Website Blueprint

Funny Facebook Mistakes & Screw Ups

Posted on Dec 08, 2009

For all of us that use Facebook for business or personal use, these goofs can’t help but make us remember to always be careful…LOL!

Small Business Website Checklist

Posted on Aug 03, 2009

There are two types of websites. Those that attract, persuade, and connect with customers… and those that don’t. If your website includes the elements below, you’re on your way to having an online presence that is a true modern marketing tool.

• The design and layout of our website is clean, simple, and professional.
• Our navigation makes it easy to find what visitors are looking for. Test it. Have the most Internet-challenged person you know go to your site and locate certain pages/information.
• Every page of our website is Google-friendly. This means that each page title and page description is unique and contains the correct number of characters (up to 70 for page titles and 160 for page descriptions). See how it’s done here.
• We’re using a professional email marketing service to generate new web leads and build rapport with visitors (we use Aweber.com). Your email signup form (or a link to your form) should be visible with a call-to-action on every page of your website. Get a free Aweber 30-Day trial here.
• We have a blog as part of our website that we utilize to share company news and helpful tips. We create new posts twice per month (these can be emailed automatically with Aweber).
• We have signed up for a free Google account and utilize the following free Google tools: Analytics (web stats), Feedburner (to distribute blog posts via RSS and email), Webmaster Tools (several benefits), and the Local Business Center (puts your business on Google maps). Get a free Google Account here.
• We are utilizing at least one type of social media to promote our business and website (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or YouTube). More social media = more exposure.
• Our contact information is at the bottom of every page. Include your physical address for extra SEO benefits.
• Our website content/copy is written in a conversational tone. The Internet is a one-on-one medium. Don’t let your website feel too stiff and impersonal.
• Our web address is promoted everywhere we advertise and on every piece of stationary and sales literature. Get the list of “39-Places to Promote Your Website Offline” here.

Website Blueprint in The State Journal

Posted on Jul 26, 2009

Website Blueprint received some attention in the July 24, 2009 edition of The State Journal, West Virginia’s leading business publication:

Web Expert Sees Marketing Opportunities Aboud on Social Networking Sites

Written by Ashley Reynolds for The State Journal

Gregg Murray of Website Blueprint refers to his profession as the “Wild Wild West” because it is an untouched territory in West Virginia.

Businesses will come and go, but Murray and his unique profession of “attracting, persuading and connecting” consumers to particular businesses through the use of social media and Web site marketing is a profession he said is “a new platform that is not going anywhere.”

His business crossed over into that line of marketing work by accident. The one-time director of sales and marketing for West Virginia Radio Corp. said he knew how to get new advertisers and how to create successful Web sites with plenty of information.

Through his work with the radio business, he soon realized that if a Web site does not have any e-mail marketing components, blog attachments or search engine optimization (SEO) that helps the site pop up in searches by Google, MSN or Yahoo, then it basically is a brochure. Murray, 43, a Morgantown native, is now an award-winning certified marketing strategist and SEO expert. The Web sites he created for more than 250 radio stations in 50 markets have turned into more than $25 million in new business. Murray said a company can use the Internet as “an online salesman.”

“It should be just like having an extra salesperson on staff,” he said. “It should pull in business and interact with consumers.”

He said his work is a fast and furious profession that has not emerged in this region. Helping businesses attract, persuade and connect with consumers through Web sites and social media, Murray said, can help West Virginia business grow.

Murray defined a social media platform as “any place where people can interact with one another regarding your business, like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.”

“I see so many small business Web sites just as a consumer. Everybody has a Web site now,” he said. But Murray called many of the Web sites “brochures.” They do not attract consumers. They do not persuade them to inquire more, and they do not connect with Web site visitors.

He said consumers are insisting on a new type of business communication and advertising.

“It doesn’t matter what business you are in. Everyone has been tied into the same box for advertising,” he said. “Five years from now, everyone who has a Web site will be incorporating these social media aspects. If not, they will be left out”

In six years of perfecting his skills in Internet marketing, Murray has never made a sales call. He now wants to implement his nationwide expertise into small businesses across West Virginia to help improve the economy and the state.

“My goal is to be able to manage at least 100 Web sites for West Virginia businesses. If I can change the online presences of 100 businesses in the next year, that would be big. That’s going to help the state’s economy.”

From dentists to dry-cleaning services, Murray sees big things coming for the future of West Virginia businesses and advertisers.

“This environment is not going anywhere. There is not a person in the world that would not realize social media is increasing.”

Murray’s repertoire for helping businesses succeed with Internet marketing includes SEO, Google, PPC (pay-per-click) online advertising, e-mail marketing, business blogging, social media, Web analytics and Web site management.

Follow Gregg Murray and Web site Blueprint on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or read his Web marketing blog by visiting www.websiteblueprint.com/web-marketing. West Virginia businesses can get a head start to Internet marketing success with Murray’s free e-Course called, “5-Days to Web site Success” at www.websiteblueprint.com/free.

You can view this story on The State Journal website here.

You can read Website Blueprint’s press release here:
SEO Architect Creates Website Blueprint for West Virginia Business Owners