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Showing posts from 2011

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step #11 - Start a Blog

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Step #11 – Start a Blog Over  the past ten months we identified steps one through ten in the process of building an effective web presence:   1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; 5) Be a better communicator; 6) Get found; 7) Improve Your Link Popularity;  8) Setup and optimize your free Google Places listing;  9) Make it easy to share; and 10) Be analytical. The eleventh step is:  Start a blog and write … often. If you’ve ever attended a Jeffrey Gitomer seminar, you know he talks about the path to wealth (and dominating your competition) is writing.  Gitomer says write daily and offer something of value to your customers.  Good advice. It should be no surprise that one of the keys to dominating your competition online is writing, as well.  A blog (short for “web-log”) is a great way to start. When I present workshops about growing your web presence , as soon as I say “blog”, I often get deep

How To Setup A Paypal Account

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I just wanted to make a quick blog post to share the link where you go to setup a Paypal account for your business website.  Paypal makes the setup process pretty straight forward, but navigating to the link for Paypal Website Payments Standard can sometimes be challenging! Use this link : http://bit.ly/dwGHM5 Paypal offers a nice tutorial video on this page to show you how to setup your account.  Once your account is created and attached bank account verified, you'll be ready to start accepting payments.  Your webmaster should be able to help you setup Paypal buttons on your website. If you need assistance integrating Paypal with your website, please don't hesitate to contact us! MSW Interactive Designs LLC We put the web to work for you! http://www.MSWInteractiveDesigns.com 573-552-8403

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step #10 – Be Analytical

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Over the past nine months we identified steps one through nine in the process of building an effective web presence:    1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; 5) Be a better communicator; 6) Get found; 7) Improve Your Link Popularity;   8) Setup and optimize your free Google Places listing; and 9) Make it easy to share. The tenth step is:   Be analytical. You’ve worked hard to build a professional web presence around clear goals and calls to action.   You are definitely a step ahead of the pack, but you should not stop there.   It’s important to have some type of analytics available about your web presence.   This allows you to make informed and intelligent decisions based on what people are (or are not) doing when they get there.   Without analytics, changes or adjustments you make to improve things are mere guesses.    I came across a quote that puts it in the simplest terms: Measurable is

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #9 – Make Your Website and Content Easy to Share

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In previous articles we identified steps one through eight in the process of building an effective web presence:     1) Define your ideal client 2) Identify specific goals 3) Create a call to action 4) Give customers what they expect 5) Be a better communicator 6) Get found 7) Improve Your Link Popularity 8) Setup and optimize your free Google Places listing The ninth step is:  Make your website and content easy to share. In a 2010 social media study, 89 percent of Internet users said they actively share content.  If you are on Facebook or Twitter, this should come as no surprise. Social sharing tools spread your content and brand across the web. What’s even more powerful is the return from social sharing by bringing even more visitors back to your website. Some of my favorite social sharing tools include the following: AddThis.com AddThis.com is the world's largest content sharing platform. It gives visitors to your site a simple and easy way to share your content ac

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #8 – Setup and Optimize Your Free Google Places Listing

Over the past seven months we identified steps one through seven in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; 5) Be a better communicator; 6) Get found; and 7) Improve Your Link Popularity. The eighth step is: Setup and optimize your Google places listing. If you’ve ever attended any of my workshops, you know that I am a big fan of "FREE." The cool thing about Google Places is it’s absolutely free and it’s very easy to setup. To start, go to http://www.Google.com/Places , and then click on "Get Started" under Google Places for Business. Google will literally take you through the step by step process of adding your business. Once you’ve completed the basic listing, Google will immediately call your business phone number and give you a PIN number to enter to validate the listing. Now that your FREE Google Places listing

Building An Effective Web Presence - Step 7 - Improve Your Website's Link Popularity

Over the past six months we identified steps one through six in the process of building an effective web presence:    1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect;   5) Be a better communicator; and 6) Get found. The seventh step is:   Improve your website’s link popularity (this helps your organic search engine rankings). First let’s define “link popularity.” The definition of link popularity is the number of links pointing to your site as indexed by a given search engine. This is not necessarily a complete count of ALL links to your site, but instead how many links the search engine gives the site credit for when calculating SERP (Search Engine Results Page) placement. These inbound links are also referred to as “citations.” By most accounts, there are more than 200 factors used by Google in determining your ranking.   Link popularity is just one factor and it is calculated by the number of citations

Building an Effective Web Presence Step #6 – Get Found

Over the past five months we identified steps one through five in the process of building an effective web presence:   1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; 4) Give customers what they expect; and 5) Be a better communicator. The sixth step is:  Make sure your website is properly optimized for the best possible organic search results.  First let’s define “organic” search results. The definition of Organic Search Results is the search term results returned by a search engine (like Google) derived from what the search engine thinks is important (as opposed to returning paid listings or advertisements). In other words, “organic” results are the “free” results. With 96% of Google users not clicking past page one of search results, it is critical that your site be found on page one… either with the organic results, a Google places listing (more on this in a future article), or through pay-per-click advertising.  Achieving top organic rankings

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #5 - Be a Better Communicator

Over the past four months we identified steps one through four in the process of building an effective web presence: 1) Define your ideal client; 2) Identify specific goals; 3) Create a call to action; and 4) Give customers what they expect. The fifth step is: Be a better communicator across your web presence . We continue to talk in terms of your "web presence" rather than just your "website", because a web presence encompasses everything you do to market your business online. This definitely includes your website, but it also includes your email marketing campaigns, your social media efforts, blogging, and more. Effective communication is not a one way process when you are face-to-face, and it shouldn’t be online either. Too many businesses exercise one way communication online by pushing the common message, "I’m the best, buy from me." Truly successful businesses work online to engage their prospective customers for the purpose of starting

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step 4 : Give Customers What They Expect

Building an Effective Web Presence Step #4 – Give Customers What They Expect Over the past three months we identified steps one, two, and three in the process of building an effective web presence:   Step 1 - Define your ideal client. Step 2 - Identify very specific goals for your web presence.  Step 3 – Create a clear call to action. The fourth step may seem obvious, but consider how many websites you visit each week and don’t find what you are looking for. What do you do when you don’t find what you want?  You probably leave and move on to the next one.   Step 4 - Give Customers What They Expect . Ask yourself this question.  When a prospective customer gets to your website, what do they expect to find?  Make sure you give it to them, or make it VERY easy to get. The obvious but often overlooked: •            Professional look (first impressions still count) •            Error free (spell check, links work, no error messages or plug-ins required) •           Con

How To Setup and Optimize Your Free Google Places Listing

How To Setup and Optimize Your Free Google Places Listing If you’ve ever attended any of my workshops, you know that I am a big fan of “FREE.” The cool thing about Google Places is it’s absolutely free and it’s very easy to setup. To start, go to http://www.Google.com/Places , and then click on “Get Started” under Google Places for Business. Google will literally take you through the step by step process of adding your business. Once you’ve completed the basic listing, Google will immediately call your business phone number and give you a PIN number to enter to validate the listing. Now that your FREE Google Places listing is setup, you can optimize it so it appears in the coveted top seven positions on page one for Google Places. Here are some suggestions: Basic Business Information: Complete all basic and required fields. Be sure you use the actual name for your company and that your address information is your physical address. E-mail and Business Description: Use

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #3 – Create a Clear Call to Action

Building an Effective Web Presence : Step #3 – Create a Clear Call to Action Over the past two months we identified steps one and two in the process of building an effective web presence: Step 1 - Define your ideal client. Step 2 - Identify very specific goals for your web presence. The third step is often the most overlooked – create a clear call to action ! We touched on this idea briefly in the last article, but let’s take a closer look here. What is the one thing you want your ideal client to do when they get to your website? Have you actually thought about this? When I ask this question of new clients, most tell me they want people to browse through the website and learn about their business. The problem with this is that it’s a very passive approach and not likely to lead to a lot of conversions. Your business website should purposefully drive site visitors to a very specific call to action. Developing your website with this idea in mind can dramatically incre

Building an Effective Web Presence - Step #2 – Define Specific Goals for Your Web Presence

Building an Effective Web Presence Step #2 – Define Specific Goals for Your Web Presence Previously, we identified step 1 in the process of building an effective web presence: Define your ideal client. Step 2 is equally important: take the time to identify very specific goals for your web presence. The goal of “getting more business” isn’t specific enough. Having concrete goals enables you to take very specific actions to achieve those goals. Some possible goals for your web presence may include the following: Goal: Get Found Online (seems obvious, right?) Actions to Achieve: Work on optimizing your website for the best possible placement in Google. This takes time and ongoing effort, so be consistent and patient. While you are working on that, run Google AdWords, Facebook ads, online ads with the Chamber of Commerce, or ads on other websites where your “ideal” clients hang out. The idea is to use every avenue (online and offline) that you can to get your website in fro