How You Can Use Google Maps to Successfully Promote Your Business

December 10th, 2010 by interdream

Tags: Google Maps
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.

10 Popular WordPress Plugins

October 4th, 2010 by interdream

Tags: WordPress Plugins
Posted in WordPress

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.

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

September 2nd, 2010 by interdream

Tags: Search Engine Optimization, Website Design
Posted in Search engine optimization (SEO), 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 Website 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.

What’s New in Navigation Bars?

July 9th, 2009 by interdream

Posted in Website design and function, Website Design Trends

The Internet seems to change almost daily. Trends that were popular a few months ago can become outdated almost overnight. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to website design. With each new evolution, new standards emerge.

Navigation bars are one aspect of site design that seem to constantly change. So, what are the current trends?

When the web was still in its infancy, navigation bars took the form of a graphic interface and some were even Java-based. These types of navigation bars worked very well and are still fairly popular today.

However, as webmasters soon discovered, the function of a navigation bar played a large role in how deep visitors would travel into a particular website. Many web designers realize that simplicity is what visitors want in a website, which is why the current trend in navigation bars is gravitating toward using text links as opposed to the graphic interfaces or Java applications.

One of the most popular ways to navigate a website now is through the use of drop down menus. Drop down menus are popular because they offer superior functionality and ease of use while maintaining the integrity of the overall design.

Drop down menus are extremely easy for the average visitor to use and blend seamlessly into the website design. They also offer quick navigation of the entire site by being easy to access, yet still unobtrusive.

A growing trend is the use of mega menus. Mega menus are useful for navigating large websites that have multiple pages and sub-pages. Essentially, designers could create sitemaps with links to every page, but as sites become bigger – and more pages are added – these sitemaps become too big and too tough to navigate.

Another option would be for the designer to use dynamic drop-down menus or expanding menus, which would give readers access to any page on the site. However, the problem with these menus is that they can be tough to access, and since most require Java Script, some users will be left out in the dark.

Mega menus bridge the gap between simple menus and expanding menus. They’re easy to use and don’t suffer from the accessibility problems associated with some of the other navigation tools. Also, mega menus look good and can be seamlessly blended into virtually any site’s design. Check out the navbar on my site.

While your website can still function well using older style navigation bars, you might want to consider a switch in the near future. Your visitors will appreciate it.

Good Website Design Is a Skill, But Is It Art?

May 4th, 2009 by interdream

Posted in Web Site Design

No one can deny that designing a nice looking, easy-to-use website takes great skill, but is the finished product a work of art?

It’s a shame, but so many website designers focus solely on whether or not a site looks good without thinking about whether it functions properly. People can debate whether or not a painting works or not, but the same can’t be said for a website – it either works as it should or it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t, then all of the pretty aesthetics can’t save it.

This is why the top-tier web designers become like artists when they design a site. They take their talents, and combine them with the tools of the trade, to create something beautiful that functions seamlessly. It’s this merging of design and function that captures what it really means to be an artist.

Think of it this way: A painter can paint a picture of a building in such a manner that it looks like a photograph. It might look pretty, but what purpose does it serve other than to say, “Look, how good I can paint.” However, when a painter creates a work like the Mona Lisa, which people still debate about to this day, the work becomes art.

The same is true for website design. The design should not only be attractive to the eye, but it should be something of value – something that works. Anyone can learn to mix paints and to put something on a canvas that has some aesthetic value, but it takes a true master to make something that goes deeper than a mere image.

And if you spent just a half hour scanning the various websites on the net, you can see that not everyone is capable of going deeper than mere aesthetics. There are plenty of websites that look just fine, but fail to function in harmony.

Fine art requires the viewer to look deeper into the work. The Mona Lisa causes people to scan every brush stroke to figure out what da Vinci was trying to say. Likewise, a person can look beyond the graphics of a website and go into the code, which is where much of the mastery takes place. Great websites are often like great symphonies in that one extra note (or piece of code) would cause the whole thing to fall apart. It’s that fine balance that separates the websites that just look good from the websites that are great.

There are websites that go beyond the merely functional and become elegant creations that deliver the perfect balance between beauty and functionality, and it’s these websites that can be truly considered works of art.

So, what is art?

Art is generally thought of as something that has an emotional appeal to the person who’s viewing it. Art is something that can make you think or inspire you, which means that virtually anything can be art to certain people because it’s very subjective.

However, there are many websites that could be classified as art because they make you stop what you’re doing and stare at the screen in order to take it all in. Of course, once you take in all of the visual appeal, the website still has to work as designed. That’s the mark of a true artist: the combination of the visual with the functional.

What many people fail to understand is that web design isn’t easy because so many people can pull up a pre-designed template, or use a WYSIWYG program to create a simple website. This isn’t art; it’s more like painting by numbers. By the same token, you can’t learn a few codes, type them in and expect everything to come together. Good web design is a skill just like being an architect is a skill. Sure, you can draw a picture of a building, but without knowing how it all fits together – how to keep the structure from collapsing – all you have is a picture and not much else.

There are so many technologies that a web designer has to learn like HTML, (necessary, but won’t help you with the visual appeal) CSS, PHP, Javascript, SQL and many more. These are akin to an artist learning oils, acrylics, watercolors, gouache, as well as all of the various brushes, pens and pencils. You have to master them all if you want to develop something truly great.

Web design is an art because the designer must possess the skills of the visual and the technical, and must mesh those skills to create something that can be used (and appreciated) by everyone who comes by.

When you’re looking to have your website designed, don’t go for style over substance. There’s too much riding on how well your site functions for you not to hire a real website artist.

The 3 Most Essential Web Design Tools You Should Own

March 24th, 2009 by interdream

Posted in Web Site Design, Website design tips

There are several web design tools on the market today, and finding the right ones can be a challenge to a newcomer. While I use many web design tools, here are my 3 favourites:

Dreamweaver

With over 3.5 million users, Dreamweaver is undoubtedly the most popular and one of the best Website development tools in the market today. Dreamweaver has a wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) editor as well as a code view to improve your productivity.

You do not have to be a professional HTML programmer in order to develop a great website with Dreamweaver. You can use Dreamweaver to design forms as well as link to a database that uses popular technologies like PHP, ASP, .NET, and XHTML. Dreamweaver has CSS, server side includes, templates, and many others functions.

If you’re looking to develop professional websites, then Dreamweaver is THE tool for you. Improved CSS, XML and Flash video handling, and various productivity enhancements are just some of the features that are included in Dreamweaver. And while web developers still need to know CSS and HTML, Dreamweaver will allow them to take that basic knowledge to the next level.

Flash

When it comes to website animations, and multimedia applications, Flash is the de-facto standard that’s used by nearly every industry professional.

What makes Flash so useful is that it allows users to make animations (some that rival traditional cartoons) while keeping file sizes small. Small file sizes are vital to making sure your website loads quickly, which means increased traffic.

Flash was designed primarily to be an animation tool, but with each new version, the program evolved to become more powerful and feature-rich, while remaining loyal to its animation roots.

Simply put: if you want to create dynamic web pages with exciting effects, then Flash is the perfect program to get the job done.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe’s Photoshop was one of the first image-editing programs to come onto the market. It quickly rose to become the number one image-editing program among professional designers and photographers. And while there have been numerous competitors that have come on the scene, no one has yet been able to dethrone Photoshop.

The main reasons for Photoshop’s success lies in its power and versatility. Adobe took the tricks and techniques used by professional photographers for decades, and ported them over to the digital platform. This digital workflow system made it a huge time saver for professionals who needed to create great looking images.

However, while Photoshop’s roots lie in photography, the program quickly evolved to become web-friendly. Adobe has included tools specifically designed for the web-designer — tools that allow them to make sharp graphics and images geared specifically toward the online world. Almost every button, banner, photograph and graphic you see on the web today has gone through Photoshop.

Learning how to use Photoshop is relatively easy; mastering Photoshop, however, can take years because the program has virtually unlimited potential.

Creating a great design for your site with these tools will be a bit on the expensive side, as none of them come with low price tags, but these tools will help give you the best looking site on the web in no time at all.

The Benefits of Microblogging

February 21st, 2009 by interdream

Posted in Blogs, Twitter

What is microblogging?

Like traditional blogging, microblogging is a form of communicating with people who share a common interest. However, a microblog’s posts are much shorter, and are generally more personal.

A microblog post might let people know what you’re currently doing, what projects you’re working on, or what you have planned for tomorrow.

Microblog benefits

Traditional blogs are great because there’s virtually no limit to what you can talk about, and unlike printed material, there’s no restriction on length of content. However, because of the length of most blog postings, many bloggers don’t have the ability to deliver high-quality content day in and day out. They may write three posts a week, but sometimes readers want more.

A microblog allows your readers to stay connected to you because the posts can be read in a few seconds. These abbreviated posts will keep people interested in what you have to say between your longer, regular postings.

Another big advantage to microblogging is in the delivery of content. While most people still read blogs on the computer, more and more people are getting content via their cell phones and PDAs. These devices, while handy, aren’t set up for reading lengthy articles and blog posts because of their small screens, which make the microblog post even more attractive for readers.

You’ve no doubt heard about social networking by now. Sites like Facebook and Myspace have exploded onto the web, and have enticed millions of people to sign up. These sites are great for fostering communities and helping people stay in contact with one another. Microblogging takes the basic idea of social networking and strips it down to its core component – communication.

In addition, from a marketing standpoint, developing a relationship with your potential customers is vital to building trust (and sales.) Microblog posts will help keep people in touch with what you’re up to, allow them to interact with you, and build a community.

How do you do it?

Use one of the popular microblogging sites available online. The most popular site right now is Twitter. Twitter accounts are free, and are gaining in popularity. With Twitter, you won’t have to worry about being too wordy because you’re given a character limit that you can’t exceed. While some may see this as a hindrance, it’s actually very beneficial because it forces you to boil your post down to the most important point. You can also post links to your articles, blogs etc.

Another aspect of Twitter (and sites like it) is that it allows plenty of customization. You can set up your Twitter page to resemble your main website, which is a great idea if you’re trying to build brand recognition. There are also plenty of widgets (tiny applications) that you can run on your website that will display your most recent Twitter posts so readers won’t have to log into Twitter’s main page every time they want to read what you’re up to.

And, just like a blog, people can subscribe to your microblog’s feed and follow it like they would your primary blog.

If you’re finding that blogging has lost a bit of its luster, try setting up a microblog; it’s easy, it’s fun and the community you build can lead to increased traffic to your main site.

What is a sitemap, and why your website needs one

December 4th, 2008 by interdream

Posted in Web Site Design, Website design tips

Having a sitemap may seem redundant at first, but a well-constructed sitemap can be a tremendous benefit to your readers, and your return traffic.

What is a sitemap?

A sitemap performs the same basic function that an outline performs for printed material. It gives the reader, or visitor, an overview of the pages contained within the rest of the site. Sitemaps for small websites can include every page the site has to offer, while maps of larger websites may only include the major categories and subcategories.

Navigation purposes

While your website’s navigation should already be optimized for easy use, a sitemap is beneficial for people who get lost and can’t find their way back to a particular page. Having the sitemap ensures that there’s a way for the reader to get where they’re going, which makes it more likely that they’ll spend more time at your site, instead of navigating away out of frustration.

Convey your site’s theme

When a visitor loads up your sitemap they can quickly get an overview of what your site has to offer without having to read through each page. Web surfers typically want information “right now” so any time you can save them is a bonus for you.

Site optimization purposes

Your sitemap typically exists on its own page, and contains links to every other page on your website. When search bots hit the sitemap page they’re able to index every page on your site by following the links. It can also help boost your ranking in the search engines if you’re using relevant keywords in the links on your sitemap. Also, remember to put a prominent link to your sitemap right on your front page to assist the search engines.

Organization and relevance

A sitemap also makes it easier for you to add content or new sections because you can look at an overview of your site’s structure and determine what changes you want to make. The end result is that you’ll have a perfectly organized site with everything according to its relevance.

There’s really no downside to having a sitemap, and if you have a particularly large website, it should be considered mandatory.

Improve Your Search Engine Rankings

July 12th, 2008 by interdream

Posted in Search engine optimization (SEO)

Want to improve your search engine rankings? Google’s Matt Cutts offers tips on how you can optimize your site so it is ranked high in Google’s search engines.

Read about it here.

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