opinions about content as there are about politics. Take away the extremes and you'll find the meat is the same. To increase your rank, you have to have searchable content, and it must be quality. What is quality? More importantly, what do the search engines think is quality?
The answers depend on your site and position on the internet. However, all quality content shares some characteristics.
It's useful information about your products or service. Don't throw random free, generic, carbon copied stuff from the web onto your site. Use some thought and creativity. Build copy around different aspects of your target.
LOOK FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE
If you have a site about restoring classic cars, make a page about the evolution of headlights over the decades. Add another page about how and where to find hard to find classic parts.
Content should be:
Easy to follow- and well written for a human reader, not a search engine.
Unique- write it yourself or hire a writer.
Varied- Don't fill your page with the same keyword repeatedly or you risk being considered spam. Examine the keyword densities of your keyword in the top 10 listings it returns in a particular engine. Stay within that number.
Take a few more evenings or weekends and improve your ranks by doing some research and digging, and applying that invaluable knowledge strategically to your web site.
KINDS OF SEO RESEARCH you can do to win
There are SEO companies online who offer various reports that can save you a lot of the legwork. Even the simplest of tasks can be too time consuming when you need to focus on editing your pages. For example, finding your current rank, if any, in all of the major engines for all of the keywords you want to rank could take a day on your own. Some other types of reports available are:
Keyword Research-
A list of keywords you or I might make sitting down with a pencil and paper is a good start. The important word here is "start". That list is dozens of revisions away from completion. It will expand and contract many times as further information is gathered.
Are your words focused and targeted enough so you'll attract qualified leads? Are there related words and phrases that you haven't thought of? What words does your competition have throughout their pages? And most importantly, are the words you've chosen actually being typed into search engines?
You can find many different levels of keyword services from simple analysis of your existing pages to research and development of an entire list ready for use in your pages, Adwords or PPC campaigns.
Competition Research-
Who is ranking now? Who is in the positions where you want to be? Examine your competition's pages with a microscope. An Understanding of those you want to outrank gives you a working outline to revise your own. (Do NOT copy their content.) Focus on trends, keywords, densities, titles, page elements… their pages, structures and their links.
On Page Optimization-
A report like this analyzes the words in the elements on your page like titles and boldface or headings as well as your body copy, and link text. It also tells you information about keyword density. Earlier I mentioned that using a keyword too many times on a page could be considered spam. An analysis like this will show how many times each word, word pairs and groups of words were used on a page and what percentage of all the words they are.
A report on a high ranking competitor's site will give you some insight into a page that is successfully ranking for keywords you want.
Off Page or Link Reports-
As soon as you start learning about search engine optimization, you'll understand what a key role good quality links play in determining rank. These types of analysis will show who is linking to you, or even better, who is linking to a ranking competitor. You can get some ideas of sites to list with and an approximate number of links of a particular quality that you'll need to rank.
TAKE SOME ACTION- a few well researched changes can give you a boost
If ranking and online presence are crucial, then find a respected, recommended and experienced search engine optimization professional. The same logic that tells you to go to the doctor when aspirin doesn't do the applies to this situation.
If budget is constricting, your keywords have little competition, or you'd like to improve your presence to the best it can be without employing a professional then you'd be surprised what a little knowledge and time can do for your ranking. Applying the same techniques every few weeks and keeping your site fresh will put you a level even higher above the rest.
Remember, many variables and factors are considered and given varying weights by different engines to determine where you rank. A brand new site, no matter how optimized it is usually doesn't show any rank in Google until it miraculously appears about a year later. Older sites of more than a few years often take the top ranks for competitive words.
Don't be discouraged. The simple SEO methods you read about online or in publications can give your site a stronger presence, but will achieve far better results for you if you employ some smaller, budget based intelligence and research.
by: John Krycek
Are profitable, top search ranks possible without the help of an experienced search engine optimization company?
Can a software package or online miracle site touting testimonials and grandeur guarantees of success elevate your online presence enough to really increase sales?
Unfortunately, unless the software or miracle website were able to research your market, find hidden niches within it, author intriguing, creative, relevant and keyword laden content, house it in a framework that meshes precisely with that content, dissect and analyze your ranking competition and apply that statistical data within the afore mentioned tasks, you'll be using that money back guarantee.
The same goes of number one rank promises for a keyword for $49. Now I'm not suggesting a claim like that is bogus or false advertising. But, ask if that keyword or phrase has actually had more than one search somewhere in the world in the past month. Or to shake them, insist your keyword phrase they must bring to the number one spot is "online casino.
IS THERE INEXPENSIVE HELP THAT WORKS?
Is there a working alternative for smaller businesses and sites that can't budget pro SEO right now? There are techniques that would give your site a chance of rising higher in the ranks. You'll find countless articles and instructions online and in bookstores about general things you can do to your site to improve it's online presence.
While helpful and usually accurate, blindly applying techniques to your site without some further knowledge of your own site, your competition, and your online market will hinder your efforts.
With some real world, current analysis of YOUR individual situation at your disposal, you can greatly improve your efforts with even the smallest copy, title or content adjustment. It is going to require some work on your part, no matter what do-it-yourself tactics you employ.
HOWEVER, there are tools and analysis reports available to you that can give you a towering leap for the do-it-yourselfer. Some plain English comparisons of your page vs. the top 10 ranking pages in a particular engine for a particular keyword phrase will define dozens of parameters to begin your do – it –yourself optimization.
How many links do you need, are there better keywords you should choose, and then what do you do with all this information once you have it? Comparisons and analysis of your site and your competitors are usually presented in an easy to understand format and reveal patterns and collected intelligence that can help you re-write and revise your content and page layout and begin your SEO efforts a lap ahead of everyone else.
SET REALISTIC GOALS
You must remember, legitimate, professional search engine optimizers are immersed in their field and are educated with experience. The time, knowledge, talent and effort that you get with a pro is worth every penny.
A professional SEO's approach involves research of your market, competition and many times a significant renovation of your existing site from code to content. The in-depth detail and deep analysis, content development, link and page structure requires a significant amount of time, experience, and a lot of hand work.
In other words, if you want to feel better and improve your self image, you don't have to pay a doctor to tell you that eating healthy, taking a vitamin and regular exercise will make a marked improvement in your well being.
If you want the large scale, lasting and radical change a facelift can give you, you must pay a plastic surgeon for his education, experience and talent.
Don't forget to use some common sense when looking at your market. If you think you're going to rank for a highly competitive keyword that has several well known companies at the top without the aid of a professional, you'll probably end up disheartened.
Achieving first page ranks for competitive keywords in a saturated market is a mammoth task, and at the very least would require a full time effort by an experienced firm with resources to take on such a challenge. Don't be discouraged; with some brainstorming you can think of some related, less competitive keywords and niche markets to target.
HOW A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE CAN GO A LONG WAY
Some very simple copy adjustments in the right place can go a long way on less competitive sites. Let's look at a few easy changes anyone can make.
Page Titles
The page title, the words that display in the top of your web window, is one of the most crucial elements on the page as far as the search engines go. When you do a search for something what do you type in the search field? Unless it's a company's specific name, you type in a keyword or key phrase like "mens cross training air sneakers".
A very common mistake is to put your company name in the page title. Sometimes it's appropriate, but for ranking purposes, use a concise description of your page with a prime keyword from that page.
Bonus Hint- Start your first sentence with that same keyword!
Content Quality
You'll surely find as many opinions about content as there are about politics. Take away the extremes and you'll find the meat is the same. To increase your rank, you have to have searchable content, and it must be quality. What is quality? More importantly, what do the search engines think is quality?
The answers depend on your site and position on the internet. However, all quality content shares some characteristics.
It's useful information about your products or service. Don't throw random free, generic, carbon copied stuff from the web onto your site. Use some thought and creativity. Build copy around different aspects of your target.
LOOK FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE
If you have a site about restoring classic cars, make a page about the evolution of headlights over the decades. Add another page about how and where to find hard to find classic parts.
Content should be:
Easy to follow- and well written for a human reader, not a search engine.
Unique- write it yourself or hire a writer.
Varied- Don't fill your page with the same keyword repeatedly or you risk being considered spam. Examine the keyword densities of your keyword in the top 10 listings it returns in a particular engine. Stay within that number.
Take a few more evenings or weekends and improve your ranks by doing some research and digging, and applying that invaluable knowledge strategically to your web site.
KINDS OF SEO RESEARCH you can do to win
There are SEO companies online who offer various reports that can save you a lot of the legwork. Even the simplest of tasks can be too time consuming when you need to focus on editing your pages. For example, finding your current rank, if any, in all of the major engines for all of the keywords you want to rank could take a day on your own. Some other types of reports available are:
Keyword Research-
A list of keywords you or I might make sitting down with a pencil and paper is a good start. The important word here is "start". That list is dozens of revisions away from completion. It will expand and contract many times as further information is gathered.
Are your words focused and targeted enough so you'll attract qualified leads? Are there related words and phrases that you haven't thought of? What words does your competition have throughout their pages? And most importantly, are the words you've chosen actually being typed into search engines?
You can find many different levels of keyword services from simple analysis of your existing pages to research and development of an entire list ready for use in your pages, Adwords or PPC campaigns.
Competition Research-
Who is ranking now? Who is in the positions where you want to be? Examine your competition's pages with a microscope. An Understanding of those you want to outrank gives you a working outline to revise your own. (Do NOT copy their content.) Focus on trends, keywords, densities, titles, page elements… their pages, structures and their links.
On Page Optimization-
A report like this analyzes the words in the elements on your page like titles and boldface or headings as well as your body copy, and link text. It also tells you information about keyword density. Earlier I mentioned that using a keyword too many times on a page could be considered spam. An analysis like this will show how many times each word, word pairs and groups of words were used on a page and what percentage of all the words they are.
A report on a high ranking competitor's site will give you some insight into a page that is successfully ranking for keywords you want.
Off Page or Link Reports-
As soon as you start learning about search engine optimization, you'll understand what a key role good quality links play in determining rank. These types of analysis will show who is linking to you, or even better, who is linking to a ranking competitor. You can get some ideas of sites to list with and an approximate number of links of a particular quality that you'll need to rank.
TAKE SOME ACTION- a few well researched changes can give you a boost
If ranking and online presence are crucial, then find a respected, recommended and experienced search engine optimization professional. The same logic that tells you to go to the doctor when aspirin doesn't do the applies to this situation.
If budget is constricting, your keywords have little competition, or you'd like to improve your presence to the best it can be without employing a professional then you'd be surprised what a little knowledge and time can do for your ranking. Applying the same techniques every few weeks and keeping your site fresh will put you a level even higher above the rest.
Remember, many variables and factors are considered and given varying weights by different engines to determine where you rank. A brand new site, no matter how optimized it is usually doesn't show any rank in Google until it miraculously appears about a year later. Older sites of more than a few years often take the top ranks for competitive words.
Don't be discouraged. The simple SEO methods you read about online or in publications can give your site a stronger presence, but will achieve far better results for you if you employ some smaller, budget based intelligence and research.
Take the Wheel - Drive Customers to your Website
Take the Wheel - Drive Customers to your Website
by: Lori Quaranta
So you own a small business and you have made the decision to build a simple website to gain internet exposure. Or maybe you already have a website that no one visits? You can be the proud owner of the slickest website you have ever seen, but if you aren’t getting any traffic because it’s not properly optimized you have wasted a good chunk of change and a lot of your valuable time. Weather you are building a site from scratch or tweaking one that already exists, consider these web hosting and marketing tips to help drive traffic to your website:
For Web Hosting:
1) Start with keywords - Think about terms potential customers would use to find you in a search engine. What would you type in if you were looking for your business?
2) Use a keyword selector tool - Type your keywords into a keyword selector tool to see how many people have searched on the term in the last 30 days. Look for terms in the 2k-10k range that are relevant to your site.
3) Use domain names which match your keywords – My client advertises products that are geared toward leadership skills development. In addition to leadingonedge.com he also has leadership-skills.info and a handful of others.
4) Use keywords throughout your web pages - Put your keywords in the title, description, keywords, graphics, and written text.
5) Use a keyword density analyzer - Check your website against a keyword density analyzer to see how frequently a specific keyword is used. Shoot for 3-15% density.
6) Slick and sexy doesn't get you traffic - Don't waste your money on slick graphics or things that fly across your screen. Most visitors find them annoying and search engines don't care for them.
7) Use Google AdSense on your website - Whenever someone clicks on a Google ad in your website, you get revenue. And the ads are relevant to your content. My websites now pay for themselves with ad revenue alone.
8) Advertise Amazon books and products on your website - Set up an Amazon Associates account and put relevant books and products on your website. When someone buys a product you get referral revenue.
9) Consider using a website starter package - If going it on your own, think about using a website starter package which can have you up and running quickly.
10) Decide where you want to spend your time - In any business, time is money! Small business web hosting is very doable, but it does take time. Decide if you want to do it yourself or have a professional help you.
For Marketing:
1) Get an automated eCommerce system - These can be really good, very comprehensive and very inexpensive. The good ones can do everything from customer base management to product management to shopping cart to newsletter broadcasts.
2) Get a cheap and reliable merchant account provider - You can get merchant account providers that do both the merchant account and internet gateway for you.
3) Put a link back to your website in your email autosignature - This doesn't need to be obnoxious, just a simple link that email recipients can click on to reference your website.
4) Do selective link trading - Link trade, but make sure the content on the other websites is similar to your own. Don't touch "link farms" with a ten-foot pole; search engines hate them.
5) Write articles and include your website address – Every business owner has something to say that someone would love to read about! There are a number of article databases out there that are researched for website content. Find some article databases which house content similar to yours and write a few articles. You'd be amazed at where your articles show up!
6) Write newsletters - Allow for customers and visitors to subscribe to a newsletter to get regular visibility to you and your company. This is also a great way to compile a customer email data base for your business.
7) Consider using a search engine submission services - These services submit your site to multiple search engines & directories. This can be helpful particularly if your website is new.
8) Set up an affiliates program - Allow for others to promote your products on a commission basis. Again a good eCommerce system should already have this built in.
9) Download the Google Toolbar – I am a Google toolbar fanatic! The Google Toolbar has a nifty feature which shows you the page rank (0-10 scale) of every site you visit; the higher your page ranking the higher your placement in search engines.
10) Set up multiple websites - Got three services you perform? Set up three different websites with domain names that match your keywords. Super cheap to do and can be very effective.
Lori Quaranta
http://www.consetta.com
http://www.consettapr.com
by: Lori Quaranta
So you own a small business and you have made the decision to build a simple website to gain internet exposure. Or maybe you already have a website that no one visits? You can be the proud owner of the slickest website you have ever seen, but if you aren’t getting any traffic because it’s not properly optimized you have wasted a good chunk of change and a lot of your valuable time. Weather you are building a site from scratch or tweaking one that already exists, consider these web hosting and marketing tips to help drive traffic to your website:
For Web Hosting:
1) Start with keywords - Think about terms potential customers would use to find you in a search engine. What would you type in if you were looking for your business?
2) Use a keyword selector tool - Type your keywords into a keyword selector tool to see how many people have searched on the term in the last 30 days. Look for terms in the 2k-10k range that are relevant to your site.
3) Use domain names which match your keywords – My client advertises products that are geared toward leadership skills development. In addition to leadingonedge.com he also has leadership-skills.info and a handful of others.
4) Use keywords throughout your web pages - Put your keywords in the title, description, keywords, graphics, and written text.
5) Use a keyword density analyzer - Check your website against a keyword density analyzer to see how frequently a specific keyword is used. Shoot for 3-15% density.
6) Slick and sexy doesn't get you traffic - Don't waste your money on slick graphics or things that fly across your screen. Most visitors find them annoying and search engines don't care for them.
7) Use Google AdSense on your website - Whenever someone clicks on a Google ad in your website, you get revenue. And the ads are relevant to your content. My websites now pay for themselves with ad revenue alone.
8) Advertise Amazon books and products on your website - Set up an Amazon Associates account and put relevant books and products on your website. When someone buys a product you get referral revenue.
9) Consider using a website starter package - If going it on your own, think about using a website starter package which can have you up and running quickly.
10) Decide where you want to spend your time - In any business, time is money! Small business web hosting is very doable, but it does take time. Decide if you want to do it yourself or have a professional help you.
For Marketing:
1) Get an automated eCommerce system - These can be really good, very comprehensive and very inexpensive. The good ones can do everything from customer base management to product management to shopping cart to newsletter broadcasts.
2) Get a cheap and reliable merchant account provider - You can get merchant account providers that do both the merchant account and internet gateway for you.
3) Put a link back to your website in your email autosignature - This doesn't need to be obnoxious, just a simple link that email recipients can click on to reference your website.
4) Do selective link trading - Link trade, but make sure the content on the other websites is similar to your own. Don't touch "link farms" with a ten-foot pole; search engines hate them.
5) Write articles and include your website address – Every business owner has something to say that someone would love to read about! There are a number of article databases out there that are researched for website content. Find some article databases which house content similar to yours and write a few articles. You'd be amazed at where your articles show up!
6) Write newsletters - Allow for customers and visitors to subscribe to a newsletter to get regular visibility to you and your company. This is also a great way to compile a customer email data base for your business.
7) Consider using a search engine submission services - These services submit your site to multiple search engines & directories. This can be helpful particularly if your website is new.
8) Set up an affiliates program - Allow for others to promote your products on a commission basis. Again a good eCommerce system should already have this built in.
9) Download the Google Toolbar – I am a Google toolbar fanatic! The Google Toolbar has a nifty feature which shows you the page rank (0-10 scale) of every site you visit; the higher your page ranking the higher your placement in search engines.
10) Set up multiple websites - Got three services you perform? Set up three different websites with domain names that match your keywords. Super cheap to do and can be very effective.
Lori Quaranta
http://www.consetta.com
http://www.consettapr.com
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