Web Design

I Don’t Have Time To Blog

2008-08-29T09:13:00.001-05:00

Ok, I’ll go along with that statement. As a small business owner, often times days are 18 hours long and you really don’t have time to create a blog, add articles and content. All the blog activity will take some amount of time per week to maintain.

You already have a program in place to advertise your business using news papers, flyers, maybe even radio spots. You branding has already included your web site. Another avenue to advertise your business is via the opportunity to blog. Blogging is another relatively inexpensive means to promote your business niche. Who better than you to know about what is going on in your world? The expense occurred is that of time, no dollars and cents.

What do I write about? Only you know what goes on in your small business and take from that experience what you need to generate small articles. If you work in a business that has solutions, a frequently asked questions blog is ideal. Discuss your latest trends and products that are being sought by your customers. Day to day operations should give you ideas of what to write about.

A blog doesn’t have to be updated everyday, but once or twice a week is preferable. New articles or content published will allow you to add your signature and a short bio. Just adding your signature and business web address will add another link in the natural web search strategy. The more links to your business web site, the more important your web site is to the search engines. The more important your web site is to search engines, the higher in the search results your web site is, the higher your web site is, the more customers will find you.

This is part 1 of a 2 part post – the next post will contain things that you don’t want your blog to contain. For more information and a lot of expertise on blogging, Search the internet for “blogger forums”. There are about a million results and the first page contains a lot of forums that can help answer questions about blogging.

Darrell Mishler

The Browser Wars Loses a Player

2008-06-24T12:34:00.001-05:00

A once mighty competitor has decided to go into oblivion. Since just after its first release in October 1994 Netscape has been a household word in the computing world. At one point in time it commanded at least 80% market share.

Netscape was and is merely a teenager, just 14 years old and has now seen its last release. The final release distributed is 9.0.0.6 and will no longer be supported after May 1, 2008.

A little background:

Born in 1994 as Mosaic it became Netscape and was sold to AOL for around $9 billion dollars. By the time Internet Explorer and Netscape had reached the fourth generation it started losing market share. Today the market share of Netscape is less than 1%.

As of July 2003 AOL Mozilla (Mosaic and Netscape based browser) was allowed to become independent and Mozilla became an open source project into a non-profit organization. Since then Mozilla has become an active player in the browser wars.

As a web designer, one of the activities that I perform when building a web site is to make sure the web site views the same in a variety of web browsers. Now I won’t have to be testing with Netscape any more. I’ll still be testing with FireFox (Mozilla), Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera.

It’s time to bid a fond farewell to an application that allowed for the every day internet user and lay person to enjoy the experience of surfing the web.

Darrell Mishler

So tell me, how is your internet experience?

2008-06-17T07:13:00.000-05:00

When you visit a web site, are you just looking at something that sits there and you can glean bits of information by reading all of the text or looking at the pretty pictures? There is a conceptual difference between what a web site is or was and what a web site can be. Does the web site you are looking at beckon you to do more? Is it asking you to get involved, does it say that you can trust the web site owner? Do you have an opportunity to contribute, provide feedback or give your opinion?

Static web pages are and have been the norm, but times are changing. Web 2.0 is a conceptual difference, that concept is to get the visitor involved in your web presence, ask them to contribute, to make their experience better, more targeted and more of what they came looking for. Up until now most web site owners and small businesses have relied on places like Google, Yahoo and MSN to drive traffic to our web sites, but we now have the opportunity to have our customers and users tell us what they want and how they want it.

While a specific set of criteria doesn’t exist, most of these next-generation sites and services offer new technological tricks, an emphasis on community and user-generated content, or a combination of both. I guess the best way to demonstrate the Web 2.0 experience is to provide some links to web sites that are considered the best of.

Web 2.0 Awards – complied and published by seomoz.org

COOL WEB 2.0 APPS FOR EVERYONE These are the 100 best Web 2.0 applications, chosen by Webware readers and Internet users across the globe. Over 1.9 million votes were cast to select these Webware 100 winners:

And from the Computer Shopper, new “Web 2.0″ sites proves that innovation is just warming up on the Internet.

Darrell Mishler

Web Design Services

Does Your Integrity Translate?

2008-05-25T21:33:00.001-05:00

Visitors and customers to your web site are looking for aspects that validate your credibility. Evaluate your web site to see if it takes advantage of reasons for visitors to consider you and your business trustworthy, reliable, contribute to your business standing and sincerity.

There are specific significant areas to be aware of, answer the following questions:

Can your customer verify the accuracy of the information presented on your site? Provide access to reference sources, citations and sources for what ever you present as an expert.

Are you sharing the fact that you have a valid USPS postal address? If a customer feels that they can actually get a hold of you as a person or business, it adds credibility. When your site get’s visited you have a physical location that can be identified. Add your telephone number for “quick” contact, answer your emails within 24 hours and make a statement to that effect.

Do you have professional technicians, resources or people on staff? If you have the “answer” people – make a big deal about it. If you can answer the questions and the responses are provided by an expert, you validate your usefulness to the customer.

Is your web site designed professionally and have the professional look – a look that is appropriate for your business? If your niche is children’s toys does it have a whimsical look? If you are selling tools, does it reflect solidity? These are considerations that are important. One of the considerations to make is whether or not there is enough white space – help a person viewing your site “see” what is important.

Can I navigate your site from page to page and back again without looking for the button? Making your site easy to navigate facilitates a transition that is smooth and allows visitors the ability to get to “what’s important” to them. Easy navigation also helps the customer decide to buy what they are looking for.

When was the last time you “updated your content”? Web site content needs to be frequently updated. There is something new in the field or industry that you are in; there are comments and testimonials that are being offered. Reasons to update and refresh content abound. At the very least, update the “modified date” to the last time you reviewed the site for content.

Does your visitor know what you are selling versus what others are selling? If you have affiliate ads on your site are they positioned so it is obvious that you are actually not in the business of the affiliate. A prime example is that our web design company does not provide hosting, but we do suggest web hosting resources that we have investigated. Web hosting is not our business, web site design is.

Lastly – are there typographical or grammatical errors? Do all the links work? The mechanics of these considerations impact the credibility of the site, web site owner and the business that you’re in.

Darrell Mishler

Being involved gets you recognized

2008-05-19T11:02:00.002-05:00

There are several ways to draw traffic and customers to your web site. Some of them are paid ad words, offline advertising, billboards, press releases, blogs and more. The one that I want to promote in this article is to insert yourself into a free media that allows you to be an expert, give advice, get answers, network and promote your business.

Online forums allow all of that, they give you a platform to get help, help others and if you have the time just hang out. Spending an hour or two a week can promote you and your web site by allowing you to be the expert of you business or personal niche.

Oh, ya, right, what do I have to offer? It’s not what you have to offer, it’s your ability to communicate that makes it work. You can ask a question, offer an answer, tell about your experience, these things allow you to be a part of the forum community. Each post you make advertises you and your web site as a solution to someone’s problem or question.

Ways your business can benefit from being involved in forums.

Been there, done that – you can share your experience with others that have questions. By providing an example of how you perceived and solved a specific type of problem, you become a resource for a variety of answers.

Connect and be connected – networking is a natural result of being seen. A great example of networking that works is: M & D Web Design is networked with a knife selling merchant in Salt Lake and he provides dozens of links to our web site and network.

Getting your business known – branding in other words. By participating in forums your brand becomes known to more and more people, it’s a natural byproduct of networking and being involved. Use your logo as your avatar and add your web address to you signature.

There are many other reasons to become involved in an online forum or forums, but getting involved will add value to your time online. For the beginner, read the posts, become comfortable with the participants and topics, this has been called “lurking”. Once you become comfortable with the forum and the way the forum operates, register and introduce yourself.

Use the forums as a means to expand your online business presence.

Darrell Mishler

Compliment Your Brick-And-Mortar Store With Your Web Site (Synergy)

2008-05-08T13:21:00.000-05:00

Ask not what you can do for your web site, ask what your web site can do for you, sound familiar? If you have a web site that is not fully E-commerce (shopping cart); use it to drive business to your off-line store. Using your web presence is easier than you would think. Come up with some ideas that compel customer to buy from your store.

You have a website; invested the time and energy and introduced yourself to the online world; give the visitors a reason to come into your off-line store. Start making your online presence pay for itself. One of the primary reasons for you to have that online presence is to grow your business.

While I was doing some research on this topic, I noticed a local company Cookies N Things was advertising get some cookies for the fishing opener, so I sent them an email and suggested that they add a coupon for a 10 % discount from their web site on 4 dozen cookies when pre-ordered and the customer brings in a paper copy of the internet coupon.

There are many ways to compel your online visitors to make the trip to your off-line store. Most of them are considered rewards, secret insider stuff. Here are a few ideas that might help convince them to come into your store and make a purchase or another purchase.

Sale or % off coupon present this online coupon for a 10% discount on your next purchase of ????.
Packet of seeds (go green) Mention this ad and get a free packet of wild flower seeds.
Contest or drawing
The first 20 people on Thursday get a tee shirt.
Free e-book a good example: Internet Business Beginners' Guide from M & D Web Design.
Local Business Center (Google) Enroll get approved for the Google Local Business search data base, create and promote a coupon.
Merchant Circle another enrollment program to promote your business through Blogging, networking and coupons.
Deal of the Month/Day/Week have your customer bring a clipped coupon for an extra discount or special gift.
Special offers more of the same as the above.
Limited Time Offers call to action.

Now when your customers visit your store, mention your website and the specials that are available, that promotions change weekly, monthly or occasionally. You will drive more traffic to your web site and create more repeat business for your off-line store. Instead of having an on-line web presence and an off-line brick-and-mortar store separate by concept, create a synergy between the two and use the power of the internet to your benefit.

Darrell Mishler
MnDWebDesign
mndcreativeconcepts

Online since 1993, a couple of advanced technical degrees and a teacher for the University of Phoenix as well as other companies has given me the experience to share. Explore M & D Web Design for the web site package that provides answers to your needs.

Stimulate Customer Activity When Times are Tough

2008-04-26T14:11:00.002-05:00

We all know that the economy is taking a turn to the down side, customers are holding off on shopping, warehousing inventory isn’t being replaced as quickly (just in time) and both online and brick-and-mortar businesses are looking for ways to insulate themselves from this down turn. Identification of patron’s wants and needs is ever more important, this knowledge will let you target return purchasers and expand the customer base.

Businesses have found that a variety of programs that create cost-effective brand loyalty. One of these programs is the Ecommerce customer-reward, it will drive higher sales and have an impact on what the customer does and improve repeat business. Customer service and an outstanding product are the primary of the keys to success in business, loyalty programs bring in new patrons and help to ensure repeat business.

Greet them at the “door” with the loyalty program, it can be easy and inexpensive and contribute to getting more and more customers purchasing. A good loyalty marketing program gives the business an edge in understanding a customer’s behavior and influence actions through right-time rewards that compel.

Take the edge out of coming up with a working program:

Analyze your historical information; what is the hot seller, what does your customer say they want and how are the buying trends working? Offer rewards that focus on what has been going on and what’s been successful, these are the things that your customers have told you they want more of. Set up these considerations in reward programs and next purchase coupons. Make these rewards usable at the time the sale is made.

Keep track of the top selling items or services and rotate the promotions, keep your buyers coming back for more.

Darrell Mishler

Presentation on Web 2.0

2008-04-23T11:17:00.009-05:00

Some (don't ask me who) say that Web 2.0 is a state of mind. Well, it's more a marriage of technologies for the purpose of inclusion. Include your web site visitors, customers, family and any other people you want to enhance your and their browsing and web surfing experience. I have created a power point presentation that goes into the intent and process.

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by dmishle

Enjoy the web experience,

Darrell Mishler

promote your small business web site - off line

2008-04-22T07:48:00.001-05:00

Now you have a web site – what to do, what to do. If no one knows about it, it can’t start to grow in the number of visits, conversions to sales and become a resource for people. That’s one of the most basic reasons to have a web site for the small business.

For the small business owner your small business web site on-line is the first step towards developing an on-line presence and in the flurry of activity involved with planning, implementing and promoting their site on-line it’s easy to forget the following simple ways to promote your small business web site off line.

A few common sense suggestions:

1. Word of mouth - Mention your new web site to friends, family, and business associates.

2. Incorporate your web address into your office voicemail. For example, “Hello and Thank You for calling (insert your business name) were not in right now. You can leave a message after the beep or check us out on-line at www.(insertyourbusinessname).com for additional information.

3. Feature your web address in your business signage.

4. Incorporate your new web address onto your business cards as well as those of your employees.

5. Include your web address on your marketing materials or any other literature you may leave with potential clients.

6. Post a flyer with your web address on free community bulletin boards.

7. Add your new web address to any “freebies” you may distribute, pens, coffee mugs, mouse pads etc.

Darrell Mishler

Anchor Text the Gold Standard for links

2008-04-19T10:39:00.003-05:00

Anchor Text, the gold standard for inbound links

For several years now I have been talking about anchor text and that it’s the way to link that provides the best use of keywords and keyword phrases. Anchor text by definition is text such as “gourmet wild rice” and it leads to the web site that I want associated with the key phrase. Notice that I did not use “click here”, I don’t want to make the phrase click here important to the search engines, I want to make the phrase gourmet wild rice the search engine priority. You can use anchor text to navigate to other pages within your web site, for instance if you have coupon that allows customers to receive a 10% discount anchor text the item within the text on the page. This is still an important link to the search engines – “it means something important” and will be viewed as such.

Using anchor text in your blog is another way of building inbound (important) links to your web site or specifics about what your customers are looking for. The anchor text is going to be recognized as an important keyword or phrase and add to the calculation of your page rank on Google and higher positions on all the search engines. You are effectively improving your position by the very activity of promoting your business.

An example of correct and incorrect anchor text linking comes from Wikipedia:

However, webmasters tend to misuse anchor text quite often this way:

Today our president has signed another treaty. To know more, click here.

The correct way of coding that would be:

Today our president has signed another treaty.

You can use anchor text in:

External links - links from other sites
Internal links - links on your pages
Navigation maps
Links on your main page. A very important spot.

Remember that real live humans will read your links as well as search engines, so the words in your anchor text need to make sense! Improve your search engine results by doing the work, not waiting for “it” to happen.

Darrell Mishler

Small Business Marketing Explored

2008-04-17T09:48:00.002-05:00

What, you mean I have to market?

Understand the value of marketing – if you don’t have customers to sell to, you won’t have sales. Making money is the reason you expand your business to the internet. Internet marketing is your responsibility, don’t outsource it, outsource the activity, not the direction.

Marketing is not transaction based, its relationship based.

The more profitable concept of marketing is to build repeat business, loyalty, trust and a reason for the customer to return and purchase more of the products and services you provide. Ask you customers what they want, create an environment that allows you customers to provide input and feedback, which will lead to a feeling of ownership for the customer.

Name recognition is king?

People want to purchase from you the business, not the celebrity. While name recognition is important to draw new customers, it’s not what they are searching for on the internet – they are putting specific product search terms into the search engines like Google, MSN, AOL or MSN.

Marketing vs. Selling

Selling is a personal interaction with the customer (your action takes place). Marketing draws the potential customer in for the sell (the customers action takes place).

What kind of a message are you giving?

One analogy is the difference between $1 and $5, are you giving a $1 or the $5 message? Carefully crafted content that advances the use of the proper keywords, key phrases and your purpose is the best practice for converting visitors to your website to customers.

Finally where your effort is best promoted?

Do you have an outstanding logo and boast claims that are hard to live up to? Get to the point and reel in more customers by providing information that they can use and are of interest to them.

Darrell Mishler