Allocating Your Web Sites Budget Properly

Writen by Stoney DeGeyter

I had a client say something to me the other day that I thought was rather interesting. He mentioned that he almost considers SEO as a marketing expense even though its really a web expense. It was then that I realized that many people still do not consider what they do with their website as part of their marketing plan but as, well, just something else.

I think this is most obvious when you consider how little many are willing to spend on their website once they get past the design stage. I've dealt with client after client that had no problem pouring thousands of dollars into their website design but cringe at a few thousand dollars going towards improving traffic and conversions through search engine optimization. Maybe this is why so much more money is spent on PPC (pay-per-click) advertising than on SEO, even though SEO has proven a better return on investment over the long term.

What should be considered a marketing expense in regards to your website?

Web Hosting

Technically, web hosting can be considered a utility expense. It's just another bill you pay each month to keep things moving forward, right? Maybe. But what happens when your web site goes down because you exceeded your allocated server load due to a big marketing push? Suddenly hundreds, if not thousands, of potential visitors are not able to download your site. How many potential dollars are lost? Web hosting is cheap, but good web hosting might cost a bit more. Ensuring that your site remains accessible despite sudden peaks in traffic can mean the difference of thousands of dollars a month.

Web Design

Just about anybody can build a good looking web site, but does the artistic team behind the web site know how to assemble the pieces in a way that generates maximum conversions? You don't know? Well, you should. Colors, images, navigation and text placement (among many other factors) all play a role in how you are able to convert your visitors into buyers. Great looking sites can still be poor performers from a usability and conversion perspective. You may getting plenty of sales, but you also may be missing out on many more with an improved, marketing focused, web site design.

Search Engine Optimization

Site optimization is still often relegated as a function of the IT department. While this view has been slowly changing as of late still too many businesses are not taking SEO and the overall marketing of their web site seriously.

What is the goal of getting your site optimized? Is it top rankings? Sadly, for many, this is still the case. In the strictest sense, SEO is just about achieving top rankings, but that mindset is also changing. Top rankings are (or should be) merely a means to an end. The endgame of getting your site optimized for search engine placement is to increase traffic and conversions. That sounds like a marketing plan to me.

Business owners looking toward SEO to improve traffic would do well to change their mindset to thinking of their website as a marketing expense. Not only will your expectations be more realistic but you'll find that this marketing investment, when purchased with careful consideration, can and should outperform virtually all other forms of marketing on- or offline.

Stoney deGeyter is president of Pole Position Marketing, a professional search engine optimization and marketing firm based in Reno, NV, providing quality SEO services since 1998. Stoney has is also a moderator in the Search Engine Forums and Small Business Ideas Forum. You can read his SEM blog at (EMP) E-Marketing Performance. You can email him with any questions at stoney@polepositionmarketing.com

Making Your Websites More Compelling

Writen by Andrea J. Lee

The Internet is a remarkable publishing medium. With just a little effort, you can make your web pages visually irresistible by playing with color, shapes and text. Whether your websites are already launched or you're ready to create your first few, use the 3 simple steps below to kick things up a notch and make your sites professional and appealing.

Step 1: Grab People's Attention with a Photo or Graphic.

Without a logo or visual image to represent the central offering on your web page, you are asking potential clients to immediately take a big leap and dive into your text. Why risk the possibility of them not reading your important message? People browsing the web are notoriously impatient. Capture their attention with a photo/graphic before they click off your site.

Choose the perfect image from Photodisc, ClipArt or Corbis for as little as $9 to $90 per image. Human beings are visual creatures. Consider your favorite magazine for a moment. Would it still be your favorite if it used only text on its cover this month?

Step 2: Boost the credibility of your service or product by using a professional color scheme.

Using the image you selected in step one, it's easy to go the next step and pull together a professional looking color scheme. ColorSchemer is a small, inexpensive software (US$25) that helps you choose a color scheme that's eye-catching and unexpected, even if you're color-challenged. When picking colors, don't be afraid to let your personality show through. Check out http://www.colorschemer.com/.

Step 3: Use graphical "signposts" throughout your material to help readers absorb your message.

As you browse the web, start making mental notes about sites you enjoy visiting. I'm willing to bet it's the ones that break up text with colored bullets, numbers and other signposts that mentally engage you the most. I'll even go so far as to say that a website that does not use graphical signposts shows a disregard for the needs of the reader, intentionally or not.

Think of these mini-graphics as a way of showing consideration to your reader. They want to read your material and you help them make it easy by providing mental white space and places to rest their eyes.

Just a few No-No's:

Don't overdo.

The power of visual communication can be diluted if too many images are used on each page. There is both art and science to finding the right balance since too many images on a website can be just as ineffective as too few. The key is to work at finding this balance by studying other websites.

Don't use Flash or other animation.

More often than not, flash/animation comes across as cheap rather than professional and has only been shown to be effective in very specific circumstances. Moreover, web pages created with Flash don't rank well with search engines. If you must use it, do so very sparingly and be sure to have it professionally designed.

Whatever you do, don't be bland.

With millions of websites published every day, you must stand out in order to be noticed. Graphics that reflect you, your offering and your personality will help you become more attractive to clients -- quickly, affordably and with style.

One of the challenges of working online is to alleviate your client's natural reservations in a new and unfamiliar environment - the virtual world. Making things more comfortable for them is your number one priority and graphics will help you achieve that. By going the extra mile to make your websites look 100% professional, you become more credible in your own eyes as well.

Andrea J. Lee coaches entrepreneurs and online business owners. As Thomas J.Leonard's General Manager, she helped build and manage the largest network and trainer of personal and business coaches in the world. Now the CEO of Andrea J. Lee Group of Companies, she writes, speaks and consults on Marketing, Internet and Business systems. For more helpful tips, visit www.39lessons.com

Six Tips For Building A Contentrich Website

Writen by Donald Nelson

If you want to achieve lasting success with your website, then the best route to take is to build a content-rich site. A site that has varied and informative articles and information will be big hit with viewers and search engines alike. In case you have writer's block or are not sure how to go about creating more content for your website. Here are some tips to help you get moving.

1. When building content try to solve the problems of your viewers without making them buy something

Of course you have set up your website in order to either make money or "get" something out of it, but it is not productive to build scores of pages with hard-sell messages. People are coming to the net to find solutions to their problems. Provide articles, information and answers to these problems and you will win the respect, and trust of your readers. This is known as "pre-selling" and it is just as important as selling itself.

So, before you start tapping on your keyboard, keep the interests of your readers in mind and then begin.

2. Write about what you know and share your knowledge with your readers

If you have set up a website it means that you know something about your particular field, or have some special interest in it. For example, suppose you are selling digital cameras, why not write some articles reviewing the available cameras that are on the market. Or why not write an article explaining what people should look for when they buy a camera. There are a lot of people out there who don't have the foggiest idea about digital cameras and they would sure be happy to get some unbiased information before buying something.

3. Do research and turn dull reports into interesting articles

You can build on what you know by doing a bit of research on the web. Make a keyword search for "digital cameras" or whatever your field is, and you will find some web pages giving information. Often the information is just listed in a point-wise fashion in bulleted lists. Take this information, and blend it with your own experience to create new articles. You can quote or cite the other articles (with hyperlinks) that you find on the web if they are particularly useful. In fact this is the original idea behind Google's system of PageRank: web pages that are particularly good will earn links or "votes" from other sites.

4. Let your readers help you to create content

If you are not sure what to write about then why not ask your web visitors to submit their questions. These questions will stimulate you to provide answers in the form of articles. A good example of this approach is the site www.askdavetaylor.com . Dave Taylor is a technical "geek". If you have any question about computers, software, html, Mac, linux, unix and related technical matters you can just go to his site and ask a question. Dave's answers comprise hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pages of solid information. In fact, he has 29,300 pages indexed in Google!

You don't have to write hundreds or thousands of pages, but if you follow Dave's example you can certainly build up your site, and easily overcome your "writer's block."

5. Reprint the articles of experts in your field

There is no sense in recreating the wheel. If someone has already written something good about your particular field, you can reprint it. You will have to provide a link back to the author, but if the article really fits in with the theme of your site, then it is worth it. You can find free reprint articles at sites such as www.ezinearticles.com and www.goarticles.com

6. Let your readers create content directly

Blogs with their "comments" sections are now one of the most popular ways of allowing web visitors to add their thoughts and ideas. You can also set up a bulletin board or forum using the phpBB software (which is pre-installed with many hosting plans). If you have enough traffic and an audience that is passionately interested in the themes of your website, then your own readers will create pages and pages of interesting content. You will of course have to moderate the forums or blogs, but the reward to you in terms of useful content will be worth it.

So, if your site is a bit thin on content, think about these six tips and take steps towards providing information that will make your site a place where people can come and find solutions to their problems or answers to their questions.

Donald Nelson is a web developer and social worker. He is the proprietor of A1-Optimization, a firm that provides affordable search engine optimization and article writing services. He is the principal editor of the A1-Article Directory

So You Want To Have A Website

Writen by Pamela Jacob

So you want to have a website. You have gone on to the internet and surfed but you have no idea what developing a website involves.

You are not alone

The majority of my clients know they need a website but they feel overwhelmed and intimidated by internet technology and why not? Internet technology is continually evolving and changing. What is true this month may not be true next month.

Where do I start?

Domain Name

The first thing you need to know is what a domain name is and how to register it. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular websites. For example:

http://www.artistadesign.com

The whole address you see above is the URL of my business but the domain name is ArtistaDesign.com. The only way to register and start using a domain name is to use the services of a domain name registrar.

The registrar you choose will determine the cost for registering a domain name. You can expect to pay a yearly fee. The website I use is http://www.godaddy.com they have competitive prices and it is easy to transfer your domain name to any server – web hosting service you choose to host your site.

In picking your domain name make sure it is the name of your business or something related to your business. Once you have a domain name registered it is exclusively yours nobody else can have it unless you don't renew it.

Now What?

Website Development

Once you have registered your domain name it is time to seriously think about building your website. You have two choices: outsource it or do it yourself.

Let me tell you my bias. For nearly all businesses and non-profits I recommend outsourcing the initial web design. Many small businesses attempt to design their own website or to hire someone merely on the basis of cost. Both of these options carry potential consequences.

Having a poorly performing ineffective website is worse than not having one at all. A true professional knows what is needed to make a website a success. There are many types of websites and each business will have a different goal in mind. A professional website developer can help you understand what your needs are and put you on the path to success.

My website is done so what is next?

Hosting

Web hosting is the service that makes a website available to others on the internet. Simply put, you are renting a place to hold your website. Once your website is built your domain name is transferred to your web hosting provider.

Your web designer will upload all the files that are developed for your website to a server (host). The server gives you a specific amount of disc space and allows your website to be accessed by internet users. Web hosting is billed by the month or by the year.

It is very important to find a reliable hosting company for your website you want to be up 24/7 with out any complications. The level of web hosting also depends on the complexity of your website. Your web designer will be able to point you in the right direction.

There are many good hosting companies one of my favorites is http://www.canaca.com they are reliable and give you a good range of choices and options best of all they are reasonably priced.

I think I am ready!

Not yet, it is important to set up professional e-mail addresses. If you have picked a good internet hosting company you should be able to have your e-mails set up – or set them up yourself. It is totally unprofessional for a business to use a free internet e-mail such as AOL or yahoo. You want your business to look legitimate and credibility is of utmost important especially when your business is internet based.

Example:My email is pamela@artistdesign.com that is much more impressive than pamela@yahoo.com . When ever I get an email from a business that has a generic address I get the impression they are not very internet savvy.

Ready Set Go!

Marketing

This is where the action takes place. If you just build your website and park it in cyberspace what do you think will happen? NOTHING…

I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "I have a website but it hasn't helped my business at all!" Well what would happen if you rented a store filled it with beautiful object for people to buy and just set there? NOTHING…

The same is true for the internet. You must market your website. Traditional marketing is great – add internet marketing and you have a recipe for great success. There is much more to marketing your site than putting the proper key words and sending your site to search engines.

Make sure your URL is on every piece of marketing material you have IE: business cards, ads, banners, flyers, brochures etc.

Have a free online newsletter filled with informative information.

Send out press releases announcing your business.

Have special offers on your website.

There are many things you can do to market your internet business. This is just the tip of the ice berg. One website that will give you invaluable information on marketing your business is http://www.kathleengage.com and best of all it is free!

Did you know…

On-lines sales were up 45% in 2004 and research shows that eCommerce totals in 2005 are likely to surpass USD 133 billion.

Businesses of today need an internet presence to show they are legitimate – tomorrow businesses will need internet presence to survive.

With a website the world is your oyster and the future is yours.

Is your website an integral part of making money in your business? Then you need to "Create the image you need to attract the customers you want." Pamela Jacob, owner of Artista Design, can help you do just that. She specializes in all types of visual mediums and has been in the new media industry for over a decade. To gain more valuable insights from Pamela Jacob visit: http://www.artistadesign.com