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NATA Web Integration for District Sites

Admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 18:44:33 +0000

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MetaTags Optimization

Admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:42:08 +0000

You still hear about meta tags, although their importance has decreased in recent years. What are they, should you bother with them, and if so, how do you create them?

Metatag Author Tutorial

Metatags are special tags added to the top of a web page (in the “head” section) in order to describe overall information about the page. There are many of them, with many different purposes — some describe how the page should be cached, when it expires, what language the page is in, who the author is, etc.

When discussing search engine optimization, the two meta tags that are usually spoken of are the “keywords” metatag, and the “description” metatag.

These tags were once important, as they were used by formerly popular search engines to determine the proper keywords for the page, and the description to display.

Today, they don’t matter much — search engines are more sophisticated, determining keywords from the page itself — on good days, with well written and structured pages. Descriptions are formed on the fly by taking the words around the keyword match, or other words that look relevant to the search engine.

In fact, some suggest that the thing most leading search engines are likely to do with the keywords metatag is to determine what keywords the author may have over-optimized the page for, in order to “penalize” the page in the results.

So should you bother messing with them?

I do.

Search engines change their ways all the time. Popular search engines can be replaced by newer and better ones. Since the keyword and description metatags have historically been part of the page, and people still use them, we might see them again become a factor (probably a small factor) in search results.

Additionally, some of the older, smaller engines still send the occasional dribble of traffic — if one of them is willing to use your description, then so much the better.

It only takes a minute of your time to add them, so why not?

Meta tags optimization

My process for authoring content pages goes something like this:

Decide on my topic.
Pick the keywords that I want to target relative to my topic.
Write my content, bearing those keywords in mind.

Use the keywords in structural elements of the page.
Use the keywords in the body of the content.

Write a description for the page and put it in the description metatag.
Add my keywords to the keywords metatag.

Double check that the keywords you are entering are actually in the body of the content, to avoid possible penalties.
Never use a word more than three times.

Just how you do those last two steps will depend on how you’re authoring your content.

If you are using a weblog or other content management system (CMS), there is probably a place for you to enter your meta tag information when writing your page (this may be built-in, or a “plug-in” that handles this).

If you are using a web authoring program that has a “wysiwyg” view, there is probably a page property dialog that will allow you to enter the information.

If you’re writing HTML, then you write them like this:

Note that the keywords are separated by a comma and a space, and both tags go between the and tags.

Site Wide Meta Tags

Some software allows you to enter tags to be used across the entire site. If your CMS or weblog software includes this feature, should you use it?

Probably not.

Remember that search engines don’t find web sites — they find web pages.

Focus your optimization efforts on specific pages of your site, and you will be better rewarded down the road.

The author of this article, Chuck Lawson , is the owner of Insanely Great Sites.

Insanely Great Sites helps small business website owners learn the simple steps they can take to turn average-performing web sites in to profit-generating prospect & customer magnets.

You can find the latest revision of this article, plus articles on a number of related topics at Insanely Great Sites

Used with permission.

Stuck for auto-responder ideas?

Admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:36:21 +0000

We’ve all heard “the money is in the list”, but once you’ve got them signed up, how do you keep them subscribed and opening the mailings? Here’s how some of the experts make their lists anxious to get each new mailing.

Collect leads with your autoresponder. You will get an e-mail digest of everyone’s e-mail addresses who requests information from your autoresponder.

Publish a price list of all the products and services that you offer. You could also include order forms, product descriptions, and other sales material.

Publish free reports in autoresponder format. The reports should be related to your business or web site. Giving away free stuff will quickly increase your traffic.

Collect vital customer satisfaction information by publishing a survey in autoresponder format. This type of information will help you serve them better.

Instead of answering every customer question that’s e-mailed to you, publish ” Frequently Ask Questions” in autoresponder format. This will save time and money.

You could publish your testimonials or endorsements in autoresponder format if you don’t have the room in your ad copy. It’s more effective to include all of them.

Provide back issues of your e-zine archives in auto- responder format. This will give your subscribers and web site visitors easy access to them.

Publish your entire web site in autoresponder format. Sometimes visitors don’t have enough time read your entire site. They could print it out and read it offline.

You could offer your ebook in autoresponder format. Your visitors won’t have to download it or have the software to read it right away.

You could publish the terms and conditions to any business transactions in autoresponder format. This could include return policies, purchases, refunds etc.

Tune up your online sales copy

Admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:32:48 +0000

Could you use a few more sales? Here are ten great copy-writer tricks for improving your online sales copy.

Make your reader visualize they have already bought your product in your ad. Tell them what results they have gotten and how it makes them feel. They’ll already become emotionally attached before they buy.

Turn your ad into an article. It could be a story, or how-to article. This will lead them into your ad without them knowing it’s an ad. They’ll already be interested when they get to your sales pitch.

Make sure you show your reader that they are getting a bargain. Tell them the usual price you sell your product for is $99. Then tell them if they order today they can buy it for $69.95.

Direct your ad headline to your target audience. Your readers will feel important and belong to a select group of people who buy your product. For example; “Attention! Accountants, Discover A New Way To Increase Your Client Base!”

Tell your reader how fast they can receive your product or service in your ad. Their buying decision may be based on how fast they can receive your product. They may need it by a certain deadline.

Use bullets to highlight your product or services benefits. Benefits are the key to selling anything, make them standout in your ad. You can use dots, dashes, or circles to highlight them.

Give a money back guarantee that surpasses a normal one. Instead of the normal timed guarantee, give them extra back. Tell them they can keep the free bonus or give them double their money back.

Tell your reader they’ll receive surprise bonuses. This’ll raise your reader’s curiosity and make them want to buy so they can find out what the surprise bonuses are.

Let your reader know this specific package will not be offered again. You must create urgency so people buy now. You may always sell the same product but not with the same bonuses or price.

Give them a couple tips in your ad that will help them with their problem. This will give your business credibility and gain your readers trust to buy your products or services.

Hot tips for attracting more clients to your site

Admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:27:54 +0000

Give people a free subscription to your e-zine. Almost everyone is publishing a e-zine nowadays so it’s important to give something extra with the free subscription. You could offer a free gift or advertising when people subscribe.

Provide your visitors with free content. Your content will be more attractive to your visitors if it’s up-to-date or original. You could also offer people the option to reprint the content in their e-zine or web site.

Offer a free online directory. The directory could be full of interesting ebooks, e-zines, web sites etc. If people find your directory to be a valuable resource they will visit it over and over.

Give your visitors a free ebook. You could also include your own ad in the ebook and allow other people to give it away. If you don’t want to take the time to write one, you could ask other writers permission to use their articles.

Hold free online classes or seminars. They could be held in your web site’s chat room. The idea of “live” information will definitely entice people to visit your web site. You will become known as an expert on the topic.

Give visitors a free entry into your contest or sweepstakes. The prizes should be something of interest or value to your visitors. Most people who enter will continually revisit your web site to get the results.

Let visitors download free software. It could be freeware, shareware, demos etc. You could even turn part of your site into a free software directory. If you created the software, include your ad inside and let other people give it away.

Offer free online services or utilities from your web site. They could be search engine submitting, copy writing proofreading etc. The service or utility should be helpful to your target audience.

Give free consulting to people who visit your web site. You could offer your knowledge via e-mail or by telephone. People will consider this a huge value because consulting fees can be very expensive.

Give your visitors a free membership to your online club. People want to belong to something, why not your online club. You could also give away a free e-zine for club members only.

10 Benefits Of Submitting Articles To E-zines

Admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 21:22:45 +0000

What do many successful website owners do to increase traffic and sales on their site? They write articles and submit them for republication elsewhere. Here are just some of the key benefits of doing this.

You’ll brand your web site, business and yourself by submitting articles to e-zines. You could include your name, business name, your credentials, web site address and e-mail address in your resource box.
You will become known as an expert on the topics you write about. This will give you and your business extra credibility which will help you compete against your competition.
Your article might also be placed on the publisher’s home page. If they publish each issue on their home page this will give you some extra exposure.
You might get extra exposure if the e-zine publisher archives their e-zine on their site. People might want to read the back issues before they make the decision to subscribe.
You will get free advertising. This will allow you to spend your profits on other forms of advertising. You could buy advertisements in other e-zines that don’t publish your articles.
You might get extra income from people wanting to hire you to write other articles, books, or even ask to speak at seminars. This is a great way to multiply your income.
You could allow e-zine publishers to publish your articles in their free e-books. Since people give them away, your advertising could multiply all over the internet.
You will get your article published all over the web when you submit it to an e-zine publisher that has a free content directory on their web site. They’ll allow their visitors to republish your article.
You’ll gain people’s trust. If they read your article and like it, they won’t be as hesitant to buy your product or service. You will then be able to increase your profits.
You could get your article guaranteed to run in an e-zine. You could agree to run one of their articles in your e-zine if, in exchange, they run yours in their e-zine. It’s a win/win situation.

Web ReDesign 2.0: Workflow that Works

Admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 18:42:16 +0000

Web ReDesign 2.0: Workflow that Works by Kelly Goto & Emily Cotler

My rating: 4 out of 5

Anyone who has managed the process of developing or redesigning a Web site of significant size has likely learned the hard way the complexities, pitfalls, and cost risk of such an undertaking. While many Web development firms have fantastic technical expertise, what sets the topnotch organizations apart is the ability to accurately manage the planning and development process.
Web Redesign: Workflow That Works directly addresses this crucial area with a specific, proven process.

This brief but important book lays out a specific five-step strategy–called the Core Process–that can always be applied to the development of Web sites and fine-tuned to almost any type of project. Each step–defining the project, developing site structure, visual design and testing, production and QA, and launch and beyond–contains three related but distinct tracks. The text begins with a brief overview of each of the steps, then delves deeper into each with detailed explanations as well as specific forms and project-management strategies. This book does not cover back-end, server-side programming. Instead, it focuses primarily on the visual, conventional components of a Web site.

Authors Kelly Goto and Emily Cotler compiled this book in an attractive, easy-to-read format. This process guide uses numerous full-color screen shots to illustrate site examples, as well as plenty of site diagrams and sample forms. The book even has a companion Web site with downloadable forms in PDF format to put the Core Process into immediate action