webgarden.ca

e Marketing

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:57:04 +0000

Early morning customers lined up at the gates

There has been a lot of talk in the industry as of late about e-Marketing: How to do it? How to measure it’s success? Does it really work?

Well, let me answer a few of these questions for you. As many of you know webgarden works closely with Potters Nursery on the maintenece and development of their website. We also assist in all of Potters online marketing campaigns. Potters has built it’s success and reputation by relying heavily on print marketing. Nearly every week you will find a full page ad in the local Surrey, Langley, Delta and White Rock newspapers. These ads undoubtably have contributed to the sucess of all 3 of the Potters locations.

Towards the end of October, the Potters 152 location was planning a surprise sale. Instead of taking out an ad in the local paper, they decided to send out a single e-Letter on October 21st telling customers about the sale on Saturday October 24th. This was a big opportunity for webgarden as never before had we had a chance to directly measure the results of a single marketing campaign for Potters. (Normally they are always combined with newspaper ads)

After sending any e-Newsletter we are always able to monitor the recipients by viewing who opened it, who clicked on which links as well as the bounce rates. However, just because your e-letter is opened and viewed doesn’t guarantee the customer will be at the store for the sale!

Finally Saturday came around and I got word from Potters that the marketing of the Oct 24th sale HUGE success!!! Not only is sending an e-Letter a FRACTION of the cost of a newspaper ad (as low as $200) , the results are spectacular!

Microsoft Office – on a shoestring

webgarden — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:47:33 +0000

Most business use PC to get their work done. Your windows based PC could be an HP, a Dell, Compaq, Acer… the list goes on, but you get the idea! Most of us in business also use the Microsoft office suite (that is Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc) which is incredibly important for creating and sharing documents and spreadsheets. The cost of MS office is usually around $400 – the student edition is also available for $150. But lets say you are a student (or more likely the parent of a student) – and you have just spent $700 on a laptop for collage – it is quite possible you can not (or do not want) to spend an addition $150 for MS Office. Did you know there is a free program that is so similar to Microsoft office that I dare say it is EXACTLY the same?
The name is Neo Office and you can download it here. While signing up to download, you will be asked to make a donation – I suggest donating $15 or $20 to the developers (come on… you just saved yourself $400!)
Once you have downloaded an installed Neo Office, you will notice that their text document and spreadsheet documents look very similar to word and excel (read: Exactly the same…) and after creating a file, you can select “save as” and save your documents as a word or excel file.

If you would like more information about Neo Office you can check out the help documents here. If you decide to install Neo Office, make sure you keep your copy up to date and always download the updates when prompted!

10 ways for garden centers, landscapers and growers to improve google rankings

webgarden — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:55:54 +0000

As you may know Webgarden focuses primarily on web site design & web page creation for the BC horticultural industry. Most of our customers are landscapers, retail garden centers or greenhouse growers based in the Vancouver lower mainland. In today’s article I am going to list 10 ways for retail garden centers and local landscapers to improve their google page rank.

Keep your website up-to-date. Make sure you update your content with upcoming events such as trade shows or ceremonies – or even awards you may have won. Give your readers an incentive to come back to your site for current and relevant information by keeping your site up to date.
Blog, Blog, Blog: The easiest way for website owners to share industry related information is to blog about it. Blogging is a great way to add brand new content to your website as well as positioning your company as an online industry expert. Blog posts usually rank highly in the search engines because blogs are usually updated frequently and since most posts are dated, the information can be sorted by relevance.
Use Heading Tags properly. In your website you likely have several different pages (home page, about us, contact us) Instead of using a generic heading such as “Contact Us” use your company name so it would be “Contact Webgarden”, or “About Webgarden Website Design” This helps differentiate your contact page from the millions of other “contact us” pages on the web.
Use original website content. Do not copy and paste text from other websites ( I know it is tempting especially if you hate writing) but google knows if content is repeated or copied and pasted from somewhere else and it will not only ignore your copied pages – google may penalize you as well.
Avoid pages that have no written content. If you have a home page that is just one big image it is going to be harder to improve your rankings than a home page with introductory text and a few images.
Send your website designer your written content and TRUST US that we can tweak it so that you will improve your search engine rankings. It is all in the little things for example instead of saying “Our company prides it’s self in growing the best plants” You should say “Webgarden prides itself in growing the best plants” But you don’t want to go overboard so that when human readers are reviewing your website it sounds like poorly written English. There is a fine line so perhaps it’s best to let the experts help you…
Utilize your location. You may be the only orchid grower in Canada but on the web you are up against thousands of orchid growers in the USA, Thailand, Singapore…. Promote your website to Canadian readers by mentioning your location on the home page of your site as well as on the contact page. Google indexes our searches based on the location of the computer we are searching from.
Don’t be affraid to use bold formatting. Using bold for a few key phrases in a few of your web pages (please do NOT go overboard here) can help google distinguish important information. If you are not sure how to do this, then it is better to not do it at all. You don’t want to go overboard and bold everything – it will work against you.
Select a few clever keywords or phrases that you believe your customers will use to search for you on the web. It is not realistic to think that you can have top rankings for the word “lily” or the word “grower”. However “Vancouver Oriental Lily Grower” is an attainable goal.
Be patient. It takes time for google to find your site. You can help it along by signing up for an analytics account and submitting a site map, but there is no gaurentee your site will be found any quicker. The big guys at Google keep search engine algorithms top secret – nobody really knows how or when the googlebots crawl – but these 10 steps I have laid out are tried and true methods that have proven time and time again to work.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and I hope you can apply some of this information to your own site. If you have found this post useful drop me a comment – I would love to hear what you think!

Webgarden tutorials for updating your website

webgarden — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:45:45 +0000

The majority of Webgarden’s customers want a website they can update and manage themselves. We call this a content management system (or CMS for short) Webgarden has now created a number of online tutorials to walk you through updating and maintaining your customized CMS. You can view our tutorials anytime online. If there is a specific tutorial you would like to see online that we do not yet have, please let us know- we would be happy to accommodate you!

Canadian Domain Names

webgarden — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:00:52 +0000

The question has come up quite a bit lately is whether or not Canadian businesses should purchase .ca domain names instead of .com? Since deciding on your domain name is almost as important as your business name, I have come up with a few rules of thumb:

As a Canadian Company always buy both .ca AND .com. The cost is less than $20 per year for each and you can set up your website so that when the user types either version, your site will come up.
If you can not purchase the .com – stick with the .ca
Never allow your website designer to purchase your domain for you! We can point you on the right track and even recommend reputable registrars but the domain should always be registered in YOUR name with YOUR credit card. I can’t even tell you how many times this happens! It is very common to hear that a company has allowed the original website developer to purchase their domain name and now that person has disappeared or fallen out of favor. Do yourself a favor and keep your domain name in your name!
Keep your domain name as short as possible – this will reduce the number of spelling errors while typing.
Register all your domains with the same Registrar (if possible) This way,you don’t have to hunt around and figure out which domain was registered where – and what the user name and password is on each account?

If you have any questions regarding your domain name, or if need a reputable domain registrar, please give us a call (778) 858-7037 or send us and email: cathy@webgarden.ca -We are always happy to help!

e-commerce explained

webgarden — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:22:12 +0000

I have been working with a client who wants to be able to sell her products online and in order to do so, I have done a bunch of research which I thought I would share with you.
Her main criteria is that when her customers make a purchase from her website, she does not want them to “leave” her site. An example of this is using paypal. When you select your item to purchase, you are then re-directed to the store’s paypal account, where you need to either submit your cc info or login to your paypal account directly.
So in order to set up her store so that her customers don’t leave her site, we need to find an alternative to the standard paypal account. There are many other solutions available for example: authorize.net, paypal proflow, eWay, iDeal, First Data ect… However, I soon learned that although these solutions offer a payment GATEWAY, you still need a merchant account.
A payment Gateway is the secure method in which a buyers credit card is processed. The Merchant Account is where the funds from credit card are delivered. Because you will have to set up an online merchant account (likely with your bank), each sale that you make is reduced by the fees from the gateway and the merchant account (bank account)
In order to reduce these double fees I have determined that Paypal’s s Website Payments Pro is the best solution for my client. She will be paying $0 set up fee (other fees I have been quoted are $100- $250)
She will be paying a $30/month flat fee (other’s are anywhere between $25-$59) and a low transaction fee of 1.9%-2.9% (other transaction fees I have been quoted range from $.10 – $.25)
The only downfall of using Payment’s Pro is if she needs to transfer funds from her paypal account directly into her bank account. There is usually a transfer fee. If however, she is able to use her paypal income to purchase supplies, shipping or materials then she will not need to transfer funds into her bank account, she can make those payments directly thru her paypal account and not incur a fee.
I hope this gives a bit more insight on how e-commerce works and would love to hear your comments… What gateway do you use? What are some of the fees your bank charges for your merchant account?

New Website Showcase

webgarden — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:46:27 +0000

Our most recent project completion is for Sumas Gro Media – a state of the art media and soil production facility located in Sumas, BC. Webgarden was hired to create a brand new corporate image, including logo, business card and website. Check out the screen shots below:

Garden Center and Greenhouse Graphics

webgarden — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:45:06 +0000

The colour (or color) green is grossly overused in the Horticulture Industry. You may be thinking:
“green is the color of plants – and that’s what we specialize in!”

You’re right – green is a great colour for our industry, however, does it always have to be the SAME green? Time and again, I run into greenhouse and garden center owners who give me their business card and it is always the same green : a combination of forest green and/or emerald green.

Consider stepping away from these boring and over used greens and embrace one of the THOUSANDS of other greens available! Here are just a few examples:

Using a different green allows you to stand out from your competition, and helps you build a distinct brand for your company.

Seasonal Website Headers

webgarden — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:08:02 +0000

Many people consider October the first month of the holiday season. In Canada we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, as well as Halloween. November is American Thanksgiving and many people begin gearing up for Christmas. By December, the Christmas season is in full swing and most of us have our New Year’s Evening planned out. January has nothing except for a lot of rain, but February holds Valentine’s Day, and shortly after we celebrate Easter and the arrival of Spring!

Changing up your website header to reflect holidays and seasons is a great way to keep website fresh and interesting, and encourages your customers to come back to your site!

If you are interested in having your website changed to reflect the seasons or holidays, please contact us at Webgarden and we will customize a monthly or quarterly seasonal package for your corporate website.

Webgarden Online Contact Form

Office Telephone: 778-858-7037

Prepare for a Successful Tradeshow

webgarden — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:11:14 +0000

Paying for a spot as an exhibitor at a trade show is only the first step. In order to be successful at a trade show your booth needs to make an impact. If you are a small business, you probably don’t have a big budget, but it is crucial that you come across as both professional and prepared. Here are some helpful pointers as to how to prepare for a trade show.

Prepare Business Cards- They should be professionally designed and professionally printed – DO NOT USE YOUR HOME PRINTER – this is so tacky and screams “I have no idea if I am going to be in business longer than one month”

Prepare a Flyer or Brochure – Most of the visitors to your booth will want information about you and your company – and many people want “something they can take away”. Don’t be disillusioned, 90% of those people WILL NOT read more than 1/4 of your brochure – however it’s the satisfaction of having something tangible for them to refer to later. For this reason, keep your flyer down to one page – this cuts costs and saves the environment.

Prepare Signage, Banner or Booth – This is crucial. If you are an exhibitor in a trade show you are playing with the “big boys” now. Don’t let you and your company look as though you operate out of your garage. Maintain a professional image by getting banners or a pop-up booth professionally designed and printed.

Dress the Part – Dress Up. Even if nobody else does. You are a professional – wear pressed slacks and a collared shirt, blouse or jacket. Invest in comfortable shoes to save your back and knees.

Give Aways - Many exhibitors feel it is necessary to give away some promotional item such as a key chain or a water bottle. They feel that this brings lots of traffic to their booth. Sure, giving away a key chain or a water bottle gets your booth a lot of visitors, but I am looking for quality prospects not quantity. I am exhibiting to generate business, not to win a popularity contest. I would suggest you spend your money elsewhere.

Contest – Ask visitors to participate in a contest, where one lucky winner can win a free service or prize.

These are just a few pointers as to how to prepare for a trade show. Some of these points may seem basic – but trust me, they are often overlooked! Exhibiting in a trade show is not cheap, it takes a lot of time and money, but if you are going to do it – DO IT RIGHT!