What To Look For Before You Purchase a Domain

April 7th, 2011

Posted in Uncategorized

If you are considering having a website, there are several important things to be aware of before buying your own domain name.


So what is a domain name?

A domain name is a web address that people type into their browsers to get to your website.  It is also what Google and other search engines display or use to link to your site.  So the question is where do you get one and how do you choose a good one.

Well,  first off choosing your domain name is very important and shouldn’t just be taken lightly or taking one that doesn’t fit just because it sounds cool.  Here are some things to look out for before choosing your name.


1. What is the domain name for?

Are you trying to sell a product or a service?  Are you promoting your band or your hobby?  You need to have a specific reason for wanting and using a domain name.  The more specific you get on your reasoning and desire for the name, the easier it will be to pick one that will get you high rankings and more traffic.


2. Purchasing a keyword rich domain

If you are looking to promote yourself, you will want to have a domain name like – johndoe.com or janesmith.net.  If you are promoting a hobby like basket making you will want to have a domain like basketmaking.com.  The idea is to have a keyword rich domain name using common words and phrases that relate to your topic.  If you were going to sell a book on dog training, you want a domain name like dogtraining.com not RoversResources.com.  Be keyword specific. You can get more than one domain with your keywords and forward the domain(s) to your main domain.


3.  .com vs .net?

What extension should you choose?  As a rule of thumb, you will want to choose .com then .net then filter through the others.  The main reason for this is we have been conditioned to say .com before we say any of the other extensions.  So whenever possible choose .com.
Purchasing your domain is the next step in the process.  There are many registrars out there.  The most popular are Godaddy.com, Namecheap.com.

There are many others out there and if you go to Google.com and type in “buy domains” into the search engine you will get a huge list. Domains cost about $10.00 a year.

Now you are ready to go out there and purchase your first domain name.  Just remember these key points.

1. Be specific about the purpose of your domain

2. Buy a keyword rich domain

3. Get a .com domain whenever possible

Last, take your time and triple check your spelling before you complete your purchase.  You don’t get refunds if you pick a misspelled domain.

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Social Media: The Future of Communication is Here Today

March 1st, 2011

Posted in Facebook, Social Media, Twitter

There have been many milestones in how we as humans communicate and share information with one another. From the printing press to radio to television and now the Internet.
Thanks to the wide adoption in most areas of high-speed bandwidth, the Internet, along with social media applications, has made the sharing of information instant. Today, people get breaking news the moment it happens with text, pictures and video on virtually any device that’s connected to the web.


More connections than ever before

Social media apps like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook allow people to connect and share information from anywhere in the world at any time, and this opens up a whole new world of marketing opportunities.


Meet your customers in the virtual world

By using these and other social media applications, along with blogs and wikis, businesses owners can have direct contact with their customers like never before. This contact engages the end-user and gives the marketer opportunities to offer new services, get instant feedback on what’s working and what isn’t, and helps them form new strategies to create products and services their customers need and want. When a businesses is actively engaged with their customers, and receptive to what they want, trust is built as well as customer loyalty.

Like the forms of communication that have passed before,  social media is now essential to virtually every type of businesses if they hope to prosper now and well into the future.

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How You Can Use Google Maps to Successfully Promote Your Business

December 10th, 2010

Tags:
Posted in Google Maps, Web Site Design

Advances in technology constantly force us to adapt to new ways of doing things, and business marketing is no exception.

Not long ago, when people wanted to find a specific business, they went to the business section of the phone book or used the Yellow Pages. Today, people do the majority of their searching online, either through a computer or through mobile devices such as a smart phone or an iPhone.

That’s why it’s so vital for your business to available in the digital world.

One easy way you can help boost your search rankings, and improve the overall visibility of your business, is to use Google Maps.

Why Google Maps?

For starters, Google Maps locations are increasingly showing up at the top of Google’s page rankings. By now, everyone should be aware just how important showing up on the top of a search engine is to their exposure.

Another reason why Google Maps is important is because people like the perception that the business they’re searching for is ‘grounded’ in a physical location. For many people, this adds trust because the business can be perceived as existing in the real world and not just floating around on the Internet.

Claim Your Listing in Google Maps

While Google is a great tool to use to help bolster your businesses’ visibility, it isn’t entirely foolproof – at least not on its own; you have to take some control over the information that’s listed about your company.

For example: While your company may well show up in a Google Maps listing, Google doesn’t know who that business necessarily belongs to until it’s told. You oftentimes have to tell Google that you’re the business owner and claim that map listing as your own. This not only helps the people who are searching for your business, but it also helps to protect your business against people who might want to spread misinformation. Additionally, you might find out that Google is missing vital information and data about your business, and by claiming your listing, you can provide a more complete picture to the people who are searching for you.

How Do You Make a Google Maps Listing Your Own?

It’s easy, and anyone with basic knowledge of Google can complete the process.

The first thing to do is to go to Google Maps and type in a search for your company. Try to be as specific as you can in your search by using the name of the town where the business is located. If your business is established, there’s a high probability that Google has already taken notice of it in their indexing algorithms.

When the search result comes up in Google Maps, you’ll want to click on the ‘More Info’ link that appears next to the name of your company. A window will pop up in which you can select the option to edit your listing.

Once you do this, you will be directed to another window that will ask if you are the owner of this business and give you the option to claim this listing as yours.

When you’ve successfully claimed the listing as being associated with your company, Google will direct you to their Local Business Center login page. If you’re a current Google user (such as Gmail or Adwords) you can login with your current account information. If you don’t have a Google account, now is a good time to register one – it’s free.

From this point, you can add many additional bits of information about your company, which will not only give the person searching a better picture of what you’re about, but will also protect you against competitors who will want to hijack your listing.

It’s unfortunate, but many business owners aren’t aware of the powerful tool that’s available to them in Google Maps because Google doesn’t advertise it as a marketing tool. But now you know.

To find out how easy it is to create a Google Maps listing, watch this short video.

http://maps.google.com/help/maps/mymaps/create.html

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10 Popular WordPress Plugins

October 4th, 2010

Tags:
Posted in Blogs, Wordpress Plugins

Without a doubt, WordPress is the most popular platform in use today for creating websites and blogs. However, many people aren’t taking advantage of the useful plugins that WordPress has to offer. These plugins are tools integrated into WordPress that add extra functionality and can be used in your marketing efforts as well.

We’re going to take a look at some of the more popular WordPress plugins that you can consider employing into your WordPress site.

1.  Google Analytics

If you’re using your blog or website for business purposes, then it’s vital that you track the traffic that’s coming to your site. By using Google Analytics, you can get a clear picture of how many hits your site is getting, how many of those hits are returning visitors, and even where in the world those people are coming from. Google Analytics will even tell you which posts or pages are attracting the most attention, which can help you tailor your site to meet the needs of your visitors.

You can learn more about Google Analytics here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/

2.  All-in-one SEO Pack

Search engine optimization is the technique used to help draw visitors into your website, and this plugin will help you optimize your site to get the kind of traffic you’re looking for.

The All-in-one SEO pack will automatically optimize your post titles for the search engines; will generate META tags; and allows you to fine tune the navigation links on your pages.

Learn more about the All-in-one SEO Pack here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/

3.  Akismet

If your site has any posts that allow users to comment on, then you’re sure to get your fair share of spam comments. These comments not only take away from the useful discussion and interaction you have with your readers, but it also looks bad. Akismet does a great job of finding the comments that are spam and placing them in a queue for your review before they ever appear on the page.

Read about Akismet here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/akismet/

4.  XML Sitemap

Search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask.com use programs called crawlers to search and index web pages. This crawling of websites makes it easier and faster for people to find exactly what they’re looking for when they type something into a search engine.

The XML Sitemap plugin helps these crawlers by creating a better index of your site, which means that it can be retrieved more efficiently. XML Sitemap also benefits you by alerting the major search engines every time you post new content on your site.

Find out more about XML Sitemap here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/google-sitemap-generator/

5.  Contact Form

Having a contact form on your website makes it easy for your visitors to contact you. Instead of having to scour the site for an e-mail address, they can simply enter in their contact information and any comments they have, which will then be e-mailed right to you.

This plugin is fast, secure, and works with Akismet to weed out spam. It’s highly customizable to your specific needs and allows you to have as many different forms as you want.

You can learn more about the Contact Form plugin here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/si-contact-form/

6.  Post Videos and Photo Galleries

If you’re a photographer, movie maker or someone who has products to sell, this plugin allows for easy addition of photo galleries, slideshows, videos, and music to be added to your site. It will automatically re-size your photos so they don’t take up too much space, and offers support for mobile devices such as iPhones and Blackberries.

Read about Post Videos and Photo Galleries here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/post-rich-videos-and-photos-galleries/

7.  Add to Any

When people find good content on the Web, they immediately want to share it with their friends on they myriad of social networks that are out there. This plugin allows your visitors to choose which social media outlets to post your content to. There are options for over 100 social bookmarking and sharing sites available and you can even have your URLs shortened for services like Twitter.

You can find out more about Add to Any here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/add-to-any/

8.  Twitter Tools

Next to Facebook, Twitter is probably the most popular social media site. What this plugin does is allow you to fully integrate your site with your Twitter account. You can easily alert your followers to your new posts and allow them to share with their followers.

Twitter Tools can be found here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/twitter-tools/

9.  WP to Twitter

As we’ve learned, Twitter is one of the most popular social media sites around. This plugin allows you to post status updates to your Twitter account and will shorten your URLs either through Bit.ly or Cli.gs. You can also use these URL shortening services to track how many hits you’re getting on the links you post. If you’re a power tweeter, this plugin is a must have.

Find it here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-to-twitter/

10.  Facebook Like Button

The current king of the hill of social networking sites is definitely Facebook. One of Facebook’s most popular utilities is the option for people to “like” something. This alerts your Facebook friends to something you find cool or worth checking out, which is why you want to make it easy for Facebook users to “like” something on your site. This plugin is perfect for that. With one click, your visitors can tell their Facebook friends about your site.

You can learn more about the Facebook Like Button here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/facebook-like-button/

These are just a few of the hundreds of WordPress plugins available, and the great part is that they’re all free and can be installed with one click.

You may not need every one of these plugins, but these are some of the more popular ones that are worth checking out.

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What Exactly Is Search Engine Optimization and Why Is it So Vital to Your Online Business?

September 2nd, 2010

Tags: ,
Posted in Search engine optimization, Web Site Design

According to Wikipedia, search engine optimization (SEO) “is the process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines via the ‘natural’ or unpaid (organic or algorithmic) search results.

What this basically means is that SEO is the preferred, natural method for driving traffic to your web site. While there are other methods in which a site owner can bring traffic to her site (some of which are unethical and can result in your site being penalized by search engines like Google) SEO is still the best way to ensure that people find you on the Web.

Why Do You as a Site Owner Need SEO?

It’s natural to think of a web-based business as something different than a brick and mortar store, but in fact, the principles of how the business operates are nearly identical. Your web site is your storefront whereby people can see what it is you have to offer. The only difference is that traffic doesn’t come from people walking along the sidewalk, but rather through people typing into a search engine exactly what they’re looking for.

When people do these kinds of searches, statistics show that the results that appear on the first 2-3 pages of a search are the ones that get the most attention. Those that are lower down on the search rankings often go ignored, which is why it’s so vital to use good SEO techniques to ensure that your site shows up within the first 3 pages.

A Few Words about Web Site Design

When people think about web site design, they often think of the layout, the colors, the graphics and the fonts. And while those are all important to the image of your business, and for visitors to easily navigate your site, the truth is that it doesn’t matter how nice your site looks if no one can find it; that’s where SEO can help.

Every good web site design should employ content that’s optimized to be found when someone types what you’re offering into a search engine. But good SEO and web site design require optimized content such as keyword placement in title tags, heading tags, etc. – things a good web site designer will know how to use to your benefit.

Increasing Sales is Your Goal

If you’re operating an online business then you’re probably doing it to get more clients. While some people have their sites up for information or other purposes, we’re focusing on SEO as a way to bring paying customers to an online business. And if you’re not using good SEO techniques, you might not be getting the clients who are looking for what you’re offering. Unless you have an advertising budget like Amazon, you’re going to have to find other ways to drive traffic to your site, and SEO is the best way to do that.

Good SEO techniques will result in not only more traffic coming to your site, but the kind of traffic that’s made up of people who are searching for targeted keywords, which can help your business in the long run. And that’s what it’s all about.

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