Put the Web to Work

Add Your Business to Bing

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:08:00 +0000

According to Microsoft, search is evolving. They have launched a new search engine called "bing" and it's definintely something to watch.

Microsoft says, "We took a new approach to go beyond search to build what we call a decision engine. With a powerful set of intuitive tools on top of a world class search service, Bing will help you make smarter, faster decisions. We included features that deliver the best results, presented in a more organized way to simplify key tasks and help you make important decisions faster."

The jury is still out on whether it can really put a dent in Google's market share, but does that really matter? You want your business site listed in as many directories and search engines as possible! Here's the link to list your business in bing. Do it today -- it's free!

https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

Are Missing Your Market by Not Being on Facebook?

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:23:00 +0000

According to the June 1, 2009 issue of DMNEWS (The authority for direct marketers), the fastest-growing age group on Facebook is women over age 55. More than 60% of boomers, both men and women, are regular users of social media. For this group, it's all about content. You must have great content to draw this audience in to the conversation.

So what does this mean for you?

If your business isn't exploring and using social media, you may be missing the mark! It's time to stop sitting on the sidelines and get involved. This is not just where the internet is heading, it's where it IS.

Getting started is easy. Go to http://www.Facebook.com and setup a free account. Next, add me as your "friend" (Sandy Waggett) and I'll help you get started on your business page.

Follow us on Twitter for more!
http://twitter.com/
@putthewebtowork

Become a FAN on Facebook
http://companies.to/putthewebtowork/

An Easy Way to Backup Your Computer

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Before I recommend third party services to my clients, I always try them out myself. This way, I feel comfortable sharing first hand experience and providing honest recommendations.

I've been using Carbonite to automatically backup my local computer for a little over a year now. Even though we all know it's important to back up your system regularly, I have fallen victim to being lazy about it, having a hard crash, and losing everything on my system. Not good!

Carbonite continually runs in the background on your computer and backs up your hard drive daily. The backup files reside on the Carbonite server, so even if something catastrophic happens at your physical location, the data from your computer will always be retrievable. This is not necessarily the case if you are backing up on a tape or CD/DVD.

Your first backup will probably take several days, but you can schedule it to run at night so it doesn't interfere with your system performance. After you get that initial backup done, Carbonite will automatically backup and changed or new files on your system daily.

For just over $50 per year, I highly recommend that you give it a try. Carbonite offers a 15 free trial, as well. What's not to love?

http://www.carbonite.com

Great Resources for Selecting a Website Color Palette

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:32:00 +0000

Not sure what color scheme to use for your website?

At MSW Interactive Designs we often design websites for brand new businesses who haven't even established a logo yet. When I ask clients what color scheme they prefer, many really haven't even thought about it.

Here are a few resources to inspire you!

COLOURlovers is an easy-to-use website with a nice selection of palettes to browse.
http://www.colourlovers.com/

Another great site is http://www.pantone.com. You need to create a free account on the Pantone site to access their library of color articles and resources. Prepare to be inspired (and a bit overwhelmed)!

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Need a professional, custom, AND affordable website for your small business? Contact MSW Interactive Designs LLC. We put the web to work for you!

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Add Your Business to Google Maps

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Want your business to appear in the top section of Google's search results? Then add your business to Google Maps through their local business center.

http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter

It's fantastic! Not only will your business name and website link be listed, but you can include your phone number, address, photos, business hours, types of payment accepted, plus additional information.

It's easy to add your information. Google will contact you either by telephone or by US Mail (you choose) to validate your new listing and then you will appear! Sound to good to be true? It's not ... and better yet, it's free!

Quick & Easy Blog Recommendations

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:40:00 +0000

Blogs are effective and powerful tools for increasing not only your sales, but your search engine rankings, as well!

An October 2008 study from BuzzLogic and JupiterResearch shows that 27% of Internet users read blogs, and one in five are influenced by them when considering a purchase. That's almost 1/3 of all Internet users who read blogs, and 20% of those readers are influenced by what they read. Imagine the number of prospective clients for your business who make up this group. It's astounding!

Given this information, it's important to put some thought into your posts ... and not just the content. Consider your blog title and blog tags, too!

Quick & Easy Blog Recommendations

Blog Title: Your blog title should not just be compelling, but it should also contain the primary keyword phrase that you want to see the blog post indexed for. Put some thought into writing a great keyword rich title. It's the headline for your readers to capture their interest, and it's spider bait for the search engines.

Blog Content: When writing your content, make sure it supports your title or you will quickly lose credibility. Embed keyword phrases in the copy and link them back to appropriate and relevant pages or products on your website. Close each blog post with an invitation for comment. Invite your readers to contribute to the discussion and you'll begin to build a loyal following.

Blog Tags & Labels: Don't forget to include labels or tags for each blog post. These tags should be keywords and keyword phrases related to that specific post. Tags help your blog visitors easily find posts of interest and they can also help improve the search engine rankings of your posts.

Blog Promotion: Promote your blog everywhere you can! Provide a link to it from your email signature line. Link to it from your website. Embed it in your website as a Widget! See http://www.WidgetBox.com for a great easy-to-use tool.

We'll have much more on blogs in coming posts, including sites and resources to promote them!

Do you have a blog? Share it with us!

Do you have great tips for marketing and promoting blogs? Please tell us about them!

Recommitting to this Blog

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 12:48:00 +0000

MSW Interactive Designs has several blogs, each focusing on different topics and aspects of the business. Throughout 2008, I was focused on growing our wedding blog, so the bulk of my available blogging time was dedicated to posts and promotion of http://wherebridesgo.blogspot.com/.

As we approach 2009, one of my goals is to recommit time to this blog, "Put the Web to Work". It's important to be able to share changes in the online landscape with my clients and provide useful resources to help them grow their online presence.

The early focus will be about the online advertising environment, but we'll also include resources for search engine optimization and social networking.

Enjoy a Merry Christmas and watch for more from our "Put the Web to Work" blog in 2009!

Knoxville Wedding Planner Directory Updated

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:40:00 +0000

We just updated our Knoxville wedding planner directory on KnoxvilleWeddings.com in preparation for an upcoming presentation. Key improvements include an interactive web poll, 10 questions to ask your prospective Knoxville wedding coordinator, a "Things We Love" call out for product feature on WhereBridesGo.com, and links to all the wedding sites within the Where Brides Go (TM) Network.

This directory will be used to showcase free web tools and changes a small business can make to their websites to improve their overall long-term search engine rankings.

For more information about the presention, "Put the web to work for your business", contact Sandy at MSW Interactive Designs LLC.

Attention Knoxville Wedding Professionals : A GREAT Place to Promote Your Website

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:50:00 +0000

Knoxville wedding professionals have a fantastic place to promote their businesses in KnoxvilleWeddings.com. It's inexpensive and there are no long-term contracts. They rank #1 in most major search engines and Knoxville brides WILL find you when you are listed on this site.

KnoxvilleWeddings.com is a completely local wedding planning portal, ranking #1 or on page one of all the major search engines for "knoxville weddings" and "wedding knoxville". Why is this important to you? Because brides looking on the internet for Knoxville wedding resources and vendors find KnoxvilleWeddings.com first!

If you are a Knoxville wedding professional and listed on KnoxvilleWeddings.com, brides WILL find you.

BRIDES ARE USING THE INTERNET MORE THAN EVER to comparison shop & plan their weddings. It's important that they can find you.
Take a look at these AMAZING benefits!

We Target ONLY Knoxville Area Brides and Grooms : Unlike national wedding sites, we market to and reach the brides in your local service area—KnoxvilleWeddings.com targets only brides planning to have their wedding, reception, and pre-wedding festivities in the Knoxville, TN area!(If you prefer to advertise nationally instead of locally, enjoy HUGE savings when you advertise on ALL of our wedding portals in cities across the USA. Click here for details.)

Your Ad is Easy, Easy, Easy to Find : Your ad is never more than one click away from the bride and groom! Bride's rave about how easy it is to navigate KnoxvilleWeddings.com and they continually tell us it is extremely simple to find everything they need. Our vendor directory menu is located on EVERY page in the website, making your ad just one click away from the bride no matter where they are on the site.

eLeads are Delivered Immediately to Your Email Inbox : You don't have to download lists or navigate your way through databases to find the brides interested in your services. We deliver them right to your inbox immediately after the bride submits her request.

NO Long-Term Contracts : Our advertising contracts auto-renew month-to-month, so you may cancel at any time simply by notifying us. Why do we do this when our competitors do not? Simple ... our site works for most local wedding professionals and our clients choose to stay ... we don't need to force them to stay!

We Design Your Ad ... FREE! We use visuals from your existing website to design an exciting custom banner ad for placement on our site. We are also happy to provide specs if you prefer to design your own. We strive to make the setup process as easy for you as possible!

TWO Ads for the PRICE of ONE! For a limited time, get 2-for-1. Your KnoxvilleWeddings.com ad automatically gives you the same ad package FREE on SmokyMtnBride.com!

If you are a Knoxville wedding professional, you owe it to yourself to give KnoxvilleWeddings.com a try. Check out our rates page for more information.

An Affair to Remember

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:18:00 +0000

MSW Interactive Designs LLC is pleased to announce the launch of a new client website. South Florida event diva, Alica Villar, contracted us to give her old site a new and fresh look that is more in line with the high-end wedding and events she designs.

Check out her gorgeous new website at:
http://www.bakesncakes.com

If you need a Florida wedding planner or a fabulous Florida event coordinator, contact Alice!

Increase Your Conversions

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:09:00 +0000

Increase your conversions!

When a visitor arrives at your home page, what does he do? If you don't know the answer, chances are you have a very low conversion rate. Did you know that Internet usability studies indicate a single visitor clicks an average of 2 times on a website and spends less than one minute? This means you don't have much time.

Ask yourself ... what do you REALLY want someone to do when they get to your website? Do you want them to look at a portfolio? Fill out a request form? Go to your FAQs? Buy something? Request a quote?

Right up front, plain and simple, guide your site visitor to that objective. One way to accomplish this is simply to ask them to do it. Amazingly, most websites never even ask - they just leave it to chance. Increasing your conversation rate can be as simple as that. Make it clear what your visitor should do next and they are far more likely to do it.

Tip by: Sandy Waggett

MSW Interactive Designs LLC

We put the web to work for you!

http://www.MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

877-211-5492

Knoxville Custom Window Treatments

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Thu, 10 May 2007 17:04:00 +0000

We just launched a great new micro-site for a Knoxville custom window treatment company called Fabric Decor. Fabric Décor is a custom window treatment business that has been prospering in Knoxville for about 10 years. They have an onsite drapery workroom, and an large fabric library. Fabric Decor strives to be a resource for window treatments and custom bedding for homeowners and the design trade alike.

They started with a simple one page website and plan to grow their new site over time to feature galleries of their work, samples from their suppliers, and information about their custom fabric decor and design services.

It just goes to show that you don't have to start with huge budget to get a professional and custom design for your small business website. If would like to get your small business started on the web, contact me today! We can get you up and running for less than $250!

Check out their new site!

http://www.FabricDecorKnoxville.com

Blogs versus Websites

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 17:43:00 +0000

I recently had a client ask me if they should have a blog instead of a website. In formulating my answer to that question, it occurred to me that other clients may be interested in the answer, as well ... hence my decision to add it to my blog.

Every small business should have a website. It's simply expected by your existing customers and potential customers. Every business should have a blog, as well ... perhaps there are a few exceptions. The blog and the website complement each other.

The anwer is ... BOTH!

Your website is your rock - it's the foundation of your presence online. It can be as simple as an online sales brochure or as complex as a full eCommerce storefront. Your customers will ask you for your website address, not your blog address. Your business should definitely have a website.

Your blog enhances your website. It is a tool (like a journal) that you contribute to on a regular basis - daily, weekly, whatever works best for you. When you contribute to your blog with information related to your business, you quickly establish yourself as an expert in the field. You can publish articles to your blog, answer FAQs in your blog, and feature pictures or a portfolio of your services or work. You can use your blog to post business announcements, feature clients, educate clients ... the possibilities are endless. The blog builds your credibility and enhances your site with expertise and up-to-date content. As you grow your blog, it will become an invaluable tool for your customers and potential customers.

Like anything else, creating and maintaining a blog takes time. But what better time to take than growing your business and establishing your expertise in a particular area to the online community?

With so many free blog tool available, there's really no reason that every business shouldn't have a blog. Try blogger.com as a starting point - Blogger is a Google blog application that is free and is easy to use, even for the most technically challenged. Once you have your blog created, tell your webmaster about it and link it to your website!

If you need help getting started with a blog or a website, contact me. I'll be happy to help get you started on the right foot! Why not put the web to work for your business in 2007? Start a blog!

Featured Website: BrideandGroom.com

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 19:16:00 +0000

BrideandGroom.com contracted MSW Interactive Designs LLC for a website redesign in May of 2006. Their old website had a significantly dated look and feel, plus it was lagging in the search engines and basically underperforming all the way around.

We quickly went to work updating the graphics and the structure of the website. Budget was a driver on this site, so we opted for a basic database solution to meet their needs for now. The site features advertiser banners, listings, and click-through tracking on the ads. Currently brideandgroom.com targets dallas wedding, austin weddings, houston weddings, and west coast florida weddings. New markets will be added to the site a the client's budget allows.

In order to improve the search engine ranking of the site, we offered several recommendations, including adding more content to the website. The site now features several great articles on weddings and wedding planning. Brides must complete a short online sign-up form to obtain the articles and opt-in to their mailing list.

To offset some of the cost of developing the site and to utilize the open advertising real estate on the site, we recommended they implement Google AdSense. The Google AdSense listings are included in the footer of each page so they do not interfere with the regular paid advertisers on the site. Google AdSense search is also being integrated into the website.

BrideandGroom.com is well on its way to establishing a dominant internet presence in its respective markets. Since the site is hosted and maintained by MSW, we continually work on its positioning and monitor its rankings - their success is OUR success!

Website Matters

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 18:27:00 +0000

If you are a small business and you don't have a website, you are missing an opportunity. A common misconception among small business owners is that custom websites are too expensive. There are plenty of affordable solutions out there for business owners today that range from DIY style templated sites to custom solutions.

There are several disadvantages to going with a templated solution:
1. Your website can end up looking like a thousand other websites out there. Who wants that? Your business is uniquely yours, right?

2. The learning curve of creating the site, even if there is a template, can be steep for some people. You spend way too much of your time trying to figure out how to do it ... and time is money, right?

3. Most templated solutions don't have the true flexibility to allow you to optimize the site for the search engines properly. If it can't be found, you've lost half the battle.

4. Most templated websites end up looking amateurish ... and that's the last impression you want your small business to have.

Why opt for something that doesn't represent the quality and professionalism you try to convey through your business each and every day? First impressions are lasting impressions, so you want your internet presence to make a good one. People are busy, so when they do find a website that looks less than professional, most simply leave and move on to the next.

MSW Interactive Designs LLC offers custom and afforable web solutions for small businesses. At just $150 per page (a one time design fee) your business can have the quality internet presence it deserves. We work with small businesses all over the country to build websites that WORK for their business. This means they are professional looking, they can be found, and they drive the site visitor to the goal of the site ... whether that means making a purchase, completing a form, or picking up the phone.

Contact me today - 877-211-5492. I'll be happy to talk with you about how MSW Interactive Designs LLC can put the web to work for your business.

Search Engines & Great Content

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 11:18:00 +0000

Every day I have clients who ask me how to get their sites to come up better in the the search engines. While search engine algorithms are honed and changed all the time, there is one constant that seems to make a difference - great content.

Write great content for your website. Update your content often. Archive your old content on your site (so your site grows as a resource over time). Use your own keywords in your content and link them to other areas in your website, like archived articles and resources.

It sounds simple, and truly it is. The challenge is in taking the time to do it. Make it a habit. Make it a goal to write one new article per week for your website. The payoff will not ONLY be in your search engine rankings ... you will quickly gain a reputation as an expert in the field through your website!

Take Control of Your Domain

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 19:11:00 +0000

Sandy, help! My website is down!

More than once, a client has called me in distress with a downed website. Strange ... the server isn't down and no other client websites are down. The first thing I do is a quick whois lookup to check out the state of the domain name. Predictably, the lookup shows the client has let the domain expire. The domain registrar moved it to a parked state (so the domain no longer points to the webserver where the website files reside), so they can work to collect the renewal fee or ultimately release the domain for sale.

I've learned that most clients who come to me, having already purchased a domain name, don't even realize they HAVE a domain registrar, let alone an account with that registrar that needs to be maintained, paid for, and kept current.

As a business owner with a web site, it's imperitive that you understand your domain name is an ASSET to be closely watched, guarded, and cared for. It is the foundation of your web presence. If you don't mind your domain matters, you run the high risk of having that domain name stolen right out from under your nose ... and that would be bad, very bad.

Here's are 8 basic pieces of information related to your domain name that you must gather, ensure their accuracy, and then keep in a file. This information WILL come in handy during the life of your web site - there is no doubt. It will also help you protect your online business identity.

Take the time to go through each of these items and make updates to the items that need attention. It is important that you know or have access to all of this information.

Where did you purchase your domain name? This is your domain registrar. Create a file for your domain registrar.
Once you know who your registrar is, find out their website address, plus the username and password of your account so can login and check things out. Call them if you need to! Once you get this information, write it down and put it in your domain file.
Login to your domain name account and write down who is listed as : the Registrant, the Technical Contact, the Administrative Contact, and the Billing contact. Put this information in your domain registrar file.
If you bought the domain, YOU should be listed as the registrant. If you are not listed as the registrant, you do not own the domain. Really ... you don't! You may think you do, but technically you do not. The registrant has the final and legal say in all matters related to that domain name. So, if you are the owner, but you are NOT listed as the registrant, you need to take immediate steps to get this corrected. Contact the registrant if you need to -- in most cases, if it's not you, it is your current webmaster (or perhaps a previous webmaster) who purchased the domain on your behalf. Bottom line, get this corrected ... today!
If the technical and/or administrative contacts are listed as your webmaster, that's perfectly fine. Webmasters often need access to your domain to properly administer and maintain your website. If the technical and administrative contacts are someone you don't know, change them to your name.
The billing contact should be you. It some cases it may be your webmaster if they take care of the renewals for you and then pass through the cost. However, ultimately as the owner of the domain, you are responsible for the renewals and should be the point of contact for any billing related to the domain name.
What is the email address associated with the Registrant, the Technical Contact, the Billing Contact, and Administrative Contact? The Registrant and billing email addresses should be yours. The others can be your webmaster. If you change email addresses, you must remember to login to your domain registrar account and update the email address. If you do not, you risk not receiving timely renewal information and other contacts related to your domain and activity on your domain name.
When does your domain expire? How does the domain registrar notify you the domain needs renewing? How do you pay the renewal fee (online, via US Mail, etc.)

These 8 items are very non-technical and highly critical elements of properly managing your business domain name. Treat your domain information file as if it were a birth certificate! Don't lose it. Keep it safe. Make sure the information is accurate at all times. Be in control of your domain.

Successful Small Businesses Serve a Niche

sandy@mswinteractivedesigns.com (Sandy - MSW interactive Designs LLC) — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 13:22:00 +0000

While it may sound cliche' to "find your niche", the fact is having a niche market greatly increases your chances of success online as a small business.

As an aside:
One of the things that sets my web design business apart from others is practical experience. Yes, we have practical experience designing the sites themselves, but the TRUE difference is that we create the potential experiences of our clients and learn from them. We actually build our own stores and various small business websites, promote them, optimize them, and learn from the experiences so we can better serve and advise our web design clients.

So back to the "niche":
To illustrate my "niche" theory, MSW Interactive Designs launched two online retail storefronts about 4 years ago and promoted the heck out of them through online advertising, PPC, print advertising, affiliate programs, and the like.

The Success Story:
The first storefront serves a niche market - brides. WhereBridesGo.com sells bridal accessories, wedding favors, wedding party gifts, and just about everything a bride could ever want for her wedding. While the wedding market is flooded with comepetition, we were able to quickly grow and brand this store in the niche bridal market by narrowing our marketing niche even more ... to localized areas. In other words, we promoted this niche market site through LOCAL (city-based) wedding portals (an even smaller niche) rather than at a national level where we'd have to compete with the "big boys" in the industry. The site is now hugely successful, a great source of revenue for our business, a great sample "success-story" eCommerce storefront.

The "Not-So-Successful" Story
The second online storefront we opened is more of a general gift site, EagleNestLane.com. The problem with the site should jump right out at you with the words "general gift". There's no niche market here. While the original intent was to convert our bridal customers from WhereBridesGo.com, into repeat customers for our "general gifts", there was nothing unique about what we were doing and it wasn't serving any niche. Yes, the site gets the occasional random order, but the success of the site pales in comparison to WhereBridesGo.com. Brides, now wives by the time we introduce them to EagleNestLane.com, can get their "general gifts" anywhere. We were pormoting this site in EXACTLY the same manner that we promoted WhereBridesGo.com, but it didn't yield the same success. There's no hook, there's no real brand, and it's difficult to create an urgency to buy. The better approach and perhaps a more successful niche site as a follow-on to the WhereBridesGo.com site would have been Baby Gifts -- a nice niche market, with a natural and built-in follow-on to the wedding!

Why does it matter?
As a web design company, I think it's important to have these experiences to draw on as personal case studies to share with clients. We can draw on what works and why it worked and easily share what doesn't work and why it didn't work. It lends to our credibility. Based on my own experiences, it's clear to me that the niche is what it's all about.

Finding your niche is win-win:
MSW Interactive Designs, as web design company even serves a niche. We don't just build websites for anyone who wants one. We work with small businesses who want a professional presence online, who want to "WORK" their websites so their websites work for them, and who don't want to mess with it themselves - in other words, they entrust us to handle it for them. We do all the maintenance and updates for them, but they are actively involved in the site, continually interested in its growth, offline promotion, and improvement. We have defined our niche by describing the type of client we want.

Believe it or not, we actually turn away clients who don't fit this niche. Why? Because clients who don't fit our niche aren't good for our business -- when their websites don't work for them they may blame us, even though it was all about them not "working" and "participating" in the success of their website. We want clients who are actively involved, not just during the design but throughout the LIFE of the website -- this is what makes the business relationship successful and their website successful.

By serving our niche market only, we serve clients with the same business attitudes and beliefs that we have. Our clients rave about our services and consistently provide referrals. In other words, our niche clients KNOW more people who are in the niche and they refer them to us! It's a win-win. Sticking to our niche naturally helps our business success and grow because we are happier with our clients and our clients tend to be happy with us.

The moral of the story:
Find your niche. Forget that it's a cliche ... do it anyway because it works. It works for your business AND it works for your website.