How to get your website listed in Google the PROPER way

Fed up reading the same 5 year old techniques (and having your time wasted repeatedly) on how to get your website listed and ranked on Google? Well quit wasting your precious time and check out the following exclusive NO NONSENSE article on getting your website into Google with the minimum of fuss and on a completely ethical basis.

It's actually pretty easy to get your site listed though it can take time to consistently achieve high rankings on Google. Ok, here's the processes you're going to need to do: Firstly, before you submit your website to Google you will need to make sure your website not only meets their webmaster guidelines but also offers relevant, interesting content to your users.

Your website does offer great content doesn't it? You'll have to compete with 8 billion other web pages in Google's index. If you're not offering relevant interesting content you are going to have to think again about competing online! Consider using software like Wordtracker's Keyword Research Tool to help identify niche keywords that will set you apart from your online competition.

Also try using Google's free offering: External Keyword Tool Optimizing for search engines ALWAYS starts with keyword research and the process of website optimization moves on from there. Now your website's written content is as perfect as you can make it you'll need to ensure your website is: * Structured correctly with a clear tree structure hierarchy * Making good use of text links * including actual text that is being used rather than text embedded inside an image - search engines cannot read images at the moment * Using title tags that are unique and descriptive for each and every page * using a sitemap to link to every page online * including a robots.txt file to to instruct Google's robots when they arrive at your site * Links are all correct with no broken links to parts of your website that do not exist * You have links from at least 3 to 4 established websites of a similar nature to yours * Professional optimization for Google has been applied to your website pages by a skilled professional Now you can submit your new website to Google.

A couple more free website marketing processes to help you on your way... Apply to Google Sitemaps Go now to Google Sitemaps and apply TODAY. Once your site is verified - this may take a little time - then you can use a third party tool such as: Google Sitemap Generator Tool This tool can generate your XML site map for you. Very simple and very easy. You'll need to register for this tool and install it as an extension into Dreamweaver - alternatively you can make your own sitemap for Google by easily listing your URL's (web pages) in a text file - see these instructions: Google Sitemaps (BETA) Help Using a sitemap assists Google to analyse your site in far greater depth.

I am not certain this will likely cause your site to be listed any quicker but the easier you can make life easier for Google the better... Google Analytics is another way forward Go ahead and register your website with Google Analytics. This can help measure your site's traffic stats - be aware that because of high demand Google will send you an invitation in due course but be prepared to wait to hear from them. Google Analytics Registration If your websites content is not high enough quality then don't expect Google to come back any time soon with an invitation.

When optimizing sites for Google you will need to work at it regularly and often to get the very best results. Unfortunately it's not a 5 minute wave your magic wand solution that is going to bring you traffic. Like any business your success will be down to hard work, spotting a unique position in the marketplace and patience. How soon will your site be listed on Google? Depends. If you have identified and targeted focused keywords that Google's users are searching out yet very few websites are competing for then it's possible your site would gain a foothold in their organic search results reasonably quickly. AND THATS THE SECRET TO GETTING LISTED QUICKLY!!!

On the other hand if you're targeting keywords that have hundreds of thousands or even millions of websites competing to get listed on the first page of the search engine's results - well, you've got your work cut out! Google Optimisation: How to get your site listed in Google was written by Darren Moloney For more tips and details on search engine optimisation check out: On-Seo Pond - a regularly updated and informative blog on web optimization and online internet marketing issues.

About the Author Darren Moloney is an experienced UK based Online Marketing & Website Optimization consultant who offers professional SEO and Internet Marketing Consultancy Services to help business websites rank higher in search engines. Contact him today!Professional SEO and Internet Marketing Consultancy Services UK

Why Your Business Needs a Website

Even with the steady growth of the World Wide Web, many businesses do not have an online presence and some think that they do not need to have a presence at all.

"My business is doing fine as it is." That's great! But, it's almost impossible to answer 'no' to the question, "Can my business be doing even better?" One of the easiest ways to help your business gain more exposure and potential customers is to have a professionally developed website. There are many advantages to having a professionally designed website. Consider some of the points below:

1. Make a great first impression of your business to first-time visitors to your site
2. Reach a wider, global market
3. Increases credibility
4. Use as a promotional tool
5. Increase sales
6. Generate new leads
7. Improve customer service
8. Use your site as an informational tool for your customers, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
9. Unlike printed material, your website can be changed very easily, anytime
10. Reduce operating costs

In order to compete in a local to a global market, you have to be available to it. Having a professionally designed website gives your business an edge, saves time, reduces operating costs and improves your image. You can increase your sales by being able to complete transactions online, anytime. Whether you are a large corporation, or an individual who simply wants to have a personal space on the internet, your site can serve as an informational tool you can refer your customers or interested parties to.

Sherry Holub received her degree in design from UCLA in 1995. She is now the Lead Designer and Creative Director at Southern California Studio, JV Media Design. http://www .jvmediadesign.com

Article Source: http://www .jvmediadesign.com

Unlocking the Power of Your Website!

Why do some web sites reap huge benefits while others just get lost in the shuffle? Do some web masters have a secret that most of us have overlooked? Actually, there is a secret to unlocking the power of your web site and it has to do with words. When communicating via the web, words truly make all the difference. And the only way to get the most out of your website is carefully choosing what you have to say and how you say it.

Is There a Difference When Writing for the Internet?

As a writer for a multitude of projects, I've noticed one very important distinction when writing for the Internet. That distinction boils down to less verbiage with more impact. What that means to you is making sure each word counts. Because people scan verbiage on the web its important to use words sparingly but they must be words that have power. Why? Because behind every well-written message, you should hear: "I have something that you want or need and you can hardly wait to get it." Consequently, to get it right, you have to use words effectively.

Content is King!

People pay a fortune to have beautiful sites created yet they neglect the content! Without good content, all is lost. And although you have the freedom to place as much information on a web site as you choose, readers want information quickly therefore each word must be well thought out. Material that is too wordy may act as a deterrent. So bear in mind that Content is King! You may have the most beautiful site ever created but without excellent content your site will not be successful. When all is said and done, to motivate potential clients to take action, your message must be transmitted in such a way as to convey professionalism, sincerity and credibility.

Tips for Effective Web-Based Documents!

Consider your web-based document as though it were an advertisement because thats exactly what it is. And good commercial advertisements often take creative license. While the sentence structure may not always be perfect, the verbiage must be creative, interesting and appealing to the ear and eye. As you prepare to put your site online, the following few points should be considered:

1) Writing is subjective which means some people will love what you have to say while others are just waiting around for an opportunity to criticize. Be concerned only with getting your intended audience to hear and appreciate what you have to say.

2) For web site writing, less is more. The attention span of most visitors is limited so make it easy and quick for visitors to find what they want. To have impact, web content should have about half of the word count of its paper equivalent.

3) No one specific web site will meet the needs or the appetites of everyone, therefore you'd be wise to choose a specific target audience and focus your attention on that group of individuals.

4) Share your information in a way that presents your product in an exciting, innovative way. If your copy is ho-hum, you'll lose the reader before they begin.

5) Nothing on the web is static which means change is both common and necessary. Therefore, be willing to progress by changing the content on your site periodically. If you prefer not changing the content, add a newsletter or an article.

6) Make sure that somewhere in your copy, you encourage readers to take action. If you want your audience to contact you, include easily found contact information. If you want them to use your services, make it easy to buy or inquire.

7) Instill passion and enthusiasm in your copy. If you're not excited, how can you expect someone else to feel excited about your product?

8) Make your site easy to scan. Since most web readers scan pages rather than reading through word-by-word, highlight the important points by using headings and bulleted points for emphasis. Make it easy to go from page to page.

To unlock the power of your web site, keep in mind that you may have a magnificent site but without excellent content your site will have little impact on the web. Sites created with over the top presentations, often neglect or ignore the copy. In truth all that showy, glitzy stuff will be of very little consequence without meaningful content. People may be impressed for a moment with flamboyant graphics but when all is said and done, they are primarily interested in an easy to read, beneficial site that offers something of value.

Copyright2005

Charlene Rashkow brings 15 years of experience as a Writing Stylist and Author to her creative efforts as a freelance business writer/consultant. She has successfully helped countless companies and individuals reach their objectives by writing outstanding website content, press releases, bios, articles of interest, business plans, resumes and all other forms of marketing material. To speak with Charlene you may contact her at http://www .allyourwritingneeds.com

For Charlene's booklet: "Movin On Up - Success on the Internet," visit http://all yourwritingneeds.com/ebook.html

For a free consultation visit: http://all yourwritingneeds.com/

Article Source: http://all yourwritingneeds.com/

The Most Important Aspect of Writing Web Copy

There is an ongoing debate about web copy. Some say that it should be similar to direct mail copy. Others state that is should be written in a more editorial, news offering style. However, both styles work. Both styles generate thousands of dollars of money for the website owners. Why is this?

The reason is quite simple really.

The reason that both styles work, and work well, is because the copywriter has learned one overwhelmingly important aspect to writing web copy, and any copy for that matter. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE! This is THE most important aspect to writing effective web copy that there is. You must know your prospect or audience. And thats the ticket to writing seriously great web copy. Web copy that effectively pulls in large amounts of cash.

This is vitally important and cannot be overlooked. You can do everything else right, but if you dont know your audience, your copy will fail miserably. You have to take the time to get to know your audience as well as you know your best friend. You have to know what it is that makes your audience tick. You have to know what keeps them up at night.

In getting to know your audience, you must learn what some of their deepest desires are. If you dont? Youre wasting your time and money. This holds true for direct mail copy as well as web copy. This is what makes those long, direct mail style websites sell the product or service that is being promoted. Its also what makes those editorial, news offering websites so effective.

This is SO IMPORTANT that it cannot be overstated. It cannot be overlooked. You must know your audience. Only then can you, or the copywriter that you have hired, write effectively. Knowing your audience will also dictate which style of writing web copy will be the most effective.

So the next time you hire a copywriter to write your web copy, supply them with as much information as you can get your hands on about your audience. And if you are writing the web copy yourself, make sure that you take the necessary time to learn as much as you can about your audience. If you do this, you will be greatly rewarded by increased sales, increased leads, or increased sign ups.

Copyright 2005 Gary Glasscock

Gary Glasscock is a freelance copywriter specializing in writing effective web copy and direct mail copy. He has studied under many of the current "great" copywriters as well as studying many of the all-time great copywriters. As a result, he has developed a style that is cumulative of all these influences. Gary's website is located at http://www .gc-copywriting.com

Article Source: http://www .gc-copywriting.com

Webdesign Tips: CSS Styling And Layouts

There are many ways of improving the accessibility of your web site to the visitors. The most important one is using the external Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), which has the purpose of separating the structure and presentation of your web site.

You can bring the best out of the use of Cascading Style Sheets by making improvements in the structural coding of your HTML pages. HTML elements must be chosen for their functional purpose and not for their default style attributes. The result is that the code is cleaner and more easily to be maintained. One of the advantages of using the Cascading Style Sheets is that the people who experience readability problems caused by the appearance of a page can choose to view it without the style sheet or, if they know what to do, replace it with their own user-defined style sheet. In order to leave them this option available, you must make your styles to allow overriding. This way, the visitors will feel more comfortable with that particular web site.

The style sheets specific to the media can be linked to a site to take care of the differences in its presentation in numerous browsers. In order to determine how the page will sound in a text-to-speech device, you can link a separate style sheet to it. A print style sheet will allow you to correctly display the content in a printer-optimized version of a page, if the visitor wishes to print the page. The result of choosing to use Cascading Style Sheets is a real simple way to provide alternative styles of the same page content, addressing almost all common readability problems. For instance, you could offer an option to have the text in a larger text size. You can have no guaranty that this will solve all visual problems, but is a quite simple attempt at providing clear and obvious accessibility features. There is not much effort involved, so give it a try!

Think about the time and resource you can save by using the cascading style sheets. Your site will be quicker to download and use. Well, after all these features we have been talking about, most of you will agree that using the cascading style sheets is a very good thing. Nevertheless, we must never forget about the fact that your site must be just as accessible and easily used when the visitor chooses not to use any style at all.

About the Author

Looking for Web Design ? Visit right now - Web Design Dominican Republic . Look no further for Website Design Dominican Republic services.

Web Design - The Importance Of Design Simplicity For Business Websites.

Search engines don't care about Web Design. People do. While search engines will not index a website for its great layout, but for the content, people will forget the website that has nothing distinctive about it. No visual impact, no interest! Now, if you are a serious online entrepreneur and want to have a website that sends the right message to the visitors, you must know that there are some web design techniques simply inappropriate for a business website.

Many Web Design companies promise websites that respect the web standards, are usable and search engine friendly. Yes, that's how any website should be. But these are simple tools. A professional company will mention them, but it will also let you know how a website will increase revenue, reduce expenses, bring more customers and so on. A professional web design firm will not fashion a website "out of the blue", but conceive a design after understanding your corporate values, after analyzing the target market and respecting your brand image. That's what you should care about when you choose a web design company.

There are many elements of web design that screw up a business website. Many are simple bad practices, other purely ugly and useless. For an unknown reason business websites with really bad web design are still fashioned every day. One of the worst Web Design techniques is to use Flash instead of text. Web designers have fallen in love with Flash, but that will do a website no good: it increases the size of the page and it is not search engine friendly. Flash is great for music bands, movie sites and other sites that need to make a "cool" impression. Business websites need to send other messages: reliability, customer support, experience and so on. There are some astonishing Flash creations on the web, but the most are simply annoying, useless and visitors just hate them. Flash is exceptionally bad when the designer forgets to put a "Skip Intro" button. On a second thought, a "Skip Intro" button will suggest that the content on that page is insignificant. So far is clear: Flash pages send out mixed messages. However, if you are really in love with flash and simply must have it on your website, create a non-Flash version. Small text could also be really annoying. If people can't see your message, they'll just go away, eventually to your competitors. Another bad web design practice is using too many images and animated buttons. There's nothing worse than a website that twinkles and gets you dizzy while you try to find your way to the information through a bunch of flashy banners, buttons and useless pictures. Many web designers still use background images.

Seriously, have you ever see a global business website that has employed such a Web Design technique? Most of them have a standard, classic design, with simple navigation and plain text on a white background. The graphics are in perfect harmony with the content, they are not misleading and do have proper ALT attributes. There is a reason for simplicity in web design: creating websites that are simple, logical and easy to use, creating websites that sell.

It takes a real web designer to develop simple web pages that are both appealing and simple. Simplicity in Web Design should not by synonym with ugliness. Simple websites could be well-designed, elegant and bring other important benefits: they load faster, they are easier to scan and easier to navigate, they are quicker to design, build, redesign, maintain and they require less server space and bandwidth. Best of all: a simple Web Design will cost less and bring more!

About the Author

The author is a Writer working with a leading software development company, which deals with software outsourcing, offshore outsourcing and offshore software development. Get more valuable information at http://www.a1technology.com.

10 Website Advantages

1. Gain a larger clientele base Everyday more people turn to the internet for their business solutions. Whether it is to research potential contractors, lawyers, or a new product, the internet introduces consumers to businesses they never would have heard of. Now people in Europe can learn about services a company in Seattle offers by the click of a mouse. Having a website introduces a business to new consumers and helps retain them as a client.

2. Educate consumers about your business Many consumers research services and products online before purchasing. By having a website, you can inform potential customers of your services or products and what separates your business from your competitors. A website will familiarize consumers with your business and make them feel comfortable doing business with you.

3. Increase customer confidence Customers can tell a lot about a company from the design of their website. An unorganized, unappealing website is a major turnoff to consumers. On the other hand, a professional looking website lets consumers know your business is serious and dedicated to their needs.

4. Cost effective promotion and marketing A website is a lowcost, effective way to market your business. Television and magazine ads are great ways to publicize, but are often too expensive and do not always provide enough information. A website does not have a page or time constraint, so there is no rush to get the required information across.

Search engines allow businesses to target a marketing group more effectively than any other advertising strategy. Consumers that utilize search engines know what they are in need of and show a stronger desire in that product or service. Having high ranking search engine results, your business' web traffic will dramatically increase and provide you with more customers than any other source of marketing.

5. 24 hour global presence Consumers need information 24 hours a day. The internet is always active, and consumers around the world can look up information and conduct business at their convenience. A website allows a business to always be there for their customers regardless of the time of day.

6. Keep your clients updated Consumers feel more comfortable doing business with companies of which they are familiar. It is important for a business to keep clients updated with their latest news, services and products. A website is the best way to inform clients of specials or sales that a business is offering. This will help increase a business' revenue.

7. Improve communication with customers A website enhances communication between consumers and businesses. A lot of the time consumers are interested in something on a website, but feel awkward or are too lazy to call for more information. Websites that are equipped with email forms allows consumers to ask their question in a moments notice. That is just one feature websites utilize to make communication easy. Other features are message boards, blogs, contact information and other web forms.

8. Keep the edge on competitors The popularity of the internet and understanding of the value of a website increases everyday. Businesses that have a website are already at a huge advantage over their competitors. In addition to having a wider clientele base, their business looks more professional and established. That also goes for the design of the website. When a consumer visits a clean well structured website and an average website that offers the same services, it is a nobrainer which business they will choose.

9. Provide convenient support for your customers 24hour phone support is great, but many companies do not have the funding to provide such a service. A website is a way to help support a customer's needs when phone support is unavailable. Many websites have a frequently asked questions page that answers many customer concerns. Businesses can also provide common lessons and tutorials on their website that will help customers accomplish their goals. If customers still have support issues, a website can allow them to submit their problem via web form which will allow a business to provide an appropriate solution in a timely manner.

10. Improve businesstocustomer relationships Websites can improve businesstocustomer relationships in more ways than just via communication, support and uptodate general information. A website can also inform a user of their project's status, account information or balance.

The convenience of a website helps increase productivity, performance and speed. Producing a reliable product or completing a particular service in less time than expected always makes a customer satisfied. It takes months to gain a good customer, but seconds to lose one, and it is hard to lose a satisfied customer.

About the Author

Mike Creati is the owner of Lunico Design LLC. He has his bachelor degree in computer science and is a member of Tau Alpha Pi.

Search Engine Optimization & Search Engines

by: Shawn Hickman

So you have your site optimized for search engines with quality content, navigable links, and keywords specific to your industry. But it has been several months and you still are not showing up on the first or second page of results in Google, Yahoo, or MSN.

There are several things you need to do to get better results in the organic listings.

You need to submit your site to the 3 biggest search engines Yahoo, Google, and MSN. You will need to go directly to their site submission pages and submit your site manually. Google and MSN both require a code be typed in for submission. Yahoo requires you have an account with them to submit to their directory. All three are free and only take a few minutes to submit per search engine.

If you can get your website link on a Google PR4 or greater site home page, Yahoo will almost immediately start indexing your information. Msn and Google will follow not much later.

Search for free directories that include your business category and submit your information to as many as possible. Make sure you utilize the description section with keywords that are specific to your industry.

Write articles and submit them to the free article directory services. Include a detailed bio of you and what your services are. Use a valid link to your website. The more original your content, the greater your chance for exposure.

Revisit your title, description, and keyword metatags to ensure you are utilizing this information for the best description of your services. Use only keywords in the title; don’t waste valuable character space on your business name unless it is a major keyword. Take advantage of the description tag as it explains what your business offers and will determine who visits your site when it does show up.

If you offer a local service, post your information in Yahoo Local, Yellowpages.com, and Superpages. General listings are free to post; allow a link to your site, and your business phone number.

Keep your website content fresh. Update your page content at least once a month. You don’t have to go over board, just add something new every once in a while.

Create XML sitemaps. There are free sitemap generation tools that will create a sitemap.xml file of indexed pages of your site. You can then upload this file to your server and submit to Google sitemaps for indexing.

Watch your website competition and where they stand in the search engines for current keywords you are using. Look at their title, description, and keyword metatags.

When you pull up the free listings you will see a link below the listing titled cache, click on it. It will show you where the keywords show up on your site, how many show up, and when the search engine lasted visited your site.

Get creative, be unique, and have fun. The search engines will reward you for it. Just remember the search engines only want to post relevant information on the keyword being searched. Make sure the keyword you are trying to be listed for is relevant to the information on the webpage you are trying to have indexed by the search engine spiders.

Until next time…

Make Your Web Site User-Friendly!

Making a web site is easy. Making a good web site is not so easy. There are many things you have to consider if you want to make a good and successful web site.

Everyone who knows at least something about marketing knows that you have to fit your product so that suit customers need. Don't expect that customers will accommodate to your web site. If, from some reason, they get an impression that your site is confusing and that you didn't tried hard to make their visit as easy as possible. As you know, there are many web sites, so why do you think that anyone will bother to stay at your site if it is not enough good.

So, how can you make your web site user-friendly? I will try to explain you now.

Loading

In order that your visitor see your web site it must be loaded pretty fast. I could never understand someone who's web sites is loading several minutes. Do these people think that people will really wait for their masterpiece? You bet that they won't. Your page shouldn't be bigger than 30K. When you design your web site you should first put one table above you web site content where you will put a sponsorship banners. This is because that your advertisers can get good visibility. Also, your logo and company name should load very fast. One of the main marketing principles is that people have to remember your name, logo and your message. You probably have many competitors. Your brand-name have to be remembered. Otherwise, it is most likely that they will forget you and never come back again.

You can test your web site loading page at:

http://www .websitegarage.com

Colors

OK, let's suppose that your page have a decent loading time and that visitor decided to give it a try to your web site and your product. So, you better that they find complementar colors on your web site. I guess that after they have come to your site you don't want that they leave with eye-sight problems. You should know some basic knowledge about how certain color fits to some other. Colors on your site can also depend about the your web site's type. It means that if you want to have some kid site your site can be very colorful with some animated images. Business sites, in most cases don't have to be to colorful.

You can find useful info about designing your web site at:

http://www .webreference.com
http://www .htmlgoodies.com
http://www .dynamicdrive.com http://www .useit.com

Information

If someone would asked you what is the single most important thing on web site, I hope that you would say that is information. You won't have many benefits if you hired someone who is expert in programs like Dreamweaver, who will make fancy animations in Flash, who will make extraordinary images in Photoshop and Corel Draw if people on your site can't find something because they come in the first place. That is information. Unless your site should be some kind of reference for company who wants to hire a web designer and you want to show them what you can, people in most cases are not much interested in design. Take Google, for example. Its design could make anyone with a basic web design design knowledge. Google is the best search engine not because some fancy images. It is the best because of the information he provides. Remember that when you design your web site. Beside information about your product, people should be able to find a contact information on the first page. Also, it is not useful to have many info on your web site if people can't easily to find. You should try that all info on your web site be accessible with 3 or less clicks.

Automatization

It is very useful that you put some automatization on your web site. Why is that important? Well, if you expect that your visitors do something for you, first you have to do something for them. What I mean is that you have to help them to make some actions. I will tell you several examples where automatization can be used.

Let's say your site have a lot of visitors. It won't be very wise solution that everyone who would like to ask you something contact you via email. It is not very convenient because you would get a lot of emails that takes up considerable time to answer. Good solution when you want to offer your visitors a choice to contact you about several topics to contact you via form mail. Then you ask for necessary info they have to provide. This is good because you won't get emails that are too broad nor to narrow. There are other use of form mails. For example for subscribing to newsletters, to order products, to send your listing etc..

Another good choice for using web site automatization are multiple subscription check-boxes. In case you don't know, this enables that your visitors can subscribe to several newsletters at once, which means by entering their email address only once. It is very important to have this script if you have several newsletters. Don't expect that many people will bother to subscribe to several newsletters if you don't make them easier to do it.

You can see examples at:

http://www .marketingsherpa.com
http://www .emailuniverse.com

People often ask their visitors to recommend their site. Recommending a site can be done very effectively if you use a recommendation script. There people can enter email addresses of their friends and they will receive an invitation from hi or she to visit that web site. There are many scripts for this purpose.

You can find useful scripts for your site at:

http://www .hotscripts.com
http://www .cgi-resources.com

There are companies which offer this service:

http://www .recommend-it.com

You have just read some tips for making your site user-friendly. Of course, there are many more to do. When you design your web site you have to put yourself in your visitor's shoes and ask yourself how would like that a certain site look like. I want you to make great friendships!

______________________________

Dejan Bizinger is a Contributing Editor for Infacta. Infacta is email messaging services company providing powerful, yet easy-to-use award-winning Group Mail, software for sending highly-personalized email messages and Group Metrics, software for email tracking. For more information visit: http://www .infacta.com

Five Question-Five Minute Web Makeover Quiz

If you haven't made the sales and built your clients to an income you want, then you may need a Web Site makeover.

What I mean by that is, most people contact a web master to put up their site. They can connect the links but not all are copywriters that bring in new customers and clients. You may have written your own material, but often it lacks the promotion know how to make your words sell.

Score the below questions from 0-5. Add up the total and see recommendations at the end.

1. Does your home page include headlines that compel your visitor to click to product or service sales letter?

The number one mistake Web site owners make is not to give their valuable visitors a reason to buy. While mission statements and bio talk about you, benefit driven headlines make the difference--showing your potential buyers what outcomes they will receive..

2. Does your site offer a sales letter for each product or service you want to sell?

Visitors want you to help them make an informed decision. Educate them about your service in this piece whether it's in a long or short sales letter. Include benefits, features, and of course testimonials.

3. Do you make it easy for your visitor to buy?

At the end of your sales letter, include a page on how to buy. Include each step because many people online are non-techie like your online marketing coach is. Include the call the action link that takes your visitor straight to the order page. Check out a professional's site to see these skills in action.

4. Do you give your visitors what they want--free information?

Not only does a list of articles, ezines or tips on your site give free service and make you look like the expert, it also helps your site become number 1 to 10 in the search engines meaning more consistent monthly sales. Your non-techie Web coach is still number one in Google and 35 others after three years. Be sure to announce you update material every 2 weeks or even daily. That's what brings your potential clients back again and again.

5. Does your Web site bring you all the income you want?

Your site may be attractive and colorful, but check you monthly sales and make sure they increase to the income you want. It's not the hits; its the sales that really matter. Naturally, your site brings new contacts and develops an image too, but remember to measure your web site's success by the income it provides. Otherwise it's not worth a dime.

Recommendations

Score 0-4

If your score less than 5 you are ready for a complete makeover. Get help now.

Score 5 to 7

Your site is not doing much for your business. It needs improvement. Get a comprehensive Web site evaluation.

Score 8 to 10

Your site is doing well, but a web strategy could make it more successful.

Score greater than 10

Your Web site works. Get ongoing feedback for adding new content and making link changes. Realize your site cannot be static, and must keep growing and service your particular audience.

Judy Cullins 2004 All Rights Reserved.

Judy Cullins, 20-year Book and Internet Marketing Coach works with small business people who want to make a difference in people's lives, build their credibility and clients, and make a consistent life-long income. Judy is author of 10 eBooks including Write your eBook or Other Short Book Fast, Ten Non-Techie Ways to Market Your Book Online, The Fast and Cheap Way to Explode Your Targeted Web Traffic, and Power Writing for Web Sites That Sell. She offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, "The BookCoach Says...," "Business Tip of the Month," blog Q & A at http://www .bookcoaching.com and over 185 free articles.

2 Key Ways to Make Your Site a Success

If one more business owner tells me their website sucks because they're just "too darn busy to deal with it", I'm gonna hurl. That's like saying, "I'm doing business in my dirty underwear because I'm too busy to get dressed." Realize it or not, your website (or lack thereof) is very often the first impression your prospect or peer will have of you. Now, it's no longer a matter of having a website -- it's a matter of having a great one.

#1) Be Exciting

Most websites are informative, but dull. Not surprising. The Internet today is not unlike TV in the early 50's when TV was the new media. Back then it was totally exciting to have a radio announcer in front of a camera. It was revolutionary to actually see the announcer holding the package of soap or toothpaste. What soon followed was "The Golden Age" of TV when things took a major creative leap forward.

There's a definite parallel today with the Internet.

Bill Bernbach, a great leader of that last creative evolution, stated;

"You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You've got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because if they don't feel it, nothing will happen. That's where the creativity comes in."

Applied to the Internet Bernbach's words resonate more than ever.

#2) Be Effective

So, what makes a website effective and creatively exciting? That depends on who you talk to. A techie may say you need lots of flash animation. A designer may say it's about the right layout and color scheme. Someone else may argue it's all about blogs. When applied intelligently the latest design trend or technology is exciting. But have you ever clicked on a site you're eager to see only to have to sit through a self-indulgent 30-second flash intro? If the thinking behind the technology doesn't respectfully address the mindset of the person viewing it, it doesn't matter how cool it is.

An exciting, creative, effective website begins with a clear understanding of the target audience and the marketing objectives you're trying to reach. Only then does it take a fresh, simple, memorable creative approach that touches and moves that audience on an emotional level. Accomplishing that takes strategically smart, creative talent. So, if you don't have it, find it. The bottom line is that The Evolution has begun. Don't be left behind.

John Follis is one of the 12 "Best Advertising Minds of New York" as voted by The New York Ad Club. His campaigns are in 3 college textbooks, he has written for ADWEEK, and he has taught at 3 New York universities. Currently, John works on select projects, consults, and speaks. John may be reached at: john@folli sinc.com

Does Your Web Site Seem Non-Existent To The Search Engines?

There are many things that need to be accomplished to ensure that your site is optimized for the best results. Search Engine Optimization World is here to put your companies placement above your competition.

In today's vast internet society, it takes many hours of hard work and effort to have your web site listed highly in search engines. You have to know exactly what each search engine spider is looking for as it crawls your site for quality content that can be indexed for your potential customers to find.

Pay Per Click or (PPC) is a highly expensive way to get traffic flowing to your site. You have to look at return on investment or (ROI) as you are truly just spending for the present with pay per click services. They are a good way to get your online business traffic started but it doesn't make sense to just use PPC services for the long haul.

There are 3 major search engines most web site owners are concerned about. Yahoo, Google, and MSN. The all have different methods to how they index the information that is listed within your web site. They also have one thing in common, pleasing their visitors. When some one is doing a search on a product, they want the most relevant information for the key words they have typed into the search box. Search engines display the information that is most relevant to the key word that is being looked up. As a site owner, you need to make this information available to the search engine indexing your site.

Search Engine Optimization World knows the ins and outs of key word placement, link management, article writing, press releases, blogging, rss feeds, and many other tools used to have the search engine spiders coming back for more.

It can take any where from 2-6 months to have your web site listed within the major search engines. We find the best key words relevant to your companies product, we compare your competitions placement on the major engines to yours and adjust your site information accordingly for the best search engine optimization to date.

Directory placement is also essential and can have a major impact long term on helping your business keep its longevity on the internet. SEO World will locate the right directories for your companies product and place quality content and descriptive information in places where your future customers can find you.

SEO World will do a thorough analysis of your web site, giving you the information you need to make the right decision of having experts optimize your web site for quality search engine indexing for years to come.

Our pay per click, add placement, search engine submission, link exchange, article writing, press release, blog writing, and search engine optimization services will truly give your web site exposure it needs to be at the top of the search engine listing.

You will see your web site traffic increase and your sales expand like never before. So don't hesitate, contact us today. Web Solutions of America wants your web site business to be the best it can it can possibly be.

Looking Beyond SEO

by: Matt Jackson

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is one of the most highly talked about topics between Webmasters and marketers. It is probably also the single topic that more webmasters obsess over than any other (in terms of their website anyway!). However, while SEO can be an excellent resource for targeted traffic, all website owners should concentrate their efforts on more than trying to squeeze one more percent out of keyword density, or beg one more PR5 link from an authoritative site. As well as sapping energy, causing breakdowns in family relationships, and being responsible for the onset of male pattern baldness it also causes us to lose sight of our ultimate goal.

You Mean There's More To Online Life Than SEO?The ultimate goal for the vast majority of websites is to either make money or promote a service that makes money. How the site goes about it is entirely up to the Webmaster. Whether you choose to make money through affiliate links, PPC advertising, product sales, dropshipping, or any other method the single most important aspect of your website is your visitor. Visitors are those people that you attempt to attract to your site and they are the ones that will essentially make you some cash.

Don't Forget The Real PeopleThe biggest problem with concentrating on SEO is that while the search engine spiders might be difficult to please they are a walk in the park, a piece of cake, and an absolute breeze when compared to real-life, living, breathing, walking, talking visitors. Search engines rely on mathematical algorithms to determine the quality of your site whereas the visitor relies solely on personal opinion.

The next time you're attempting to inject 2 or 3 more instances of key phrases like "California Mesothelioma lawyer attorney" into your content try to remember that some poor soul might actually have to try and make sense of what you're writing.

Some Search Engines Are ComplyingFortunately for you and I, of course, some of the mathematical search engines are also coming round to this way of thinking. Google, in particular, want to offer users natural search results. They want to promote natural web pages, with natural content, using natural keywords, gaining natural links.

This means that Webmasters are able to start obsessing over a number of other factors now instead:Optimizing Your Content For ConversionsConversion rates are not a part of SEO but should be a part of your business strategy. Consider how many people visit your site and the percentage of those people that either click through the links on your page or purchase a product.

It is virtually impossible to predict with any certainty what your conversion rate SHOULD be but you should always strive to improve it. Your content should convert, your newsletter should convert, your mailing list should convert, and your emails should convert.

Improving Customer Retention RatesCustomer retention is also important. Once you sell a product or provide a service, even if you persuade a visitor to click a link and make a purchase you should do everything you can to ensure that you retain your customer base and they return to make purchases again. A big part of every successful business is repeat custom and without it you will always be fighting an uphill struggle to generate new leads and convert those leads into customers.

Ensuring that you offer the best service, the best prices, the best results, or the best information and help can generate good customer retention. However this isn't all of it. Company or website branding also plays a part, and following up with after sale emails and contact is also vital if you have the relevant information to hand. Use business cards and compliment slips whenever possible and always ensure that you include a company signature in all your email communications.

Generating Sales And Marketing MethodsSales are obviously vital and without sales you will never achieve customer retention. In order to make sales it is important to acquire or generate leads. SEO is obviously a very beneficial way of generating leads but it isn't the only way. PPC, or Pay-Per-Click, advertising is a good way to instantly drive traffic to your site.

SEO can take months to begin to generate results whereas you can truly hit the ground running with an effective PPC campaign. Ensure that you have a compelling advertisement lined up and also ensure that your website content is geared toward the conversion of any visitors you do receive.Banners And Text Ads

Banner advertising and text advertising (I'm trying to ignore the temptation to mention their use in SEO) have taken a back seat to SEO and PPC, but for some sites they still have their uses. Find websites or newsletters that offer information relevant to your product or your service and then try out a small advertising campaign before you inject large amounts of money in a campaign that may not bear any fruit whatsoever.

Offline Advertising Methods

Offline advertising is also an option , though it can prove costly. For geographically targeted campaigns it may [rove particularly beneficial. Local radio stations, local newspapers, and even billboards are options that do still generate results. These can cost money though. Bear in mind that some websites have been known to take this a step further with skywriting and other unusual tactics. These are best left to the behemoth sites like Ebay in all honesty.

Conclusion

SEO is not the be-all and end-all of a website . It is a powerful online marketing technique that can in time generate large amounts of targeted traffic. However, it is important to remember that once that traffic arrives your site must be optimized for conversions and sales. You should also consider using other forms of advertising in order to gain more site visitors and a more diverse range of traffic.

About the Author:Matt Jackson is a website content copywriter for WebWiseWords and also a recovering SEO addict. Unfortunately, he still succumbs to the temptations once in a while and has been known to offer clients SEO content, link building, and other SEO copywritingservices.

The Importance of Web Presence: A Nonprofit View

Over 100 million Americans have access to the internet. North Americans send more than 8 billion emails a day. During the nineties, and even as late as 2000, we were constantly fed prognostications of how the internet was going to fundamentally change our lives. These days, with many still feeling the sting of the dot com collapse, anyone making these types of claims would be laughed at… if not worse.

But the fact of the matter is that, to some degree, the claims of the tech boom were true - the internet has affected the way we lead our lives. The evolution of the internet into an efficient source of information has made it the first stop for people seeking to learn about current events, financial markets, consumer products, entertainment, etc. This list goes on and includes virtually any topic, not the least of which being nonprofit organizations seeking charitable donations.

Another facet of the dot com collapse has been the economic fallout that has gone part and parcel with it. This fallout has affected every sector of the economy with nonprofit organizations perhaps being hit harder than most. These hard times are in no doubt part of the natural cycles which govern such things, but they highlight a cold truth for nonprofit organizations. For decades there have been too many nonprofits chasing too few dollars; nonprofits have been forced to compete with one another for the same supplies of funds.

The emergence of the internet and the ever rising levels of competition for funding highlight a distinct need for nonprofit organizations seeking charitable donations. That need being a substantial Web presence.

Governmental contributions, voluntary donations, dues, and fees have traditionally provided the financial support for most nonprofit organizations, with the federal government being the largest supporter until the late 70’s. The policy of the Reagan administration put an end to that lead role, however. The federal government cut aid for nonprofit organizations substantially between 1981 and 1984, accounting for a loss of billions in support to the sector.

This occurrence changed the state of the nonprofit world dramatically. Instead of receiving government funds to cover large portions of their operating expenses, organizations were forced to rely more heavily on voluntary donations, grants, dues and fees. This put many organizations on a footing more familiar to those that operate in the for-profit sector. Nonprofits now had to compete for funds or risk not being able to continue their work.

In response to this change, charitable organizations have employed many methods to raise funds. Telemarketing, direct mailings and advertisements are just some of the strategies currently being used. In many ways a Web presence is just one member in the long list of fundraising tools. But, due to the emergence of the internet, it has taken on a special significance.

Although there is great importance for a charitable organization to have a Web presence, the direct effect that it can have on the bottom line is often not as significant as one might assume. Many nonprofit Web sites afford visitors the opportunity to give donations online. The revenues that result from these online efforts are relatively small across the industry; in some cases they might not even cover the costs of operating the site itself. The list of organizations that put significant resources and efforts toward the development of Web marketing campaigns that only result in online contributions of less than 5% of all donations is quite long.

So what’s the point? What’s the importance of a Web presence if it doesn’t even support itself? The importance of a Web site lies within the information that it can provide to a potential donor, regardless of how they eventually end up contributing. In the case of many organizations most donors seek information online prior to an actual donation.

In this day and age, a nonprofit organization that seeks charitable donations cannot afford to lack a significant Web presence. However, this presence must be viewed as more than a directory of contact information. This statement harkens back to the highly competitive environment that nonprofits operate in these days. Potential donors are faced with virtually limitless options when seeking to contribute; and they are all only one click away from changing their allegiances. They are also savvy enough to know a quality Web site when they see it. It is therefore vital that a nonprofit’s Web site have superior look and feel.

It is important that the site provide current, relevant information in an easily navigable format to those who seek it. Much of the information which the site must provide will be done so to create a dialog between the organization and a donor. We communicate with those we trust. The relationship between an organization and its donors can be no different. A site must fully inform a donor as to the good that his donations are doing. If the site of a particular charity isn’t meeting these expectations, there are scores of others that will.

Although the costs of maintaining a strong Web presence can be high, the costs of not maintaining one are even higher. It’s so easy for someone to become frustrated or dissatisfied with information being provided by an organization in any field. It takes effort and expense to keep this from happening. But this is time and money well spent if it means the difference between keeping a customer and losing one.

This fact is especially pertinent to organizations within fields where there are many similar competitors. Such is the case in the nonprofit sector. The high level of competition between many like organizations, coupled with the emergence of the internet as a first destination for information, has created a situation in which a strong, high quality Web presence is an absolute necessity for any nonprofit organization.

Author Brendan Scanlon is Program Development Director at Teaming For Technology -- Denver, an organization which aids area nonprofits with their technology planning efforts.

So You Think You Need A Website?

by Sharon Hassler

The 1990s saw a frenzy over websites; every agent had to have one. Costs were excessive and results were mixed. Eventually the urgency passed, and websites became part of an overall marketing strategy. With more options and better pricing today, now is the ideal time to incorporate the Internet into your business plan.

If you're not a web expert, the sheer scope of Internet products can be overwhelming. Where do you begin? Start by answering these two questions:

1. What benefits are important to me?
2. What costs fit my budget?

Benefit 1: Repeat and referral customers can always find you.
The one undisputed benefit of the Internet is the opportunity to maintain a permanent address. Your past customers may toss your direct mail pieces and "I've moved" announcements but can still locate you online. A permanent address can be yours with a simple web page, a bare-bones website or a custom product. Whichever you choose, It should be:

• professional
• affordable
• easy to update
• bookmarkable

Realistic costs range widely. For a full service website, that you pay an expert to design and maintain can cost anywhere from $100 to thousands of dollars a year, depending entirely on who you hire and where you live. Remember -- you can hire someone from any part of the country for this task! Some companies, such as Sam's Club, offer business websites for a mere $5 a month.

Benefit 2. You'll receive new leads.
The average website will not automatically generate new business. In fact, a new website is like a billboard on an untraveled road. You must spend time and/or money to promote it in the hope that someday it will promote you. Or purchase a website specifically designed to attract leads, which may or may not perform as advertised.

Lead generation is one of the most misunderstood elements of the Internet. Success requires prime placement in search results, and -- except for sponsored listings in Google or Yahoo -- you can't buy your way onto page one. "Organic" non-sponsored placement requires an optimized website and consistent effort. Only a limited number of search-engine-optimization (SEO) experts can deliver prime positioning without threat of Google banishment, and these are expensive. Realistic costs for this service: setup $1200; hosting $600/yr; upgrade SEO $2600/yr. Top SEO expert $6000/yr.

Emails or telemarketers "guaranteeing page one in Google" are scammers. Don't be impressed by examples of their clients on page one. Note the search terms they're quoting you. For real estate, they may promise prime Google placement with 7 to 15 specific keywords, but the average Internet user won't enter those exact words in a search. Smoke and mirrors. Remove even one keyword from the search, and your site drops off page one.

An alternate choice for acquiring new prospects is signing up with a lead-generation company. When a potential customer submits an inquiry fitting your criteria, the company offers you the lead for a price. While not cheap, this is a viable method for obtaining leads and you don't need a website. Realistic cost: $360 + 30% referral fee; $20 to $60 flat fee each.

Benefit 3. You'll be more productive.
Many template-type website companies and some custom designers build productivity tools into their products. You site may include contact management, auto-responders, customized email responders, lead capture, instant lead notification, listings posted with IDX and shared with other agents, appointment setting with reminders, maps and driving directions, even pod casting! Realistic cost: Template-type, $800/yr. Custom, setup $3000; hosting $800/yr.

Internet technology has opened up new worlds to all parties in the real estate transaction. Buyers and sellers find agents and vice versa, but you would do well to start small and upgrade as both your Internet knowledge and budget increase.

---

Sharon Hassler is president of Go Get Experts, provider of web pages and directories for professionals and owner/operator of GoGetRealEstate.com. A former real estate agent and loan officer, she served as Communications Manager for First American Title-Arizona, for 11 years.

Published: June 5, 2006

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws -- http://www.loc.gov/copyright.

Google Search Engine Optimization Pitfalls

On Page Factors - Is Your Website Search Engine Friendly?

So you have a website but where is it on Google? Have you fallen foul of a penalty or have you overlooked one of the many common search engine optimization pitfalls when designing your site?

Understanding what works for the search engines and what doesn't when it comes to the content on your website can have a crucial impact on the relevance and/or page rank of your pages from a SEO perspective.

Here we highlight common mistakes that could affect your ranking on Google and other search engines.

Optimizing for the Correct Keywords

Basically 'Get real' about what keywords you feel your website can be ranked for. If you have a ten page website in a highly competitive market then ranking naturally for the major terms will be close to impossible.

Use the Overture keyword tool together with the number of results on Google to find out what keywords are searched for and how many other websites are targeting them. If you are lucky then you might even find a popular keyword that not many other websites are optimized for. Alternatively a good tool for this job is Wordtracker from Rivergold Associates Ltd.

Code Validation

If your html code is not valid, then this could make it very difficult or even impossible for a search engine to separate your page content from your code. If the search engine cannot see your content, then your page will obviously have no relevance.

Frames

Even though most, if not all, major search engines now index frames and even with the use of the NOFRAMES tag, you run the risk of your pages being displayed in the search engine results out of context. As each individual page is indexed separately, it is likely that your website visitors will not see your pages within your frame and will effectively be stuck on the page they arrive at.

If you must use frames then create a 'Home' link on each of your individual content pages and point the link at your frameset index page.

JavaScript Navigation

If you use JavaScript to control your website navigation, then search engine spiders may have problems crawling your site. If you must use JavaScript, then there are two options available to you:

• Use the NOSCRIPT tag to replicate the JavaScript link in standard HTML.

• Replicate your JavaScript links as standard HTML links in the footer of your page.

Flash Content Currently only Google can index Macromedia Flash files, how much or how little content they see is open to debate. So until search engine technology is able to handle your .swf as standard it would be advisable to avoid the use of these.

Again if you must use Flash then offer a standard HTML alternative within NOEMBED tags.

Dynamic URLs

Although Google and Yahoo are able to crawl complicated URLs it is still advisable to keep your URLs simple and avoid the use of long query strings. Do not include session IDs in the URL as these can either create a 'spider trap' where the spider indexes the page over and over again or, at worst, your pages will not get indexed at all.

If you do need to include parameters in the URL, then limit them to two and the number of characters per parameter to ten or less.

The best SEO solution for dynamic URLs is to use Mod-rewrite or Multiviews on Apache.

No Sitemap

A sitemap is the search engine optimization tool of choice to ensure every page within your website is indexed by all search engines. You should link to your site map from, at least, your homepage but preferably from every page on your website.

If your website contains hundreds of pages then split the sitemap into several categorized maps and link these all together. Try and keep the number of links per page on a sitemap to less than 100.

Excessive Links

Excessive links on a given page (Google recommends having no more than 100) can lower its relevance and, although it does not result in a ban, this does nothing for your search engine optimization strategy.

Be Careful Who You Link To

As you have no control over who links to your website, incoming links will not harm your rank. However, outbound links from your website to 'bad neighbourhoods' like link farms will harm your ranking.

As a rule ensure as many of your outbound links as possible link to websites that are topical to your field of business.

About The Author
John Hill - Developer, Designer and SEO Professional with E-Gain New Media offering website design, search engine optimization and PPC Management.

SEO and Web Design

When we talk about the relationship between SEO and web design, it's usually the technical part of the website design art that's relevant, not the visual part (though certain aspects of visual design have their impact on SEO/SEM, as will be shown below).

by Irina Ponomareva
source: www.isedb.com

When we talk about the relationship between SEO and web design, it's usually the technical part of the website design art that's relevant, not the visual part (though certain aspects of visual design have their impact on SEO/SEM, as will be shown below).

One of the latest trends in the SEO industry is to put more and more emphasis on quality web design in the overall SEO process. If you aim at a long term success online, you need to know exactly how design and SEO integrate.

Make your design work for you

Good website design is like a foundation for the building of your future SEO success. The more aspects you think about before you start working on your site, the fewer obstacles you will meet later when you start looking into SEO, web promotion, ROI and other important aspects of your web presence.

Good website design includes such things as internal linking structure (i.e. navigation), folder structure, URL generation and naming conventions, coding, page download time, usability and a lot more. If your website is interactive and uses additional dynamic functionality and tools (e.g. a newsletter subscription form with built-in verification and unsubscribe features, or e-commerce functionality), you will need to make sure that all of your client-side and server-side scripts work flawlessly and are not open to abuse of any sort. And of course, the back-end of the website (content management) should be well thought out prior to starting.

If you are going to redesign your site

If you need to redesign an existing site (as opposed to building a new one from scratch), you will encounter even more problems and you will need to take these into account to ensure success.

One of the most important decisions you will have to make is whether to keep the old URLs or to restructure the site and move to new, more SE-friendly, URLs.

Of course, if the URLs in your old site are already SE-friendly, the decision is simple: you need to preserve them. This way, you won't waste the fruits of your previous achievements; indeed, the improvements you make to your site during the redesign will eventually help you to enhance them.

But what do you do if your old URLs are dynamic with a lot of parameters in the query strings and are unreadable and confusing from a usability point of view, adding nothing to your SEO? Your pages may still have rankings in the SEs, which you would certainly like to preserve. If you reproduce the same ugly URLs in the new version of the site, you'll achieve this, but make further progress impossible. If you move to better URLs (and then 301-redirect old pages to new ones on a per-page basis), you will probably lose your rankings for a short period of time, but benefit in the long run.

The answer, in this case, is no longer so obvious. It will require a lot of statistical analysis, followed by brainstorming sessions involving your company and, if relevant, your client. All interested parties should be well informed of the existing options, as well as the benefits and the complications (risks) each of those options involves.

Notice though that if most of your search engine traffic is directed to your home page, then you have nothing to lose and should stick to the second option.

Another questions that arises when a website is about to be redesigned is the choice of a content management system (CMS).

Of course, if the site is relatively small (with less than, say, 1,000 pages), and you are ready to support it using manual coding and an FTP client, you won't need a CMS at all. The only automation necessary in this case is either PHP (ASP, JSP) includes or SSI (if supported). They will save you a lot of time when you need to edit a repeated block of code (like a navigation menu bar). A change made once will be reflected on all pages automatically.

But if the site is large and requires complicated dynamic functionality (like newsletters, an automatically updated RSS feed, a shopping cart or customised data tracking), or if your client doesn't have any HTML knowledge but needs to update the content regularly, then a CMS is the only way to go.

What is a SE-friendly CMS?

In order to be SE-friendly, a CMS should at the very least comply with the following criteria.

• URL-generation flexibility. You need to be able to choose how your URLs will look, including file and folder names, file name extensions and conventions. A CMS that forces you to use dynamic URLs is definitely a bad one. Also, a good CMS won't generate session IDs for guest users and search engine spiders.
• Title and meta information management. You should be able to assign a unique title tag and unique description and keyword meta tags to every single page, or set up a pattern that will generate this information dynamically.
• HTML management. The code generated by the CMS should be valid, or the software should at least provide opportunities to make it valid, if you have the necessary knowledge. For example, if the HTML editor used in the CMS converts all HTML tags into capital letters or removes quotation marks in attributes, you will never be able to validate your code for XHTML 1.0 or XHTML 1.1, which are now preferred coding standards.
• CSS management. The CMS should provide a CSS editor to professional web designers who know how to write CSS styles, and a smart CSS generator to those who can't handle the task manually.
• Robots.txt management. You should be able to edit your robots.txt file without an FTP client. If there is a default text for the robots.txt, it should be a valid default robots.txt, not some gibberish.

The best choice for the valid default robots.txt should be this:

User-agent: *
Disallow:

This file defines what the bots are allowed to crawl and what they should stay away from, and provides yet another reason to use static URLs rather than dynamic. When your URLs don't contain dynamic parameters in the query string, it is much easier to control them in the robots.txt file on a per-page basis. If your site has dynamic URLs, you might want to look into mod_rewrite to make them static.

Things to avoid

Yet another important consideration is knowing what to avoid. If you keep the following rules in mind when you design your site from scratch or redesign it, life will be much easier for you, but if you ignore them, your web presence will be affected detrimentally.

Over-bloated code. The more HTML tags and other stuff you have in your code, the longer it will take for each page to load up in the browser - and the harder it will be for a search engine to extract the useful (content) part of it.

JavaScript redirects and JavaScript-based navigation. JavaScript is not parsed by most search engines. There are rumours around that Google is starting to follow JavaScript links, but that's probably just one of their newest experiments that will never turn into anything serious (like their earlier attempts at reading text embedded in Flash). If you want your navigation links to be spiderable, use plain text links with "href" attributes.

JavaScript redirects is a technique loved by doorway creators, so if you use it you can inadvertently get yourself banned, or at best make your site utterly SE-unfriendly, especially if you redirect the home page. Incidentally, your home page's URL should always end with a "/"; for other purposes, the only option is the 301 redirect.

Disallowing the whole site via an incorrect robots.txt or using an invalid robots.txt file. Remember:

User-agent: *
Disallow:

is the correct code if you wish to allow all pages to be crawled by all spiders and bots, but using

User-agent: *
Disallow: /

means they will ignore your whole site. When your whole site is dropped, re-indexing can give you a headache, as the engines sometimes have problems with crawling sites quickly. The Net grows daily, and even Google (which used to be the fastest at crawling websites) has seemed to behave oddly since the start of the Bigdaddy update.

Google is also very sensitive to invalid robots.txt files. If your robots.txt is incorrectly written, it can get your site partially or even completely de-listed. We recommend that you read the Web Robots FAQ and validate your robots.txt file to avoid unnecessary complications.

Too much graphical content. Graphics (especially when animated) and Flash slow down the page's download significantly. That's more of a usability issue than an SEO issue, but usability is a part of SEM, as it affects ROI and conversions. So do test your pages on a slow dial-up connection, and if it takes too much time to download, lighten it. Believe it or not, a lot of people around the world still have no option but to use a slow dial-up connection.

Making your site worse than it was. This of course only applies if you are redesigning a site. If your previous version successfully validated for W3C standards, don't break it; better still, try moving from HTML 4.01 to XHTML, or from table-based coding to CSS-based positioning (if you feel able, of course, otherwise it can be a frustrating experience). If your navigation was handy and intuitive, don't make it more confusing in the new version; better still, add more navigation options that the previous version lacked. In other words, let your redesign be a step forwards, not a step backwards.

Visual design and SEO

As stated above, SEO is more than a technical discipline; the visual design has its implications, too. Too often, visual design and SEO are perceived as a mutual sacrifice. Graphic designers often think websites exist to demonstrate their artistic abilities, and don't care much about content. SEOs, on the contrary, would prefer to keep graphics to a minimum, thus increasing the SE-friendliness of the pages and minimising the code bloat. Visual designers prefer to create menus in images, so they can use some fashionable "blurred" font or whatever; it won't be long before an SEO then comes along and yells: "What have you done? I need text here!"

"Your content spoils the look of my design" seems to be an unwinnable argument in our industry. Sooner or later, the parties usually find a solution that suits them both, but too often the compromise leaves everyone unhappy. And yet there is no need for any sacrifice at all if the designer and the SEO are ready to cooperate from the start.

It makes me happy to see more and more websites that are both good looking and 100% SE-friendly. Three years ago, a common question in the SEO forums was: "Why do you SEOs all have such ugly websites?" But it's no longer an issue, as people are starting to realise that there is no need to sacrifice the look of a site for the sake of search engine friendliness, or vice versa.

Actually, the visual design is just as important a part of Internet marketing as are SEO and usability. It may seem like an obvious statement, but websites that are pleasing to the eye convert better than do ugly ones. Of course, it's impossible to please everyone when it comes to visual design, as some people love minimalism, and others prefer a lot of funky, flashy graphics - but as the concept of SE-friendly design is gradually becoming more familiar to web users, overloaded designs are going out of fashion and minimalism is now viewed as elegance. For a website representing a serious, trustworthy business, elegant minimalism is now a must.

The harmony of the web

Summarising the whole article, I would like to repeat once more that all aspects of an online presence are slowly finding a new type of harmony. Harmony means quality. Quality means success. SEO and web design are just two important parts of this harmony, and in the upcoming "SEO and ..." series of articles (of which this is the second), I'm planning to give my readers more details on how SEO integrates with other aspects of web harmony.

What You Should Know About Designing for The Web

by Sean James - Web Developer (Web Solutions of America)

Graphic designers, as well as aspiring designers, with little or no web design experience often have a difficult time transitioning to the web. When designing for print, the designer will have almost total control over the appearance of every aspect of the finished product. The web, however, is a different medium from print and trying to attain a similar level of control over the layout is simply not possible. Trying to do so will ensure that some visitors to your web site will not be able to properly view, or interact with, your web page. This may also have a negative effect on your ranking on various search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, etc.

HTML is a “coding” language that controls the positioning and arrangement of graphic and textual elements on a web page. HTML instructions will be written, or “coded”, to control the color and size of fonts, paragraph breaks, image placement, etc. (An HTML document only contains written texts and symbols that will appear to be jibberish to the average non web designer) When a web browser opens this HTML document, the browser reads the coded instructions within the document and translates it into a web page containing the intended layout that can be read by everyone. In effect, the web browser sets the rules on how it thinks your layout should be translated to the web. The problem resides here.

Since different web browsers may interpret the same HTML code a little differently, a designer’s carefully designed layout may seem different from browser to browser. This then raises the question of “how does one avoid this from happening?” A good web designer will be aware of most browser incompatibility issues and with this in mind, design a layout that will not fall victim to them. In addition to browser incompatibility, there is also the issue of the web viewer’s equipment.

In print design the designer can choose from a variety of fancy fonts and select images of the highest resolution for a sharp, detailed looking layout. A web page is only viewed from a computer screen which only has a low resolution of 72 dpi compare to a printed layout which may be as much as 1200dpi. As a result, the same clarity you’ll get from an image on paper will not be on a web page. When it comes to font selection, the web designer is only limited to what fonts are available on the viewers computer at the moment they are viewing the web page. This means if a designer uses a very unique font, that font will not display on the viewers computer unless the viewer just so happens to have that same font installed on his or her computer. So to have all viewers see the same fonts, the designer should use regular default fonts that ships with every computer, or create a graphic image of any unique fonts in the layout. (This is not recommended for body copy) Controlling the total viewable area of the page layout is also an issue, since individuals may have their computer monitor set at different viewing sizes. For example, one person may have to scroll their browser to the right to see the left side of your layout, or scroll down because all can be seen in the browser window is the top banner of the layout; while another may have the layout floating in a see of background color. Good web designer practice has always been to have an up to date knowledge of what computer size setting most viewers are using and design accordingly.

It’s very often that individuals have a great idea for a web page design but fail to understand that the process of designing for the web is a lot more restrictive than designing for a printed brochure or magazine layout. To ensure that your ideas are properly translated to the web it’s best to consult with an experienced web designer, or take some time to do a little web research.

Rules to Remember in Designing Your Web Site

The Web is a visual medium. An effectively designed Web site must wow, tease, and compel your audience to step in and explore what you have to offer. To create an effective web site, you must first understand the basic rules governing Web design. by Nach Maravilla PowerHomeBiz Publisher

The Web is a visual medium. For a Web site to work, first and foremost, it must be well designed. Unlike newspapers where even the barest design can get its information across, a Web design must wow, tease, and compel your audience to step in and explore what you have to offer. Your design must trigger the curiosity of your visitors and make them want for more. Once inside, they must be informed, entertained and convinced of your products or services. Your design must allow them to travel from page to page with the greatest of ease. More importantly, your site must convince them that coming back will be beneficial and rewarding as well. Creating a Web site that works starts with its design. Good design means having quality content, while allowing your visitors options and pathways to investigate what you have to offer. To succeed in creating an effective web site, you must first understand the basic rules governing Web design. Rule 1: The Web is About Content. Your goal in designing your Web site is primarily to convey information. Whether your business deals with fishing, web hosting, online calendar or Java scripts, your Web site must be clear in conveying what you have to say or offer. This entails having content that is useful to your visitors, and ensuring that your visitors can find the information you have to offer.a. Visitors must know what your site contains. Content should clearly come up on every single page. Remember, first time visitors of your web site do not know what you have in store for them. It is important to bring up content to your front page - to let visitors know what they can find from your site. Do not make them plow through four levels of buttons to discover on the fifth page that your site contains links and resources pages. They may not have the patience to discover information that might be essential to them and could pull them back to your site repeatedly. b. Provide quality and relevant content. Use quality content relevant to your business. Be original as much as possible, although it is also good to have content from contributing authors who wish to promote their works at your web site. This count on your popularity and can generate more visitors while you also help giving traffic to the web site of your contributors. Remember, in the Internet, "No Man is an Island;" it is "Live and Let Live." Rule 2: The Web is About Skim and Surf People will only read what catches their attention. You are kidding yourself if you think that your visitors will read every single word on your Web site. Here is the reality: nobody reads everything on the Web. Either people are too busy or they simply have limited attention span. Some studies show that it only takes nine seconds for a visitor to click away from your site. When they come across a Web site, they want to get something - and fast! If you do not give them something quickly, they absorb nothing. They don't really care about your groovy images. They visit a site to get something out of it. If they don't find what they want in an instant (even though you swear that the information is there buried 10 layers below your front page), they are gone! Many interactive Web designers still deny this cardinal truth.a. Guide your visitors well. Navigation bars are a must-have of every Web site. The nav bars serves as a "guide" or "direction tool" for your visitors, helping them finds your content easily. In addition to nav bars, other sites place drop-down menus for more specific listing of the topics and a site map. These tools are meant to help your visitors find the information they need from your site. Use these tools to organize your site in a clear and simple way. The story changes, however, when you have 300 pages or more. Navigation then becomes a challenge. You simply cannot put a button in your front page for each of your 300 pages. In this case, you will have to make some editorial decisions as to the hierarchies of information. Your goal in designing your main page will be to balance the fact that your site is not easy to digest (your site oozes with tons of useful information) but which looks appealing enough to begin.One word of caution: never assume that your navigation structure is clear to your users. What for you may be an organized way of arranging information and content, may appear as a maze to some users. Pre-testing your site is crucial to give you some objective feedback needed to further improve your Web site.b. Don't make your visitors wait. Fast loading web pages should be the goal of every web site creator. Usually, too much graphics can hamper the downloading speed of your site. If you can avoid it, try to limit the use of graphics, especially in your front page. As @Home's Richard Gingras said, "the only acceptable delay is no delay." People will not wait 3 minutes for your flash pages to load - no matter how cool it is. Make people wait, and say goodbye to them forever. c. Make your pages concise and short. Web visitors love to surf, but hate to scroll. Keep your paragraphs and web pages shorter. Most people do not have the patience to scroll all the way dowwnnnn. Avoid punishing your visitors with information overload. The less work you make them do, the greater the chances they will come back to you often. Shorter pages break-up the content into easier bite-size pieces. Rule 3: The Web is about Contrast. The Web is a novel visual medium, but it does not mean that it changes the tried-and-tested rules of design. White, the absence of color in print and the combination of all colors in video, is still the best background for Web pages. If you prefer other background colors, the rule is to use colors with the highest contrast from each other. Hence, you use black type for white background. Red, the color that has sold more magazines when used in the headlines, can be used for your captions. Different colors elicit different reactions from people, a fact that Web creators should understand.a. Make your pages easy on the eyes. Catching your visitor's attention does not mean using all the colors of the rainbow. The rule in design is to use colors with the highest contrast from each other. Understand the elements of design. Avoid the trap of "design before legibility." Study your color combinations and try to avoid funny mixing up of colors. Can you imagine your reaction to a site using red text on a dark blue background? Or, bright green text on a bright yellow background? Not only is it difficult on the eyes, but it also doesn't make sense to struggle reading something that is simply not readable. b. Your pages must look cohesive and readable. Web pages are pulled together by one or two elements. No need to run amuck with every available font invented. Using two kinds of fonts is ideal. Like colors, you can develop contrast by using the thin and bold combination of your fonts. Also, do not use one set of colors and fonts in one page, and use a totally different set in another page. You will lose the continuity and look of your site, leaving your visitors feeling lost and confused. c. Big is better. What use is your highbrow content if your fonts are microscopic? Reading text on a computer screen is hard in itself; do not compound the problem by using tiny letters. Leave space between the lines, make your lines short, and do not use typefaces that are hard to read. If you want your content to be read, make it easy to read.