Survey Results - What do people do on the Internet?

Survey Results - Who is using the Internet?

Should you have a web site?

Small Companies are finding a home on the web

Web Site Design Mistakes #2

Few Words - Wrong Words

One of the ingredients to great web site design is having great images. Having great words is even more important though. The words, or copy, or text on a site is a big part of what the search engines crawl and index.

The words on your pages should be keyword specific per page. Don't try to build pages where the words explain all the different things you do. That kind of approach will result in the search engines not knowing what you do....confused.

Gerry McGovern has an opinion about word usage:
"I have seen situations where sales have been doubled by changing a couple of words. (Nothing else on the website was changed.)"                  
Click here to see the full article.

One other thing about words .............. selection. When choosing keywords for your pages, don't choose the wrong words. Choose the keywords that get traffic.

For example, why build a page for 'Landscape Services'? Nobody searches for 'Landscape Services'. People search a bunch for 'Landscaping' though. Build your page around the word 'Landscaping' and do it thoroughly.

Click here for an article about Keyword Suggestion Tools.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Archive
Web Site Design Mistake # 1  -  Animation and Flash

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) (Definition)

URL Configuration

URL's, or Domain Names are a significant piece of the SEO puzzle.

It is important to choose URL's that are keyword sensitive.

For example: Landscape Services - I've seen many a web site that says they provide 'Landscape Services' such as pruning, mowing, etc. The URL for this page is typically in this format:

www.yourcompany.com/landscapeservices.html

The problem: people don't search for landscapeservices (or landscape services for that matter). It would be much better to optimize the page for 'landscaping' and have the url in this format:

www.yourcompany.com/landscaping.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next, I want to explain how to configure two-word URL's.
When dealing with 'landscape design', flowering plants and red flowering shrubs, configure the URL's in the following format:

www.yourcompany.com/landscape-design.html
www.yourcompany.com/flowering-plants.html
www.yourcompany.com/red-flowering-shrubs.html

By separating the words with a dash tells the search engines that individual words are represented.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Database driven sites often create dynamic URL's. These dynamic URL's lack keywords. Consider masking the dynamic URL for SEO purposes.

Here is an example of a dynamic URL:
www.yourcompany.com/results.asp?cc=KGYH&b=30&catID=11

Here is the same web page using a masked URL:
www.yourcompany.com/The-Best-Products-Money-Can-Buy.htm

Library

Recent and Relevant Reading

 Recession Marketing
"There are four crucial investments you need to make to ensure a long-lasting return on your internet marketing."

SEO Tips for Product Pages
"The SEO benefits of product pages can often be overlooked, with many just offering basic product details, photos and a brief description."

The Basics of Local Online Advertising
"With all the avenues available for reaching customers online, it's important to be able to determine what is working and what isn't."

Website Design - The In's and Out's of Using Flash for Flare
"While Flash can radically enhance the appeal of website, it does come with a couple of caveats. If you're a business looking to employ Flash to add spice to your website, there are a few things both positive and negative to be aware of that may affect you depending on what your target goals are."

Designing or Redesigning Your Web Site - Has The Time Come?
"Whether you've had your Web site for two years or ten, it might be time for a change."

Got Duplicate Content? Don't Let It Dilute Your SEO Efforts
"There's really nothing wrong with having multiple versions of a page co-exist on your website. Sure, there's some redundancy, but it won't break the Internet. However, the problem arises when the same page lives in different sections on your site AND it has different URLs. Then it's considered duplicate content by the search engines."

Sound Investments For Your Web Site
"Regardless of the purpose of your website, selling stuff, getting leads, or page views, utilizing these three methods of website improvement will pay off far beyond your investment in a specialist, in-house training, attending a seminar, or however you choose to get it done."

Observations

People Want To Buy Stuff

Data is pouring in from different places about how people use the Internet to do research before they buy.

It is going to be next to impossible to get real-time inventory data on live goods at the local garden center / nursery until RFID systems are ubiquitous.

Regardless, Internet users want to know what you have. Here is a chart that shows what they are doing:



Click here to see the full size graph.


Yes, they are doing research on the Internet and going to the store to purchase ... in a combination of scenario's.

The chart below shows what they influence of the Internet and in-store combinations:



Click here to see the full size graph.