Website Blueprint

39 Places to Promote Your Website Offline

Posted in August 2009

Are you promoting your website address anywhere and everywhere you can? If your business name is spoken, written, or displayed anywhere, your web address should be the next piece of information that is seen or heard. And whenever possible, prominently. Some would argue sharing your website address is even more important today than your slogan or positioning statement. What do you think? Take a look at the list below.

Did I leave one out? Comment at the end and let me know.

1. Business cards
2. Letterhead
3. Envelopes
4. Thank you cards
5. Business forms
6. Fax cover sheets
7. Radio ads
8. Print ads
9. Billboards
10. Yellow Pages
11. Press releases
12. As part of classified ads you place
13. During any type of free media exposure
14. Community sponsorships
15. Local business directories
16. Word of mouth – To prospects and customers
17. Word of mouth - Friends and family
18. Word of mouth - Your staff to their contacts
19. Brochures
20. Sales literature
21. Displays at your Chamber of Commerce
22. Displays at local group and association locations
23. Displays at other businesses
24. Cork boards at your grocery store, coffee shop, library, gym, etc…
25. On promotional items (hats, t-shirts, magnets, pens, etc…)
26. Your store window
27. After-hours voice mail
28. Line holding message
29. Event and conference signage
30. Permanent outdoor signage
31. Lawn signs
32. On company vehicles
33. On out-of-office company equipment
34. On company uniforms
35. Car door magnet
36. Window decals or bumper stickers
37. In local guest books
38. On donation wall hangers at the convenience store
39. Your license plate…darn, not enough room

Did I forget one? Leave a comment and add to the list.

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Newbie SEO Lesson | Page Titles & Descriptions

Posted in August 2009

There are dozens of techniques that are used to get your website to appear higher in the search engine results of Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. The process of SEO (search engine optimization) can be overwhelming. But, there are two elements we can take advantage of that will certainly help.

Page Titles and Page Descriptions

Look at the image below. The results that appear in the search engines reflect your page title and page description. Having the right content in these two areas are bound to help your SEO efforts.

The page title is the headline link that appears in the Google search results. The page description is what describes what the particular page is about. You are allowed up to 70 characters (spaces included) for your page title and up to 160 characters (spaces included) for your page description. Utilize every bit of this space to describe what your page is about. And remember to maximize keywords that may be used by potential customers as they’re searching for you.

Depending on the platform you’re using to publish your website (Dreamweaver, WordPress, etc…) will depend where you’ll enter this information. Regardless, it will always be in the HTML code of your web pages (this is what Google and the search engines see). You can see the source code of any web page by selecting View>Source in your Internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, etc…). You can see how the results from the image above appear to Google in the HTML source code below.

If there is one thing to do that will improve how high you appear in Google, Yahoo!, and Bing search results, adding keyword rich page titles and descriptions is it.

If you need someone to make sure your web pages are SEO friendly, contact us.

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Small Business Website Checklist

Posted in August 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.

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