A little Redo…

So, How do I spend my weekends? Evidently, I spend them gutting and rebuilding (kinda like Dr. Frankenstein) my websites… Well this holds true this weekend anyway.

So here’s what I did:

I wanted to recreate my old main page (which was an html page) within the wordpress blog structure. So that’s what I did. Now everything you see is dynamically generated from insite the Wordpress framework.

I would love to know what you think!

Posted in Web Design | No Comments »

Increase business with a blog

For businesses the blog can play a huge part in the success of the web-site, both in giving useful information and driving visitors to your site. It is a fantastic business tool to create content for your website, without knowing anything about web design or development.

Why do we want content on a web-site? Two reasons:

Makes your visitor do what you want them to do
Firstly, meaningful content on your website gives your business credibility, provides valuable information to customers and potential customers. Simply put, a website with a lot of interesting and relevant information represents an interesting, relevant and important company (this of course may not always be true, but stay with me on this!). This in turn increases the chances that a potential customer will do what you want them to do - pick up the phone and call you, purchase a produce, fill in a form - whatever.

Increases search engine rankings

Secondly, search engines love good content. They gobble it up, index it and give you good behaviour marks. However it must be good content, unique, and relevant to your business with pages that are structured correctly. If it is all of these things, those good behaviour marks can lead to what Every Company Wants - higher search engine rankings!

How do we do it?
OK, let’s assume that you have can write good, industry related articles for your business - how do you get going? The three key aspects for businesses when it comes to using blogs positively are publishing the articles and letting the search engines know about them. To address each of these we use:

1. The blogging software
2. The blog directories
3. The article directories

The blogging software

From a business perspective, think of blogging software as an article management system. All the leading blog software providers give you a range of features that include:

• Word processor to enter and edit the articles
• Database to store the articles
• Category system to group the articles
• Archive system to group articles by date
• Security system to guard access to your articles
• Search facility to find articles
• Discussion facility for visitor comments
• RSS newsfeed (so subscribers will automatically get new articles

Most blog software is quite customisable, so some features can be switched on or off. For example, we usually switch off the visitor comment facility because it can attract spammers who leave non-relevant comments purely to get a link back to their own site.

So blog software provides a very sophisticated article management system, and some versions are free! There are two main versions of blog - hosted and integrated to your own site.

Hosted versions
Hosted versions of two of the most popular blog software Wordpress and Blogger (owned by Google) are available, free of charge. Hosted versions of the software mean that the articles are stored on a website provided by the software company. The website address of the articles will not be your website but something that might look like http://yourname.blogspot.com/. While this will give you a site for your articles, the downside to this is that it does not enhance your site particularly because the content is on another site.

Integrated versions
An integrated version of the blog software means the articles and the management software all live on your website. The benefits of this are that your site grows organically as you add articles and the search engines rate you higher (they love content, remember). It also means that the presentation of the articles is consistent with the rest of your site - i.e. it looks professional and businesslike - adding to your business credibility.

Wordpress again provide a free version for integration. The other widely used blog integration software is Movable Type for which a fee must be paid.

We prefer to use Wordpress, not only because it is free. It is also Open Source software, which means it constantly benefits from the thousands of people contributing to its development. It is also very customisable to fit with a web site design.

Integration is not something that should be undertaken lightly. It requires good web design and development skills, not just HTML, but CSS and programming. However, if you know what you are doing, you will end up with an article section on your web site that will match the rest of your site, that can have articles added to it in seconds, and are categorised and indexed for searching.

Most of all though, you will be achieving the two business objectives; displaying your credentials to potential customers and providing fodder for the search engines.

In our next article about blogs, we’ll discuss how to get even more search engine benefit from your articles.

About the Author

Iain Wilson is director of Edinburgh web design and marketing company Blot Design Ltd. He has worked in IT and marketing assignments in UK, US and Australia.

If you are interested in a little web design check out FreeMarket Media Group

Posted in Marketing, Web Design | No Comments »

Attract and Keep Visitors

The 10 Best Ways to Attract and Keep Visitors

It’s hard enough to convince people to visit your website. And once successful, then you’re burdened with the task of keeping them around for a while.

There are tons of reasons your web visitors might click the back button. In fact, you can probably think of websites you’ve avoided and those you’ve enjoyed. What was it that kept you browsing a well-made home page?

Maybe it was because the webmaster followed a few tips in this top 10 list.

(10) Provide Quality Content

People surf the Internet out of curiosity, some out of boredom. But the one thing everybody is looking for is pretty narrow. Folks are focused on finding one thing when they log on - and they won’t stop until they find it.

Fortunately it can be your website they find. If you provide quality, useful articles and timely information that can really help others, you’ll see your visitors, backlinks, and page rank jump through the roof. You can find quality articles for your website, ready to be published free-of-charge at www.ezinearticles.com.

(9) Give ‘em Something Free

We instinctively respond to the word free. It conjures up thoughts of getting something for nothing, a deal, a bargain. On some levels it might even tickle the naughty, dangerous side of us - making us think we’ve gotten away with something of value without paying a dime.

Your web visitors will love freebies, so give them some. Find complimentary ebooks, free software, free product samples, bonus gifts with paid orders, and access to private areas of your site. Regardless of what you do, give something away for free and watch your hits explode.

(8) Include Lots to See and Do

The Internet was meant to be fun, exciting, and never ending - and your website should reflect that too. Sites like MySpace and YouTube didn’t get where they are by being dry and redundant. Quality visitors demand return value (or a reason to return to your website again and again).

Set up streaming video and audio, add a frequently updated blog to the mix, give users a forum where they can discuss related topics, and design a wiki (interactive content) where visitors can contribute.

(7) Stay Away from SPAM

If I had a nickel for every joke I could insert here… but, seriously, unsolicited email is a huge no no when it comes to attracting visitors. Nothing repels quality leads, readers, and customers like your involvement in spamming. So just don’t do it at all. Choose to reach your potential customers through opt-in email or better yet, try number six.

(6) Set Up an RSS Feed

RSS stands for really simple syndication. It’s a way of sending out updates to your visitors who are subscribers to your RSS feed. Basically it’s an easy-to-program special file on your server that changes with your content.

The fact is, most people are afraid to give their name and email address away for updates and newsletters - citing SPAM and other irritations. I hear it all the time. And RSS can be the solution to all that and more.

It allows your visitors to remain anonymous, yet stay informed about changes to your website, products, and newsletters in real time, as they happen. Visitors simply add your RSS feed to their news aggregators (some are build right into web browsers) and they follow your website as it unfolds. Better and less annoying than a cluttered inbox, right?

Plus the potential for advertising in RSS is endless. If you want visitors, jump on this one. You can find out more at: http://www.devx.com/xml/Article/10790/1954?pf=true

(5) Only Link with Reputable Websites

Just like in high school, you get a reputation for those you hang around. Online, it’s no different. So choose your link partners carefully. One link to a shady website can not only get you blacklisted from search engines, it can also give you a horrible rep - so investigate before you link up with others.

(4) Advertise

Sometimes you’ve just got to reach into your pocket to get some attention.

If your website is new and you’re on a tight budget, carefully research your market, decide how to reach them, then secure an ad in a low-cost newsletter or ezine saturated with your potential customers. You’ll want quality visitors (those who eventually purchase something), so promote your website where it will hit the greatest number of those kinds of people.

Another route you can take is Google AdSense. The AdSense program only makes you pay for ads clicked on - a huge financial advantage. If written correctly, your ad will only attract serious buyers, making the few cents you pay for each click well worth it.

(3) Have Contests and Sweepstakes

Offer your visitors the chance to enter and win something. It really doesn’t have to be anything big either - just the competition and the desire to win are enough to enhance your hit counter. Make the offer equally available (to those who buy and those who don’t). Both types of visitor will eventually return to buy.

(2) Be Controversial

Ever hear of Napster? Though it’s a mere shell of the site it used to be, Napster is the poster child for the whole controversial to popular website thing. It made people talk, it made people mad, but it got them to log on; then made the founder a very wealthy man.

To be really successful you have to take risks. Being the website that makes people gasp is hard, but the rewards can be enormous.

(1) Be Innovative

Finally, do something new and never seen before. Hundreds of successful websites have gotten that way by being innovative. Before Ebay there were no big auction sites - they paved the way, collected visitors and customers, then got rich.

Offer a product or service unlike anything on the market today. Be the innovator, not an imitator.

So take a look at your website, how does it stack up? Consider using a few of these tactics to build your traffic and who knows, you could be the buzz on everybody’s lips.

About the Author

Michael Dennis has successfully designed attractive and profitable websites for a sea of clients. He has also created an affordable line of sales letter templates available for download at http://geniuspage.50webs.com. The package includes resale rights too.

If you are interested in a little web design check out Topanga Surf Company

Posted in Web Design | No Comments »