THESE ARE ARCHIVES. PLEASE VISIT OUR CURRENT BLOG BY CLICKING HERE: http://tgblogsite.com/marshalweb/
May
17
Difference between HTML Sitemap and XML Sitemap
There are two types of sitemaps in general; namely HTML (Hyper
Text Makeup Language) sitemap and XML
(EXtensible Makeup Language) sitemap. Do you know the difference between th=
em?
If not, then read on…
What is HTML Sitemap?
HTML sitemap is used to list all hyperlinks of different sections and p=
ages
of your blog/website. These hyperlinks are normally listed hierarchically a=
nd
they may provide description for each link. It is no doubt that adding a HT=
ML
sitemap to your blog/websit=
e
will help your visitors navigate and find information easily. So HTML sitem=
ap
is primarily created for humans.
Although a HTML sitemap is created for your visitors, indexing bot such = as Googlebot might have a better chance to crawl your first-time-missed links again since all the files are well put together in your sitemap page. You c= an create your own HTML sitemap from = HTML Sitemap Generator here.
What is XML Sitemap?
XML sitemap lists URLs (world wide web addresses) for your blog/website in a
special format.
It allows webmasters to inform search engines about URLs in your blog/website for= easy indexing. XML sitemap is created for search engines but not for humans. Submitting a XML sitemap to search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN w= ill not only help your blog/website bei= ng indexing quickly and efficiently but also increase your blog/website’s visibilities in search engines as well.
For a full version WordPress blog, you can use Google XML Sitemaps plugi= n to do the trick for you. For your own personal website, you can generate and obtain= a sitemap here.
May
14
Last night, during a family “fun night”, the topic of bloggi= ng came up. My brother, a semi-web-savvy guy, told of how he would post a new blog every day, discussing anything from something that occurred during= the course of his day to a popular (or weird) news article; most of which all f= ell under the “online diary” category. Mind you, this was bac= k in 2004 when the role of blogs became increasingly mainstream. Today, Twitter has changed blogging,= but I see it as a good thing. It’s redefining blogging as an outlet for thi= ngs you can’t say in 140 characters. And ironically, it’s making blogging more substantial. In the early days, blogging was dismissed as tri= vial and mundane and full of these messages about what you were having for lunch. Those messages are now on Twitter — among other things, of course = 212; while blogs can serve as a public sphere for ideas and a place where people exercise creativity and self-expression.
Blogs were initially born in 1994 and since then, human interaction= has never been the same. Now, blogging has come a long way since Brad’s online “blogspot” diary. Whilst the activity has somewhat evolved over the years with the advances in internet technology, more and m= ore people are turning to blogging not just so that they can get to share the things they love most with their friends and families, but getting into blogging and realizing that it can also be a very profitable business venture, and help= ful for marketing/advertising/SEO purposes.
As I’ve observed bloggers from all walks of life, writing about ev= ery subject imaginable, and as I’ve taken the journey myself (for business purposes), I’ve found that there is an evolution that takes place.&nb= sp; In each phase of the evolution we develop essential skills, but without the courage to stay the course and go through all the phases of the evolution, we’re unlikely to unleash the creative genius = within all of us. While people like myself consider what we do as “marketeing”, what the rest are really doing, (or were doing, l= ike Brad), is creating art. Through their digital footprints they’re attempting to create they’re own personal masterpi= eces and leave a mark on humanity, or on the internet perhaps.
Today, blogs are the hottest growing medium of communication for businesses, and for = an online marketer, blogs offer a powerful marketing platform. Not only do blo= gs enable marketers to gain a better understanding of their customers, but the content posted on blogs is much easier to find on search engines as well. Search engines love blogs bec= ause they love fresh content. Every time new content is posted on a blog, the blog site pings the search engines. This results in frequent search engine spider visits and hence much higher optimization and ranking.
My brother’s 2004 blog is certainly a testament to that. With just over 100 blogs wrapped inside a blogspot blog that hasnR= 17;t been updated since early 2005, it’s still pulling and yielding 1= st page, 1st results in Google when you search his name.
For Businesses - it really is a very simple concept - You Have = Your Lead on Hand. What Lead, you ask? Your readers! Your readers are your lead. I say that because you already have a loyal fan base that trust you a= nd are willing to take and apply your suggestions, that is why they subscribed= to your blogs. Each time you launch a new business or service, your blog can a= ct as that medium to reach to your leads. And I can almost guarantee that if y= ou have set yourself as a reputable person and have been active with your read= ers, at least 85% of your lead will turn into customers without a problem.
It also gives your business life. If you go to a store and find two salesman – one is your friend and the other one a stranger. Who would you buy it from? Obviously your friend. The reason is simple – people like to buy products and services from peop= le they know. If you regularly participate and interact with your readers, you will be able to develop a relationship with your readers. This gives your business life. When potential clients and customers deal w= ith businesses they would like to know who is behind the product and or services they are buying from. If you are able to have a healthy relationship with y= our readers, it gives your business a face. When you promote your business, peo= ple know they are dealing with someone they know and might have been in touch personally via email and other forms of communication. This is a huge benef= it.
Personally, I think if you are going to promote a business or succeed online, a blog is a must. Cre= ating a blog for a business isn’t a want anymore, it has become= a need. A need that has proven to be of low operational cost and high yields.
Don”t have a blog for your business?=
Well, I’ll end with this generic rhetoric - “Ask me
How!”
May
11
How to get those awesome fonts on your website
Tired of Arial, Courier and Times New Roman? Yeah, we were too. There are a couple super simple solutions that we use on our projects <= /span>that allow the use of a wider range of fonts, without the viewer having to insta= ll the font itself. Although there are several solutions, we prefer Google Webfonts and TypeKit. Both solutions are standards compliant, and work about the same way: a script call is added to the heade= r of the site, and the font formatted in CSS.
Google Webfonts are free, which is really nice. They only encourage donations to the font designers. Google Webfonts library is gr= owing, and they’ve got a nice selection of serifs, sans-serifs, handwriting, etc. A little of everything. So far the I haven’t experienced a brows= er the fonts won’t display the fonts. I’ve tested Firefox 3.0+, IE 7.0+, and Safari.
Typekit is generally a paid service. They do offer a limited usage free option, but with the requirement that a “Typekit Badge” be displayed on the website. It’s a small, innocuous badge that won̵= 7;t deter from any website. But the free service does not allow access to all of their fonts. Since their prices are very reasonable, from $24.99 to $99.00 = per year, you wouldn’t be out much to jump in and try out their more expa= nded packages. Typekit’s greatest asset is its large font library and lang= uage options. It’s well worth the small amount of dough.
They also limit the number of page views, font access, and number of fon= ts you can use at one time. To clarify about the page views; they are guidelin= es and the company won’t shut off the fonts if you go over, they’ll just ask you to upgrade to the appropriate page view bracket. Seems fair to= me. You’re using their bandwidth when you use the service, and as everyone knows, bandwidth isn’t free. All restrictions aside, Typekit blows the competition away with their large font library, and notably comprehensive language selections.
Both options are a great tool for any web d= esigner. For years, we’ve had to use boring fonts to conform to all the browse= rs out there. Now there’s a really simple solution to maintain maximum S= EO and still have a lovely typeset.
May
10
Increase
Sales Through Effective Marketing
In order to properly market a Myrtle Beach Website you have to start with the design. Equally important to is define the right target audience. Then target this audience with accurate information and on-line marketing techniques that have proven to provide fr= esh visitors and increase customer retention.
Our Complete Myrtle Beach Website Marketing Service offers a unique way to create, increase= and optimize Myrtle B= each website traffic. We analyze your entire Myrtle Beach we= bsite to understand its overall marketing impact. We prioritize marketing issues and address these issues in order of importance. This allows us to utilize our marketing efforts to create the quickest, most accurate, and cost effective marketing solutions.
SEO: The main factors in creating an effective “Natural Search” environment is fresh content, a large amount of content relevant to the site’s purpose, accurate Meta-Tag creation and alternative tag usage, and site popularity. Marketing your Myrtle Beach website online is completely different from marketing your company in t= he traditional sense. The following methods are proven to generate visitors. By creating visitors you will create opportunities.
Learn more at h= ttp://myrtlebeachwebdesign.net
## Myrtle Bea=
ch Web
Designer
May
09
Affordable
Alternative to a Mobile Website.
The Growing Importance of Mobile Website Optimization
There’s no question that mobile devices have become a staple in everyday living around the world. Now more than ever it’s important t= hat websites be optimized for mobile devices. Mobile optimization can increase sales, generate more traffic, and boost customer engagement. It’ll gi= ve you an edge over the competition, too.
Q: What if I can’t afford a mobile website, or the cost to
convert my current website to a mobile version?
Hey, that’s understandable. Nowadays, alot of people’s
wallets are a little thin. Alot of good mobile browser software can b=
e a
little costly, usually paying per month. There are, however, so=
me
free software tools to design your mobile site, but hey, not everyone has t=
he
time, let alone the money.
Affordable Alternative
Even if you’re not web savy, there is a cheap alternative, actua=
lly
a free alternative, to having your website goto the mobile version if it is
visited by a mobile device.
Luckily, with the influx of smartphones, the iPhone and Droid browsers a= re pretty comprehensive, and will bring up a regular version of a website just fine. However, if your clientele encompasses an older generation, they may not have smartphones. Eitherway, this alternative can be a good o= ption for you.
Setup and Design a custom Blog.
Simply register a free blog= with Wordpress, or any other blogger. These blogs have mobile versions already built into them, so when it’s visited by a mobile device, it automatically optimizes the blog into a mobile version.
In your blog, setup a few pages with the same content on your website. J= ust include some of the main and important pages. (i.e., about us, servic= es, photos, contact page, etc..)
Install Script
Put this script into the [head] section of your website:
[script type=3D”text/javascript̶=
1;]
[!–
if (screen.width <=3D 699) {
document.location =3D “http://yourblog.wordpress.com“;
}
//–]
[/script[
Replace “yourblog” with your blog usernam=
e.
Put this script on every page of your website. Or, if your
site usually only returns the index page in the search engines, just put it=
on
the homepage.
This script basically tells the website that if it is visited by a screen with of a width of 699 or smaller, then to goto the blog page, which is alr= eady optimized for mobile browsing.
Creating a mobile version of your site doesn’t have to be
painful or expensive. In fact it’s typically a smaller version of your
existing website with a more simplistic design. The important thing is to
identify the key actions you want your customers to take when accessing your
mobile site.
May
07
A
great list of free website tools.
Here are a list of very useful t=
ools
and websites that any level of designer will appreciate. This is not a
definitive list by any means, but it’s a great start.
##
Myrtle Beach Web Design
May
07
Basic
SEO & Viral Marketing Checklist
Search Engine Optimiz=
ation (SEO)
and viral marketing are two cost-effective and highly popular ways to get t=
he
word out about your online business. After you create your Myrtle Beach Web site, f=
ollow this
checklist to make sure you aren’t forgetting anything when it comes to
optimizing your Myrtle Beach Web pages =
for
indexing by Google
•Put your keywords in the title. Choose the keywords that your customers are likely to enter when they are searching for sites like yours,= and make sure one or two (or more) appear in the titles of your Web pages.
•Sprinkle around those keywords. Make an effort to include your keywords in the headings on your pages, and in the text as well.
•Add meta tags. Meta tags are keywords added in the Head section o= f a Web page, between the <meta> and </meta> tags.
•Register your site with Google. Don’t wait for Google to fi= nd you. Add your site to Google’s database — and after that, to Bing’s and Yahoo!’s sites as well.
•Get on Facebook. Create a “fan page” for your busines= s on Facebook.
•Start Twittering. Promote your current sales and create special d= eals for those who find or follow you on Twitter.
•The history of the Web page is important. This includes the date = the page was first discovered by a search engine.
•Keep your Web page updated. The frequency with which the content = of the Web page changes is also important to SEO. This includes an average time between the changes, a number of changes in a time period, and a comparison= of a rate of change in a current time period with a rate of change in a previo= us time period.
•Keep your site growing. The number of new pages associated with t= he document matters as well.
•Get linked. Make sure your pages ink to other well-designed, cont= ent rich sites. The more links you have, the better your search results.
May
04
Today’s Websites - Clean, Clear, Simple.
Today’s
websites are a clear indication of what =
one
should expect to see as the web progresses. Most modern websites have a cle=
an,
simple layout. They are almost elegant. Careful contrasts, crisp colors, and
content-concentric — these new, shiny breed of websites are catching =
the
eyes of their visitors. A fine example is the Myrtle Beach Web Design web=
site Personally,
I love the color palette, the layout, the styling — it’s flawle=
ss.
:).Below is a list of features or layout & styling guidelines one
should strive to follow in order to achieve a clean, clear, simple, yet
effective website.
I could certainly go on for days,
but I think these are the main objectives to consider.
May
02
Note: If you haven’t read =
the
previously posted STEP One, or STEP Two, I strongly suggest taking a few minutes to review those
first.
After you have your site’s=
SEO
completed to the degree of your liking, there are a few last items to add.
Including a robots.txt, and a sitemap.xml, will help search
engines to know where to start indexing, and what not to index. Once these =
are
done, you should then be ready to submit your side for indexing.
Part 1: Descriptor Attributes - =
Alt
and Title
Just a quick note — you sh=
ould
include a Title Attribute within every link that you create. =
You
should also include both a Title Attribute and an Alt Attribute in <=
b>every
image tag you insert. It doesn’t matter what the link or image is=
for
— don’t question it — just do it! ![3D":)"](3D"blogentries_files/image001.gif")
Part
2: robots.txt
The robots.txt is a file which is
placed in the main directory of your website. It contains information which
tells legitimate search engines and bots what and what not to index. Below,=
is
an example of what the file may contain:
This example tells all search en=
gine
bots visiting the site to not index the admin directory, the cgi-bin
directory, and a specific file called myrtle-beach.html found within the we=
b-design-myrtle-beach
directory. There are a few other methods you can use, and to learn about th=
ose
I suggest reading the article: About
/robots.txt over at www.ro=
botstxt.org.
Part 3: sitemap.xml
The
<urlset<=
/a>
xmlns=3D”http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9″><=
br>
<
<
<=
changefreq>weekly</changefreq>
<priority>0.8</priority>
</url>
</urlset>
Fairly self-explanatory:
I suggest reading a little more
information about the sitemap.xml
at www.sitemaps.org
Part 4: Let the crawling begin!<=
br>
After completing the aforementio=
ned
steps, you are ready to submit your site to search engines for indexing. I
suggest starting with Google, MSN Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, Alexa.
After you have those set up and
ready to go, you should focus on link-building. It’s a little tricky =
at
first, but you will get the hang of it.
Questions? Need Help? Contact a
<=
b>Myrtle Beach Web Designer
today.
May
01
SEO Cr=
ash
Course : Step 2
STEP Two: During Development
Part 1: Keep your SEO goals in m=
ind.
Search engines love content. So =
be
sure to keep the SEO mindset throughout all phases of development. When you=
are
devising ways to deliver content, make sure it adheres to the styling and
layout instructions provided in STEP One.
Title Tags are one of the quintessential elements of SEO as it is =
the
first thing that search engines see when loading your page, and it is the f=
irst
thing people see in search engine results. The Title Tag should be descript=
ive
and to the point — for example, if your company name is
“Joe’s Shrimp Shack,” and it is located in Point Place,
Wisconsin, then you should obviously include those items in your title. Ano=
ther
thing of note is that the title is weighted by “most important”
first, meaning, whatever is most important — you will want to be first
(eg. Joe’s Shrimp Shack - Point Place, Wisconsin). This is just like =
the
order of importance within each page’s content, as mentioned in STEP One.
Part 2: Title Tags
One last thing about the Title T=
ag.
— A good practice to follow is preceding your company name and locati=
on
with a few keywords that quickly describe that page’s content. (eg.
Shrimp, Lobster, King Crab, All-You-Can-Eat, Family-Style Restaurant |
Joe’s Shrimp Shack - Point Place, WI). The suggested minimum and
maximum character values are between 10 and 80. Anything outside of that ra=
nge
will be penalized by search engines.
Mmm…Meta Tags.
Delicious. These are where most people make mistakes, and they are the most
misunderstood and misused factors of SEO I will now go over the correct
application of these tags.
Part 3: Meta Tags
There are a few main meta tags of
importance: description, keywords, and robots. Examples of other
commonly-used tags, such as author, copyright, or date; don’t actually
add any SEO value — they are typically added for internal use.
Technically, you could define a Meta Tag to be anything you want — as
long as it follows the standard setup.
Eg.<meta
name=3D”any-name-here” content=3D”any-content-here”=
>
________________________________=
___________________
So, the three Meta Tags we will
focus on are description, keywords, and robots. *You should ALWAYS include
these in EVERY page.
A great tool to use is —
something like this: http://www.submitexpress.com/analyzer/. I believe you will find it very helpful when trying to=
pin
down all of the appropriate values, and I also suggest to strive for 100% on
everything.
THE FINAL, MOST IMPORTANT THING:=
Make
sure that your title, keywords, and description ALL match whatever content =
is
being served on that page — perfectly.
Up nex
Tomorrow: Robots.txt, Sitemap.xml, and a few final important tag
attributes.
Apr
30
SEO Cr=
ash
Course : Step 1
There is a lot of ambiguity rela=
ted
to best practices of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This Crash Course will walk you through a proven
method developed by SEO experts. We will also explain why certain things mu=
st
be done, and in what order. Keep in mind, this is a simplified version of w=
hat
we actually do for our clients,
but it will certainly get you working in the right direction. This method w=
ill
work independently of which HTML editor you use, but it will require you to
have some knowledge of a few key ideas.
________________________________=
___________________
PREFACE:
A few key ideas prior to any SEO
Search Engines cannot read image=
s,
only text. So make sure that whatever you want people to be able to search =
for
on your page is in plain text, not part of an image. A good way to see your=
site’s
indexing capability is to view it in a browser with images turned off. This=
is
similar to the way that search engines “see” your site. Also, t=
ry
to avoid the use of flash as a means for delivering content, for search eng=
ines
will not index it.
Be familiar with the following H=
TML
tags; and all of their attributes (if any).
Be familiarized with the followi=
ng
files:
________________________________=
___________________
STEP One: Early Development of Your Site
Part 1: Naming Convention=
How you name your files is
important. It has been a long-standing tradition to place underscores (eg.
this_is_an_example.html) as separators of words, but it is better to use
hyphens (eg. this-is-an-example.html). The same goes for image files as wel=
l.
AND, be sure to name the file using key words found in the title. For examp=
le,
let’s say the title of the page is “Three Blind Mice.” Yo=
u would
want to name the page accordingly; three-blind-mice.html.
Part 2: Layout
From the very beginning, be sure=
to
have the idea of SEO in mind. Even the layout of a page has much to do with
indexability. Typically, the information provided by your page is weighted
according to its display position: more important towards the top, least
important towards the bottom.
<!–[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]–>
<!–[endif]–>
Part 3: Styling
Make sure to use tags, such as
heading and strong, to create a logical order of information (much like an
outline). When people visit a site; larger fonts and bolder text are typica=
lly
seen as main points or important ideas. This works the same way for search
engines — to a search engine, heading text is weighted heavily in rel=
ation
to the rest of page content.
One other thing that is benefici=
al
is the use of lists (ul, or ol tags). These are great for
SEO because they serve as a quick w=
ay
for search engines to get an idea of what the webpage is about and the content order. A lot of people like to=
use
styled lists as their page navigation. This is a great idea.
Part 4: KISS — Keep It Sim=
ple,
Stupid
The less code, the better. Be su=
re
to use external CSS files and external Javascript files. This will help sea=
rch
engines to expedite the indexing process because there is less
“junk” to sort through.
Step 2, Coming Tomorr=
ow!
Up next: Title, Meta Tag, and
Keyword concepts — also, important attributes of other tags.
Apr
28
Take
Advantage of Facebook Marketing
Facebook is, without a doubt, one of the most popular social networking sites in existence today. Practically everyone is on Facebook. Your friends, co-work= ers, even your parents have a Facebook account! With over 600 million users= , Facebook is now a force= to reckon with.
The birth of this social networking giant has also led to the coining of= a new term: Facebook Marketing. This is the science of marketing your products= and services using Facebook. Yes. This site has more uses than you can think of= !
Here are 4 of the many reasons why Facebook is such a powerful
marketing tool:
More than 600 million people have a Facebook account. =
This
is a number you just can’t ignore. With such a huge market the
possibilities are endless. A market of this size can make your business exp=
lode
– if you know how to play it right.
Get more personal with potential and existing customers. With a Facebook account = you will be able to interact more directly with your market. Through this, you = can let your consumers feel that you care for them and that what they have to s= ay matters. You’ll be able to address their concerns on a more intimate level. Facebook encourages interaction. It brings people together and gets = your customers engaged.
Useful Applications. It has all kinds of games and interesting quizzes that keep people entertained. Although these applicatio= ns are mainly for entertainment purposes you can also utilize them to promote = your brand.
Easily shared content. Anything you upload on your page= can be seen by your friends in their home page. This is a great marketing tool because every time you change your status or upload new videos or pictures = it immediately appears in their home page. And they won’t be able to hol= d it against you because that is just how Facebook works. Aside from this you can share videos or pictures to other people by “tagging” them.
Are you taking the full advantage of the power that Facebook Marketing has to offer? Contact a Myrtle = Beach Web Designer to start today!
Apr
27
FBI
Offers Unique Check for Online Virus.
More than half-million computers in the U.S. = may have been infected by a bug that will interrupt Internet service when the F= BI shuts down a temporary fix this summer.
In November, the FBI charged six
Estonian nationals and one Russian national for engaging in a massive and
sophisticated Internet fraud scheme that infected more than four million
computers located in more than 100 countries with malware, according to an =
FBI
press release.
Of the computers infected with
malware, at least 500,000 were in the United States, including computers
belonging to U.S. government agencies, such as NASA; educational institutio=
ns;
nonprofit organizations; commercial businesses; and predominantly individua=
ls.
According to the Seattle Times, the FBI set up a safety =
net
months ago using government computers to prevent Internet disruptions for t=
hose
infected, replacing the rogue servers with clean ones. But that system is
costing the government $87,000, and is to be shut down this summer.
The FBI is encouraging users to
visit a Web site run by its security partner, DCWG
The DCWG is an ad hoc group of
subject matter experts, including members from organizations such as Georgia
Tech, Internet Systems Consortium, Mandiant, National Cyber-Forensics and
Training Alliance, Neustar, Spamhaus, Team Cymru, Trend Micro, and the
University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The group was created specifical=
ly
to deal with this DNS Changer malware, and with a few mouse clicks, users c=
an
determine if their machine is infected and find out how to fix it.
The malware secretly altered the
settings on infected computers, enabling the defendants to digitally hijack
Internet searches and reroute computers to certain websites and advertiseme=
nts,
which entitled the defendants to be paid. The defendants subsequently recei=
ved
fees each time these websites or ads were clicked on or viewed by users.
The malware also prevented the
installation of antivirus software and operating system updates on infected
computers, leaving those computers and their users unable to detect or stop=
the
defendants’ malware, and exposing them to attacks by other viruses.
Here are some examples of what t=
he
malware did from the FBI’s release:
According to the article in the =
Seattle
Times, most victims don’t even know their computers have been
infected, although the malicious software probably has slowed their web sur=
fing
and disabled their antivirus software, making their machines more vulnerabl=
e to
other problems.
Apr
26
Having been in business designing websites since 2001, we have been asked thousands of questions relating to website design, hosting, marketing, and the Internet in general. We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions for you below… if you have a question, it very well could be answered here! If not, feel free to = contact us.
Q: What domain name should I choose?
A: This depends on how you are going to use it. If you are going to be
telling people over the phone, choose one that is easy to say and spell out
loud. Above all, choose one that is memorable and not confusing.
Q: How long will it take for my web site to be designed?&n=
bsp;
A: The timescale of a website design project is often dictated by the clien=
t.
If you have a deadline in mind we will do our very best to meet it for you.=
The
most common delay in the creation and completion of a new website is waiting
for content (text/images) to be sent to us by the client.
Q: Will we need to have a meeting in connection with the website
design?
A: In the majority of cases a meeting isn’t necessary and most of=
our
websites are generally completed with contact via email and telephone only.=
We
place suggested website desi=
gns onto
the Internet in a private place where only yourselves and us can view the
content. We then liaise with you regularly to discuss the web designs in or=
der
that the website design and functionality is exactly as you wish.
Q: Once my website design is completed -what aftersales service =
do
you offer?
A:We fully support any website we desig=
n and
are always available should you encounter any problems or require any
enhancements. We offer web
site maintenance and support so that your website need never get =
out
of date.
Q: Do I have to keep my website with you forever, or can I move =
it to
another supplier to host it if I wish?
A:You may move your website to a=
nother
web hosting service at any time. Once your website design <=
/a>has
been completed, we can send you a copy of the website on cd. This copy of y=
our
website is for your retention.
Q: In what format should I supply words and photographs about my
business for my new website?
A: It is helpful to us if you are able to provide text and photographs =
in
electronic form - for example, the files output by a digital camera and the
words in MS word or similar format. If this is not possible, we can help get
your information ready for use on the website.
Q: Will my website design be” Search Engine”
friendly?
A: All of our websites are created with search engines in mind and=
the
website design is compliant with search engine guidelines. It is a good idea
for your website to be re-evaluated in time as over a period of time the se=
arch
engines do alter their rules and algorithms
and you will want to be certain that your website is kept up to date and
complies with new rules etc.
Q: I run a small/medium size business and want an online presenc=
e to
promote my business in a professional manner to new customers and to provid=
e a
more professional image to existing customers. What do I need to achieve th=
is?
A: You need a professionally developed websit=
e,
a domain name, and hosting facilities for your website. You also need the
website to be uploaded onto your hosting facilities and promoted to the sea=
rch
engines.
Q: I hear that there are hidden costs associated with web design
services. Is this true?
A: No. We discuss with you your website requirements and then price accordi=
ngly
and once you have placed an order for your website design =
with
us, that price is strictly adhered to.
Q: Do I need a database on my website?
A: This will depend upon the amount of information you wish to be displ=
ayed
on your website. If you have many products/services, then it may be
advantageous to have a database incorporated into your website design. We w=
ill
discuss this in detail with you and if a database is advised we will explai=
n in
detail exactly how this will work. We can tailor your website design to suit your
specific requirements.
Q: Am I tied into JW Designs for any site maintenance =
or
updates I wish to do once my website is designed?
A: No once your website is designed it belongs to you and you can commission
anyone to update it for you - although of course we would like to think that
you are happy with our services and will continue to use us for your website
maintenance.
Q: Will everyone see my web site the same?
A: Your website visitors will see some things differently depending on
their browser, screen resolution setting and their individual computer sett=
ings
and toolbars. We design sites with that in mind and preview them in several
browser types and resolution settings before publishing. Obviously as
technology alters then eventually all websites may need reevaluation. =
Q: Can you provide all our web design and hosting services?
A: Yes - we are your one stop company to provide all your web services.=
No
more - not knowing who to call if you have problems - we can register your
domain name - design your website - provide your web hosting and arrange yo=
ur
email accounts for you.
Q: Can I see how many visitors I’ve had to my websit=
e?
A: Yes, we provide web tracking software which records where you
visitors are coming from and which pages they looked at, which search engin=
es
are being used, which phrases are being typed into which search engines and
many more interesting web tracking facts which you should find useful for
future marketing campaigns. If interested, ask about “Google
Analytics.”
Q: How much will a website cost me?
A: The cost of a web site varies depending on the site and complexity. A
small web site with just a few static pages would cost around $500 whereas a
full ecommerce website with a large number of pages and a CMS system could =
cost
any where between $800-$2000. If you give us a call we will be please the
discuss with your website design requirements and give you a
free quote.
Q: How many pages can I have on my web site?
Q: I already have a website and I need it updating, can you help
me?
A: Yes, we would be happy to look at you existing website and give you a
quote for updating it.
Q: Do you redesign existing websites?
A: Yes we do. We can re=
design,
retaining your company corporate style or we can redesign to give you a
complete new image. Is your website up to date - let us provide you a Free Website
Evaluation - we can redesign your website to take advantage of the late=
st
web technologies.
Q: What if I do not like the design?
A: If you do not like the design which we have suggested for you,=
we
will discuss further with a view to ascertaining what type of design you wo=
uld
like to see and then place another “suggested design” in your w=
eb
area for you to view. We would not like to think that you are not happy with
the final website design. Our
aim is to design for you a website specific to your requirements which you =
are
completely happy with.
Q: Who owns the website once the website design is complet=
ed? Apr 24 Boost
Your Business With Pinterest. Well, true, it may not be as popular as Facebook or Twitter, but
this virtual pinboard service is attracting plenty of eyeballs and hereR=
17;s
how to make it work for your business. One social site has captured the attention of the masses recently…=
and
it is not called Facebook or Twitter. Sure, the number of =
users
is clearly not as high as what you’d find on those two behemoths, but
Pinterest is gaining traction, especially with the female demographic. What’s the fascination? For Amy Larson, a special education teacher
who uses the site for about two hours per day, the whole purpose is in find=
ing
interesting design ideas. She pins pictures to her Pinterest board, where s=
he
has a few dozen followers, as a reminder about what is cool and stylish. An=
d,
by the way, she does not use Facebook much at all, which is more about form=
ing
social connections. “I love Pinterest because it’s like getting a whole bunc=
h of
magazines without adding clutter in my house and without the cost,” s=
he
says. “There are so many great ideas and recipes, and it’s all
organized on the computer so I can access my favorites at anytime.” ///////// Myrt=
le
Beach Web Design sta=
rting
as low as $399.99 ///////=
// Pinterest had an estimated 3.3 million unique visitors in the m=
onth
of October. While there’s no mechanism for potential customers to buy
your products directly from the site, consider the marketing potential: Pop=
ular
images (with links back to the original source) can get repinned on hundred=
s of
other users’ boards. Here are nine proven ways to attract the attention of people like Amy,
improve your click-throughs, and spread the word about a new product: 1. Spend the time “All of these repins and likes share a common interest, making =
it
easier to take the conversation to Twitter or Facebook to nurture the
relationship,” he says. “Like everything else, be real and show
your true self. Authenticity is hugely important.” 2. Keep it simple 3. Connect your physical presence with your online presence 4. Make sure your business is a match 5. Use other social nets to feed Pinterest=
6. Launch a daily pin theme 7. Promote more than products 8. Follow the big hitters 9. Selective curating ## Myrtle Beach Web Design<=
/i> Apr 23 When
Clients Get Funny Ahhh…we all need a laugh once in a while. Here are a=
few
excerpts from the website clientsfromhell.net
Don’t worry, these are meant to be FUN! :) —————————̵=
2;——————————=
212;—————– Client: “I don’t like the type.” Web Guy: “What don’t you like.” Client: “I don’t like how it goes all to one side.”=
; Web Guy: “You mean ranged left.” Client: “Yes, yes, arranged left.” Web Guy: “How do you want it?” Client: “To be the same on both sides.” Web Guy: “Justified?” Client: “I don’t have to justify anything for you. I own=
the
damn company.” Web Guy: “But what?” Client: “But the site is too black.” Web Guy: “Like, literally too black?” Client: “Yes. The background is too black.” Web Guy: “That’s not racist. That has nothing to do with
race.” Client: “Phew. I can never tell with you black people,
what’s offensive and what’s not.” Web Guy: “I’m actually Lebanese. And, yeah, that one mig=
ht
be a bit racist.” Client: “I’d like it much brighter. The white area in
particular needs brightening.” Web Guy: Those sites are almost all white.. Client: How about this Sprite can? Make the site look like this Spri=
te
can. Add some pink too, it’ll attract women. Client: Can you charge us for 30 minutes? Web Guy: No, the minimum charge is for one hour. Client: OK, no problem. Charge us for one hour, but add a 50% discou=
nt. —————————̵=
2;——————————=
212;—————– —————————̵=
2;——————————=
212;—————– Client: I love the headline but can’t you make it
more….punchy. Web Guy: I don’t think it’s going to get more punchy than
‘We Buy Gold’. Client: I want more with less! Web Guy: ‘Sell Gold’ Client: No, I absolutely hate that. The last one was better, just ma=
ke
it punchy. I want it to pop off the page. Web Guy: ‘We Buy Gold’ Client: There we go, wasn’t so hard! It’s just missing
something, can you make it more glamorous? The last thing we want is people=
to
think we’re low quality. Web Guy: ‘We Buy Gold’ Client: Perfection! —————————̵=
2;———————– Apr 22 The
Importance of an XML Sitemap. 1. Although adding a URL to the Sitemap file does not guarantee that a U=
RL
will be crawled or indexed, it can result in pages that the search engines =
had
not yet discovered or indexed get crawled or indexed. There are a few things to keep in mind. It is important to use the
correct canonical version of your URL (i.e. www vs. non-www.) and that you =
load
the XML Sitemap in the highest-level directory you want the search engines =
to
crawl. Don’t include multiple URLs that point to identical content,
simply pagination pages and low value pages. And make sure that none of the
URLs you include contain tracking parameters. There are many sites that offer=
free
XML Sitemaps. Generate the XML Sitemap, upload it the highest-level directory&nb=
sp;
of your website, and submit the sitemap in your =
Google
Webmaster Tools. Start 2011 off right. Check with your Myrtle Beach web designer =
to
see if they created an XML Sitemap for you. If not, ask them to do so right
away! Apr 20 Treat every webpage of your website as if it’s the
homepage. Everybody knows the importance of making a good & positive first
impression, but if you assume prospective customers first encounter yo=
ur website through its homepa=
ge,
think again. Natural search results drive users to individual pages that be=
st
match each user’s search query, and often that page is not your
site’s home=
page. On the more than 85+ websites I manage, nearly four of every 10
visitors enter the site from somewhere other than the homepage. They land o=
n a
page for a specific product or service, the About Us page, a=
page
for a blog entry or even t=
he Terms & Condi=
tions page. Unfortunately, most business owners and marketing managers focus 90 perc=
ent
of their attention and resources on designing a stunning homepage and treat=
the
other pages as an afterthought. Don’t make this mistake. Give every p=
age
the same care and attention you devote to your site’s homepage. Every page on your site should contain the following elements: • Company logo and tagline • Consistent navigation, including search • Call to actions both above and below the fold • Clear, concise, compelling and grammatically correct copy • Consistent design and color scheme to establish brand presence
• Advertisements to promote featured products, services and special
offers Check your website’s =
analytics
to identify where visitors most frequently enter your site, and ask yourself
whether each page channels visitors to the information you want them to see=
and
to the actions you want them to take. If any one of these pages fails to
support your business-related goals, it’s time to make some changes.<=
/p>
If you are unsure of your site’s purpose, this is the first issue =
to
tackle. You should have a clear purpose for your site before you build it, =
but
if you skipped that step, formulate a purpos=
e now. Apr 19 Why
Your Business Should Use Google Plus. Who wants to join another social
network, right? Don’t get me wrong, I think there are too many
social sites out there, but Google
Plus is different. I am not saying i=
t is
better or worse than Facebook or any other social website out there, what I am saying is that it is starting to
become really popular. And whether you like it or not, it’s going to
become a new channel for you to promote your business. Google recently launched =
business
profiles for Google
Plus, and here are a few ways to
leverage <=
span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast=
-font-family:
"Times New Roman"'>Google Plus to
benefit your business: Step
#1: Sign up If you have a
Google Plus profile, you are already off to a
great start. If you don’t, go here and sign up. As a heads up, there =
are
two things that are required before you can signup: Step
#2: Create your profile Just because your profile is
supposed to be about you, that doesn’t mean you can’t also use =
it
to promote your business. Here is how I would go about creating an effective
Google Plus profile: Step
#3: Add friends The trick with having a popular
social profile is to have a ton of friends. There are two main camps when it
comes to adding friends… the first is to only add people you know, and
the second is to add anyone. I personally prefer the second o=
ne
and although you may consider it spamming, I’ve actually closed a few=
business
deals from random people that I have added as a friend on social sites like=
Facebook and Twitter. Ideally, what you want to do is =
add
everyone in your address book–as those are people you probably know. =
Once
you do that I would search for people that you feel would be interested in
getting to know you or your business. If you do this for a few weeks you sh=
ould
easily be able to get to over 1000 people who will befriend you. Step
#4: Join the conversation When your friends post stuff on
Google Plus, you should be checking out what they have to say. Granted, at =
this
point you probably are following too many people where you won’t be a=
ble
to keep track of every conversation, but you should be able to keep track o=
f a
few. If you like a conversation make =
sure
you “plus it”, comment, or share it with your friends. By doing
this more people on Google Plus will get to know you. And if you ever share
something with people that aren’t on Google Plus yet, it will email t=
hem
every time you have something to share. Step
#5: Create conversations Joining the conversation isnR=
17;t
enough. You also need to create conversations. One way I do this is by post=
ing
on my own profile so that all of my friends can see what I am thinking. Some of the things you may want =
to
post are status updates, quotes from famous people, things related to your
business, and just random things from your daily life. If you can post
something on your profile on a daily basis you should be able to get a good
amount of your friends engaged on your profile. At the same time you need to mon=
itor
which of your friends are engaging your profile so you can reciprocate and
engage on theirs every once in a while. Step
#6: Promote, promote, and promote Now that you have an engaged
audience, you can now promote your business.
There are two main ways you can do this: The first is to make posts on Go=
ogle
Plus and link to your business or website. By doing so you’ll start to get more people more
familiar with your business and what you do. If your business has a blog th=
is
can be very effective. The second way to promote your
business through Google Plus is by adding a Google
Plus Button to your website. The more people that click the “Plus Button̶=
1;
the more traffic you’ll get from the social site. In addition to that=
the
more people that click on the button, the more traffic you’ll get from
the Google search engine. Google has actually added Google Plus stats in yo=
ur
Webmaster Tools account so you can see how the button is actually affecting
your search engine traffic in a positive way. Conclusion It doesn’t matter if you t=
hink
Google Plus is a hit or miss, it is an effective tool to use to promote your
business. Hopefully this blog post has
convinced you to join Google Plus and use it. In the long run I think it wi=
ll
be a large part of Google’s algorithm when it comes to determining how
high your website rankings on
their search engine. As I mentioned earlier, if you d=
on’t
have a Google Plus invite, just leave a comment with your Gmail email addre=
ss
and I will invite you. PS: If you want to add me as a friend on Google Plus, click
here. Apr 18 Avoid these common mistakes 1. Having no value proposition: =
Try
not to assume that a site should rank #1 without knowing why it’s hel=
pful
to searchers (and better than the competition 2. Segmented approach: Be =
wary
of setting 3. Time-consuming workarounds: A=
void
implementing a hack rather than researching new features or best practices =
that
could simplify development (e.g., changing the timestamp on an updated URL =
so
it’s crawled more quickly instead of easily submitting the URL through
Fetch as Googlebot). 4. Caught in SEO trends: Consider
spending less time obsessing about the latest “trick” to boost =
your
rankings and instead focus on the fundamental tasks/efforts that will bring
lasting visitors. 5. Slow iteration: Aim to be agi=
le
rather than promote an environment where the infrastructure and/or processes
make improving your site, or even testing possible improvements, difficult.=
Six fundamental SEO tips 1. Do something cool: Make sure =
your
website
stands out from the competition — in a good way! 2. Include relevant words in your
copy: Try to put yourself in the shoes of searchers. What would they query =
to
find you? Your name/business name, location, products, etc., are important.
It’s also helpful to use the same terms in your site that your users
might type (e.g., you might be a trained “website designer̶=
1;
but most searchers might type [myrtle
beach web design]), an=
d to
answer the questions they might have (e.g., prices, portfolio, hosting, reviews 3. Be smart about your tags and =
site
architecture: Create unique title tags and meta descriptions; include Rich
Snippets markup from schema.org where appropriate. Have intuitive navigation
and good internal links. 4. Sign up for email forwarding =
in Google
Webmaster Tools: Help
Google communicate with you, especially when they notice something awry with
your site. 5. Attract buzz: Natural links, =
+1s,
likes, follows… In every business there’s something compelling,
interesting, entertaining, or surprising that you can offer or share with y=
our
users. Provide a helpful service, tell fun stories, paint a vivid picture a=
nd
users will share and reshare your content. 6. Stay fresh and relevant: Keep
content up-to-date and consider options such as building a social media
presence (if that’s where a potential audience exists) or creating an
ideal mobile experience if your users are often on-the-go. Good luck to everyone! Apr 17 Web
Designers vs. Web Developers Let’s be honest. Being a web
developer or a web desi=
gner doesn’t
exactly give you an edge with the pretty girls (or guys) at your local pick=
up
bar. If you were a part-time firefighter or investment banker, maybe.
Nevertheless, the feud continues between web designers and web developers over which
profession is the true calling. Like the yin and yang, these two are in
constant battle to prove their dominance over the other, even when they work
closely together. Apr 16 Website
Re-Design Considerations There are 5 different ways to approach your website red=
esign and
each have their benefits depending on what you want from the project. Have a
look at the options below and decide which one would suit your needs best.<=
/strong> REDESIGN RESTRUCTURE RETHINK REBRAND PICK AND MIX Grow Your Business with a Website Re-design Apr 15 A Closer Look @ Typography, the Font Phenomena. Letters, words, logos, and texts. Typography has crept into our lives
whether we like it or not. But what exactly is typography? Typography is considered an art form which uses typef=
aces,
point size, leading, line spacing, kerning and tracking. It’s everywh=
ere
from books to billboards and everything in between. In a society where lang=
uage
is a cultural identity, texts are extremely important. I don’t see wh=
y I
would have to explain, but you might not have noticed. Our world is run by
typos. In creati=
ng
texts, such as those seen in regular books or those employed in business and
product logo, all require fonts.=
Fonts
not only refer to the style but also to the size and the spacing in between=
the
letters. Fonts have gone a long way from its early printing days to the many quir=
ky
fonts we see today. Although changes have taken place, fonts generally still
carry the same philosophy and that is efficiency. Many companies rely on their marketing and branding strategists to rake =
in
profits, and a big part in branding is the Logo design of a company. As
consumers, we don’t normally think about it, we merely think of a bra=
nd
logo as just a logo, but a lot of thought actually goes into designing one.=
Think
of it as a perpetual representation of your brand, it needs to be scrutiniz=
ed
and probably rehashed at some point, if necessary. Successful brands like The Coca Cola Company, more than the alliteration,
have successfully created a logo
that is etched in the minds of many, before they were successful though, th=
ey
had to create an image that would be engraved in the consciousness of every=
one
during that time. And that kind of situation makes typography an interesting
study – for a little while, at least. Let us take the case of Coca-Cola, imbibed with the spirit and youthfuln=
ess
of America during that time, it must have been a challenge to conceptualize=
a
logo that would change very little over the years. It had to appeal a little
bit to the younger generation, that’s why I think that the designers
incorporated the swirly font onto the design aesthetics of the logo. The
spacing and size matter as well, too far apart and the word mark would not =
seem
balanced, too close together and you lose the seriousness to the brand. Whe=
n letters
in a word are closer to each other, they risk now being read as well.
Therefore, the brain will have to make more effort to process the informati=
on
at hand, this would’ve been okay, except your competition has a logo =
that
it better read. Websites are also dominated by texts,=
with
a larger canvas to play with, fonts can be any type in this kind of setting=
. Of
course, you would have to have a concrete design idea to play around with t=
he
fonts and the styles, but the more detail you put in, the more accessible y=
our
identity is. We can take the Facebook logo as an example of this. Throughout
the years, we have seen how Facebook leveraged on exclusivity and, at the s=
ame
time, the social experience of putting your relationship status on your pag=
e.
The facebook logo has so
simply put it in a very apt way. Fun and Cool. ## Myrtle Beach Web Design Apr 10 Facebook snapped up the hugely popular photo-sharing app Instagram Monda=
y,
for roughly $1 billion in a combination of cash and stock. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the acquisition in a post on his
Facebook Timeline Monday. The sale is expected to close later this quarter, and will bring the
nine-person staff of Instagram to the social network. “For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for
sharing photos with your friends and family,” Zuckerberg said in the
post. “Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the
Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mob=
ile
photos with people based on your interests.” Zuckerberg went on to say that the company will be building on
Instagram’s strengths and features and growing the app independently
rather than “just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.”=
; Facebook plans on keeping features within the app that allow photos to be
published on other social networks, and the ability to have followers and
follow people who are not necessarily your Facebook friends. Nov 22 Myrtle Beach Website Design:: Understanding Reciprocal a=
nd
Non-Reciprocal Links Non-Reciprocal links =
Reciprocal links Here’s the back story. In
order to boost their site’s rankings with the sheer number of inbound
links many webmasters had agreed to reciprocal link exchanges. Howeve=
r,
because many of these links were not relevant , they were disregarde=
d in
the last Google update. That meant that although the irrelevant inbound link
was ignored, the outbound link still got counted and this diluted the relev=
ancy
score of many sites. The result was that many sites dropped off the Google =
map
during the last Google update. Reciprocal Links from the seobook.com
glossary Reciprocal link checkers<=
/b> Blogging for money It’s Google’s search
engine and they have every right to say that if you sell links, they might
penalize you. Google is not telling site owners what to do with their websites. Goog=
le
is telling site owners what to do if they are concerned about doing better =
in
Google. If you don’t care about Google and page rank then get involved
with services like ReviewMe, Text Link Ads, Smorty, and PayPerPost, and sell
all the links you want. But if you don’t want to be harmed in Google =
PR
updates then don’t sell links and don’t link to sites that do.<=
o:p> Linking Strategy (1) Links add valuable content to
your site and we know that search engines (as well as people) love great
content. The best linking strategy is to get a lot of non-reciprocal links =
(or
one-way links), which are also relevant links to your site from high ranking
and popular sites. When your site receives a lot of quality non-reciprocal
links, the search engines consider your websites and the web pages that rec=
eive
these inbound quality links as containing highly valuable web content. (3) Exchanging relevant,
high-quality reciprocal links with other related sites is another method of
driving targeted traffic to your site. Exercise caution when agreeing to
reciprocal linking because in the last Google update, reciprocal links were=
one
of the targets of the search engine’s latest filter. (4) Before
you consider reciprocal linking to sites, consider your reader’s
perspective and whether the proposed links provide value to them. If the si=
tes
are related to your site, then it could make sense because the links are
organic and useful, but reciprocal linking between dozens or hundreds of si=
tes,
however, is unlikely to provide reader value. (5) Search engines like Google&n=
bsp;
use link popularity as a method of ranking your site in th=
eir
results. The more related sites that link to your site (especially high tra=
ffic
sites relevant to your field), the higher on the page your site will appear
when someone searches on “your” keywords. Need
help with the SEO on your website? Contact Myrtle Beach Web
Design. Search
Engine Friendly Websites On an almost weekly basis, I am confronted with the question of “h=
ow
much should I pay for Search Engine Optimization.” Well, the answer is pretty complex, based upon alot of factors.
However, if a website is being designed from scratch or re-designed, you
shouldn’t have to pay anything extra. Web Designers should build “search engine friendly” websites=
.
The factors that go into this are typically standard from a web-designers
standpoint. Now, if you have a website that you are pleased with and simply want some
SEO work done, well, that’s different. An SEO expert or web
designer will have to go into every web page and do the SEO work by making
changes, adding scripts, editting codes, etc.., and this can be costly. Building a search engine friendly website, from scratch, is not
complicated. It’s as easy as following the normal standards a w=
eb
designer would follow in any web design from scratch or re-design. So,
don’t be tricked into paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars ex=
tra
if a web designer is re-design, or designing your new website from scratch.=
SEO covers a large spectrum of things that go way beyond a “search
engine friendly” website. This includes backlinks, blogging, so=
cial
media and so much more. But from a website design perspective,
designing a search engine friendly website should not cost you anything
additional. Designing a search engine friendly website can yield you decent results =
in
the search engine, however, if you want to be on the 1st page of Google, do
expect to pay more. Nov 16 Jump
on the Social Media Bandwagon! So it goes without saying that Facebook
and Twitter are the popular
social media platforms today. Millions of people are routinely
checking/updating their status. For example, if you were to watch TV during=
a
commercial break from your favorite TV show odds are you’ll find where
auto companies such as Toyota & Ford for example are using Facebook to =
get
“Fans”. This method becomes useful to businesses such as
restaurants, clubs etc. JW Desi=
gns
is a social media marketing company in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that
provides social media marketing services to a host of companies around the
country. Marketing is our passion. We would love to help you develop a stra=
tegy
to be successful in social media. To receive a custom quote for services contact us =
via
email or call us at 843.995.4094. Of course, you can also find us on
Facebook and Twitter! Social media has
established a strong foothold in the realm of internet marketing. Companies=
who
want to be successful online must embrace this form of communication. What =
started
out as a way for individuals to share information within their personal net=
work
has turned into a way for businesses to be brought before an expanding audi=
ence
by way of viral distribution. You may have been inundated by terms like ’syndication’,
‘aggregation’, ‘podcasting’,
‘micro-blogging’, ‘viral’, and ‘mashup’=
. We
understand what these terms mean, and how these tools are used in social me=
dia
marketing. A majority of companies do not use Facebook (for example) to it’s =
full
potential. JW Designs can
design or modify your facebo=
ok fan
page so that you can generate leads direct from Facebook, without having
the user leave the comfort of their social media platform. JW Designs can work any scale of proj=
ects,
from setting up your custom Facebook page, application development to social
media marketing management on a repetitive basis. Nov 15 Better and More advanced Web Applications with HTML5 The momentum behind HTML5 is building rapidly. Yes, there are a few big
names like Apple that are driving this popularity, but there is absolutely =
no
doubt that HTML5 brings plenty of benefits to the table and goes a long way=
in
improving the functional quality of web applications. Let’s take a look at how HTML5 is improving web applications. Enhanced typography and font customization Consistent Specifications Enhanced Graphical Interactivity Unified Environment One of the core ideas behind HTML5 and all that it brings to the table is
not just making things easier for web
designers and producing advanced web applications, but also to bring ab=
out
a convergence of web and desktop applications. HTML5 seeks to get rid of
developers’ dependence on third party plugins and extensions. For now,
this is a work in progress, but there is no doubt that with the various
benefits of HTML5, there is going to be a revolutionary change in not only =
the
way web applications are developed but also in the web applications themsel=
ves. Read more: http://themyr=
tlebeachwebdesign.com/ Nov 14 We
Design Highly Effective Websites. You have less than 3 seconds to =
keep
a user on your Myrtle
Beach website. How =
will
you manage to grab their attention? We are experts in designing & building highly effective
Myrtle Beach websites. We take a bottom-line approach to
each project, focusing on the client’s specific business goals and the
best ways to achieve them online. Our
clients consistently see increased traff=
ic,
enhanced brand loyalty and new leads thanks to our work. We strive to create professional Myrtle Beach web site designs that wi=
ll
effectively promote our clients products and services to their target audie=
nce.
Our eye-catching and professional web site designs will make your website s=
tand
out to your site visitors and accomplish the website goals you have created=
! Visit us at http://ww=
w.themyrtlebeachwebdesign.com Nov 12 Myrtle
Beach Website Re-Design Is your website in need of a facelift? First impressions are crucial, especially on the Internet. After all, th=
ey
don’t call it “browsing” for nothing. Website visitors are
very fickle, so if your website looks more like a flea market than the
professional company you know it is, people will leave within seconds. Myrtle Beach Web Design can take=
your
existing website and transform it into an attractive, professional and lead
generating business development tool or if you don’t have a website,
we’d be happy to design one for you. Our Myrtle Beach website design
services are available as a standalone service, but for an all inclusive
web strategy, we encourage adding one of our SEO packages as a package deal=
. Nov 11 SEO Tip of the Day: Page Speed Matters in SEO=
Why does the speed of a web page help to determine how well it will do in
search engine results pages (SERPs)? In short, Google wants to deliver the =
best
possible result to the user for the question asked in the shortest amount of
time. (Ever notice that Google proudly displays how long it took to show you
results?) Improving your website’s performance is a great way to start seeing
improvements in your SEO campaign. Contact JW
Designs to learn more about optimizing your website with compress=
ion,
caching, background sprites and more! ## Myrtle Beach Website Design Nov 10 How
to Use Google Places for Your Business It is a well-known fact that the vast majority of consumers turn to the
internet when looking for local businesses. Google has also told us that
¾ of all online activity is related to local content. This is of vast
importance for local businesses which depend on the search engine giant to
drive people through their doors, to generate phone calls and to increase t=
he
awareness regarding their brands. Most local businesses spend a good deal of money and time fine-tuning th=
eir
paid search campaigns and SEO strategies. However, many are not realizing o=
ne
of the most valuable and cost-free tools Google has, is Google Places.=
This
service was first offered by Google several years ago this fall to rep=
lace
the Google Local service. The nice thing about Places is the fact that it is
totally free and quite easy to set up. To get started with Google Places you will have to submit your basic info
including your business name, website URL, description of your business,
category, hours of operation, telephone number, payment options you accept =
and
a photo or video which highlights your business. You are allowed to add up =
to
ten images and five videos. The more info you enter about your business the
better your organic rankings will be in Places but avoid keyword stuffing as
Google could remove your listing. It’s also important to be specific =
when
adding your business description. Avoid saying things like “we’=
ve
been in business for over two decades” or “we’re the best=
dog
groomer in the city”. Once you have set up your account and have finished entering your busine=
ss
information, Google will send you a PIN verification number by mail (postca=
rd)
SMS or via a phone call, the choice is yours. You will need to log into Pla=
ces
and enter your Pin next to the business listing you created and then
you’re done. It will take Google 30 days from the time you enter your=
PIN
to verify your business. It’s important to know that Google Places only lists seven busines=
ses
per search with its red place markers marked A through G. This means that t=
hose
business similar to yours which have listed themselves on Places before you=
did
get the place markers. Listing your business as soon as possible is the way=
to
go so that you can claim one of the coveted 7 place markers. Another way to=
get
into the top seven is to encourage customer reviews because the more reviews
you get, the more likely you’ll land in the top seven. You can check to see if your business is listed in Places by searching f=
or
your phone number in Google maps. If it shows up, then that’s great!
There really isn’t any reason not to use Places as it provides a great
way for customers to find you which will most likely convert into sales and
business prominence. Need help with your SEO and Advertising? Contact the SEO experts a=
t http://www.myrtlebeachwebdesig=
n.net Nov 09 One of the biggest mistakes a webmaster and their clients can make is us=
ing
the same exact canonical URL on every page, usually by
applying it to a global include file. Why is this bad? Establishing a canonical relationship
tells Google to give all SEO credit to the URL listed in the canonical stri=
ng
and not to index other variations of the URL of the current page. Online stores tend to have thousands of product pages and sometimes each
product or category has more than one URL that can show the exact same prod=
uct
page. The following URLs bring up the same exact page, but are considered to h=
ave
“duplicate content”. In this case, the canonical URL tells Google to essentially ignore all o=
ther
versions of this page except the one the SEO developer wants indexed. The same SEO theory can be applied to your home page: http://www.themyrtle=
beachwebdesign.com/ Want to learn more about the ways JW Designs can help you reach
your SEO goals? Contact
us today! Nov 09 Making the Decision to Choose a Myrtle Beach Web Designe=
r Price Don’t let a low price fool
you, either, a custom design from a terrible designer for $100 is not a good
idea when you can buy a well-designed template for $30 and just put your logo on it=
. One more consideration, price-wi=
se,
is whether they charge hourly or per-project. Project pricing has the advan=
tage
that you know exactly what the costs will be, whereas hourly has the advant=
age
that you only pay for however much time is spent. It’s a delicate
balance, I prefer project pricing for
the certainty of it. Relevant Experience Bringing it all together If your budget is more flexible,=
you
have more choice. Whether to hire design and development separately is up to
you, and will depend on whether you can find someone with all the necessary
skills that you feel comfortable working with. In the end, only you can know
exactly which things are most important to you. Some combination of the abo=
ve
should go a long way to helping you decide, however. If the series has given
you something to think about, or you need more guidance, feel free to leave=
a
comment. ## Myrtle
Beach Web Design JW Designs, LLC is a full-service
web design, website maintenance, website hosting and Internet marketing
company. We are located in the Myrtle Beach, SC area but we service over 200
clients nationwide. Since 2005, we have helped design and establish website=
s,
logos, marketing campaigns and corporate identities for professionals, lawy=
ers,
corporations, contractors, health care providers, manufacturers and many ot=
hers
in between.Our biggest source of new business has always been referrals for=
one
simple reason: we get results. We strives to create professional web
site designs that will effectively promote our clients products and service=
s to
their target audience. Our eye-catching and professional web site designs w=
ill
make your website stand out to your site visitors and accomplish the website
goals you have created! Nov 08 Can I afford a web site in today’s economy?=
There’s no doubt about it - today’s economy is
Tough! Can You Afford A Web Site? As a [Myrtle Beach] small business owner you might ask, “Can I aff=
ord
a web site in
today’s economy? Do I really need one now, when every penny
counts?” According to Tory Johnson, small business expert & workplace contrib=
utor
to ABC’s Good Morning America, “The first thing every business
needs is a web site, even if you’re not selling something online, bec=
ause
that’s where we all go for information.” What Makes a Web Site Affordable to Small Business? First
let’s take a look at what makes a web site unaffordable. •You can’t afford a website that looks amateurish or
unprofessional, because your business image will suffer. Can You Afford Not to Have a Web Site? You owe it to yourself to make this your most profitable time yet a=
nd a
well-planned, well-designed professional web site c=
an
help make that goal a reality. Your [Myrtle Beach] web =
site can
start you on the way to your most prosperous year ever! Nov 06 A
Great, Free, Alternative to Photoshop. GIMP is the open-source reference in
image manipulation. This free application =
will
allow you to retouch, author and edit your photos thanks to a wide set of
tools. Let’s quickly go through what you can do with GIMP. The painting
function has the essential clone, airbrush and pencil tools and a powerful
gradient and blend tool. You can also create and save your own brushes and
patterns for later use. GIMP lets you
manipulate your photos, adding layers, doing Bezier and polygonal selection=
s or
setting text. Load and save animations in a frame-as-layer format and batch
process all your photos for quick editing. The multi-windowed interface can=
be
moved around to fit your needs and resized according to your desktop space<=
/p>
What’s more, GIMP can be expanded with over 100 different plug-ins=
and
extensions available on the GIMP’s website. These apply in majority f=
or
layer effects such as render, distort or blur and make a great addition to =
the
ones already present in the program. The website is also home to a variety =
of
GIMP tutorials for people who want to brush up on their skills. GIMP is a program we recommend. Whe=
ther
you’re out of dough or are looking for a free
alternative to Photoshop, GIMP is excellent image manipulation software
with all the tools you’d expect. The friendly interface and expandabi=
lity
make this a program of choice The volunteer developers of The GIMP have been working hard to develop a
polished, user-friendly, and freely distributed image editor. Although the
separated palette windows may disturb those users who are used to more
traditional layouts, your comfort level should grow exponentially as you di=
scover
how pain-free the program is. One of the most powerful general-purpose image editors around, the upgra=
des
make the GNU Image Manipulation Program eminently comparable to Photoshop.
Older features include channels, layers and masks, filters and effects, tab=
bed
palettes, editable text tools, perspective clone, improved printing, and co=
lor
operations such as levels. New improvements include GEGL integration for 32=
-bit
color support, dynamic brushes, and more options for the free select tool. =
It
even has regex-based pattern matching for power users. The application provides professional tools that can stand against the b=
ig
boys without the hefty price tag. Even the installation process has gotten
simpler, with no need to download and install the GTX Runtime Environment
separately. Extremely powerful and easy to work with, GIMP is ideal for both
amateur and pro photographers, Web
designers, or anyone who wants to create and edit professional-quality
digital images on a budget. Nov 05 Your website - is your phone number on every page? Nov 04 10
Things that Every Website Needs Wheth=
er JW
Designs, LLC creates your Myrtle Beach website or not, there are sever=
al
things that every website needs to have in order to be successful. There are
many more actually but these are essential: 1.&nb=
sp;
Summa=
rize
what you do. Your=
home
page should have a 1-3 sentence paragraph explaining what your company or
organization does. People need to know when they get to your site if
they’ve found what they’re looking for. Doing this keeps them on
your website. 2.&nb=
sp;
Your
address and phone number. This seems obvious but many sites forget this or don’t want to
reveal where they are located. It looks suspicious if you do not include th=
is
information. It also helps to show a picture of your building so that you l=
ook
like a legit company. Having a Google Map embedded in your site is even one
step better. Make it easy for people to contact you - we’re all humans
after all. 3.&nb=
sp;
Your
hours. One =
main
reason people go to =
Myrtle Beach
website is to
find out hours and location. Don’t frustrate them by not providing th=
is.
It’ll also can cut down on repetitive phone calls that are just for t=
his
information - saving you time and money. 4.&nb=
sp;
A sea=
rch
form. Some
people go to websites, first look for the search box and do a search rather
than try fiddling with the navigation. Make sure your site works for all ki=
nds
of site visitors. 5.&nb=
sp;
A site
map. This
page is useful for search engines that come to “spider” your Myrtle Beach website. You want to make sure they =
find
every page. Some site visitors also go to this page to find what they’=
;re
looking for. 6.&nb=
sp;
Google
Analytics. This=
is
a useful tool for seeing how people use your site. You can tell where people
are going, what’s the most important thing on the site (and least
important) and from what page they leave your site - hopefully it’s n=
ot
the home page! 7.&nb=
sp;
Useful
title tags. Does
your home page’s title say “Untitled Document?” Do you kn=
ow
many people who go to search engines and search for “Untitled
Document?” Well, they don’t of course. So make it something use=
ful.
Include your company name, some keywords of what you do (3-4 of them) and y=
our
geographic location. 8.&nb=
sp;
Search
engine friendly URLs. Your=
URL
shouldn’t contain things like question marks unless it’s absolu=
tely
necessary. It should have the title of the page in the URL (if possible) and
end with “.html”. Your site will rank much better. 9.&nb=
sp;
Good
copy. The =
text
on your Myrtle Beach
website shoul=
d be
professionally written so that it’s easy for people to scan (no long
paragraphs), be in the same voice and contain the right keywords on the rig=
ht
pages. 10.&nb=
sp; An area on the home page to
update. Your
should plan your Myrtle Beach
website so th=
at
there’s a place for you to update with new information. You should ch=
ange
it often (at least monthly) and you should provide something useful there. =
When
people come to your site, they should see it change on a regular basis. Doi=
ng
this also keeps search engines coming to your site to see what has changed.=
The
more often you change it, the more often they come. And there is a lot more that =
can
be done but please make sure your site at least has these items. &n=
bsp;
Need help with your Myrtle Beach Web Design=
? Visit us at http://www.myrtlebeachwebdesig=
n.net Nov 03 How
to save money on Google Adwords PPC What is Google Adwords? Google AdWords is a service that lets you create and run ads for
your business, quickly and simply. Run your ads on Google and our
advertising network — no matter what your budget, you’ll only p=
ay
when people click your ads. Just visit https://adwords.goog=
le.com
to get started. How it works - AdWords ads are display=
ed
along with search results when someone searches Google using one of your
keywords. Ads appear under ‘Sponsored links’ in the side column=
of
a search page, and may also appear in additional positions above the free
search results. That way, you’ll be advertising to an audience
that’s already interested in your business. You can also choose to
display your ads on Display Network sites in the growing G=
oogle
Network. And, you can choose the exact Display Network placements where
you’d like your ad to appear, or you can let =
contextual
targeting match your keywords to content. You can choose from a variety of ad formats, including text, image, and
video ads, and easily track your ad performance using the reports available=
in
your account. Cost: There’s no minimum monthly charge with AdWo=
rds.
Learn more about the c=
ost of
advertising with Google AdWords. It’s really quite simple. Google Ad campaigns run off a daily
budget, that you set. The higher the budget, the better results,
impressions and clicks you will get. However, this can become quite expensive. But here’s a tip:<=
/p>
Google Adwords frequently sends out “$100 Adword Gift
Certificates” Basically, this gives the user $100 in
advertising credits, for free. Nov 02 Why are your prices so low for your Excellent Quality? A=
re
there hidden charges? So you want a great webs=
ite
but you don’t have $10,000 to $100,000 to throw into it? That’s=
no
problem..we can definitely help you. Our prices are lower than other Myrtle Beach web design <=
/a>firms
and even some freelancers. All of our clients
think that our prices
are perfect. They are low enough to be affordable and in today’s
economy, that’s what small businesses need. We strive to give y=
ou
exactly what you are looking for and to do it at a price that you want to p=
ay. Before jumping into anything, we would love for you to take a look at our
rates and then either get a quote from some other Myrtle Beach Web Design&n=
bsp;firms
or search around the Internet for some web design & development
“averages”. Myrtle Beach Web Design “Averages” Clients- The =
first
thing to consider is the importance of our clients=
. We b=
elieve
that our clients always come first. We like to be able to cater to their ne=
eds
and wants. Without clients, we have no business. Without business, we cannot
make money. So with that in mind, we always make sure we take care of them =
and
we are sure they would recommend us through word of mouth which in-turn bri=
ngs
our marketing cost down. Pr=
omotion
and Advertising - We choose the way we promote our web design business very carefully a=
nd
ensure every promotional dollar pays for itself. We’ve spent a lot of
time researching in this field. This is what our business is about, “=
Web Design and Internet Promotion=
“=
;. So,
we take this to the extreme. We find the absolute best values for money, as
well as the most popular ones that may cost a little more. We look at every
different angle of advertising and promoting in order to promote our company
and to keep expenses down while keeping prices low. Co-Creation ̵=
1; We
need your support to finish the website in a timely manner to keep our costs
down. For this to happen, we expect you to give us contents on time and all
milestone that requires your action, such as approving design mockups or web design =
changes
acknowledged on time. Home-Based Offices - Thi=
s is
another arrangement that enables us to save on the monthly rent for an
extravagant office space and related bills so that we can share the savings
with <=
span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>our clients such as
yourself by charging much lower prices than majority of our competitors. Plus, We love what we do - In addition to the above anoth=
er
reason why our prices are so low is…WE JUST LOVE TO BUILD WEBSITES! Check us out at http:=
//www.themyrtlebeachwebdesign.com Oct 31 Do iframes hurt SEO? Here is a definition for “IFRAME”
from Wikipedia: “IFRAME (from inline frame) is an HTML element which makes it poss=
ible
to embed another HTML document inside the main document… IFrames are =
more
commonly used to insert content (for instance an advertisement) from another
website into the current page.” A few examples of sites using an IFRAME are: From a search engine optimization point of view, the use of the IFRAME is
problematic for several reasons. First, whenever a search engine spiders th=
e content
that’s within an IFRAME, the search engine will normally link to the
IFRAMED page itself instead of the “master” page it is housed
within. Often, this means searchers are delivered to a page without site
navigation. This is not optimal for keeping the attention of search engine
spiders or visitors. A good example of a page like this within Google’=
;s
index: Next, if you’re using an IFRAME to display another website’s
content within your overall navigation structure, you’re now subject =
to
showing whatever that site may change their content to say. Today’s
IFRAMED page about birth control may be tomorrow’s IFRAMED page about=
a
less savory topic. Of course, search engines will recognize you’re
serving another site’s content so it will have no positive impact on =
your
site’s rankings. Additionally, some users turn off the IFRAME element in their
browser’s advanced settings because of a the security hole
it presents (trusted websites can unwittingly serve malicious content via
IFRAMES). Finally, and this is the most important point, I’ve spotted some s=
ites
that have multiple IFRAME “shells” on different URLs that all s=
erve
the same framed-in content. In the eyes of the search engines, this is
duplicate content and is likely to be reason for de-listing. If you can’t tell, I don’t recommend using IFRAME in your si=
te’s
code. Just like framesets, there was a time for them, but that was years ag=
o.
Duplicate content, end-user experience and security concerns are factors I
consider to be argument enough. Oct 29 How to Generate Quality Myrtle Beach Facebook Leads/Like=
s
A: The website belongs
to you - we can send you a copy of the website on cd. This copy is for your
retention and should you wish to use another web design or web hosting comp=
any
- you are completely at liberty to take this copy to them for them to use.<=
/p>
///////// Clic=
k here
to learn more. ////////////////////////////////////
Like any social network, and maybe even more with this demograph=
ic,
Pinterest.com requires an investment in time. Jason White, who owns Quality
Woven Labels, says one key is to build relationships with those who are kno=
wn
for quality “pins” at the site. He says, once these movers and
shakers get to know you and your business, they will be more likely to post
about your product. White says to focus on the users who get the most likes=
and
repins.
The main appeal of Pinterest is that the site is exceptionally easy to use.
Everyone has a “board” where they pin images that are all the s=
ame
size. Hana Abaza, the co-founder and CEO of Wedding Republic, says it’=
;s
best to mimic Pinterest’s uncluttered aesthetic, so she creates boards
that are clean and elegant looking. Each pinned photo includes one link bac=
k to
her site (you click once to see the pin page, and again to see the source
site). Abaza says Pinterest dramatically boosted page views. Through her so=
cial
media efforts she saw a 75 percent increase in traffic, with Pinterest
generating most of that.
It’s important to connect the dots between a physical loca=
tion
and your Pinterest page. Becca Bijoch does public relations for the Minneap=
olis
store Creative Kidstuff. Often the physical store will feature online ads a=
nd
Pinterest promotions. Soon the company website will feature Pinterest butto=
ns.
So far, the campaign has yielded about 150 extra page views directly from
Pinterest and two direct sales. Not astounding, but that’s only after
using the site for about 30 days.
This tip might seem obvious, but Pinterest caters to those looki=
ng
for recipes, room décor, and do-it-yourself crafts. If your company
sells power sanders, you might not be a good fit. Quality Woven Labels, whi=
ch
makes tags for custom clothing, has been able to use Pinterest to connect w=
ith
the perfect demographic: independent fashion designers.
The new kid on the block may be getting all of the hype, but
existing social networks have one advantage: a vast number of users. Justin
Palmer, the online awareness director at Sevenly, a custom T-Shirt shop, sa=
ys
to get the most number of eyeballs his company uses Tumblr and Facebook to
point people to Pinterest.
Sevenly has created a daily pin to promote its brand. The idea i=
s to
come up with a catchy slogan that is tied to the organization’s chari=
ty
work and memorable enough so that the images get re-pinned. The daily themed
pins usually lead to repeat visitors. Sevenly also posts a weekly
custom-designed t-shirt, which is often re-pinned by other Pinterest users.
Bonus: They come back often looking for the new one.
The temptation for any business is to post pins only for products
you sell. Giselle Gonzalez is a promoter for Cakestyle, a company that makes
wardrobe suggestions for women, and says one key is to post interesting news
tidbits, tips, and products from other companies. She says Pinterest users =
are
savvy in spotting a board that is too self-serving and only posts product
photos.
One of the best ways to raise awareness about your company is to
start following the big names on Pinterest. This is the proven method on
Twitter: When you follow popular figures, and they follow you back, other
Twitter users get the message and follow the leader. Sevenly’s Palmer
says it’s important to find out who is “pinning” your
products and to follow them to see if they follow you back. Most do, he say=
s.
Pinterest caters to those who love to “curate” or we=
ed
out the good from the bad. Presenza, a custom clothing designer, finds uniq=
ue
products beyond their own offering and pins them. The company also uses key
phrases on their board like “made in the USA” and “defini=
ng
confidence” to help define the brand.
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
Client: “I don’t mean to sound racist, but…”
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
Client: The site doesn’t have enough color. Look at Facebook and
Google, their sites are colorful.
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
“Don’t use horizontal lines on the website, they don’t
represent our brand and our clients may get confused. Plus, Cosmo says
horizontal lines can make things look fatter. We want a lean site.”
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
Web Guy: That will cost you one hour of work.
“I’m not paying for hosting. My website doesn’t need
hosting, it just hosts itself on the internet.”
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
“The site is broken. When I’m on the home page and I click =
the
back button, it takes me to another site.”
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
“Can you include a splash intro animation that turns the screen i=
nto
a mirror so they can see themselves? We really want to push the
metaphor.”
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
“I need to get moving, anyway you can do some work on this on your
vacation. That’s a long vacation, I bet you’ll get bored anyway,
and this is back-and-forth via email, not phone, so it shouldn’t cause
you any stress.”
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
“The CEO will be in town tomorrow so if you could get the whole s=
ite
done by then that would be great.”
“I think this looks good but I’m going to have my
daughter look at it too. She’s got a good eye for this stuff and she =
just
did the cover for her high school’s yearbook…”
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
“We need a logo, and have no idea where to start.”<=
br>
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–
“The gold you used looked great on my monitor at home, but here a=
t my
work computer it looks like it’s orange! If you could make it look mo=
re
like gold, just on my work computer, that would be great… I’ll =
just
be in the other room checking people’s computer’s to see if the=
irs
need to be ‘golded’ too.”
——————————&=
#8212;——————————=
;—————–Brief highlights of the importance of an XML Sitemap
2. XML Sitem=
aps can
help pages that are on the search engines’ supplemental index make it=
to the
main index.
3. You can use these Sitemaps to let the search engines know how often a pa=
ge
is changed to improve crawl rate.
4. You can alert the search engines to any changes/additions to your site
6. The verification and registration of an XML Sitemap can give the search
engines the credibility that they desire.
7. In all, XML Sitemaps can help improve visibility and rankings.
8. Best of all – they are FREE.How to get an XML Sitemap.
The 5 Approaches:
This is the simplest and most straightforward approach. A redesign is
merely tarting up the face of your site whilst keeping the structure the sa=
me.
It’s basically like botox – you look a bit younger but deep down
your still a shallow, insecure human being with too much money, oh and you
can’t make any facial expressions (ok so it’s not really like
botox). This is perfect for those who are happy with the way their website runs but feels it =
just
needs a makeover to keep it looking fresh.
This is the opposite of a redesign. It con=
sists
of keeping the appearance the same but making changes to the structure and =
flow
of your site. To put it romantically, this is one for the “don’t
judge a book by its cover” types or in other words, the desperate one=
s.
This is a little more radical than the previous two approaches and it
involves rethinking and remembering the purpose of your website, and=
then
changing the design and structure accordingly. This is kind of like a useful
and rewarding mid-life crisis, not like those guys you see growing a ponyta=
il
and driving a rubbish sports car.
This is one for the creative types. A rebranding means completely redesigni=
ng
every little part of your design, incl=
uding
your logo, website, business car=
ds
etc. It’s like when Opal Fruits became Starburst but a lot, lot bette=
r.
Continuing with the sweets theme, this is potentially the most useful
approach. Very rarely does a one-size-fits-all approach work when redesigni=
ng
your website, so picking the most relevant parts of each approach could be =
the
answer. The idea is, you evaluate what’s working and what’s not=
and
redesign as you see fit – basically, say you don’t like chocola=
te
Brazil nuts, just pop in a fizzy cola bottle instead, if you’re bored=
of
pink shrimps give a strawberry lace a try… anyway, you get the point.=
-Project a professional image: Get a website that
reflects the true quality of your business with a one of kind custom website
that makes you stands out.
-Establish Instant Credibility: Gain instant credibi=
lity
the moment a prospect arrive on your website, that they feel so connected to
you and is confident that you can solve their problem, that the decision to=
do
business with you is an easy one.
-Engage visitors with compelling content: Eliminate =
the
need for your website prospects to look further, by creating an instant
connection with compelling content that drives lead generation =
and
sales.
-Generate Leads : Boost your lead generat=
ion,
by coordinating all your marketing efforts so prospects are directed to
powerful pages on your website that engage them and get them to take action=
.
-Increase Sales : Your website is a
powerful marketing tool, use it to nurture and close more sales by followin=
g up
easily and effortlessly with marketing automation.
Books are conveniently printed with serif fonts for easier reading. Serif f=
onts
usually display a cleaner, crisper look, it is also not very distracting to=
the
eye making it more efficient compared to those of stylized fonts.
Non-reciprocal links
are one-way inbound links to your posts that originate from other sites, and
they are considered as recommendations by other sites to their readers. The=
se
non-reciprocal links get highest values when they originate from the releva=
nt
and high-ranking web pages, and also if the anchor text within the link is =
one
of the keywords of your web page that it links to. The non-reciprocal links=
are
also given much importance in the search engine optimization methods and se=
arch
engines value them very highly.
Simply stated reciprocal links are based on an agreement by two sites (two =
way)
to link to each other. Reciprocal linking is often used by small site=
s as
a way to increase Web site traffic
and link popularity. However, if you plan to enter such arrangements =
then
it’s important to understand the implications and the realities.
Also note that there is a Google
patent in the works that will deal with not only the popularity of the sites
being linked to, but will also assess how trustworthy a site is that you li=
nk
to from your own site.
Quality reciprocal link exchanges in and of themselves are not a bad thing,=
but
most reciprocal link offers are of low quality. If too many of your links a=
re
of low quality it may make it harder for your site to rank for relevant
queries, and some search engines may look at inlink and outlink ratios as w=
ell
as link quality when determining how natural a site’s link profile is=
.
Free Reciprocal Link Checking Tool
Online Free Reciprocal Link Checker
Reciprocal Link Check
Reciprocal Link Checker
If you are blogging for money then PR can be a major issue. Once your
site has a higher PR then higher paying writing opportunities become availa=
ble
to you. However, if your write for services like ReviewMe, Text Link Ads,
Smorty, and PayPerPost then it’s important to understand that Google
doesn’t like paid links, if you have them and if your site doesn̵=
7;t
indicate them with “nofollow” or, if you’re active on the Internet selling link=
s on
your site then your PR will suffer.
(2) If your web pages and the site get a lot of reciprocal (two-way links),
especially if they are not related then the search engines will assume that
these are solicited links, and search engines do not give much importance to
such two-way or reciprocal links and may even penalize your site.
http://www.them=
yrtlebeachwebdesign.com
843-995-4084
Nov 20Our Approach To Social Media Marketing For Small Businesses
The adoption of web fonts such as Web Open Font Format (WOFF), Google W=
eb
Font API, and Typekit etc. in HTML5 means developers now have the reins of =
the
app text in their own hands. They can now determine how the text will look =
and
ensure that they are able to optimize the expression of this text and contr=
ol
it as they see fit. With the HTML5
Web Design framework, the reliance of developers on images and F=
lash
implementation is slowly but surely going down, which means the design & development team =
can
now focus on text that not only looks good, but also works well with search
engines.
One of the biggest advantages offered by HTML5 is that it has made it
easier to develop a web application that is compatible with numerous browse=
rs.
This is because it offers browser vendors a consistent set of specification=
s,
right to their minutest detail, which in turn also ensures that the
implementation of the web application across all browsers remains the same.=
With its integrated canvas elements, HTML5 helps build better and more
interactive images with help of exhaustive graphics libraries. Earlier, the
JavaScript layer couldn’t draw picture with the available data, but w=
ith
the use of HTML5, this has become possible. The focus of developers has shi=
fted
from textual to more creative solutions.
Developers can make better web apps as HTML doesn’t require the u=
se
of a collection of languages and just one language – JavaScript will
suffice. Even in the case of the data model, it’s just XML and Docume=
nt
Object Model that is used. Also, when it comes to binding graphics, video,
audio and the text, developers can use only one set of rules, which is CSS =
to
do the same. With its unified standards, web designers no long=
er
need to use a different set of tools in a web application.
to take the next step with you.
navigating your website a breeze.How to Use Canonical URLs for SEO Gains
~path/categoryID?=3D5
~path/categoryID?=3D5&sortByPrice=3D1
~path/seo-books.html <link rel=3D"canonical&qu=
ot;
href=3D"http://www.website.com/~path/seo-books.html" />
http://themyrtlebeachwebdes=
ign.com/
http://www.th=
emyrtlebeachwebdesign.com/index.html
Obviously this is one of the fir=
st
things you’ll want to know, and it’s tempting to just go for the
cheapest deal you can. Some Myrtle
Beach portfolio websites you co=
me
across will have guide prices listed, some will not, personally I don’=
;t
believe there’s something inherently “bad” about making
prices transparent but statistically bad designers will do this more often =
than
good so just be wary.
Personality
It’s actually quite important when you’re working with some=
one
online that you don’t detest their very existence! After a couple of
emails discussing your project you should get a feel for who is overly form=
al,
who is a bit too informal and jokey (like me!) and who you generally feel
comfortable talking to.
It’s all well and good hir=
ing
someone who creates amazing illustrated blog headers, but if you’re
looking for a functional company Myrtle
Beach website make sure they do that too. And =
so
on!
If your budget is low, what
you’re probably looking for is someone who can do the majority of you=
r Myrtle
Beach website themselves (ie a
designer/developer), who works on a project basis rather than hourly, and w=
ho
has a portfolio with similar projects to your own that have turned out well=
. If
they’ve not worked on your type of site before, the design could end =
up
needing lots of tweaking/revisions and going over-budget.
However, people still want and need a variety of products and services =
even
in uncertain economic times. So find an unmet need and meet it – with=
the
help of your web site!
•You can’t afford a website that doesn’t function a=
s it
should, because you’ll lose potential leads and customers (opportunity
costs).
•You can’t afford a website that’s not search engine
friendly, because customers won’t be able to find you.
•You can’t afford a website that’s hard to update,
because you’ll lose revenue from incorrect and outdated information.<=
br>
•You can’t afford not to do it right the first time, because
you’ll pay much more in the long run in redundant costs to rebuild the
site correctly.JW Designs, LLC
Myrtle Beach Web Design
Goal: Easy-to-find contact information
Put your phone number on every page of your website. As obvious as this sou=
nds,
sometimes it is overlooked. Not only do you need to put your phone number o=
n a contact page,
you need to put it on every page in a large font. That way, no matter what =
the
customer is thinking, they can look up, see your number, and contact you. Y=
ou
can’t predict your viewers’ behavior every time so the best thi=
ng
to do is give them an opportunity to call you wherever they are on the site=
.
You wouldn’t want to lose a customer=
to a
competitor just because you made it difficult for them to get in touch with
you. Not every online visitor has the patience to click through every page =
on
your website to find=
the
contact information.
The best place for the contact information is the top left or top right
corner of the home page. It is also a good practice to include contact
information in every page of the website
in the footer or side bar or even in top right corner, which helps the visi=
tors
to find it more easily.
You should also be sure to include several ways for them to contact you
— phone, e-mail, and a standard contact form, are all good options.&n=
bsp;
We also suggest including your address, and even a link to your location in
Google maps.
One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is to force only one w=
ay
to reach them. The point is to make it very easy for users to communicate w=
ith
you on their terms.
Need help with your website? Contact us at Myrtle B=
each
Web Design.
How to Save on Google Adwords?
How can you get one of these? EBAY!
![](3D"blogentries_files/image002.gif")
Ebay sellers are constantly selling these on ebay, anywhere from $10-$40.
So basically, you spend $10-40 and get $100 worth opf Google Adwords
advertising. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Other Firms: 8-10 page website, no bells &
whistles: $2000-$3000
Our Firm: 8-10 page website, with bells & whistles:
$399-$499
If you are wondering how we can charge as much as 50% less than our
competition and still be in business; there are a number of things to consi=
der:
Billing processes
- The billing process has never been simpler. We tried all the fancy accoun=
ting
software and found that it takes more time to enter the information needed =
then
to just sit down and email a simple statement to the client. We have many
clients that work with us on a monthly basis and with our staff of four, we=
can
easily keep track of time used and projects completed. At the end of the mo=
nth,
we total everything up and email an invoice/statement to each client.
The other day, I ran into a law firm with a website coded using the IFRAME
element. While there is nothing programmatically wrong with IFRAMEs, they
present some significant challenges for search engine optimization.
http://w=
ww.samisite.com/iframephotos/index.htm,
htt=
p://calcium.brownbearsw.com/demos/miniframe.html
<=
strong>http://www.webmonkey.com/webmonkey/96/37/stuff/iframe_ex.html
http://www.paxilbirthdefect.com/source/about/prenatal_exposure=
.html.