Put the Web to Work

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step 13 - Tweet!

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:45:00 PST

Step #13 – Tweet

Over the past twelve posts we’ve identified many steps in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; 5) Be a better communicator; 6) Get found; 7) Improve Your Link Popularity; 8) Setup and optimize your free Google Places listing; 9) Make it easy to share; 10) Be analytical; 11) Start a Blog; and 12) Get LinkedIn.

The thirteenth step is: Tweet.

What is Twitter? (http://business.twitter.com)
Twitter is a network where millions of people and businesses find/share information every day. As a Twitter user, you read/write messages up to 140 characters. These are called Tweets. Other Twitter users subscribe to your messages by “following” your account. Your followers then receive each of your messages in their timeline … a feed of all the accounts they have subscribed to (similar to Facebook’s Newsfeed).

Did You Know?
There are 230 million Tweets per day and more than 100 million active users. 64% of Twitter users are 35 or older, with the estimated average age of 39.1. Twitter is the social media platform of choice for Fortune 100 companies, with 76% ranking it as the most valuable. Only 15% of small businesses use Twitter. The other 85% are missing the boat. If you are part if that 85%, it’s time to start tweeting!

8 Reasons to Use Twitter for Business Marketing
Inbound marketing is about getting found by potential customers and it is tightly tied to relationship marketing where you earn business through growing relationships, credibility and trust. Twitter is a powerful platform for both and can be used for: 1) Brand Awareness; 2) Customer Service; 3) Content Distribution; 4) Lead Generation; 5) Credibility Building; 6) Referral Network Expansion; 7) Competitive Intelligence; and 8) Search Engine Optimization.

Get Started
Go to Twitter.com and create a free account. Remember, Twitter is all about packing power messages into small spaces. Twitter limits how much information you can include in your profile, so you need to make it count. Be sure to include a photo, a 160-character bio, and the URL to your website. Try to make your username as short as possible, for two reasons: 1) It’s easier to remember; and 2) People only have 140 characters for their tweets, including your name if they are replying to or retweeting one of your messages.

What to Tweet About
Always keep in mind, Twitter is a place to grow relationships and build your brand reputation. Pushing constant sales messages will get you “unfollowed” quickly. Instead, try to offer value in your tweets. Solve problems for people. Offer insights in your area of expertise. Provide coupons and deals. Take people behind the scenes of your business. Share photos of your business and the people who are the life-blood of it. Be real.

Growing Tweeps ( or Followers … like your “Peeps”) Takes Time
Building your Twitter following doesn’t happen overnight, but if you consistently focus on value messages, share your insights, your values, and the personalities that drive your brand, you’ll ultimately grow a loyal group of Twitter followers who may ultimately become brand evangelists for your business. How’s that for the price of a free Tweet?

Follow MSW Interactive Designs on Twitter @PutTheWebToWork

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403

www.PutTheWebToWork.com

Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

TWITTER: @putthewebtowork

FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/putthewebtowork

BLOG: http://put-the-web-to-work.blogspot.com

Building An Effective Web Presence - Step #12 Get LinkedIn

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:51:00 PST

Over the past eleven posts we identified steps one through eleven in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; 5) Be a better communicator; 6) Get found; 7) Improve Your Link Popularity; 8) Setup and optimize your free Google Places listing; 9) Make it easy to share; 10) Be analytical; and 11) Start a Blog.

The twelfth step is:
Get LinkedIn.

Most people have heard of LinkedIn, and like so many others, you may have setup a personal profile and not touched it since. It’s time to start taking advantage of everything LinkedIn can offer your company!

Did you know that LinkedIn has several new features that can positively impact business owners like you? LinkedIn offers company pages (similar to Facebook) and there are already nearly 90 million business members. Does your business have a company LinkedIn page? If the answer is no, then what are you waiting for? Oh, by the way, it’s FREE.

Go to http://www.LinkedIn.com. Click on COMPANIES in the top navigation bar and then click on ADD COMPANY. Do it today – it won’t take much time. Just as with other business social platforms, the key is not so much about you finding other people … it’s about them finding you … reaching out to you … and making a connection for business purposes. If you are not there, they WILL find your competition.

Complete your personal LinkedIn Profile 100%, and take the time to thoroughly complete the profile for your company LinkedIn page. You should include all of the following: company overview, business logo, location information, contact information, link to your web site, twitter ID (you are on Twitter right?), business blog feed (I know you started a blog after last month’s article!), detailed product/service description, careers available with your company, three images associated with your product/service (linked back to your web site or Facebook page), a YouTube video about your business, and a promotion from your LinkedIn company page.

Yes, LinkedIn let’s you put ALL this juicy stuff on your page … for FREE!

Once you’ve completed your LinkedIn business page, you can add a “Follow Us on LinkedIn” button to your website (and blog). You can also add a “Recommend” button to your website that feeds back to your company LinkedIn page. This enables clients to easily write great testimonials about your business for all to see (and good testimonials make GREAT sales people)! LinkedIn has also made a “Share” button available. It works just like the Facebook button we all know and love, except that it updates your LinkedIn connections instead of your Facebook fans.

LinkedIn is a truly powerful tool for your business inbound marketing efforts, and it’s one of the most overlooked. With a complete personal profile and business page, you are well positioned to start engaging on LinkedIn and building your reputation as THE local expert who continually offers value and expertise to your customers. Google also gives weight to personal profiles and company pages … one more spot you can hold on coveted page one when people search for your name or business name!

Try participating in LinkedIn “Groups”. Here’s a tip … play outside your own sandbox. This is where you will find your customers, not your competitors. For example, if you are a Realtor, don’t join real estate groups. Join groups where you can interact with people who fit your ideal customer profile … not your competitor profile.

Use the “Ask & Answer Questions” feature in LinkedIn. Contribute to the conversation. Add continued value messages that build your credibility across the business social media landscape and cause prospective customers to actively seek you out. LinkedIn gives you a powerful platform to do this.

Setup your LinkedIn business page today. Your competitors will … if they haven’t already!

Here is a great resource: I do a lot of reading in my attempt to stay on top of what’s going on across the social media, web site, and search engine landscape. Most of these books I would never recommend to clients because they can cause instant brain freeze or certain drowsiness. BUT … I have one that’s a MUST read if you’ve come to realize that social media is here to stay and your business better get in. It’s quick. It’s to the point. It’s powerful. “Social Boom” by Jeffrey Gitomer. Let me know if you read and enjoy it!

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403

www.PutTheWebToWork.com

Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

TWITTER: @putthewebtowork

FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/putthewebtowork

BLOG: http://put-the-web-to-work.blogspot.com

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step #11 - Start a Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:15:00 PST

Step #11 – Start a Blog

Over the past ten months we identified steps one through ten in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; 5) Be a better communicator; 6) Get found; 7) Improve Your Link Popularity; 8) Setup and optimize your free Google Places listing; 9) Make it easy to share; and 10) Be analytical.

The eleventh step is:

Start a blog and write … often.

If you’ve ever attended a Jeffrey Gitomer seminar, you know he talks about the path to wealth (and dominating your competition) is writing. Gitomer says write daily and offer something of value to your customers. Good advice. It should be no surprise that one of the keys to dominating your competition online is writing, as well. A blog (short for “web-log”) is a great way to start.

When I present workshops about growing your web presence, as soon as I say “blog”, I often get deep groans from the audience. The fact is, content is king on the Internet. Search engines soak up fresh, original, and useful content … internet users like the same thing. Is it any surprise that websites with strong content and frequent supporting blog posts around a great topic tend to rise to the top of page one results? It shouldn’t be!

Blog Platforms
There are several free blog platforms that you can use to get started. Some good ones include: Blogger.com, WordPress.com, Tumblr.com, and Posterous.com. I use Blogger.com for each of my blogs. It’s owned by Google and I am a fan of using Google’s products when it makes sense.

Watch this short video from Google to see how quick and easy it is setup and start your own blog ... for free!

What to Write About
The two most important things for a successful blog are compelling content and frequent updates. Frequent updates are important, so set aside 15-20 minutes to write a post. It WILL make a difference over time … commit to doing it.

Compelling content can be a bit more challenging. To get the creative juices flowing, consider some of the following ideas:

Lists
People like lists. Write short posts around your area of expertise entitled, “The Top Three Ways to…”, or “5 Steps to …”
FAQs
Write short blog posts around frequently asked questions about your business or area of expertise.
Photos
Craft short blog posts around photos … from your business, your clients, your products, or your interests.
Recommendations or Reviews
Offer your clients and readers recommendations or reviews around items related to your expertise.

Once you get a few blog posts under your belt, you can really go crazy and connect your blog to your business Facebook page. When you do this, all of your Facebook fans will automatically know when you’ve published a new post.

Make time for blogging. You won’t regret it. Jeffrey Gitomer says, “Writing leads to wealth...”

Sandy Waggett says, “Blogging leads to great search engine rankings.”

What are you waiting for?
Start your business blog today at http://www.blogger.com!

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!

MSW Interactive Designs LLC specializes in small business web design, website hosting, search engine optimization, and social media services.

573-552-8403

www.PutTheWebToWork.com

Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

TWITTER: @putthewebtowork

FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/putthewebtowork

BLOG: http://put-the-web-to-work.blogspot.com

How To Setup A Paypal Account

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:49:00 PDT

I just wanted to make a quick blog post to share the link where you go to setup a Paypal account for your business website. Paypal makes the setup process pretty straight forward, but navigating to the link for Paypal Website Payments Standard can sometimes be challenging!

Use this link : http://bit.ly/dwGHM5

Paypal offers a nice tutorial video on this page to show you how to setup your account. Once your account is created and attached bank account verified, you'll be ready to start accepting payments. Your webmaster should be able to help you setup Paypal buttons on your website.

If you need assistance integrating Paypal with your website, please don't hesitate to contact us!

MSW Interactive Designs LLC
We put the web to work for you!http://www.MSWInteractiveDesigns.com
573-552-8403

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step #10 – Be Analytical

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:15:00 PDT

Over the past nine months we identified steps one through nine in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; 5) Be a better communicator; 6) Get found; 7) Improve Your Link Popularity; 8) Setup and optimize your free Google Places listing; and 9) Make it easy to share.

The tenth step is: Be analytical.

You’ve worked hard to build a professional web presence around clear goals and calls to action. You are definitely a step ahead of the pack, but you should not stop there. It’s important to have some type of analytics available about your web presence. This allows you to make informed and intelligent decisions based on what people are (or are not) doing when they get there. Without analytics, changes or adjustments you make to improve things are mere guesses.

I came across a quote that puts it in the simplest terms: Measurable is the new “Gosh, I hope it works.”

There are several tools available for website analytics. Your web hosting provider likely has a stats package available that will allow you to see basic data about activity on your website. Contact him or her and find out how you can access it.

Better yet, install Google Analytics on your site. It is free, it’s powerful, and it is available at http://www.google.com/analytics. Simply sign up for an account and Google will provide you with a small block of code that you (or your web person) can add to each page of your website. Once installed, Google tracks and compiles an amazing amount of data.

In addition to basic information like unique visitors and page views, you can see the bounce rate on your site, analyze a heat map to visibly see what links and pictures people are clicking on when they get to your site, plus you’ll have a wealth of information about how people are finding your site. When you use and understand Google Analytics, you're empowered to make informed decisions and create a higher converting website for your business.

In a last month’s article, we discussed making your website easy to share using tools like AddThis.com and ShareThis.com. Both of these tools provide analytics on the content that is shared from your website. You can setup your account so those metrics are emailed to you weekly or you can simply login to your account and view them at any time.

Just as you monitor analytics and sharing on your website, you should also monitor analytics on your business Facebook page. “Facebook Insights” provides business page owners powerful metrics on new likes, daily activity, interactions, impressions, feedback, and demographics. By understanding and analyzing trends within user growth and demographics, consumption of content, and creation of content, you are better equipped to improve your business social media marketing and create better experiences on Facebook for your customers. For advanced users, Facebook also provides a way to integrate Google Analytics into your Facebook business page!

I get calls from prospective clients who ask me to help them increase traffic to their websites. This is a worthy goal, but it is important to look at the existing traffic first. Many times it is not actually the lack of traffic that is the problem … it is the lack of conversions with the visitors they already have. Using analytics is the best way to understand what visitors are actually doing, versus what you want them to do. This often illuminates simple improvements that can be made to increase conversions and build a more effective web presence.

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403

www.PutTheWebToWork.com

Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

TWITTER: @putthewebtowork

FACEBOOK: http://facebook.com/putthewebtowork

BLOG: http://put-the-web-to-work.blogspot.com

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #9 – Make Your Website and Content Easy to Share

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:33:00 PDT

In previous articles we identified steps one through eight in the process of building an effective web presence:

1) Define your ideal client
2) Identify specific goals
3) Create a call to action
4) Give customers what they expect
5) Be a better communicator
6) Get found
7) Improve Your Link Popularity
8) Setup and optimize your free Google Places listing

The ninth step is:
Make your website and content easy to share.

In a 2010 social media study, 89 percent of Internet users said they actively share content. If you are on Facebook or Twitter, this should come as no surprise. Social sharing tools spread your content and brand across the web. What’s even more powerful is the return from social sharing by bringing even more visitors back to your website.

Some of my favorite social sharing tools include the following:

AddThis.com

AddThis.com is the world's largest content sharing platform. It gives visitors to your site a simple and easy way to share your content across the social web, and it provides you with increased web traffic and in-depth analytics. Did I mention it’s FREE? You simply go to their website at http://www.addthis.com, choose the button style that best fits your site, then AddThis.com gives you (or your website designer) a block of code (or a widget) that you place on your website. This gives people who visit your site an easy way to share it with their connections on Facebook, Twitter, or whatever their favorite social platform might be. With the analytics AddThis.com provides, you can see how many “shares” (and across what social platforms) you receive each week.

ShareThis.com

Sharethis.com works just like AddThis.com. I like ShareThis.com because it’s a little more customizable than AddThis.com, however both work equally well. Their website is http://www.ShareThis.com. If you use one of these sharing tools, I recommend putting the widget on each page of your website. If you have an eCommerce storefront, you should include a sharing widget with each product, as well.

Facebook “Like” Button

The Facebook “Like” button lets a visitor to your website share your content with their friends on Facebook. When the user clicks the “Like” button on your site, a story appears in the their friends' News Feed with a link back to your website. With the average Facebook user having over 100 friends, it’s easy to see how powerful this is because more than 100 people will see your content. You can customize your “Like” buttons so they include faces of your Facebook fans, a “Send” button, and/or a live stream from your Facebook page. To create a Like button for your site, go to: http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like/ .

The biggest difference between the Facebook “Like” button and the AddThis/ShareThis option is the AddThis/ShareThis feature allows the end user to choose which platform on which they want to share your content. The Facebook “Like” button only shares it on Facebook.

On my own websites and on my client websites, I use a combination of each of these sharing tools. The important thing is that you use at least one of them to give your website visitors the ability to share your content. With 89% of Internet Users indicating they regularly share content socially, you are missing an opportunity if you don’t give them an easy way to share the content from your website!

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403
www.PutTheWebToWork.com
Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #8 – Setup and Optimize Your Free Google Places Listing

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 10:48:00 PDT

Over the past seven months we identified steps one through seven in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; 5) Be a better communicator; 6) Get found; and 7) Improve Your Link Popularity.

The eighth step is:
Setup and optimize your Google places listing.

If you’ve ever attended any of my workshops, you know that I am a big fan of "FREE." The cool thing about Google Places is it’s absolutely free and it’s very easy to setup.

To start, go to http://www.Google.com/Places, and then click on "Get Started" under Google Places for Business. Google will literally take you through the step by step process of adding your business. Once you’ve completed the basic listing, Google will immediately call your business phone number and give you a PIN number to enter to validate the listing.
Now that your FREE Google Places listing is setup, you can optimize it so it appears in the coveted top seven positions on page one for Google Places.

Here are some suggestions:

Basic Business Information: Complete all basic and required fields. Be sure you use the actual name for your company and that your address information is your physical address.

E-mail and Business Description: Use a business e-mail address that is associated with your domain name. For the business description you have 200-characters - use all of them! Describe precisely what you do, including any specialty areas. Include your complete website address.

Business Category Selection: Selecting the right categories can make or break your chance at ranking prominently on page one in the Google local listings. Google offers one main category and four related categories to help define your business. Select a primary category and DO select sub-categories.

Service Areas: Google Places offers the option for businesses to define service areas. This is home-based businesses and mobile businesses. If your business fits this type of business, include your service areas. If you have a brick and mortar location, do not include service areas.

Hours of Operation and Payment Options: Even if you really service customers 24/7, fill out your hours of operation and payment options. These details help you get closer to a 100% complete Google Places listing, and ultimately can help make it rank higher.

Images and Videos: Adding images and videos also counts toward a 100% complete listing. Make use of this option and upload photos related to your business. Google allows you to upload 10 photos, so be sure to load 10. If you sell products online, you can upload images of your best sellers. You can also upload videos. You can do promotional videos or how-to videos for your customers. Google Places gives you the ability to showcase up to five videos. A great resoruce for easy video creation is http://www.animoto.com.

Additional Details: This section allows you to provide additional details you wish to tell prospective clients about your business. You can add several fields. Sample fields to consider adding: free quotes, business awards, and other ongoing specials. You can also add links to your Twitter or Facebook pages. Just add a field called "Follow us on Twitter" or "Follow us on Facebook" and copy the full URL for your Facebook or Twitter Profile into the field on the right hand side.

Review/Testimonials: One of the best things you can do is ask your happy clients/customers to give you a testimonial. I always recommend adding these to your website, but here I am specifically recommending that you send your client/customers a link to your Google Places page and ask them to submit a public testimonial/review.

Creating a FREE Google Places listing (and optimizing it by completing ALL the information Google asks for) will give you a GREAT chance of landing on page one of Google for your primary search terms.

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403
www.PutTheWebToWork.com
Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

Building An Effective Web Presence - Step 7 - Improve Your Website's Link Popularity

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:33:00 PDT

Over the past six months we identified steps one through six in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; 5) Be a better communicator; and 6) Get found.

The seventh step is:
Improve your website’s link popularity (this helps your organic search engine rankings).

First let’s define “link popularity.”

The definition of link popularity is the number of links pointing to your site as indexed by a given search engine. This is not necessarily a complete count of ALL links to your site, but instead how many links the search engine gives the site credit for when calculating SERP (Search Engine Results Page) placement. These inbound links are also referred to as “citations.”

By most accounts, there are more than 200 factors used by Google in determining your ranking. Link popularity is just one factor and it is calculated by the number of citations (or inbound links) to your website.

There are two types of citations: structured and unstructured. Structured citations are are from known directories and trusted by major search engines. A good example of a structured citation would be a link to your website from http://www.DMOZ.com or Yahoo’s Directory. Unstructured citations are links to your website from other regular websites, like the local Chamber of Commerce or from another local business. Ideally, you should have a nice combination of both structured and unstructured citations to your site.

Some tips to build your link popularity:

Find out how many inbound links you have now. Go to Google.com and in the search box, enter “links: [your website address]”. For example, if you wanted to see how many links we have to the MSW Interactive Designs website, you would enter – “links:mswinteractivedesigns.com”. There are about 1700 inbound links to our website.
Purchase online advertising from authority sites that includes a link to your website. Locally, you can do this with the Chamber, CVB, as well as several others. If you serve the wedding market, you can also get listed with a link on www.LakeOzarkWeddingGuide.com.
Exchange links with other businesses in your network. A nice way to do this is to add a “Resources” page to your website and link to other businesses that you trust. In return, ask them to link back to your website from theirs.
Avoid Link Farms and massive link exchange services. The links obtained from these sites and services tend be low quality and ignored by Google. Not sure if it’s a link farm or not? Use this test … ask yourself, “would I be doing this (linking there) if search engines didn't exist?"
Request that those linking to you use keyword rich anchor text in the link. For example, we prefer when people link us they use “Website Design and Hosting” instead of “MSW Interactive Designs” as the actual words that are linked to our website.

In summary, it is important to improve your website’s link popularity. The more relevant, quality, third party sources that link to your website, the better your link popularity will be. Over time, improved link popularity will positively impact your website’s organic search engine rankings.

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!

Website Design & Hosting for Businesses
573-552-8403

www.PutTheWebToWork.com

Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

Building an Effective Web Presence Step #6 – Get Found

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 06:47:00 PDT

Over the past five months we identified steps one through five in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; and 5) Be a better communicator.

The sixth step is:
Make sure your website is properly optimized for the best possible organic search results.
First let’s define “organic” search results.

The definition of Organic Search Results is the search term results returned by a search engine (like Google) derived from what the search engine thinks is important (as opposed to returning paid listings or advertisements). In other words, “organic” results are the “free” results.

With 96% of Google users not clicking past page one of search results, it is critical that your site be found on page one… either with the organic results, a Google places listing (more on this in a future article), or through pay-per-click advertising. Achieving top organic rankings can be challenging if you have a lot of competition, however there are some fundamental things you can do with your website to maximize your chances of reaching coveted page one placement.

This topic can get very technical, so we’ll just list the high level basics here. Feel free contact me for an SEO review of your website.

Basics of On-Page Organic Search Engine Optimization

When thinking about keyword phrases for which you want your site to be found, think locally if you serve a local market. For example, rather than optimizing your site for “car repair” in general, try “car repair lake of the ozarks”
Use appropriate and properly formatted meta tags
Write quality content for your site
Use minimal Flash, if you must use any at all
Don’t use template sites that do not allow full customization for SEO purposes
Don’t embed text in images
Update your website often
Provide text link navigation
Provide a site map
Use Google Analytics (more on this topic in a future article)

Of course, once your site is properly optimized and if your competitors all have properly optimized websites, that begs the next question … how do you outrank them? You start with the fundamentals of organic on-page SEO described in this article. You then build on this with “off-page” SEO efforts, including social media, link building, blogging, etc. The businesses who effectively master the hybrid of these strategies will find themselves on page one of Google, over time. It all starts with an organically optimized website, though. If you work the above ten elements into your website properly, I am confident you will see an improvement in your organic search engine rankings. I will discuss in more detail the “off-page” SEO efforts in future articles.

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403
www.PutTheWebToWork.com
Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #5 - Be a Better Communicator

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 12:35:00 PDT

Over the past four months we identified steps one through four in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; and 4) Give customers what they expect.

The fifth step is: Be a better communicator across your web presence.

We continue to talk in terms of your "web presence" rather than just your "website", because a web presence encompasses everything you do to market your business online. This definitely includes your website, but it also includes your email marketing campaigns, your social media efforts, blogging, and more.

Effective communication is not a one way process when you are face-to-face, and it shouldn’t be online either. Too many businesses exercise one way communication online by pushing the common message, "I’m the best, buy from me." Truly successful businesses work online to engage their prospective customers for the purpose of starting a dialogue, building a relationship, establishing trust, and positioning themselves as experts in their fields. When you let consumers reach their own conclusion that you are the best, the real long-term, profitable business relationships develop.

A few tips to instantly become a better online communicator:

Auto-Responders
Stop using generic auto-responders, unless you are on vacation and need to let people know why you are not going to respond for a week. Nothing says, "Your inquiry is not special … I may contact you on my own timeline," quite like an auto-responder. By their very nature, auto-responders are one way. There definitely are appropriate and advanced uses for auto-responders in internet marketing, however most businesses don’t use them this way and should forego the temptation to simply setup a generic auto-responder. Personal and thoughtful replies are best.

Email

Several of my clients receive leads from advertising efforts. Many call and tell me they contact leads and never get a response. My very first question is, "Did you ask them a question?"

Think about how many solicitation emails you get in a day. How many do you respond to? If you are not getting responses to your sales emails, take a good look at what you are writing. Is it all about you? Did you genuinely try to start a dialogue by asking relevant and interesting questions? Did you call the person to action or give them a reason to reply? If you make an effort to change the verbiage to a more inquiry based approach by asking the prospective customers more probing questions about them and their needs, you will see a better response and conversion rate in your email marketing efforts.

Social Media
I will talk about social media in future articles, but for this article’s purpose the most important consideration in your social media effort is using this powerful platform to engage people rather than sell to them. Since the resounding theme across this article is that effective communication is not one way … it is important to understand this is true in your social media efforts, as well. Try using social media to engage and interact rather than posting one way sales messages to consumers.

Be a better communicator … try to establish a dialogue with your prospects. Treat your online efforts much as you would face-to-face meetings. Ask probing and relevant questions, pose solutions to problems, and position yourself as the expert in your field. When you take this approach in your online communications, you won’t need to sell so much. Establishing a dialogue, and building a relationship of trust and value, leads the consumer to decide for themselves that you are the person to do business with.

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403

www.PutTheWebToWork.com

Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step 4 : Give Customers What They Expect

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 08:15:00 PDT

Building an Effective Web Presence

Step #4 – Give Customers What They Expect

Over the past three months we identified steps one, two, and three in the process of building an effective web presence:

Step 1 - Define your ideal client.
Step 2 - Identify very specific goals for your web presence.
Step 3 – Create a clear call to action.

The fourth step may seem obvious, but consider how many websites you visit each week and don’t find what you are looking for. What do you do when you don’t find what you want? You probably leave and move on to the next one.

Step 4 - Give Customers What They Expect.

Ask yourself this question. When a prospective customer gets to your website, what do they expect to find? Make sure you give it to them, or make it VERY easy to get.

The obvious but often overlooked:

• Professional look (first impressions still count)

• Error free (spell check, links work, no error messages or plug-ins required)

• Consistent navigation

• Basic business information (Hours, Contact Information, Location)

Google is now a verb, not just a search engine. This verb often replaces the phone book. People look to Google to find local businesses. This means your website may be the first impression a prospective new client has of your business. Does it have a professional look that represents the quality of your business services or products? Or does it look like you attempted to do it yourself and gave up halfway through? Think about the first impression your website gives … you want it to be the right one.

Is your website error free, spell checked, and do all the links work properly? If not, take the time to fix the problems. Nothing deflates your credibility more quickly than an error-laden website.

Is the navigation consistent and intuitive across every page of your website? You do not want prospective customers to get lost or stranded attempting to find their way through your site. There are few things worse than getting to a page on a website with no obvious way to get to another.

Are your hours, location, and contact information listed on every page of the website? If not, consider adding them … to every page (not just the “contact us” page). The website itself is rarely going to close the business deal for you. It’s the contact, interaction, and relationship that you build with the prospective customer that closes the deal. If starting a dialog with your prospective customer is the primary objective, then the how, the when, and the where to reach you should be the easiest information to find.

People buy from people, not from companies. Instead of thinking of your website as one way communication (for example - this is what I do, you should buy from me), think of it as an introduction … a first impression. It’s the first step in the relationship marketing process.

Your website should START the dialogue with your prospective customer. This means you want to get rid of the obstacles on your website that would prevent the customer from wanting to engage.

Give customers what they expect… don’t give them a reason to leave.

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403

www.PutTheWebToWork.com

Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

How To Setup and Optimize Your Free Google Places Listing

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 06:46:00 PDT

How To Setup and Optimize Your Free Google Places Listing

If you’ve ever attended any of my workshops, you know that I am a big fan of “FREE.” The cool thing about Google Places is it’s absolutely free and it’s very easy to setup.

To start, go to http://www.Google.com/Places, and then click on “Get Started” under Google Places for Business. Google will literally take you through the step by step process of adding your business. Once you’ve completed the basic listing, Google will immediately call your business phone number and give you a PIN number to enter to validate the listing.

Now that your FREE Google Places listing is setup, you can optimize it so it appears in the coveted top seven positions on page one for Google Places. Here are some suggestions:

Basic Business Information: Complete all basic and required fields. Be sure you use the actual name for your company and that your address information is your physical address.

E-mail and Business Description: Use a business e-mail address that is associated with your domain name. For the business description you have 200-characters - use all of them! Describe precisely what you do, including any specialty areas. Include your complete website address.

Business Category Selection: Selecting the right categories can make or break your chance at ranking prominently on page one in the Google local listings. Google offers one main category and four related categories to help define your business. Select a primary category and DO select sub-categories.

Service Areas: Google Places offers the option for businesses to define service areas. This is home-based businesses and mobile businesses. If your business fits this type of business, include your service areas. If you have a physical location, do not include service areas.

Hours of Operation and Payment Options: Even if you service customers 24/7, fill out your hours of operation and payment options. These details help you get closer to a 100% complete Google Places listing, and ultimately can help make it rank higher.

Images and Videos: Adding images and videos also counts toward a 100% complete listing. Make use of this option and upload photos related to your business. Google allows you to upload 10 photos, so be sure to load 10. If you sell products online, you can upload images of your best sellers. You can also upload videos. You can do promotional videos or how-to videos for your customers. Google Places gives you the ability to showcase up to five videos.

Additional Details: This area allows you to provide additional details you wish to tell prospective clients about your business. You can add multiple fields. Sample fields to consider adding: free quotes, business awards, and other ongoing specials. You can also add links to your Twitter or Facebook pages. Just add a field called "Follow us on Twitter" or "Follow us on Facebook" and copy the full URL for your Facebook or Twitter Profile into the field on the right hand side.

Review/Testimonials: One of the best things you can do is ask your happy clients/customers to give you a testimonial. I always recommend adding these to your website, but here I am specifically recommending that you send your client/customers a link to your Google Places page and ask them to submit a public testimonial/review.

Creating a FREE Google Places listing (and optimizing it by completing ALL the information Google asks for) will give you a GREAT chance of landing on page one of Google for your primary search terms.

Sandy Waggett, Owner

MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403
http://www.putthewebtowork.com/
Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #3 – Create a Clear Call to Action

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:00:00 PST

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #3 – Create a Clear Call to Action

Over the past two months we identified steps one and two in the process of building an effective web presence:

Step 1 - Define your ideal client.

Step 2 - Identify very specific goals for your web presence.

The third step is often the most overlooked – create a clear call to action!

We touched on this idea briefly in the last article, but let’s take a closer look here.

What is the one thing you want your ideal client to do when they get to your website?

Have you actually thought about this? When I ask this question of new clients, most tell me they want people to browse through the website and learn about their business. The problem with this is that it’s a very passive approach and not likely to lead to a lot of conversions.

Your business website should purposefully drive site visitors to a very specific call to action.

Developing your website with this idea in mind can dramatically increase your conversions. This is especially true when that action is tied directly to the primary goal(s) of the website.

For example, if the goal of your website is to cut down phone calls for routinely asked questions, you should have a Frequently Asked Questions page on your website, and the prominent call to action on your home page should immediately drive your site visitors to those FAQs. If your goal is to build a social media following so you can engage your customers daily or weekly, then you should have a clear, bold, prominent call to action on every page to “Like” your business on Facebook, or to “Follow” your business on Twitter. If your goal is to use your website to collect qualified leads, then you must provide an online form and proactively guide your visitors from each page of your website to that form.

A call to action is a very simple improvement for most websites:

1) Decide what you want your ideal client to do when they get to your website;
2) Tell them what you want them to do; and
3) Give them a reason to do it.

Make your call to action prominent. Make your call to action clear. Make your call to action easy.

Traffic vs. Conversions : Rather than trying to increase site visitors all the time, consider trying to improve conversions from your existing visitors.

It’s easy (when you aren’t getting what you want out of your website) to immediately think, “I need more traffic!” But it’s much more effective (and usually less expensive) to first take an honest look at the traffic you are already receiving. Then, take steps to improve the conversions from the visitors you already have.

Creating a prominent call to action is a very simple way to do this. Rather than your site visitors passively browsing your website and leaving, they will become active and engaged on your website, giving you the opportunity to create a new customer.

Do it today! Create a prominent call to action on your website.

1) Decide what you want your site visitors to do. (Make sure it’s tied to your website goals)

2) Prominently (and visually) tell them what you want them to do. (Make it obvious and easy)

3) Give them a reason to do it. (Reward them or tell them what they’ll get by doing it)

I am confident you’ll quickly see a dramatic increase in conversions!

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403
http://www.putthewebtowork.com/
Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step #2 – Define Specific Goals for Your Web Presence

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:46:00 PST

Building an Effective Web Presence

Step #2 – Define Specific Goals for Your Web Presence

Previously, we identified step 1 in the process of building an effective web presence: Define your ideal client. Step 2 is equally important: take the time to identify very specific goals for your web presence. The goal of “getting more business” isn’t specific enough.

Having concrete goals enables you to take very specific actions to achieve those goals. Some possible goals for your web presence may include the following:

Goal: Get Found Online (seems obvious, right?)

Actions to Achieve: Work on optimizing your website for the best possible placement in Google. This takes time and ongoing effort, so be consistent and patient. While you are working on that, run Google AdWords, Facebook ads, online ads with the Chamber of Commerce, or ads on other websites where your “ideal” clients hang out. The idea is to use every avenue (online and offline) that you can to get your website in front of your ideal clients. As an added benefit, your online advertising efforts outside of Google can actually improve your Google rankings.

Goal: Capture Information From Site Visitors That Can Be Acted On (most overlooked goal)

Actions to Achieve: Include an online form for your visitors to fill out. This can be as simple as a newsletter sign-up (using a third party service like ConstantContact.com or MailChimp.com), or as complex as a free quote request form for your service. If you are on Facebook, don’t forget to include a “Like” button on your website (recently replaced the “Become a Fan” button), so you can capture prospective clients in social media. Don’t forget to include a clear call to action for your site visitors. Tell them what you want them to do (fill out the form) and why they should do it (what’s in it for them?).

Goal: Build Credibility and Establish Trust (most effective over time)

Actions to Achieve: Social Media has made building online trust and credibility MUCH easier than it used to be. If you are not taking advantage of Facebook for business, you are missing a huge opportunity. As you build fans to your Facebook business page, you have the opportunity to connect and engage existing clients and prospective clients on a regular basis. I will include more about Facebook in future articles, but what you need to know here is that every time a “fan” logs in to Facebook, they will see your business posts. Take note, building trust and credibility does not come from constantly pitching your services on Facebook. It comes from starting a conversation with your fans, asking them questions, and providing resources and information of value to them. It doesn’t happen overnight … it requires a consistent and sincere effort. As an added benefit, your business social media efforts will improve your Google rankings over time.

As you start defining goals for your own business web presence, consider adding a way to measure them. This allows you to really focus on what improvements need to be made to accomplish them. For example:

• Get found online … on page one of Google.

Use Google Analytics and monitor your progress. Using analytics allows you to make informed decisions about changes that might be needed on your website.

• Capture information … get 10 free quote requests per month from your website.

If you have 500 unique visitors to your site each month and you are not getting 10 quote requests, improve your call to action or give them an incentive to take action.

• Establish credibility … write 3 informative and valuable business Facebook posts per week.

How do you know if they are informative and valuable? Your fans will respond and interact with your posts. Try to improve your posts each so your fans are motivated to engage.

Goals for your web presence are just like goals in your life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know exactly where you have to concentrate your efforts, and what changes you may need to make along the way.

Sandy Waggett, Owner

MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!

573-552-8403

http://www.putthewebtowork.com/

Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step #1 – Define Your Ideal Client

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 08:20:00 PST

Building an Effective Web Presence

Step #1 – Define Your Ideal Client
In today’s online environment, having just a web site doesn’t usually cut it. As a business owner, your ultimate goal should be to build an effective web presence by integrating your website, social media, and other online interactive media or applications. There are many options and you have limited resources, so it’s important to define what elements of a web presence will provide the best return on your investment of time and money.

The most effective way to begin this process is to clearly define your “ideal” client. It sounds very basic, but this step is often overlooked. As you build your web presence, you want to target all of your activities around this ideal client. If you don’t, there’s a good chance you’ll waste time and money.

Defining your ideal client will not only help you with your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) efforts, it will also focus your energy in the right places, help you allocate limited resources appropriately, and will be a win-win for your company because it increases your referral business … the BEST kind of business!

When you define your ideal client, be as specific as possible. The more specific you are, the better your results will be. Initially it can be difficult to narrow down the “ideal” client. It can be easy to say that your ideal client is anyone who will pay you for your services. But is this really true? I know it isn’t for me!

Try this exercise to help. Think about your FAVORITE or BEST client from the past few years. What is it that made them your favorite? What are the specific characteristics that made them best? Write down the traits that make them stand out. Next, think about your worst experience with a client and write down the traits that made that experience stand out. You will rapidly be able to paint a picture of the type of client your business LOVES to work with and profits from the most.

Think about it … isn’t working with an ideal client a win-win? They love working with you and you love working with them. They are not just happy about your product or service, they cannot live without it! They tell their friends about you, who in turn become your new clients. Referral business is the best business and building your web presence (as well as other marketing efforts) around your ideal client ultimately yields a better return on investment because of this.

Once you have clearly defined your ideal client, use these practical applications for your business web presence:

First, focus on getting found online by your ideal client. Organically optimize your website for the very specific search terms your ideal client would use to try to find you. As an example, let’s say you have an auto repair shop at the Lake and ideal client is a luxury car owner. Think about the difference in your chances of ranking #1 in Google for the general term “auto repair”, versus “auto repair Lake of the Ozarks”, versus “BMW repair Lake of the Ozarks”. Yes, the number of searches for the latter term will be fewer, but if this is your ideal client, your conversions will be MUCH higher because your organic SEO efforts are built around that ideal client!

Next, find out where your ideal client “hangs out” and interacts online, then make sure your business is there! Use Facebook ads, Pay per Click, or other social media avenues to get your business in front of that ideal client when they are online. Capture their information by building fans and followers across the social platforms. This enables you to engage with your ideal client and build credibility with them in real time online. It also gives you a free venue to regularly announce deals, sales, specials, and events to your ideal client!

In the following months, I will continue to offer concrete and practical tips that you can use to maximize your web presence and increase conversions from your website.

Remember, if you start by defining your ideal client up front, you will have much greater success in your journey through the web!

Sandy Waggett, Owner
MSW Interactive Designs LLC ~ We put the web to work for you!
573-552-8403
http://www.putthewebtowork.com/
Sandy@MSWInteractiveDesigns.com

Free Font Resource

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:06:00 PDT

Clients ask me all the time about creative fonts for their logos and promotional items. We use a great free font archive call Urban Fonts. Plenty of creative fonts for just about any project!

http://www.urbanfonts.com/

If you can find what you need at Urban Fonts, try Fonts.com. This is an incredible font resource and most are available at great prices. http://www.fonts.com/

Add Your Business to Bing

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:08:00 PDT

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?

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:23:00 PDT

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:33:00 PDT

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:32:00 PDT

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:20:00 PST

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 07:40:00 PST

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:48:00 PST

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 13:40:00 PDT

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

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra Waggett) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:50:00 PDT

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.