Does Your Business Website Need New Friends?
December 15th, 2011When Google’s recent “Panda” update was released, and then later digested by search engine optimization experts, two groups emerged: those who were pleased to see that the world’s largest search engine was cracking down on junk articles and duplicate content, and those who wondered how to begin the slow process of climbing back up the rankings from the bottom.
Hopefully, your business web design team put you in a position to be in the first group, and you’re now enjoying some prime search engine real estate.
Whether you were or weren’t, however, there’s one thing that has become clear: Google and the other major search companies are having to go farther than ever to determine which sites are legitimate and which ones aren’t. As part of that process, they aren’t just ignoring certain types of links and content – it seems like they are actively targeting low-quality sources of content, along with the businesses they link to.
In other words, if you’re trying to get the most out of your search engine optimization campaign, then it might be time to find some new friends for your website to link to and from. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:
Scrutinize your link building strategy. Have you been purchasing links, or getting them from copied or spun articles? If so, stop now before you do even more damage to your website.
Don’t give links for no reason. It can be tough to say no to friends and colleagues, but if another website isn’t closely related to yours, then think carefully before giving a link – it could cause the search engines to have second thoughts about your site.
Or ask for unrelated links. In the same way, don’t just ask anyone for a link to your site. Only request one if it makes sense to assume that some of their readers might want to check out your content.
Focus on your customers. Speaking of content, think less about what search engine spiders might be looking for and more about what actual humans want to find on your pages. It’s a much better long-term strategy, both for SEO and your profitability.
Google and the other major search engines have no choice but to pay attention to the company you keep online. Don’t give them reason to think less of your business website by giving or taking low-quality links.
Design Extensions can help screen links, and will work with other businesses to get you the link-backs that convert to new customers.
The Case Against QR Codes
November 10th, 2011Fact: It seems like everywhere you look there is a QR code popping up.
What’s a QR code? It’s those strange, square, barcode looking things that marketing agencies and “pr gurus” everywhere are telling their clients they must include on everything. I even saw a company with a GIANT QR code on a billboard this week, who’s idea was that?
There is no question QR codes are being used more and more by advertisers, but the big question is, are they being used by users?
There are all kinds of statistics out there, but here are some facts that drive me to believe QR codes are not actually being used by most mobile users currently.
- iOS Devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, etc.) take up over 60% of mobile web traffic. (Net Applications Mobile/Tablet Top Operating System Share Trend Nov ’09 – Oct ’11)
- No iOS device comes pre-installed with a QR code reader, meaning users need to download an app to scan and use QR codes.
- The highest ranked, free, QR code reader in the app store is #35. There are only 2 QR code readers currently in the top 200 apps!
Based on this data, it seems pretty clear that the majority of mobile users are NOT using QR codes on a regular basis.
Maybe that will change in the future, but in most of the current examples I have seen, QR codes are not a huge time saver and seem like a clumsy solution to quick input of data and sharing information.
With that said, QR codes are very easy to setup. There are tons of web sites and tools that will let you create free QR codes and put them on anything you want. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing they are expensive or complex to create.
That’s just our opinion, what’s yours?
What do your website’s photos say about your business?
October 10th, 2011We rely on pictures to convey meaning and emotion, to tell stories where words fail, and the internet is no exception to this. Product images, biography photos, interesting photographic headers are all used on websites to help “sell”. It does not matter what your website is selling there is hardly a product or service out there that cannot benefit from great photos.
Customer Supplied Photographs
Perhaps you, or a relative is a hobbyist photographer. This is one of the lowest cost options for images on your website, but results do vary. With the availability and popularity of consumer digital cameras, this is a path many choose. While it is a lower cost option than hiring a professional photographer, but more personalized than stock photography it is also of the least “quality” options. Some of the industries best suited for using customer supplied photographs, are landscaping, construction, and other outdoor companies, where the ruld of photography are more forgiving and there is more available light.
Stock Photography
Stock photography is purchased for use on a website from a stock photography company. These companies; check, and sometimes rank images on quality and categorize them on many factors. It makes finding the “right” photo much easier. Prices for stock photography can range from a couple of dollars per image to upwards of $100 for very high quality work, or work that is by a master photographer. . . There is stock photography for almost any business out there, and this is a great option if you are not selling a highly personalized product or service, and is great for when you just need a couple of images to finish out a website design.
Hiring a Professional Photographer
This is genrerally the most expensive option, but by all accounts one of the best. If you are selling a highly personalized product or service, then this is the only option. If you have a storefront, or physical business that you will be enticing people to visit from your website this is also one of the best options. It is also great for bio photos of yourself, and your employees. Professional photographers combine the quality of stock photography with the personalization of taking your own photos. Professional photographers know how to “sell” ideas, not just take pictures.
If a picture speaks a thousand words, what are the photos on your website saying? Design Extensions has solutions when it comes to the images that you use on your website. We have professional relationships with photographers in many disciplines, (even one on our staff) and would love to help you make the web a more beautiful place.
You’re Great. . . Make Sure Everyone Knows it.
September 20th, 2011You know your business is great. Clients have told you your business is great. Whether it be the great prices, customer service, or unique products you offer, people love you. But how do you let new clients know just how great you are. For many businesses word of mouth is a large driving factor for revenue. The best way to drive that same stream on your website, is by including testimonials.
Testimonials are a great way to include endorsements from previous clients on your website. Sometimes a whole page can be devoted to them, if your business is geared toward a service provided. Sometimes maybe just a sidebar graphic with a couple of choice reviews will suffice. Whatever is right for your business you usually can’t go wrong including praise from previous customers, for future ones to see.
The best way to get the testimonials you want on your site, is first of all be great at what you do. If for example you sell shoes for a living, instead of focusing on selling the most shoes that you can, focus on helping the most number of people get the shoe that is right for them. Then instead of getting a testimonial based on how well you sold a product or service, you’ll get on on well you helped.
Don’t be afraid to ask clients for testimonials. We love receiving unasked for praise, but sometimes it is okay to ask a client how your performance was. If it was stellar, then great that would be a good testimonial, if it was less than fantastic, now you know what you need to work on. It is also quite all right to feature testimonials that you know matter the most, first. It is great to get feedback that you can use on your website from specialists in the area that you cater to.
There are also other options to get testimonials on your site. Perhaps its a google places rating, that you’d like put on your site. We can get a feed from google to show reviews of your business that will update as people add new ones. There are numerous other sources that we can pull a “feed” from that will keep the testimonials and reviews on your site up to date and current.
Don’t be afraid to tell the world how great your business is. Maybe you need a brand new website, or maybe your old one just needs some testimonials added to it. . .Whatever the case, Design Extensions would like to help with that. ***And just to note, any blog comments made below, may be used to tell the world how great we are.
Skitch: Free & Awesome Screen Capture and Notation
August 31st, 2011
If you are a Mac (or Android) user looking for a great way to take screenshots and mark up notes, comics, or sketches on those screenshots or images, look no further than Skitch. It’s a FREE tool that we use everyday and love.
They were recently acquired by the also very popular EverNote app. It will be interesting to see what kind of integration happens with these two products in the coming months.
You can check it out at http://skitch.com/ You can thank us later (or in the comments).
Editing Your Own Website: Pros & Cons
August 30th, 2011One of the most common questions that we hear from new client is: “Can I edit my own website?” The answer is yes, but there are some important things to consider in this decision.
We live in a do it yourself culture. Most of us like to feel like we have full control over something and that goes for our company websites as well.
When we started building websites (over 12 years ago), it was very difficult to give a customer access to editing their website without them having some advanced coding knowledge and lots of training. Times have changed and there are lots of great systems out there that make it much easier to update a website directly. There are even many great free and open source products like Word Press (our favorite), Joomla, Drupal, Expression Engine (not free), and others. Each of these products have their own advantages and disadvantages.
One of the key questions I often ask new clients is, “how often do you expect to change the majority of the content on your site?” If the answer to that is less than once a month, it usually does not make sense to spend the extra setup costs and go through training on how to manage and update content yourself. If you only plan to update information every few months, it makes more sense to send it to us (or your web development team) to take care of it for you. It’s kind of like me with my car, I COULD change my own oil and rotate my own tires, but it doesn’t make sense for me to do that with the time and cost involved. I’d rather just take it to a professional.
If you plan to make regular updates to your site on a weekly basis, it usually makes more sense to have control over the content of your website.
Another key point to consider is that you may not need control over ALL of the content on your site. Focusing in on the areas that really need regular updates like a news section, calendar of events, or blog, can help keep the setup costs down but give you the control you need to keep information fresh on the site.
Keep in mind too, that whoever does your website maintenance does not need to be in your area. We are located in St. Augustine, Florida and service many clients in Jacksonville, but we also have clients all over the country from Key West to Seattle. We can provide quick updates to any website (even ones we didn’t build) via e-mail, phone, or fax (yes, we still have a fax machine… although it just forwards to our e-mail).
Hopefully this has been helpful in the decision process of installing a content manamgenet system to edit your own website or not.
If you have any questions, we’d love to help. Just give us a call at 877-378-6101 or e-mail [email protected]
Brand Identity
August 15th, 2011Brand identity should not be rocket science. You want your customer to recognize “you” as quickly as they would recognize Coca Cola, Apple, or any other successfully branded product. This is true whether you are selling a product, service, or a combination of the two. If your logo, or tag line is too complicated to understand at a glance, then it is too complicated. Colors, shapes, and fonts are an important part of many successfully brand logos.
In the design world many fads come and go, but brands that have staying power rely on something more important. They stay relevant. What is popular today, may be old news tomorrow and so while some elements of popular design are great to include is small doses, the best brands stay true to the businesses’ core values, customer base, and roots. Design Extensions will use your feedback and our experience to craft a website as well as logos, business cards, and other print collateral as needed to convey the image you want for your business.
Many businesses fail to realize their potential, simply by not maintaining uniform branding across all sectors of their business. Design Extensions can help, from business cards, letter head and other print collateral, to websites and online advertisements that keep your business’ image consistent. One of the benefits of utilizing all of the features Design Extensions has to offer is that our design team is all in house, and all files/logos/and content is accessible for use across all platforms to reach new customers. For the few aspects of your business that we may not have an in house solution for, (clothing, and novelties) we can recommend a service provider, and will be happy to design, or provide design elements to them.
