Thursday, December 6, 2007

So You Want Your Site To Be Number 1

You have products or services you want to sell? You want to use the internet as your main publicity vehicle? So you want a website? You want to sit atop the rankings for the search engines? You want loads of visitors to your site? You want a high conversion rate from visitors to paying customers? We are all in that situation and it is possible to achieve all of these wants by following a few simple rules.
1. Web Site Design.
Keep it simple with no flashy opening graphics. People searching for products or services do not want to wait while these graphics load and play through. They will probably have gone elsewhere before they get to the ?nitty gritty? of your site. Text based sites load faster, are more search engine friendly and are more likely to contain in View the rest of this article


Maintaining Your Business Website

QUESTION:
Should I build and maintain my business Web site myself or pay someone else to do the work for me? -- Wesley L.
ANSWER:
When you say, pay someone else to do the work for you, Wesley, I am going to assume that you are talking about hiring a professional Web site designer to do the work and not your next-door neighbor?s teenage son. If my assumption is correct, then read on. If not, go ahead and flip over to the comics section. You will get no good out of the advice I?m about to give, so you might as well consult Dilbert for your hot business tips.
Should you build and maintain your business Web site yourself or pay someone to do it for you? Let me answer your question with a couple of my own. Number one: is building and maintaining Web sites View the rest of this article


Bad Credit Home Mortgage Refinance ? Should You Refinance

A bad credit home mortgage refinance is possible for people with previous credit problems. The interest rates will not be as low as those for consumers with good credit but you can still end up saving in the end.
There are several questions you should ask yourself when considering a home mortgage refinance. First of all you need to access your credit situation. If credit has been a problem for you in the past, you will want to take control of your finances before applying for a mortgage refinance loan. Refinancing can either help or hinder your current situation.
You will need to calculate all of the costs involved in refinancing before making a decision. A lower rate of interest and a shorter loan payoff time are two desirable perks of refinancing. Some peop View the rest of this article


What Is An Intranet? Definition And Uses...

An intranet is basically a private web based network. It uses all of the technology of the internet but is safe and protected behind a firewall that keeps unauthorized personnel out. Companies have been using them for years as a method of streamlining their internal communications.
Because a web browser can run on any type of computer, the need to maintain multiple paper copies of documents that are constantly changing can be eliminated. Documents like training manuals, internal phone books, procedure manuals, benefits information, employee handbooks, requisition forms, etc. can be maintained as electronic documents and updated at almost no cost. The savings in paper and other material costs can be significant
But the most powerful aspect of an intranet is it View the rest of this article


Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Online Directories: The Real Direction Of The Internet

Back in the early days of the Internet, there were only human-edited directories. These were found primarily in specialized browsers like the Archie or Veronica systems. Later, Yahoo! used the same basic idea to create a descriptive listing of websites. This was the birth of the first major online directory for the public World Wide Web.
Online directories have been around since the first days of the Internet, and without them and search engines we'd have no simple way of navigating through the sites. Today, there are thousands of directories online, which can make it very confusing to determine which are giving you the best quality information.
In fact, many online directories are no better than junk. Unfortunately, with Google's AdSense program, it has beco View the rest of this article


The 7 Components Of Effective Website Design And Marketing

1. Target Audience: (Who Buys From You?)
The foundation of effective web marketing is the 'who.' Determining your target audience, their needs, wants, level of knowledge, goals, etc is critical to creating a website that will be effective at either lead generation or e-commerce.
2. Core Message: (What Exactly do You Offer?)
Flowing directly from who you want to target, is the question of what you want to say to them. Your core message delivers your value proposition in a clear and compelling way. Your core message is not a mission statement, or an executive summary of your strategic plan. Your core message is essentially a list of the reasons that people do business with you - written from their perspective.
3. Site Structure: (Is it Easy to Navigate) View the rest of this article


Get Going With Email Marketing And Keep More Customers

It's Never too Early:
We often talk with companies who aspire to reach many of the same goals we've achieved with email - regular communications, and enhanced relationships. Amazingly, many of these companies are considerably larger than us - but yet object on the grounds that they 'aren't ready.' Baloney! Email marketing is incredibly easy to get started - and in our opinion it is most effective when it is done with a philosophy of simplicity
Frequent Contact is Key:
Email marketing does not work as well for a one-time quick hit marketing strategy. Email allows you to build a regular, ongoing dialogue with your best clients and prospects. And that becomes self-selecting - those who most wish to do business with you will appreciate the regular communicati View the rest of this article