Why Starting a Company Website Means More than Attracting Visitors

On October 17th, 2011, wrote:

You saw the money tree analogy coming—after all, money is usually the end goal of a startup company. This got me to thinking about the many ways a company can try to yield a profit. I found that people are constantly discussing the importance of content on a company website, but what people are not constantly discussing is the idea that this content does not always equal revenue. I will admit that I frequent many company websites simply to read their blog, yet I have no intention of ever buying their product. The point is, you first want to drive traffic to your webpage, but you cannot stop there. There are many things you can do to make sure that when people are visiting your website, they are tempted to buy. Consider a few of the things your startup company can do to make sure you are attracting the right kinds of visitors and keeping them interested: How to Bring – Read the full article

5 Hidden Benefits of Blogging for Local Business

On October 10th, 2011, wrote:

Who knew the power of blogging would explode like it has? It seems like everyone has a blog now, from stay-at-home moms to chefs to local business owners. Blogging is a powerful Internet marketing tool for local businesses as it gives you a new, yet subtle way to promote your company. Think of a blog as a way to communicate to the local community without all the business jargon. The point of a blog should be to put out information only. Write about relevant topics that relate to your business and give important facts that people want and need to know. Avoid being a salesman in your blog or people won’t read it. But provide an invaluable resource that people trust and you will build credibility within your community and generate more traffic. 5 hidden benefits of blogging for local business Change your perspective. Blogging forces you to examine your industry from all angles, not just as a provider of – Read the full article

Video Production on a Budget

On October 5th, 2011, wrote:

It’s easier than ever to make promotional videos. A few years ago, if you wanted to have an advert made, then you would have had to search for an affordable company offering video production in Nottingham or another major city near where your company was based. The production process would require regular meetings, intense discussion, several edits, and quite a large bill at the end. Now that even personal computers are capable of video editing, it’s starting to make more sense to do the work in house. A short video production training course may not bring your work up to the standard of a professional outfit doing video production, but if you’re producing short advertisements or viral videos then you most likely won’t need the sophisticated equipment of a professional video lab. What can you learn from video production training? One mistake that many people make is to get carried away playing with fancy settings and effects with their video – Read the full article

5 Ways Your Company Can Generate Enough Referrals for a Lifetime

On September 28th, 2011, wrote:

Social media is buzzing, QR codes are all the hype, and e-mail marketing is trendy, but where does that leave good old-fashioned referrals? Unfortunately for many startup companies, taking the time to consider the importance of referrals is the last thing on the “to do” list. After all, if you do a good job and someone wants to refer you, they can—it is out of your hands, right? Wrong. Believe it or not, it is not enough to simply hope someone refers your business to others. Someone may work with your business and say it is the best experience they have ever had, yet this does not guarantee that they will refer your business to someone else. In many cases, your clients and customers will have to seek out someone they know looking for your particular services. This takes some work, so you have to give your customers and clients a reason to do this work. According to activerain.com, a – Read the full article

Is Twitter Being Left Behind?

On September 23rd, 2011, wrote:

There have been changes to the services being offered by Google and, more notably, Facebook in the recent days, each trying to amalgamate the service they offer with one similar to Twitter, in that you can subscribe to individuals status updates and posts, regardless of being their friend or not. Facebook Facebook’s introduction of the subscribe feature allows users to follow celebrities and people they have an interest in, introducing a whole new range of settings allowing control over who can see your posts and whose posts you are exposed to on your own news feed. Twitter found itself introducing accessibility to the lives of celebrities when it started in 2006 and had many celebrity endorsements, most notably Stephen Fry. This is the kind of publicity that Facebook and Google can’t possibly replicate. So far, the celebrities I’m suggested to subscribe to consist of Mark Hoppus and Jared Leto, probably due to the lack of take-up from the celebrity world. – Read the full article

How YouTube Can Benefit Your Search Engine Rankings For Absolutely Free

On September 22nd, 2011, wrote:

YouTube as a free hosting site offers a wide array of handy tools for marketing Internet video content. What YouTube also offers is a quick route to Page 1 placement in the Google search engine rankings. The following article explores the six essentials ways to use YouTube’s features to benefit your Internet marketing and search engine ranking efforts. 1. Put Keywords and Phrases In To Your Video Titles & Tags The titles and tags on your video are perhaps the most influential pieces of information for search engines. Search engines frequently use titles and tags to find videos and bring up videos of a similar nature. By optimizing these fields and filling them in with appropriate keywords and phrases relevant to your brand, business, or niche you can help Google pick up your Internet video content in its regular search results. 2. Use Your Video Description Field To Your Advantage Descriptions are there to give information about your video. Use – Read the full article

This Year’s Hot Trends and Tools in Web Analytics

On September 21st, 2011, wrote:

As the digital marketing and tech world become more important to businesses, trends and tools are constantly being developed in an effort to make life easier for both employees and customers alike. Overall, analytics is swinging towards improvement for the user experience, bringing tools that aim to make management and analysis easier for organizations. The user experience trend has grown by leaps and bounds recently as businesses aim to give their customers a better experience. With the increase in the presence of social media, businesses have also been able to make the gap between buyer and seller. Because so many companies are just now starting to value social media as a major marketing tool, they are also experiencing other types of analytics and marketing tools for the first time. The presence of social media in companies’ marketing plans has pushed the value of a good connection between users and the company. The analytics of social media have really started to – Read the full article

Guidelines for Developing Effective Websites

On September 16th, 2011, wrote:

To build an effective, profitable, and customer-driven site, you need to dedicate more time and effort to information gathering and planning. The following are some guidelines that will help you build a successful website. What are your specific goals? Do you want a brochure site? Do you intend to sell services and/or products? Are you focused on branding and company awareness? Information and content? Social network communities? You need to think through this aspect since it will form the foundation of your overall strategy. Find websites within your industry which you can emulate. It is okay to borrow ideas, as long as you personalize them. Measure of success Usually, businesses succeed when specific goals are imposed on them. By having a clear goal, be it generating online income or attracting a certain number of visitors to your site, you enhance your chances of success. Take time to list down your goals. Remember that this list could change as your site – Read the full article