How does your customer find you?

How does your customer find you?  How diversified are your efforts.  Do they find you in Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Foursquare, Yelp, Google Places, Yahoo Local, Yahoo Directory, Google, Bing, Yahoo.com.  Do you really know?  If not (well thats another post) then you should probably start to look at that.

The reason for my question is simple, I want to provoke thoughts.  Your results should come from many different areas, diversification is very important to E-commerce stability.  The method of search for your customer is changing.  New methods are created by for your customer every year.  Most of these new methods do not use traditional search.  

If you are only working in the world of traditional search, you could be left behind in the future.  Just image what would happen to your business if Google, Bing, and Yahoo were no longer in business.  Your business is in an awesome position right now.  You are at the beginning of a changing "internet".  The traditional methods are loosing ground.      

• Index search is like a word processor, it was once the best thing in the world, now it’s just another thing we do
• Google provided leadership and commoditized content in the beginning.  Now its available in so many other avenues that are easier to access.
• People have chosen non-commoditized content in overwhelming amounts - apps, portals, directories, social forums.  
• Because things are going mobile, people find their content differently.  More than half of all searches for some kind of content is from a mobile device.

I don't want to say that any major search engine is going down in the near future.  I think all search engines can find their niche as the years go on, but traditional search will change in a major way.  People will continue to find content in other ways more convenient ways?  Some of you may be asking what brought the change, the social and mobile movements change the game for SEO.

Top search engine rankings are critical for the success of any new or modern business.  However, I do argue that as marketers we must identify the trends, and adapt to them. The social and mobile movement changed the way people find content.  In some cases, people are not searching for content that they want, the content is finding them through one forum or another.

Its a very exciting time to start an online business on the web, there are more opportunities than ever.  This past year was the highest black friday ever on the web and the following day also set a record.  Continue to work on your business and think about how your customer finds you and what areas you can branch out to.

Social Bookmarking Power - Delicous Staker

Social Bookmarking with "Delicious Stackers"

Delicious is in a transition phase and I for one am happy to see it.  I love it when companies think of their customer base and continually reinvent themselves for the good of those customers.  If you have not paid attention delicious lately please stop and catch up on some social bookmarking for your website.  Remember the service is free!

Set up a Stacker and put your web business in a position to continue it's viral quest.  "Stackers" are Delicious's version of a lens only they allow other parties to link to you too.  Create a stacker for your online business and share it with the web.  You can add tags for search engines, videos, articles, etc.  There are some real possibilities here for an online business.  You can also search for other stacker in your industry and stack your website's information too.

I hope the power behind this little tool is making sense.  We will be posting a video soon of the process of creating a stacker and how to tag it properly.  Good luck with your online business!

Youtube Advertising

A couple of years ago I attended a social media/ Ecommerce conference.  A number of the subjects touched base on or referenced video marketing.  One of the keynotes didn't see the true value of video because an order could not be placed on the video.  Since you couldn't buy from the video it wasn't a true Ecommerce tool.

I would like to ask him today if he still feels the same way.  In today's market 80% of all online users view online video regularly.  Which makes sense because we are all so conditioned for a TV.  There are over 2 billion views on YouTube each day.

More searches take place from a handheld device than on a desktop, and hand held devices revolve around video.  Next year a large number of phones will be 5G (which will be so fast!) and a 5G fan will create a whole new online experience.

So what does all this mean?  It means that video will change (and is already changing) your customers web surfing, web shopping and social media experience.  It means if you are running an online business, you should probably start becoming familiar with online video.

Working with video on a number of levels is very easy to do.  Youtube has video editor that can make it easy and its free.  Of course you will have to pay for something if you want something with really heavy editing options.  Make a goal to create, edit and upload your first video soon.  Don't back down from the video marketing aspect of your business.  You can't afford to sit on the sidelines on this one.

At this point you still cannot place an order from a video, but you can convert visitors into buyers with it.  You can build your brand identity faster and you can advertise on a much higher level.   So take advantage of the video marketing in your websites area.

The Pros and Cons of a Custom Website

Pros and Cons of a Custom Website

Questions to ask yourself

• What is my budget?
• Who is going to do the work?
• What is my timeframe?
• How do I want to maintain that work that has been done?

These are not all the questions, but I think they are some of the most important.  If you are doing the work yourself then you need a working knowledge of multiple languages to create and maintain a successful site.  Some of the programming languages needed - HTML, CSS, Java Script, PHP maybe some flash.

It's difficult to create a "template" website that looks and has the functionality of a custom website.  In some cases it really is impossible.  A number of new online business owners look at the limitations of a website builder instead of looking at all the freedoms it creates.  

If you have the budget you can hire a designer and you can hire a PHP designer who knows java script, CSS, and HTML.  Unfortunately that guy does about 70-100K a year and he/she may or may not know something about SEO and how to create a search engine friendly website.  Regardless if they do or do not have an SEO background the website should turn out really really nice.

A web builder creates the bulk of what a designer and programmer would create for you.  You may have a few designer needs, but in the end you have a website that you can manipulate without a programming knowledge.  A website template builder will create your pages, and your products with little to no information from you.  While it may not have all the bells and whistles you may want, you may get everything you need for unders 1k instead of 10k custom.  

So as I state earlier, it all depends on budget.  If you have the budget, then hire out custom everything because in the end it is custom.  However if you are on a tight budget then look into the world of website template builders.  I suggest to clients, go with a web builder, till you have the budget to go custom and you probably should read a couple of programming books to just to help you carry the conversation with your designers.

Most Website Builders

1. pretty budget friendly
2. have really cool plugin options
3. you can do it yourself
4. you can maintain it yourself
5. have good support information
6. unfortunately it will look like everyone else's if you don't get creative
7. you market will know if you are lazy with your design
8. they may be some integration problems as more complex needs are there in the future.

Most Custom Website

1. It will be whatever you want it to be
2. it will really build your brand
3. you will have more sleep over the next 6 months
4. it can be really expensive
5. changes can take a long time depending on your guy.

Just some things to think about.  Either way good luck with your business.

Marketing Your Real Estate property on the Internet

Building Your SEO strategy

There are a number of areas to consider when looking at your SEO needs.  So lets diagram out some of your needs.

1. Do you have goals real and specific goals to accomplish?
2. Do you have a time frame to achieve these goals in?
3. Have you looked at the market?
4. Have you looked at your competition?
5. Keyword Research
6. Onsite SEO
7. Off Site SEO
8. Link Building
9. Social Marketing
10. Video Marketing
11. Analytics

The Alexa ranking of your site and your competition site should be part of your homework.  The Alexa page rank helps you see your competition, your site and your market in a whole new light.  This helps you really get an idea of the type of traffic you could get if you reach those top spots on Google.

Remember that broad words are not really your friend during your SEO planning and efforts.  Long tail words should be your focus.  Long tail words are there own market, and broad search terms really just bring tire kickers (that isn't always the case, but it is very common).

Off page link building is one of the most important steps for any new business.  So remember these areas

• Directory submission (but don't go overboard)
• Social bookmarks
• keywords for anchor text
• trading with niche sites
• Content  back links from the authorities
• Videos
• Web 2.0 properties
• Images
• Widgets 

Strategy should be the keyword here above all else.  You can easily be discouraged if you do not remember that this is a strategy.  It is a process and not a single event.

Marketing with Facebook - Keyword or Not to Keyword

With todays post I don't want to confuse anyone in regards to my love or hate for keyword search.  As an internet marketer I have grasp on keyword search.  During seasons of my Internet life I have had a passion for it, but I also want to point out a couple of important points with social media/Facebook advertising.  Hopefully you are not anti Facebook from a marketing view.  I definitely understand being anti Facebook from a personal view.

Let me paint a picture, when you focus on a specific term you can loose the larger searches.

Example Larger search = Jewelry

Understand that when you are just looking at the next big "sale" you are purposefully getting rid of the larger searches.  That is the reason you go after specific terms and get rid of the "tire kickers".  In this process it's all about profit margin and the competition of going after the same words.

Now shift your thoughts from Adwords and Search Engine keyword phrases to Facebook advertising where CPC (cost per click) is 2-10 times cheaper or you can create the FB page and just build "fans".  In this arena the specific keyword search isn't as important.  It is important just not as important.

In the Facebook platform you can post to your fans daily and there is a lower risk of people "de-faning" you than if you are running an email campaign and people unsubscribed to your newsletter.  The Facebook platform gives you the chance to build a relationship faster.  The faster the relationship is created the faster the true conversion is completed.

In my mind Facebook advertising has its place just like google adwords.  Please don't dismiss the power of facebook advertising.  With tools that now allow you to place your entire website inside your FB page (Iframe) or tools that allow you to just build a site within your Facebook page, there is real traction there.

Good luck using your Facebook resources to build your online business.  

Building Links? Then build correctly

Building Links for your site can be a waste of time if you do not do it correctly.  So we wanted to spend some time talke about the link building process and what you should be looking for during your linking building efforts.  


There are all types of links that you can target and spend your time on.  Most people just look at links within their own website and that is good, but the world of link building can go far beyond just those efforts.  Here are a few to consider while working on your strategy.  


Internal Hyperlinks - these are the anchor links that are so popular.  This is the process of creating a link within the content on a specific page to another page.  These links you can be creative with, titles to another page, images to another page, etc.  This is its own world all by itself, the links created here can do wonders for a campaign and we could spend hours discuss its finer points.  it really could be its own post.  


Name Hyperlinks - are also a link strategy to remember.  An example of this would be creating a link out of a name that is would then point to a page that would explain that link in detail.


Contextual Linking - these are a type of hyperlink that basically links to any body of context, sentence exactly where the link would appear.


Directory Hyperlinks - These are acquired through the title that each directory will ask for during a submission process.  These links come from a page that is in a category that you want pointing to your site.

A good tool that may help is the link diagnosis firefox extension


Places to start building your links would be directories, blogs, niche sites.  Remember that each page of your site can have some link building done for it.  It's not all created for the home page/landing page of your site.


Remember the world of link building is big and sometime is can be time consuming but building links correctly is part of your sites SEO foundation so make sure you don't waste your time.  Good luck with your link building efforts.

Creating A Successful Online business

Creating A Successful Business On The Internet

Creating A Successful Online business really is easier than what you might think.  In our experience the majority of the problems for new online business owners are the ones that they've created themselves.  Here are a few of the concerns that we hear most often.

• I don't know what product to sell
• I don't know how to build a website
• Should I set up an additional company, bank account, office space for this
• How long does this usually take
• When is the earliest I can start to make money
• How do I choose a product
• Should I use a drop shipper
• Should I just buy wholesale
• How do I get the money from my customer

These are probably the most common questions/statements and here is some information I think can help if you have these questions.  Depending on who you're talking to there may be some variations, but for the most part I think consultants can agree with almost all of what I am sharing (unless they just want to argue).   So I will use the next few post to go through these bullet points.  Hopefully this will help you.

I don't know what product to sell - Most new online business owners don't know what to sell online.  Most seasoned online entrepreneurs have no idea what to sell next, but there are a few exercises you can go through to help.

SIDE NOTE - Most seasoned online business owners really don't care about the "what will I sell next" as much as the newbie because they already know the information I will cover with you.

When choosing a product, try to choose something that you have a genuine interest in.  If there is a passion for your product ideas that makes it even better.  The reason for this is simple, there is a commitment of time and learning that will take place as the months go on.  It is difficult to keep your dedication if you do not have a genuine interest.  In the future, you may be required to create product descriptions and specific product content for your site, blog, etc.  If there is a general interest then it is fun and exciting.  

One of your first steps in deciding should be a brainstorming session.  Brainstorm your ideas with a friend, isn't a bash session, it should be open and without ridicule.  Ideas should be able to flow without any worry.  Make a list of as may ideas as possible.  The process of brainstorming doesn't begin and end the process, there is product, niche, and market research that follows but brainstorming should be the beginning.

While brainstorming remember the world of web based search revolves around keywords.  In the case of online shopping keywords = products of interest.  What this means is you should brainstorm product lines and not just Genres.  Example - "bull dog shirts" not "pet supplies", "dog grooming kit" not "pet supplies".  

The process of choosing your product to sell online can be really fun.  It isn't difficult unless we make it so.  Remember this is business, and there are no guarantees so in the beginning don't marry your 1st idea.  Use the list your brainstormed in the beginning and if it works out then great.  If it doesn't work out then just choose another from your list.

Good luck - we will be covering more points soon.  Brainstorm your ideas and have fun.

Link building suggestions - Do you have a list?

Most new link builders really don't know where to start or maybe you have some experience, in either case.  This list can help refresh your memory or give you new ammo.  We we are helping a client with SEO or link building.  These are some of the areas we cover with them.

1. Brand build your links - build links in your business name.  If your really building a brand then start now.  You're not going to get a good keyword phrase for every link. 
2. RSS feeds - Write your content in a way that people want your RSS feed.  People will want your content and the passion that shows through your writing.
3. Media Outlets can be an awesome way to build links.  Press Releases can be picked up on a number of levels to increase your links and to help your content go really viral.
4. Running a competition, give away, or distributing a coupon.  A great way to get out a link and to gain really good traffic.
5. Internal links within your site will build up your websites link profile quicker than any other technique. As time goes on the links between blogpost and articles can build their own page rank which only benefits your site.
6. Local links will be come more and more important as the years go on.  The world wide web is quickly becoming the "World's Local Web".  There is nothing wrong with asking a local business to trade links with you.  
7. Social Media can be your greatest advertiser think of ways to create your links in spaces like Facebok, Google Plus, Twitter, You tube.  
8. Guest blogging can be an great way to create links from authoritative content building sources.  If you can guest blog then your brand and your link network can continue to grow.
9. Link Request - I don't want you to forget the oldie but goodie.  Link request are still alive and kicking.  This also builds relationships in your arena.  
10. Last but not least.  Create a link building strategy.  Your links should be well balanced among a number of different areas.  Don't get bogged down in just one area.  The greater number of areas is just as important as the total number.

Good luck in your link building efforts.

Do you have a "responsive website"?

The question on my mind today is a simple question, but the answer can be pretty detailed.  The question - Do you have a responsive website?  First, let me explain in a little more detail, what is considered a responsive website.

A responsive website is an online presence that adapts, it almost becomes fluid.  It can change with the needs of its surroundings.  Most websites do a very poor job with thoughts of the future.  They are brainstormed, constructed, and then outdated.  It can happen in just a couple years if your industry moves fast enough.

When constructing your site, do you think of Video marketing, Link building, A/B testing, Site Architecture, social media, etc?  These are the directions your site is moving towards today, there can be 5 more in the next 2 years.  So don't build your site and think its completed when your version 1.0 goes up.

Also don't get over discouraged and the different directions to explore.  Each of these directions give you a larger audience to market to.  It is work the extra time.  A responsive website will allow you the opportunity to grow.  In any circumstance.

Here are some things to think about.

• Branding
• Architecture 
• Size
• Market

These are the areas to really focus on in the very beginning.  This may seem like a lot to consider but it will save you many man/woman hours down the road when you are branching out and not just working on SEO.

Quick SEO Tips

Here are few tips that you should consider.  Keep in mind, this isn't a complete list, but these are simple and should be done quickly.

• Add a viral component to your site or your blog - sharing, reviews, comments, rating, stats etc.
• Make sure you have your "enhanced image search" enabled in your google webmaster central account.
• Use the word "image" or "picture" in your alt tag.  When people perform a search they usually have one of these two pics added to it.
• Add good content around all video so the engine and see your effort to show the video content in text too.
• Optimize the text in your RSS Feed
• Remember SEO is no good if you don't work on your call to actions.
• Remember that content is king.  
• Remember that Search Engines want Natural content.  Keyword spamming is just wrong.
• Try to cut down on all frames.

Good SEO is not a single shot.  It is more of a shotgun approach, it takes multiple applications of similar work to edge out your competition.

Good luck with your SEO.

"Spam" avoiding the label is getting harder and harder.

No one wants to be labeled as a spammer.  The negative connotation is only one of the problems associated with it.  Eventually you will get kicked out of the places you are spamming and you can also have legal troubles from it.

Today generation of online shoppers, and web users don't care for it actually most hate it.  The way most people look at it is really simple, if you make money from your content, submissions, links, etc then you are a spammer.  Pretty Harsh.

The way to avoid a lot of this is through "Great" content.  Awesome content (not just ok) content doesn't get accused of spam, it get viral love.  Think about the ways you create your links - social bookmarks - link trading - social media - blogs.  What is black, what is white and what is grey that really shouldn't be passed on as white.  

Don't Spam

Create your links with a purpose - Content is king so make sure if your comment in a forum or a conversation then contribute.   Don't just create a link.  Don't just choose a popular video to add to your blog to get traffic, make it relevant.  Please don't highjack the content from someone else and just change the title, give the credit.

Just a few things to keep in mind as you work on your link building and content creation.  SEO through great link building can be effective and can be fun with a little creativity.  

Link Building For Your Local Business

Do you need a tighter link relevancy?  Try going local.

Here are some ideas to help you add to your links.

1. Links on College Websites
2. Local directories and Organizations
3. Local News papers
4. Local Blogs - Farmers Markets, Town websites, Group sites, etc
5. Charity websites

These are just a few of ideas and you there are many others.  Pay attention to the links your building.  Not all links are good links, so don't just trade with anyone and don't just accept links from anyone.  Analyze the links your going after and know that search engines review all your links.  

Great links don't just happen.  You make it happen, good luck with your work!

Content, SEO, and your market

If content is King in the world of SEO, then what kind of content should you really be focused on?  How much of your content is just fluff and not quality.

Here are some things to keep in mind while you review and then re-review your content.

1. Who is the leader in your industry in content?
2. How much content do they really have?
3. Who is all this content for?
4. Does your market really care about content?
5. What kind of content is best for your market?

Understanding your target market is what make all these questions much easier to answer.  While your are trying to have more content than the next guy, I don't want you to sacrifice usability for additional content.  That always a bad choice.  

What really counts for your Target market is what they want, what that means is you should focus on what popular with your target market and then write the content for them.  This shows that you really do connect with your market and in the end they will stay with you longer because of that connection.

This is one of the reasons social media has completed over taken the web.  People like the connections, the world is a big place and the connection fills that open spots in a persons life.  That may sound a little hokie but it really is true.

Learn the finer points of your market and your can sell, teach, share and create that business you have always dreamed of.

Good luck with your market and your content and your SEO.

Creating your brand

Do you have a brand?  Does your site/company have a logo that it uses for its identity.  The closer the web brings buyers to business owners the more you need to have a company brand.  The brand is what you become know for.

A brand can be a symbol such as nike's swoosh, master cards two circles, or the outline of Jerry West on the NBA logo.  The brand is what a customer will think of when they reflect on your specials or previous purchases.  Just text along can also be used, however I will admit if you do not create brands for a living it can be tough.  Its easy to use to many colors, which can create the wrong feeling.  It is also easy to get lost in the work.  It can tak so much longer than it should and in the end time really is money

I would suggest going online and looking for a graphic artist with good previous work.  This is what they do for a living so it will help you keep things moving in other areas that may require more attention.  We suggest the brandingstamp, they are a company that we have used before and we are happy with the results.

Don't settle in this area.  If you really have a good brand you can use it time and time again.  When you are not happy with your brand you will alway be unhappy.  Make a presentation that you can be happy with.

Good luck with your first impressions

Increase your traffic with Google +

If you haven't gotten your invite yet then get on it.  + is Google's version of a social media platform.  No other platform has 100 million users so fast.  So it is growing at an amazing rate.  You can use it for lead generation, enhanced relationships with customer and a open line of communication for future products.

Plus offers you what a number of  platforms offer you except its all in one place.  + offers you chat, talk, video conference, posting options, you can email etc.  So the trick is just using your imagination.  Sit down and think of how your business can benefit from this amazing tool.

Example - If you are a professional blogger then start to place your full post in +.  Your engagement will be higher and your links will be create more traffic.

As you build customers you can place them in groups that will allow you create specials for just certain buyers.  How exciting!

Take some time and find out how this new bit of technology can help you.


Good luck!  For more information go to the enhance SEO library.

Drop Shipping for your business.

Do you know what a drop shipper really is?  Do you understand what happens when you choose your drop shipper?  I often wonder when someone is in the process of choosing a drop shipper, what steps are they really going through in their mind.

The fact is there are thousands, yep literally thousands of drop shippers to choose from.  Some are a "mom and pop" shop with a couple of garages of "stuff".  Others are full developed companies that have a warehouse, an inventory software, multiple departments and a true goal to be the best in the business.  As you would guess there is everything in between.  

So how do you choose?  The goal is to choose a company that will help you be competitive in 3 areas - Shipping cost of product, Return policy of product, retail product cost.  It sounds simple, but it isn't.  The secret is in your market research.  You really have to look at the market to determine where you should be in the first place.  

1. Perform a search for the type of products you would like to sell.
2. Look at the retail price of your competition
3. Look at the shipping cost of your competition
4. Look at the return policy of your competition

These three areas should be every online business owners priority.  If you cannot compete in any one of these areas you will not have any notable level of success.  These 3 areas are the what your customer base their decision on.  So in this situation, market research is essential..

Create an online environment that foster a connection

At this point you should be giving some thought to your social media efforts.  That sounds broad, but thats because you should be thinking about social medial in each step of your online business.  Connections are being made around the web between google plus and google, facebook and bing, yahoo and delicious (just to name a few).

Selling a product to a new customer is much harder than a friend getting another friend to try your site out.  The more social connections your business can make (regardless of what your business is) the easier your sales/positive actions will come to you.

So don't be afraid to put a facebook icon on your site, or a facebook sign in your brick and mortar store.  If you are selling real estate then make the connection so you can build and investors list.  Marketers have just begun to tap the power of social media.

Video, Forums, Circles, Groups.......  the list goes on and on.  Find ways that you can use social media to help your business.  Indirect sales through social media creates a buzz for you and word of mouth travels much faster electronically.


Good Luck and keep up the good work!

Bing - Continuing to do what it does

Bing continues to offer more to business owners and mobile devices.  One the new version released      

• The Bing daily image will be displayed.      
• Users will receive region-specific home page information.     
• Image search is enabled.     
• Auto suggestions and recent search item suggestions are now enabled.      
• Bing Maps has been optimized for a split view that shows the map and directions on the same screen.    
• Bing Maps has added seamless image updates when you scroll to new areas of the map.  
• A “Share on Facebook” option has been added to many pages, including restaurant pages, images, and more.

So what does this mean for you, well I am sure when you give this some thought you can brainstorm the possibilities.  Some of the main things that come to mind should be the connection between Facebook and Bing maps.  How exciting, this is Bing's efforts against google places for business.  So plan on doing more with your Facebook Business Page to excel in Bing's map system.

Good luck with your mobile optimization.

Tending to the Basics

If Google, Youtube, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, Twitter are controlling the majority of your traffic then don't bite off more than you can chew by adding another engine or social platform to your plate.  Learn (the most that you can) about each one of the big hitters and choose a focus.

Chances are you may find that you do not need to do anymore than the big 6 above.  When you are working with your online business it is easy to get caught up in too much.  There are so many other areas to focus on that it can be very overwhelming.

Let me suggest starting with Google and then branch out from there.  Within Google you can work on your Page Rank, Google Places, Google Buzz, Google Plus, Google Adwords, and Google Adsense.  There are other areas, but you can grow into those.  Luckily for you (for the most part) google offers great support to help you.

Create a plan to follow weekly.  Just a little work (30-60) a night will go a long way month after month.

Quick SEO tips

1. Content is king, so focus your content (well written  content) on your primary keyword phrase.
2. Don't get too focused on PR, it is just a small part of the "Algorithm" and a lower PR can out rank a higher PR in a SERP
3. Use the keywords in your site to link, don't use an off word for a link.  Example use key word great widget to link if great widget is the key word.  Don't create a link  from the word "link here".
4. Choose a domain name that is keyword friendly, don't choose a domain that does not have your keyword phrase.
5. Add  fresh content regularly
6. Googles submission process can take weeks.  Get a link from a quality site and you can get spiders so much faster.
7. Make sure your site is not on a blacklisted server.
8. If you are using a blog optimize your post title tag separate from your blog title.
9. Don't be stingy with your links.  If you want people to link to you, then you need to link out.  The link will come.
10. Remember SEO is not a one shot process.  Plan on working on your optimization a little every day.

Getting out of the sandbox

Getting out of the Search Engine "sandbox" does take work.  If you are an E-commerce site the"sandbox" can be a little frustrating as bills from running a business come up.  The "sandbox" does exist and there will always be some kind of delay (especially if you are doing all the SEO work yourself) but that doesn't mean you have to only focus on one search engine.  There are a number of search engines out there that are much easier to index in and get good results.  You can get 50 of your traffic from other search engines so while your site ages and become "worthy" to join the rest of the index.

Here are a couple of ways to help shorten your "sandbox" time.
1. build links from authoritative site. - Sites that are considered important
2. Try a social approach, authoritative blogs and forums can help.

Inclusion into directories like dmoz.org and yahoo are a good place to start.   Both directories have good and bad reputations out there, but this is a good place to start.  I don't think the sandbox is a bad thing, it is effective and it helps to weed out your competitors that really are not committed.

So I guess you have to ask yourself, are you committed?

To many alt tags

Lets start by covering some basic information.  

Basic definition - The alt attribute is used in HTML and XHTML documents to specify alternative text.  In HTML 4.01, the attribute is required for an Image or something that fits this tag.  There are some common misconceptions out there.  For example the alt attribute isn't always meant for an image.  It can be an alternative for the image. 

If you were to look at the html code it would look like this - <img src="yoursite/home1.jpg" width="357" height="400" alt="camera - zoom lens"> or <img src="yoursite/home1.jpg" width="357" height="400" alt="man taking pictures of senior class">

When the Alt tag is done correctly then your Tag (the text string) should show if the image does not for one reason or another.  This can help your on page SEO to some degree.  However most people go over board and use them as keywords and then flood the page.  That will make your key word saturation way to high and should be avoided.  While every image should have alt tag that doesn't mean every tag should be a keyword.  

Ideally you should have maybe 2 alt tags that are keyword heavy.

Good luck with your alt tags.  Hope this was helpful.

Conversion Rates On Your Website

How well does your website convert visitors?  Keep in mind a conversion is not only the sale of products or services.  The entire site is a converting tool.  When a visitor spends time on your website there a many things you are trying to "convert" on.

• email capture
• contact information
• phone call from customer
• survey completion 
• product purchase
• service purchase
• appointment setting

These are just some of the basics.  To create a well oiled machine that converts consistently is easier than you would think, just pay attention to your customer.  As you gather more emails, complete more surveys, etc you will find it easier and easier to work with your customer. 

Use A/B testing to create an environment of study.   Do not test more than one element on one page a day.  

Good Luck

Google Plus is coming

"Google Plus" is a project that is currently under the scope.  If you haven't received an invite then lets hope you get one soon.  The entire thought process of Plus is really special.  You will now have the best of Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Yelp, Foursquare, Skype etc.

You can create your own click/ circles - you can do conference or group video calls and really share the good stuff virally.

So what does that mean for a online business owner.  Well it give you even more avenues and tools to promote your business socially.  If you get the chance to set up a Google Plus account don't pass it up.  If it takes off like Google hopes it will be the future of social media.

Google Knols are your friends

Think of a environment where experts are invited to share what they know.  Now consider this there are readers/followers on thousands of topics already in place.  Well, Google has created this environment and made it free for you.  So if your wondering how to use it for your business lets go through a few bullet points.

1. You could use this platform for content creation.
2. A Knol can have a link in it back to your home page.
3. You can create a Knol for each product category or product with links back to each product page.
4. You can create link popularity for your blog (s).
5. You can place your product video in your Knol.
6. You can place a training video about your industry/product/store.
7. You can create popularity and a following for a YouTube channel.
8. You can add images that you would like tagged for images searches in SE.

These are just a few ideas of how you could use a Knol to help your current website.  This is just another free tool that is out there for your use.  With a little imagination you can really take advantage of what is available to you.

Feedback from friends......

Many times over the course of a year you will get a remark from a friend or from a one off visitor about your site's navigation, color scheme, layout etc.  How should you take that?  Well there are a number of reactions you could have, but the your first reaction should really be nothing at all.

You should keep a log of feedback so you can really make good decisions on changes.  If your site is converting visitors to buyers, how valuable is your friend or family members opinion?  Hopefully you are thinking "not much" because you are making good money on your business.

However if 40% of your visitors are all saying the same thing, then you should probably change something even if you love it.  There is a line you wak between what you like, what your friends, like and then what your buyers like.  Don't get them confused because they are not always the same.  As a matter of fact, very seldom are they the same.

This is why A/B testing is so good.  You can get feedback every week if you are really focused on your traffic.  Make sure you are taking the one off comments with a grain of sand, and you are acting on the important stuff.


Work hard and do something positive with your online business this week!

Building links in a Forum.... yes or no?

Are all back links the same?  The answer is no, some argue that you should only focus on content heavy link building.  I personally think it depends on your goals and efforts.  Not all links are valued the same because everyone is trying to accomplish something different.

You should think about the links you build for your business.  You can save yourself a lot of wasted time, by thinking through a game plan.  Are you building links in Forums?  If so are the forums relevant to your site?

Good forums regulate users and posts, you can't just sign up and start posting your links.  That may sound like bad news but those are the forums you want a links from, because those kind of links are going to be taken down quickly and they will have a better rating than forums you can manipulate.

The right kind of forum is popular, credible, and gets high traffic.  It will create an awesome email and buyer list as the months go on.  The great links you will create can be just an added bonus.

Using Twitter for your site benefit

Twitter offers you a number of tools.  It is quick, concise, and super convenient to send/receive tweets.  Here are a few bullet points to remember.

• Twitter is a "micro blog"
• No difference between personal and business accounts
• No limit to number of the accounts.
• Fans are followers
• No images
• No videos
• "Retweet" is king, sending it viral

So what does all that mean, well its simple.  Twitter allow you the platform to send out small blurbs of information, advertisements, and updates to followers who want your tweets.

Plan on putting together a twitter account designed to build followers (specific followers).  The bigger the list of followers the greater your chance of success.  A good tweet grabs attention and provides a link to "more" details on the tweet that grabbed attention.  

Your twitter account should be a niche, just like your web business.  Many "twitter users" engage twitter as a type of search engine.  So choose the key words set up for your twitter account is important.  

As you get better with your tweeting and with your overall account, you will find that your followers will click the "retweet" button in their account.  At that point you will start to see a spike in your social efforts.

It isn't hard, its social and that my friend is the most powerful force on the internet right now.  So practice up and good luck with your social efforts.

You Are Your Customer....., so sell to yourself

Today I spoke with an employee at our office.   He wants to sell cufflinks (good idea by the way).  The product fits him; he is the clean cut, manicured dude in the office and he actually wears cufflinks often.  So this product is right up his alley.

He contacted a dropshipper, and he has gotten some custom jewelers to create designs for him too.  So he is on his way.  Unfortunately the website builder is really giving him trouble, not because the builder is limited but because he has been working on this for a couple of weeks and he is now cutting corners.  He is forgetting one of the common mistakes made by new online business owners, he is "cutting corners".  If you start to short change yourself it will be easier and easier to do this as tasks come up.

Eventually you will start to loose focus and then it will be over.  You will have a site that you think is up to par, but you would not purchase from.  Keep a business journal, make notes of  your changes along with likes and dislikes.  Don't get off track with the small stuff, but don't just pass over major elements either.

Remember your check list and plan out your tasks.  Remember your sales, your seo, your link building, your video marketing.....etc and don't give up.  Just a little work each day will add up for you.  The investment you make here will pay off and help you meet your goals.

How Video Can Help Your Website

How Video Can Help Your Websiite

The world of video marketing has really positioned itself to go hand and hand with Ecommerce.  For those of you who want to sell a products online, there is no better way to engage your customer than to provide product videos. These videos you can create or that you get from a dropshipper if they have then.  The videos in the end can serve multiple purposes.

Here are a few

1. The video can show true scale.
2. The video can be a testimonial
3. The video can be a product review
4. The video can generate leads
5. The video can build links
6. The video can be a press release
7. The video can become a vlog (video log)

I suggest using Youtube when you first start out, however remember the strengths and weaknesses of Youtube.  It is easy for Youtubers to get caught in this huge video watching cycle and that doesn't work for ecommerce.  

Make sure the videos are created to send traffic back to your site.  An example would be to create a product video that is 2 min. in length for your website.  Then create a second video that is only 30 seconds for youtube.  When searchers find your video of 30 seconds they should be directed to www.yourwebsite.com to view the rest of the video.  At that point you have the visitor and you can show the entire video and close a sale.  

There are many places to host your videos.  Youtube is the most popular and it is the most used.

Use your videos to engage your customer and to build credibility.  Good Luck with your work.  We will be posting more Video marketing tips soon.

Understanding Your Process

Are you lost?  Do you feel like you're spinning your wheels?  Don't feel alone, the fact is most new online business owners are in the same space.  The few entrepreneurs who can stay the course do so with a well documented plan of action.

The first step is to ask yourself "do I have a plan of action"?  If the answer is no, then you should fall back and get one going (quickly).  A good plan of attack will help you stay the course, please don't think you can keep it all in your head.  That simply doesn't work.  If you don't write it down then its just an idea, writing it down changes it from ideal to goal.

Let me give you an example.  Lets go through this process of contact and brainstorming questions for a drop shipper before finalization.

1. Call dropshippers
2. Ask questions to determine quality
3. Make decision
4. Set up dropshipping account
5. Meet contact at Dropship company
6. Gather information from Dropshipper to construct website
7. Set up service agreement
8. Set up billing

Questions (side note)

1. Questions for a Dropshipper
1. Do they offer blind dropshipping
2. What are cost to me
3. What are the cost to the customer
4. What content does the dropshipper give me for site construction
5. Do they have a service agreement, or contract
6. Who is my contact in their office
7. How do they bill
2. Do they offer a membership program
3. Do they offer an affiliate program
4. Do they do marketing on their existing products
5. What are the best selling products
6. Who takes returns from customers
7. What are the return policies for the customer
8. What is the profit margin

These are some general questions that you could think of and write down.  Remember that you can't just keep things in mind.  Any of these ideas can easily be forgotten.  Writing them down can keep them in mind, especially when you are speaking with product suppliers.  Writing down a plan of action, and not just keeping thoughts in your head will help you keep focus.  Don't become impatient and frustrated, remember your plan of action and stick to it.

Good Luck with your work!!

Article Writing - Things to remember.

Article Writing - The Things You Should Remember


I find that most of our clients don't really know what they are trying to accomplish when writing an article. It is possible that most new online business owners hear terms like "article writing", "blogging", "press releases" and "content rules so write" with no real understanding for them.  The excitement of a new project can cause some anxiety or impatient reactions.

There can be a number of reasons for the article's creation and submissions, however when you are beginning a new online business that can help give you focus.  Ideally you would like to create a very content heavy emphasis.  You also want to create link popularity from a number of different credible sources.  Correctly writing article can do both of these.

1. Remember not all article directories are the same.  Ex - Ezine.com may have different guidelines than articles.com
2. Your articles really shouldn't contain more than 1-2 links each.
3. Article should be engaging, the more they are viewed the better your site/blog will do.
4. Proof Read your articles - Please
5. Only submit one article to to one article directory (very important)
6. Remember the length of your article.  Be informative, but do not exceed the limit outlined in the guidelines.

Writing the article isn't hard and you getting feedback is a pretty quick process.  The guide lines at each article directory give really good details on how to structure the article for admission.

Good Luck with your writing.

What do you sell.........? Does your customer know what you sell?

There are many times during the course of a year that we help people focus their website.  For new Ecommerce site owners it's easy to take on the "go broad or go home" atitude.  If you are one of those "go broad or go home" site owners and you don't know it, lets review the qualifications and this will help you determine if your site is focused.

If your site contains multiple product lines
example:
sleeping bags
gps devices
food storage supplies
atvs
hunting rifles
Then you need focus

At first glance you may think these product lines should all be in the same site, because Sportsman's Warehouse and Cabellas does it.  However, that is not the case.  When you are first starting your own online business, you should plan on creating a separate site for each of these examples.  There are hundreds of different kinds of sleeping bags, gps devices, etc.

Creating one site with all these products when you first start your online business is a "no no".  Your goal should be "niche market", and not to offer every product available in your entire market.   If you keep your website specific and you plan/ execute for one "niche market", it will be easier to close sales.  It will also be easier to market.  SEO, SEM, Product Fulfillment and Customer Support will all be much less intense if your product/content revolves around one area.

The keywords you choose need to revolve around your products, in many cases your keywords are your products.  Making sure those keywords closely relate will help you with search engine placement.

After you establish yourself then branch out to the next product line.  Your existing customers will follow and you will have the experience to tackle a whole new world of products.

Good Luck

How big are the images in your site?

The size of your website images can have a bigger effect than what you might think.  Most people take pictures with their camera and then place them on their site by adjusting the size in the code (or through a wsywg editor).  This type of "editing" doesn't actually change the size of the image.  It simply tells the browser how to display the image.  Other may simply take the images they are given from a wholesaler, dropshipping company or joint venture partner.  These images may come in several shapes and sizes with minimal uniformity.  Neither of these types of images should be considered ready for your website. 

The images should be optimized for web browsing and they should be cropped to fit a size scheme.  Here are a few points to remember.

• The image should be 72 DPI, some may argue this point and tell you it can be higher, but really it doesn't help you as much as hurt you.  By increasing the DPI to 150 DPI you will increase the size in a big way and the image will really not look that much better.  Loading time will slow down with each image that you add to a page at 150 DPI.
• Now a days you have more images formats to choose from than ever before.  A friend made a comment to me the other day, he said the "PNG" is the new "GIF".  I kind of laughed, but it is true.  The most commonly used Image files used are JPG, GIF, PNG.
• Crop and space your images for each page, the layout should be appealing and balanced.  Create a clean browsing environment.  Images in multiple sizes and shapes creates a feeling of clutter and it causes distraction.

Images that are created and placed correctly will serve your site well on many different levels.  Don't under estimate the power of a balanced site that loads quickly.

Mobile Advertising? Oh thats what your talking about.........

To start this post here is a small paragraph that I really liked the first time I read it.   

- EBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe said that eBay mobile global sales will double year-over-year, reaching approximately $4 billion in mobile gross merchandise volume by the end of 2011.

The $4 billion is double the $2 billion in global mobile sales that eBay achieved in 2010. EBay initially projected $1.5 billion in mobile sales for 2010, beating its own expectations at the end of last year.  (http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/commerce/9833.html)

The more I read it, the more I don't just like it, I love it.  This is a market that few online business owners ever think about.  Of those who think about it even fewer make an effort in that direction.

That is an awesome example of the power of mobile advertising and mobile users.  Just think of all the mobile users you see around you at the bus station, train station, the mall, the grocery store etc.  There are millions of them and they all probably search more on their mobile devices than they do at their home computer.  They are your customer, they are your market and you can spend so much time on other projects that you could forget about them.  The goal is to go where the competition is not, so if most of your competition is not in the mobile advertising world then try to get ahead of the game.

Why, you might ask, convenience is the answer.  Convenience is what makes the web appealing.  People are busy and they have a lot going on.  If you can make their lives just a little easier then you can be the conquering hero.

When you think about it, this makes it that much more important to make sure your web presence is up to par.  Is your site mobile friendly?  Are the videos on your site mobile friendly?  

Your site will become your brand, your site will tell who you are and what you do. Don't let a poor site make a bad impression that you didn't really consider.  The checklist that you used on your full site version should also be consulted on your mobile site.  Remember people want convenience.

Good Luck with your full version and your mobile site.

Notes

• Internet map listings
• mobile directories
• video friendly platforms  

Are you really working on your online business?

The other night I was at a meeting which started at approximately 8 pm and I think we got out of the conference room at 2:30 am. There were about 20 of us in there and we all knew we needed to be at work around 8:30 or 9:00.

I thought to myself, I am not going to work anymore tonight I am going to get some sleep.  (Usually I get to bed about 4 am.)  I really enjoyed listening to the rest of the group say the same thing.  We all work and play really hard.  It has become the "New American Way", at least in our office. :)

If you want to be successful in your online ventures it will require more, not less.  You will have a learning curve, you will have some sacrifices that you will need to make.  However when those are done you can be really proud of what you have accomplished, because you will have given yourself and additional chance at being successful.  There are some really big corners you can cut in an online business, but there is still going to be work.  Please don't think an online business is your magic bullet.

The key is steadiness.  If you can put just a few hours into your online business each night you will get so much done every month.  It will become a habit and you will get faster and faster every day so you can accomplish more in a shorter period of time.  Don't give up because your a little sleepy, remember your goals and go after them.

What is the goal of your page?

During the construction process it's easy to loose your way on each page, believe me it can happen to the best of us.  However if you are new to site construction and if you are not "wire framing" (planning out) your pages. You will definitely miss your mark and the reason is simple, you were never aiming for anything.


"Fail to plan, plan to fail"

When you are just starting an online business, everything is new.  It is so easy to get caught up in the excitement of your new venture, and as a result you can make some big mistakes.  So Plan, take a few minutes and sit down to start planning.  Specifically, think of what you want to accomplish with each page.  If you know what you want to accomplish with each page, you will have less revisions in the end.  You will have goals when your site is completed and you will build with a specific goal in mind.

This is how professionals go about the process.  Please do think there is a guessing game we play in the beginning.  There will be some educated guesses down the road, but not in the beginning.

Good Luck with your planning.

New Online Business Owners Want More Business!!!!!!! Part 2

Are you ready for more Ideas?  Well here you go.  If you have a version 1.0-1.4 and you are getting stuck in your brainstorming sessions.  Hopefully this will put some gas back in the tank of your online web engine.

• Do you have a newsletter that you regularly put out?  A good weekly newsletter will help engage new customers and it will also help you keep old buyers.  Don't underestimate the power of the newsletter.
• Are you building specific product marketing page?  Think of pages that are specific to cities, specific to seasons, or specific to markets.  When you focus your external pages to specific groups you always give yourself a better chance at success.
• Got Blogs?  If you are not blogging you are missing out on one of the most powerful content tools on the web.  A good blog make the world a better place, especially your world.  Gain followers, inform customer, build credibility, and increase content - that is what a good blog does for you.
• How are your email marketing campaigns working?  Do you optimize them?  Are you gathering data through them.  Do you have a purpose for them?  Email Marketing your business, your products, and your service should be a priority and not just an add on at a later date.
• Site - Facebook - Google Buzz - Twitter - Four Square ........ how is your social media?  Do you work with your social media.  The power behind people telling people about your business can account for a great deal of your traffic and sales.
• If you do not offer something for free you are missing the boat.  A free give away gathers data of potential buyers.  It increases your mailing list and it gives you a chance to show your love for your customers.
• Product videos show the benefits and they engage more senses.  Make product videos to show your customer a "real" product experience.

How effective are YOUR links?

When your site is finished and you begin your link building efforts, its easy to get lost in the work.  It happens to most people, and if you have never really done any link building before you can always waste valuable time.  Hopefully we can help you minimize the loss of valuable time.

Its easiest to understand if you don't consider all links to be equal (because they are not).  Most search engines have an algorithm that creates a score to justify most of their results.  The back links to your site are calculated into that score.

Now, think of the most common types of links.  The links that should come to your mind should be social bookmarking and directory submission.  Why are those the most common?  Well its because you can outsource that type of link so easily.  Search engines know it takes very little effort to create that type of link.

In most cases the harder to create the link the better it will serve you.  For example a link from a direct competitor that sings your praises is pretty hard (almost impossible) to get, links through really amazing articles, links from really popular blogs or popular forums those are harder to create.

You are really only limited by your imagination when creating links.  There are so may places to create and capitalize on the power of link building, but remember where you spend your time.  All link building can be time consuming.  Make sure you are spending time on the right links.  

The story of the New Online Entrepreneur. He was afraid so........

Once upon a time there was an Online Entrepreneur named Mervel.  Now Mervel wanted (wants) to sell products on a website, ebay and amazon.  Unfortunately Mervel was and still is his biggest road block.

Now it is important to remember that Mervel has every tool needed to be successful but he just doesn't believe in his work.  He has ideas, he has resources to help him if he has questions and he has the time but he makes the entire process so much harder than it really is.

Every time he meets with other business owners he will get a boost of confidence, but when he gets in his home office he is back to square one.  Does this sound like anyone you know?  I hope not.

The process here is not a hard as many "new" online business owners make it.  Here is a quick process from a high elevation.

1. Do you maket/keyword/niche research.
2. Choose a company to provide that product for you? (if you want a dropshipper)
3. Build a website/ebay store/amazon store with the information your dropshipper gives you.
4. When the site is completed begin testing your site to increase conversion rate.
5. Begin your marketing to drive traffic and increase sales.


After you complete this process start the process again with new site.  If you are an enhancewebsolutions client you have the tools, the resources and the support to succeed.  Don't be your road block.  Attend our weekly webinars.  Go to your "learning cernter" and get the help you need.

New Online Business Owners Want More Business!!!!!!! Part 1

One of the most common questions from new website owners is "how do I get more business".  Here is a list a and some brief explanations to help.


01. Add PayPal if you do not currently use it.  Many shoppers trust the paypal name.  They would prefer buying/shopping at stores that also integrate with the Paypal platform.
02. Sell on eBay to promote sales on your own website - when customers see your auctions it can drive traffic and create buzz to your existing site.  Ebay Patrons notice new products and new sellers, that can be your websites benefit.
03.  Feature products and services on your homepage - Don't waste the real estate on your homepage.  Use the "featured product" section to help you convert visitors to buyers.
04. Do an online promotion - People love sales, money is tight and they want a deal.  It should be a common practice for any business owner.
05. Hold an online sale - An online sale can create a following too.  You will close sales but you will increase the number of return buyers.  Remember it is easier to sell a return customer than it is to create a new buyer.
06. Offer discount to loyal customers - loyal customer are loyal because of the relationship.  Strengthen that relationship by offering the occasional discount.
07. Make the navigation on your website easy - review the usability of your site.  You could have missed something that could make things easier for your customer.
08. Make it easy for customers to contact you with inquiries
09. Provide live support - it may be a good idea to test live support.  Now  a days you can offer "google talk", "skype" and other chat tools to connect to your customer.
10. Offer a money-back guarantee - this alone can increase your sales and your repeat sales greatly.  This shows your customer that you believe in your product and your service.  You may need to test this before making the full commitment, however it can do wonders for your business.

to be continued...........

Home Page Design -basics

Homepage Design Basics

Your homepage is the most complicated, most important page on your website. You need to incorporate all design components, while keeping a clean, simple feel. It must appeal to all visitors. Listed below are core elements included on most professional websites.

Site Identity & Mission – You’ll want to tell your customers who you are and what you do. You should express an attitude of professionalism but keeping a personable feel. You shouldn’t go into depth on your mission statement – this can be done on a separate page.

Search – The search bar should be clearly visible and easy to use. This will be a common first step for your visitors.

Teases – Teases are deals or promotions that just list enough of an image or description to interest you. These should always display a “call to action”, meaning they should always have a link or button next to them saying “Find out more” or “Buy now” etc.

Featured Promotions – It’s smart to list current deals or promotions. People love sales. Even if it’s a minor discount on a product, you can generate some sales just for the fact that it’s a sale. Similarly to teasers, you should always display a call to action.

Timely Content – Keep your content fresh and up-to-date. There are a lot of free news feeds you can plug directly into your website. Depending on the number of visitors and the type of visitors you have, you will want to update regularly (daily, weekly, monthly).

Starting Point – Even if you incorporate all of the strategies and tips, you will likely still have some people who find your site but don’t really know what they’re looking for or how to find it. Create an easy starting point or a few steps to help get them going in the right direction.

SEO Tips - Keyword Research

SEO Tips - Keyword Research

Key word research is where it all begins. Let’s cover some of the main points you should remember when you begin your keyword research.

1. Many new website owners make bad assumptions about the type of keywords they should use. Niche keyword phrases are what will give you the best chance in the beginning.  Good research will mean good market, which will mean good niche, which will mean good product choice.  Everything can be traced back to good keyword research.  

Many new website owners want to tackle the most common keyword phrases. It’s important to remember that there is too much competition for new websites. Example – if you are selling shoes then choose words like athletic shoes, or children's shoes.

2. When generating your keywords, don’t just guess at them. Use the "google" keyword tool to help you make the right decision. There are lots of options on the internet, but the most commonly used tool is probably Google’s keyword tool. It can be found by simply searching for “google keyword tool” in any search engine. This tool will show both local and global searches. It will also provide you with competition information.

On a Side Note - When you find a keyword or phrase, try and choose a domain name or URL with the keyword included, for example let’s say your keyword is “childrens shoes” so your URL would be something like childshoebarn.com this will greatly increase your ranking ability.

Choosing the "right product"

To be honest there are a bunch of product categories to choose from. The options are endless we have products for fun, entertainment, society, culture, etc. But if we look at the current trends the best product that I feel will definitely sell online will come from categories such as health, fitness, making money, dating, etc sell pretty well.

So if you are in the process of choosing the right product to sell online it would be advisable that you choose from those categories because those are the “in” stuff nowadays. Choosing one product from the categories I have mentioned is your first step to choose the right one.

Another thing that you should consider in choosing the right product to sell online is what market you are going to work in. Always remember that it would be in your best interest if you choose a market that has something to do with your hobbies, your interests, skills, etc.

Some info on web directories

Submitting to Web Directories

What are directories?

Directories are search engines managed and maintained by people. Most directories are organized first by category, then alphabetically by company name. It is important to be listed in the major directories for added exposure and for link popularity reasons. Crawler based search engines are more likely to find your site and may rank it better if you are listed in directories such as Yahoo and Open Directory.

Submitting to Yahoo's Directory

Yahoo is the most visited site on the web. As a result, your site may receive enormous exposure if it is listed in Yahoo's directory and/or search engine. Getting your site listed in Yahoo's directory will cost you $299 per year if your site is a commercial site. Non-commercial sites can be listed for free. Paying the $299 fee doesn't guarantee acceptance into Yahoo's directory, it only means your site will be reviewed by a Yahoo editor within 7 business days. However, most sites are accepted. Locate the link to Yahoo's directory on the Yahoo home page, locate the category you want to be listed in, then choose a subcategory, and possibly another subcategory. Then click on the “suggest URL” link that appears at the top of the category page. Fill out the form and pay the $299.

Submitting to the Open Directory Project

Open Directory is one of the largest directories online. Their directory is used by several major search engines (Google, AltaVista, AOL and Netscape), which means that if your site is listed in ODP it will automatically show up in the directories on those sites. ODP is maintained by volunteer editors who will review and determine which sites are accepted into Open Directory. ODP's URL is http://dmoz.org

Getting listed in ODP is easy and free. To submit, go to http://dmoz.org, locate the category you want to be listed in, then choose a subcategory and possibly another category. Then click on the “suggest URL” link that appears at the top of the category page. Fill out the form and submit. Your site will then be reviewed by an editor and most likely be listed within 7-14 business days.

Do you worry to much about traffic from Relevancy Search?

Who will be number one in relevancy search this year for your market?

Depending on the subject matter, there is only so much traffic you can ever hope to get from search engines. Awesome efforts and results in relevancy search engines should account for about 30% of your total traffic. Other tools, like affiliate programs, or comparison-shopping portals, for example, have the potential to dwarf search engine traffic! By spending too much time on search engines when you should be focusing on other techniques costs you traffic! It is counterproductive.

It is impossible to control your placement in relevancy search engines. At best you have some influence over them, and it goes without saying that you should exercise this influence. The problem is that if you figure everything out, and manage to get high rankings in search engines, these search engines change their ranking criteria with maddening frequency. Meaning your rankings are never assured. A good general approach implemented and allowed to do it's work is over the long haul a much better approach that constant monitoring and modifying to try to adapt to every change and whim of a search engine.

As time goes on, being number one in relevancy search engines is likely to continue to wane in importance. Every major search engine on the Internet currently gives top billing to paid listings.  For example on Google, the top listings can be paid search results (adwords), then local maps listings, and you tube videos.  That pushes the so called "#1" spot in relevancy search to where the "8th" spot would usually be.

Knowing When To Say When!

Drop All the Needless Words

Usually web designers will use 200% to 300% more words than needed. Write what you feel is necessary, educational, and informative.  The main topics should be expanded upon correctly but don't over do it. Map out your content first with bullet points then expand on each.  After your done, you will be left with clean, simple copy.

Get Rid of the small talk – That doesn't mean you should kill your relationships.  Self promote where appropriate.  Small talk will have its place. It’s okay to talk about your business and the positive qualities of your products or services.

Eliminate Instructions – Instructions can be over done, so make use of your words.  Usually instructions just confuse your customers.  Most people know how to use a web form and don’t need detailed instruction on typing information and clicking a submit button.

Find creative ways to share the information you need without creating a bunch of noise on your website.

Website Usability

Web Usability

There are many websites that are ranked well in search engines, but they still do not convert the way that they should.  The usability level of the site is poor.

During the entire construction of your site the level of usability should be your priority.  Web Usability is one of the most important components in the success of any business (ecommerce or not). Web usability incorporates site layout, naming, copy, design, and functionality.

You should have one goal in mind: Eliminate all questions a visitor might have.

Your website should be obvious, self-evident, and self-explanatory. Many things should be understood and considered when constructing a simple, professional website.

3 Key Elements of Web Usability

Names – How you name the pages, links, buttons, etc. on your site will have an immediate positive effect on your visitors. For example, if someone wants to find the page displaying your contact information, they will look for a page labeled “Contact” or “Contact us”. Do you not name this page “How to reach us” or “Ways to contact us”. They seem pretty straightforward, but it requires just a few more fractions of a second to figure it out.

Links & Buttons – Make sure your links and buttons are recognizable for what they are. Your visitors should not have to hover over and click to find out they can click on it. Links are generally blue and underlined text. Buttons generally appear to “pop out” from the page and have drop shadows.

Search – A search bar, if done correctly, provides the easiest way for your visitors to find what they’re looking for. You should have a single text box that searches your entire site and displays results based on the keyword entered. You should never ask your customers for a category they want to search in. Additionally, you should always name your search button “search”. This is the most recognizable term; it’s just a little easier on the brain than “go” or “submit”.  Each of these elements work together to create near instantaneous recognition.

Using a site that doesn’t make us think about unimportant things seems effortless, whereas puzzling over things that don’t matter to us tends to sap our energy, enthusiasm, and time.