Impact Web Results

If you talk to enough Internet Marketing consultants and experts, eventually you will begin to develop the notion that many people are searching hard for the “killer” internet marketing technique. A technique that is so powerful that it will propel their website straight to top position of the search engines. Once there, they will receive huge traffic, hefty sales and enjoy immense profits.

Because so many people are out there looking for the big pie in the sky solution to this marketing problem, people assume that a unique solution exists. And they are looking hard for it.

First it was Search Engine Optimization which ignited a fire storm of “optimization experts”. Then came the targeted analytics with the detailed reports on every metric you can imagine that might hold some nugget of valuable information. This was followed by the Social Media Web 2.0 buzz.

This led to an explosion of social media websites and internet friends.

More recently blogging has become very popular. It seems to be the perfect adjunct to a well designed website. A blog adds credibility to your web presence and it can generate a good flow of traffic to your website.

So what will be the next big thing?

How about twitter and micro bloging? I don’t know, but I can tell you that a well planned, orchestrated online and offline marketing campaign is still very effective. The gold is still in the “list” and email marketing is seeing a resurgence in use and effectiveness.

That is what makes Internet Marketing so exciting. Every new client project I work on brings new challenges and thus new horizons. And on the other side of the equation, the major search engines are constantly changing their rules to reflect their evolving standards and expectations from web developers.

The only thing that seems constant on the internet is change. Suggesting that a final solution exists for any form of marketing is, well, short sited. Technology is changing, software is evolving and internet users expectations are keeping pace. The beauty of the Internet as a social and commercial space is its speed of transformation.

Sure, it’s a huge task just to keep pace with the dizzying array of advances week after week. And it can be discouraging at times, but the internet will continue to evolve. Human nature, now that’s more of a constant. People want a good internet experience, information on the product or service presented clearly, and value for their money. Timeless values that can be used to guide your business websites design.

Ready to Get More Results from your Business Website?

Bill Miller

Web designer and Internet Marketer

www.ImpactWebResults.com

When the Internet was opened to everyone, it became an important part of our every day lives.   Many business owners wanted to get a  presence right away.  In the late 1990s and beyond the year 2000, most small to medium-sized businesses wanted to get their own site to boost profits quickly.

Although this was a smart move for virtually every business, it frequently did not bring the desired results.  So what’s the problem?  Why do most business websites fail?

Simple.

Most business websites are created by web artists who create a beautiful visual presence that inspires their business owner clients and promises an impressive image online.  The thinking goes that this beautiful website is certain to bring in many visitors and rack up enormous sales.

Image is helpful, but unfortunately it is not everything.  Now that the Internet and the World Wide Web are playing an even greater role in the lives of the everyday customer, having a business website is incredibly important.

Your business site should look great.  Image does help.  Customers are more likely to enter a real-world store if the building looks nice and the entrance is inviting.  But what if that nice looking restaurant was very difficult to navigate once the customer is inside?  What if no one is ready and waiting to greet the customer and lead the customer to a table?  What if the menus are unavailable or poorly organized?  I suspect that business would suffer and customers may look to dine elsewhere.

As you might imagine, the same rules apply to the business web site.  An effective business site must look nice AND channel  your customers with effective and proven marketing built into the design.  And perhaps more importantly an effective business site must include lots of behind the scenes elements that encourage major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN to redirect customers to your business website.

While graphics are important they are not essential.  There are many examples of websites that are commercially successful but not so visually appealing.  How can this be?

The secret lies in understanding how the search engines really work…they can only read text!  Yep, the search engines skip right over your beautiful blue box with the shading and perfectly placed text because the artist designer created a “graphic element” that a human can read and appreciate, but not a search engine.

The internet is littered with tens of thousands of websites that artists have designed for hefty fees that receive little or no traffic.  And another secret is that the owners of these websites don’t even know that the search engines are “blind” to these beautiful websites.

So what is the answer?  The best approach is to design your website for humans AND search engines.  This means that beautiful graphics may not be the best approach for your business website.  After all your goal is to attract and convert visitors to customers, right?  Well then imbedded search engine friendly text with high keyword density is the food of the search engine.

I have reviewed many business websites and I find the most basic mistakes all too frequently.  The meta command for the website description is totally blank.  And the keyword meta tag is blank too.  The keywords are buried in a graphic and there is no alt tag loaded with a description of the graphic or photo.

The designer has not provided any food for the search engine bot.  No way for google, yahoo or msn to index the website since all of the content is graphical.  Consequently, the website receives a traffic rank of “no data”, and no traffic is redirected by the powerful search engines.

I can provide a free evaluation of your website and show you the basic design elements that have been overlooked or omitted.  We can develop a plan to convert the graphical elements into text that both humans and search engines can feast on.  Text that is keyword rich with long tail keyword phrases that surfers have frequently typed into search engines.  This approach will entice the search engines to index your website and turn on the flow of free traffic.

Ready to Get More Results from your Business website?

Bill Miller
Web designer and Internet Marketer
www.ImpactWebResults.com

Most people who decide to create a new website do so to create a steady source of income for themselves. Some people wonder why they should pay someone else to design and create their website. The truth is that there are many reasons why having someone else design your website is a good idea

By far the best reason to hire someone else to do the work is that they know what they are doing. Web design companies have experienced professionals who have designed many sites and are knowledgeable in the best practices and the latest techniques. If there are small errors or glitches that need to be fixed, they will know exactly what to do. If you need a small modification, they will have no problem revising your website.

On the other hand, most website owners are not the best in the field of creating a design for their site. Remember that while it is easy to create a basic design, those types of websites are not likely to attract the traffic that is needed to make a good profit. Paying someone else to create a good, solid design that you can work with is your best bet.

Another good reason for working with a website developer is that you are able to bounce ideas off of them and get their creative input. You probably don’t know exactly how your website should look and there is no problem with that. Even big businesses hire consultants to get different and new ideas.  A professional web designer knows the specifics on what works and what doesn’t with a website and they can help you build the best possible website. Having someone to discuss ideas with will not only help you in this aspect, but it will probably also get you thinking harder and coming up with better ideas yourself.

It is important to understand that you must invest money before making money. Instead of wasting time and money on classes and books and seminars trying to learn how to design a website yourself, you can just hire someone that is experienced and they will most likely do a good job.  As a website owner you have a good deal of work to do besides web design. This includes creating content, advertising and boosting the page ranking of the site, and finding ways to get more traffic. Letting someone else focus on the website design allows you to spend more time on the areas you can do the best.

Speed is another reason to go with web design company. If you were designing the site yourself, chances are that other responsibilities and a lack of knowledge would cause the project to be considerably delayed. With experienced designers who know what they are doing, you can get your website designed and ready to launch within whatever reasonable deadline you set. Remember that constant delays will end up hurting a project and making it more likely that your dream will not come to fruition.

Overall, there are many reasons to choose professionals when it comes to web design. While the costs of hiring these people may seem high right now, there is a good chance that you will end up with exactly what you envisioned and more when the designers have completed their task.  And all the visitors who are lucky enough to stumble upon your site will be pleased with the organized, fresh, professional design as well!

Ready to Get More Visitors to Your Business Website?
Bill Miller
Internet Marketer and Website Designer
www.ImpactWebResults.com

My SEO content production service is about getting the right traffic to your site.  But that is just the first part of the equation.
Above all else I am a web marketing consultant and advisor, so I am always giving my clients ideas for getting more results from their websites.  Here are seven tips for getting your online customers to take action.

1.  Include an “Opt-in” Form
Easily the most important function of a website is to capture leads.  The only way you’re going to get in touch with your web visitors after they leave your site is if they give you permission to contact them by email.  Create a free monthly e-newsletter or offer a free report to encourage sign-ups.

2.  Make Your Site Easy to Navigate.
Let’s face it – if your customer gets lost, their going to bail!  The “landing page” your online customer sees is the most important place to capture their attention and send them in the right direction.  Look to the most popular sites in your industry for examples.

3.  Promote Your Online Business Offline
Always be sure to include your URL on all marketing collateral – business cards, brochures, even license plate frames!  I also suggest using capital letters to distinguish between words (e.g. www.ImpactWebResults.com instead of www.impactwebresults.com).

4.  Make It Easy to Order
If you really want your customer to call, put your phone number at the top of every page.  Put your phone number in your web page titles.  If you really want your customer to order online, bury your phone number.  Utilize the best e-commerce package you can get, such as Zen Cart, for a professional, customized user experience.

5.  Include a FAQ
Customers always have questions, and questions are almost always about resistance.  The more resistance you can reduce online, the more sales you’re going to make right on the website without further offline processing.  Be sure to keep your Frequently Asked Questions link visible and updated.  What are your most common questions?  How can you answer them with simple, positive language?

6.  Post Customer Testimonials
When we review the server stats of a website, we see that one of the most frequently visited web pages is the Testimonials page.  People want to know the experience of others who have bought the product or used the service offered on the website.

7.  Offer Bonuses or Coupons
Another popular web page as determined by reviewing the web sites server stats is a Bonus or Coupon page.  Visitors are always looking to save money and find a bargain.   Offer coupons for monthly specials, buy one get the second one at a discount or f.r.e.e.

Ready to Get More Visitors to Your Website?

Bill Miller

919-526-3898 mobile

www.ImpactWebResults.com

A lot of the work I am doing for clients (and myself) is revealing interesting differences between the top search engines. Google, Yahoo, and MSN are the top three engines in the search business so working to gain their favor will ensure that you have addressed most of the internet’s traffic.

Google is the master search engine. Google receives the majority of search hits daily. These guys dominate the search marketing world and most of what you read in terms of strategy and keyword targeting is based on making the Google algorithm happy.

Google offers many tools on its website. This implies that Google is looking for results consistent with the tools it is providing. So using the Google tools, which are free, is a good starting point.

Google rewards websites with high Page Rank that adhere to their desired standard which includes such factors as quality links, quality content, and long-term presence. Google places high value on new content so the days of the static web site pages is history,

MSN has a network of tools available on its website, which I highly recommend. These are a nice complement to the Google tools we all recognize and use so often already. Like Google, there is very likely a strong connection between the tools MSN offers and its expectations for high ranking values.

On the Yahoo search engine, the rules seem to behave much differently. This is due in large part to the very nature of Yahoo. Yahoo is a manual placement directory so that the human element weighs in heavily in the selection and listing of websites. This can lead to surprisingly different results for the same approach. Here the best strategy is to test, tweak, and test again,

The conversation of how to get top search rankings for your website is nothing new and will likely go on for a long time to come. It depends on your marketing objective. Many businesses want to serve a local market and so they need to use the World Wide Web to attract Local Traffic.

I have developed numerous time tested techniques for attracting local traffic on the web. Local traffic will usually have a higher conversion rate since the customer is nearby and many local businesses can not provide their service at a distance. Obtaining local traffic using the internet is cost effective and can quickly jump start a local businesses marketing effort.

Local traffic techniques together with on page optimizations can provide a healthy flow of local internet traffic. Of course building a customer list and marketing to that list is also a great way to expand your local reach. Tell a friend is another great way to reach local customers.

Learn more about Targeted Local Traffic by contacting me for a free website review. I am a firm believer that the best investment of time for the best ROI in website development is always going to be in creating more on-site content. Focused content that attracts local internet visitors.

Ready to Get More Results from Your Business Website?