Posts Tagged ‘Website’
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
I haven’t talked much about Search Engine Optimization on this blog, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important. If you have spent any time on the web, you probably know at least that it has something to do with the Search Engines and you are certainly on the right track. In very basic terms, it means using different techniques and strategies to help improve your website’s rankings on the major search engines so that potential customers can find you. Now a few years ago, this sort of thing really wasn’t necessary because there weren’t that many websites, now that Google has indexed over 1 TRILLION websites, it’s become a bit of a necessity.
Of course, with any “new” industry, there will be a shallow knowledge base to begin with and always the slick character out to make a buck on the backs of innocent, trusting businesses. There are two “types” of SEO, one of which is called ‘Black hat’ and the other ‘White hat’. I am sure I don’t have to tell you which one you want to avoid. But what exactly is the difference? If you don’t know much about SEO, you aren’t going to know the difference. We have been in TOO many meetings with clients who have been blindsided by one of these slick characters that promise ‘to get you on the 1st page of Google’. If you have someone making outrageous promises like this, don’t walk, RUN in the other direction! They may be able to get you on the first page of one of the big ole’ search engines, but it won’t last long and the search engines will ban your site from their pages, making it virtually IMPOSSIBLE for potential clients to find you.
In this world of instant gratification it can be VERY tempting to believe these fly-by-nights, but for the sake of your business’s growth, DON’T!!!!!!
The following is a list with brief explanations of some techniques black hat establishments use in their campaigns, click on the titles for further explanations ~
Keyword stuffing - just as the title suggests, your pages are stuffed with the keywords people search for throughout your page, this includes meta tags and ‘invisible’ text placed throughout the page.
Doorway pages- these pages, which spam the search engines with certain phrases or keywords that are likely to be searched, are only used to direct visitors to an entirely different page and specifically for the purpose of increasing rankings. They muddy up the search results and cause LOTS of frustration!
Article Spinning- is the act of using existing articles and rewriting all or portions of them. They also involve using ‘pirated’ content from other sites.
Link Farms- this involves a group of websites that all link back to each other, typically through automated programs to spam the search engines and raise their ranks. They are used to ‘increase the link popularity’ of a site.
These are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of black hat tricks in the world of SEO. I would highly encourage you to investigate further on what NOT to do when building an effective SEO campaign. Here are some other resources you can check out -
I love wikipedia
About.com has some great information
Neil Patel of Quick Sprout has some great tips for SEO
And there are plenty more out there. If you are overwhelmed and need help with your campaign, please let us know, we are happy to get you on the right track!
Tags: Black Hat, effective seo campaign, link building, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, Website, White hat
Posted in SEO | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
I don’t know about you, but I love stories and I love to use stories and metaphors to illustrate points that I am making. I find that I learn things easier when I have an anology or metaphor to help me relate to my current situation. . .
I think maybe because the internet is a relatively new “space” and also because as we understand things or we deal with the same things day in and day out, we sometimes forget that others do not see things nor understand them the same way and often the little details are overlooked. So I’d like to share a sort of metaphoric story to illustrate something I see often in the design industry.
Imagine for a moment that you are wanting to build a house. Your family has grown and the space you are in is just too contricting. You and your significant other begin talking about building this house and thinking about all the various things you want in your new house and if you are like me, you sit down and start sketching out where you want the kitchen and how the master bedroom will be positioned in just such a way that the picture window will have an awesome view of [insert your perfect view here] behind your property. After you have sufficiently daydreamed about this house, you contact a few architects to find out what it will cost and so forth. After choosing the “right” fit for the job you wouldn’t just say ok make me a house and leave it up to the architect to figure out what features you absolutely can’t live without, right? Maybe some of you would, but most people would want to sit down with the architect and tell them how many bedrooms, 1 story or 2, an island in the kitchen, etc. they want in the house.
It works the same way for building websites. Just as your architect can create the perfect blueprint of your house with your special features, the right specs and building codes, a web designer can build your web site to fit your style using web standards and principles of design.
So when you meet with your web designer, make sure you have a pretty good idea of the features you’d like as well as, the content you want on the site. The more information you provide up front and the clearer you are on the direction you want to go with your web site design and it’s functionality, the easier the process will be and the better the final result.
Tags: content, features, Website, website design
Posted in Web Site Information | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
I know that question seems pretty rudimentary, we are in business right? But I am astonished at how many small businesses that don’t REALLY know the answer.
Because we work on the web, we can’t help but look at websites . . . ALL day. And what we’ve been noticing is that while some of these websites are graphically fantastic, their content is truly lacking; lacking in pulling us in; lacking in seducing us and making us feel as if “I HAVE TO HAVE IT”!
Who are you marketing to? What is your solution to MY problem and WHY should I buy from you? How is what you are doing any better than the next Joe? These are questions that we as business owners have to ask ourselves frequently. Why? Why would anybody want to buy from me? What is it that makes MY PRODUCT stand out? And HOW on earth do I convey that to people searching for what I’ve got?
You start by asking the people . . . then REALLY listening to the answers. Find out what they love, what gets under their skin and use that information in your approach. Give the people what they want and they will come back for more!
You can have the best looking site on the web; get yourself out there with social media; have your website optimized and what’s that gonna get ya? A bit of business, perhaps, but more likely a huge headache as you beat your head against the wall trying to figure out what went wrong?
For some reason, people focus all their attention on the visual appeal, and don’t get me wrong, that’s a great start. . . but if you don’t have the “killer content” they ARE NOT going to stay or BUY!
In case you haven’t heard, we are in the INFORMATION AGE, we are bombarded with crap every time we get on the internet. The last thing we want to read is MORE CRAP. We want something that grabs us, pulls us in, and doesn’t let go; we want a connection. We want to be left with a FEELING, people a FEELING. Got it?
Good . . . now get going!
Tags: content writing, graphic design, SEO, Website
Posted in Web Site Information | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
One of the most difficult aspects of the web design business that we have found is in educating our clients on what it is that a.) they want, b.) they need, and c.) what they can afford. My goal for this post is to explain the differences between the two major types of websites that we generally create for our clients in a way that helps you make better decisions about how to proceed with your project.
Corporate/Informational
The first type that I will be talking about has a few different names; it is generally called a “Corporate“ web site, or an “informational” web site. Just as the second name implies, this type of web site provides information to browsers about a company, their products or services, and a way to connect with the company to receive service. Usually these web sites are anywhere from a couple of pages to 20 plus pages. They provide information about the services or products, but they do not have a “buy” button so purchasing products from the web site is not possible. This type of web site includes an element of education; educating the consumer about the particular solutions your company can provide. They also may include features such as newsletter sign up, get a quote, video downloads, and so forth. These web sites can either be fully customized or template driven depending on client preferences and how much control the client wants over changing information on the web site.
So if the client doesn’t need changes very often and would rather be hands-off on the web work, a custom site would most likely be a great fit. The designer can get really creative and build something very unique to fit the business. Now on the other hand, if the client has changes to make on a regular basis, say a calendar that needs to be updated weekly or articles to add, etc. A template which uses a Content Management System (CMS) would be the best fit. CMSs allow clients to easily navigate the “backend” of the web site and make their own changes quickly and easily.
E-Commerce
The other major type of web site that we create frequently is called an e-commerce site. E-commerce sites are a bit more complicated as they are written in a dynamic language called PHP. They typically include hundreds, if not thousands of pages. These pages are often just “pieces” of the website that when “called” will come together to form a page. E-commerce sites are templated and come with a limited amount of features.
What we run into oftentimes with clients is that they like the look of a certain web site that they have seen “out on the web” and want pretty much the same thing. Now, this is great, don’t get me wrong, it makes our jobs a lot easier when the client knows exactly what they want. The problem comes when we have to explain that the features of the web site that they enjoy and want to incorporate for their site are not built into the base price of the web site. These special features must be custom programmed into the site and will cost extra, sometimes quite a bit extra.
So here’s my analogy. . . Say you are looking for a new car, you see a commercial for this slick machine with all the bells and whistles. You then head down to the local dealership and ask to see one of these machines. The salesman takes you around the lot and shows you what they have in inventory. When you look at the sticker prices on the cars, you notice that they vary depending on the features added. Now I know many of you have purchased a vehicle in your lifetime, so please bear with me. So the base price of the car you just have to have is in the range that you can afford, however it doesn’t have all the features that you’d really enjoy like a nice sunroof, navigation, the two tone seats, etc. You can upgrade and purchase packages that will include some of these features, however that requires more money. So, you may have gone into the dealership thinking you were going to drive off in this new car with it fully loaded, however your pocket book dictates that while you can still drive off in the car, not all of the bells and whistles will be driving off with you.
This is how it works with e-commerce sites. If you are a big business and can afford to spend tens of thousands of dollars on your website, you can pretty much have whatever functions you want. But and this is a big ole but, if you are a small business owner with a limited budget, you really need to consider what features are most important to the functionality and usefulness of your customers and which of them will fit into your budget. You can always, when funds become available, add additional features or modify the website according to your needs down the road. With web design, nothing is ever set in stone.
Still have questions? Or want a free quote to create your next web site? We are happy to help. Contact us at info@y-desygn.com or call 602-574-7714.
Tags: Arizona Web Design Services, CMS, Corporate Web sites, custom web design, E-commerce websites, Informational Web sites, templates, Website
Posted in Web Site Information | 28 Comments »
