Archive for the 'eCommerce' Category



Inside Tips from a New York Web Design Company

Monday 18 August 2008 @ 11:58 pm

by David Radovanovic

What makes a New York Web design company any different from other Web design companies? That’s easy Competition. Just look at how many design firms there are out there and you will see what I mean! In the city or outside, someone seeking high quality Web design in New York faces hundreds of choices in an area of just a few city blocks. Now that’s competition!

If you don’t live or work there it can be hard to imagine, so let me paint a picture Let’s say you typed “New York web design” into Google’s search box. You would get over twenty one million pages returned! Yes. 21,000,000! Are there that many Web design companies in New York? Of course not. But there are thousands of Web design firms in the area desperately trying to outdo each other. To be seen first and as the best. And 21,000,000 Web pages of competition are a testament of just how hard they will work to do so.

Sure, the competition is crazy but there is a good side. It makes those who really want to shine, work that much harder. They know anyone seeking design services has thousands of choices so they have to keep their ideas fresh and talent at its peak.

That said; here are some inside tips from a successful New York Web design company. We will focus specifically on Website usability, which has the unique distinction of being both the most important and principal consideration yet which is generally least considered.

First of all, people don’t typically read a Web page. They gloss over it. Actually, they quickly scan it so you need to get their attention right away and keep it. Here’s how…

1.) Use your most important keywords as the anchor text (that’s the text comprising the hypelinked words) in your links throughout your page’s content. This is a biggie! Want to see how big?

2.) Make sure your functional areas are consistent, as much as possible, throughout your site. This is especially true of the navigation links (top, left, right, etc.) search fields, logins, and anything else needing user interaction. The more at ease your visitor feels working through the site, the more likely he or she is to stay for a while and go even deeper.

3.) Embed a link to your homepage within your company logo. This is expected by just about every site visitor who has been on the Web for any length of time. It’s a safety net many users rely and to deny it could result in major inconvenience to your visitors.

4.) Add a search box in an easy to find, consistent location. And be certain it searches ONLY within your Website. Having a search feature that offers to “Search The Web” gives your visitors an invitation to leave your site. Why would you want that?

Secondly, people are not the only ones who visit your site. Search Engines do too. At least you should hope they do. So how do you make a website search engine friendly? It’s easier than you might think. There’s a lot more to it than using keywords in your meta tags. The days when you could just add keywords to your site’s head tags are over. The following are the three (3) things you absolutely need to do if you want your site at the top of Google.

1.) Use keywords as anchor text (the visible clickable words) in your links throughout your page’s content. This is huge! Allow me to demonstrate how powerful this one element can be.

Go to Google and run a search for “Click Here” (no quotes.) Now try to pay special attention to two things… First, there are more than 1.6 billion other (competing) pages. Second, the number 1 match is a link to an Adobe Acrobat Reader download page.

Ready for a surprise? The term Click Here is not anywhere on the page text or META tags. The page is number one, out of 1.6 Billion pages, because thousands of Web pages supplying a link to Acrobat “Click Here” as their anchor text of choice. Amazing, isn’t it? This is the best news every for your site! This is like a magic bullet that works every single time. And it’s so easy. This leads us to our next tip

2.) If SEO becomes a priority for your site, as most will, build a separate page for each of your main keywords. And don’t forget to link the keyword rich anchor text, from each individual page, to the topic page that has that specific keyword as its main focus.

Insider Advice: As a Web developer you can deliver more value to your clients and earn substantially more by learning about SEO and helping get your clients sites to the top of Google, Yahoo and MSN. There are plenty of great SEO tools that can help anyone become a quick success with little time or effort. Just find a product that delivers and has customers you recognize. eBay, Motorola and Lexmark all place their online success in the hands of a tool you can get for $250 at http://www.iBusinessPR0M0TER.com. Just dig around and find a tool that has the best success rate with clients who could easily afford anything but choose to stick with that one.

3.) Keep the idea of relevant anchor text in mind when requesting inbound links from other Websites. Google is all about inbound links and even the sites with the best content never get too high without great inbound links. By the way, this might not seem like a ?design? tip but it is more important than you can imagine.

Take this opportunity to build your brand in your own words. Remember, once you have the visitor, you have to keep them. Using the same logic as tip two, you should always request specific keywords be used as anchor text in the links from other sites to your pages. It’s also better to have each link go to the most logical page. Some to the home page are fine but you really want relevant deep linking as much as possible.

Warning: Avoid reciprocal link farms like the plague! They are so easy for Google to spot it’s a joke.

If you need to build links quickly or don’t have the time to dedicate to requesting links yourself, you can use a service that does “3 way linking.? It’s the ideal ?set it and forget it? option without worrying about reciprocal links being tracked. A service called 3 Way Linker (http://www.3WayLinker.com) is one of several that do this nicely and affordably.

It’s so simple that it’s brilliant. Imagine that ?Site A” links to ?Site B” then ?Site B” links to ?Site “C”. Finally ?Site C” links to ?Site A”. Using this method each is a true one way link.

That’s all for now. Good luck!

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Tips for Online Marketing Your E-Commerce Site

Wednesday 30 July 2008 @ 6:39 pm

by SFXsource

Since e-commerce is now a common method of doing business, the initial job in building a successful e-commerce store is finding, categorizing, and uploading a fair amount of useful products onto a well designed online store. The second vital task for being successful in e-commerce is getting traffic. Different ways of getting attention online and accessing the all important traffic that apply to all types of businesses are listed below.

1. Optimize your e-commerce shop for searching by adding a succinct site description, relevant keywords, and a title that describes your business.

2. Exchange links with other sites by adding a link pages or pages. For your links have the link text read the actual keyword that you like to use to drive business to your site opposed to your business title.

3. Create pages for your business on social networking sites, include your business URL on these pages, and make tons of friends. You can definitely increase your user and client base by networking on these types of social sites.

4. Post helpful tips and advice frequently on online forums related to your industry as such posts often allow you to include your URL links.

5. Write articles relevant to your industry and submit them to article directories online. Your URLs can be included in a resource box at the bottom of each article.

6. Frequently submit press releases concerning news about our business or content updates to free press release sites.

A successful e-commerce site needs much traffic to create many sales. Through time, traffic turns into a loyal customer base which ensures your the future of your business. Though, you must consistently follow the above strategies over the years to increase and also simply maintain your search engine rank.

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3 Secrets on Home Based Business Marketing

Wednesday 30 April 2008 @ 6:00 am

by Thomas Griffin

Marketing is the part of business that no one seems to like. Perhaps that’s because it’s confusing and made to be even more confusing when you begin to read books on marketing and its applications to the business world. So, are there any secrets that actually work and that you can actually apply to your online business? The answer is yes. There are three home based business marketing secrets that you can keep in mind as you begin this adventure into running your own business - and as you become a success.

Less is More

One of the things that marketing professionals don’t tell you is that you really don’t need to do as much as you think you do. By simply adopting a strategy of telling as many people as you can, treating each customer with respect, and then repeating this cycle, that’s going to bring in a lot of new business. Word of mouth advertising may not get as much press as it once did, but it certainly still works when it comes to smaller home based businesses.

You also want to keep in mind that these marketing secrets don’t require a lot of time or a lot of money in order to be effective. Something as simple as adding your website address to your emails is just as effective as running a commercial on TV and a lot less expensive to implement. Think about smaller ways to spread the word instead of bigger ways. Target only the customers that have already shown interest in what you have to sell and you’re certain to market for success.

More is Less

You also want to remember that a customer on the internet these days is accustomed to seeing a lot of advertisements, so they know when they are being ’sold’ something. Instead of focusing your messages on sales exclusively, try bringing the customer information they can use - informational articles, etc.

When you put too many advertisements in outgoing emails or you simply push your company too much, you will turn off prospective customers. Even if they are interested in what you have to say, the more you talk to them about the same things, the more they’re going to wonder what the ‘catch’ is and why they should buy from you at all.

Recognize that your customers are smart and that they WILL respond to you, even if you don’t tell them about every sale or every feature for your products. You just don’t have to beat them over the head with what you want to sell them.

Use Your Home Based Appeal to Bring People to You

By adding a personalized touch to your marketing strategies, you will begin to pull in more customers, almost without trying. So often, online businesses forget that it’s their placement and location that allows them to be unique. Instead of downplaying the fact that you work from home, make sure that your customers know it. Show them pictures of your office and pictures of yourself to make the experience more personal. This is a marketing strategy that works no matter what you are selling. Since people aren’t meeting you in person, the personalization will do the ‘talking’ for you, making a customer more comfortable with you.

Try adding a blog to your website that will introduce the kind of person you are and what you are capable of helping a customer with. Or you might want to include a video of yourself talking about your product or a personal story that relates to your product. The internet can be such an impersonal place, so try to connect with your customer more.

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Starting an eBay Business - Write A Business Plan

Wednesday 30 April 2008 @ 5:03 am

by Thomas Griffin

If you are a small business entrepreneur whether you are the Elevator Mechanic or Servant, there is actually more reason to be organized, not less. While some spontaneity is ideal for and expected of small business, a certain amount of planning is imperative if you are going to compete with what similar institutions offer. Take your time now to really plan the scope of your business and write it down. This will give you a legitimate idea of what your challenges are, your current status, where you want to be in 5 years, and how close you are to achieving them.

The first thing is to remember to get all the details down on paper. This gives you a starting point, and something solid to alter if things need to be changed later on. The planning document can guarantee that you, your hired workers, and your investors are all working toward the goal you want.

The first thing to put on your page is a description of your business. This includes what you do, if you pan to provide any services and what products you will produce. In a word, this will serve as the scope of your business. While it can certainly get expanded later on, you will realize that writing down of your limits and terms is very useful for future development. This is also a good place to include what kind of end game you have. While they can be broad goals that you want to stick to, you should build on it with some rough gross and net income figures that you are hoping to see.

Up next, your small business plan should have to do with the market, both where it stands, your market projections and the way you envision your place in the market. Why your business will draw people to it and how is your product going to affect the market itself? How are you going to draw attention to it and how will your business affect different types of clients? This part of your business plan basically proves your company’s right to exist and gives strong reasons why it should be something to put your time and energy into, so take your time and put a good effort into it.

The money end of things is going to be the next thing that you work on. Include license fees, emergency funds, general expenses and anything you can think of that will make you put out money. Because most loan officers will want to read over your business plan primarily for this area, this is of utmost importance for you to have buttoned down. If you are not to sure what to do here, look at examples from similar successful businesses to see what has worked. Although an accurate view of your business where it stands is important, don’t forget to keep your eye on your end goal.

Finally, think about management. Who is running things, and what are their responsibilities? This is a good way to maintain your organization and delineate responsibilities. Like the other area of your small business plan, it can be changed, but the vital thing to do is to have it there in the first place.

Take as much effort as it takes to be sure that your business plan is top notch, and you will realize that your small business will start out the way you want it with a great deal more speed.

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Looking For A Web Host? Here’s What To Look For.

Tuesday 29 April 2008 @ 9:39 pm

by Lucas Heijn

If you were setting up a business you would need to make decisions as to the size shop or building required as well as what equipment you will need.

In starting a business you would need to have a business plan. Part of this plan would include looking over facilities available and how they would suit your needs. When choosing a web host you need to do the same. There are certain requirements you would make sure you have. You would also check out the location.

How much disk space do you need on the server?

How much space (disk space) do you need? Here it is sensible to get whatever you can afford. Most websites will run on just a few MB. You need to find out if you can upgrade without difficulty. Here is one instance where 500 MB may not be enough. If you are going to set up a site with lots of downloadable software you will need to have plenty of disk space.

What is Meant By Bandwidth?

Basically it is the uploading and downloading from your site. Each time you get a visitor to your site they view your site page or pages depending on how many they view. Each time a page is downloaded or viewed by your visitor they are using bandwidth. Hosting companies will limit the amount of bandwidth you use. This information has appeared on your visitors computer because their computer has downloaded the information. This downloading is calculated and is called bandwidth. The more bandwidth you have the more surfers you can have without having to pay additional fees. You should always be able to upgrade to a bigger package and get more. Several companies also offer unlimited accounts.

Will You Require A Database?

The short answer is yes. In fact you will need to make sure that you can run several databases. There are many web applications that have need of a database to run. Let’s say you want to have a Blog on your site. You could download the free script from Wordpress. To set it up it you need a database. There are numerous applications that necessitate databases that you should consider at least getting 5 or 6 available as a bare minimum.

What Control Panel Is For Me?

There are a number of different ones used by hosting companies. There are two that stand out for ease of use. You need to be able to easily understand how to use them. The two I like best are Direct Admin and cPanel. Both are excellent. Many webmasters swear by cPanel. I personally like Direct Admin better, I feel it is the easiest to use. The control panel is where you work behind your site. Here you can set up email accounts, new databases and much much more.

Other Things You Need To Look For

There are added extras that you should be expecting from your hosting provider. a vital one is a site creator. Does the hosting account come with a simple to use site builder? One of the easiest to use in the business is the Drag And Drop site creator. This is a very powerful creator being able to generate vibrant PHP sites.

Some hosts also provide a members area with marketing information and free downloads. Many of these down loadable products could be useful in setting up your new site.

At the beginning I mentioned location. Unlike finding the right shop in which location is everything. In choosing the right web host you need to create the location. This is done by search engine optimization. Search engine optimization is only a small part of getting traffic to your site. There are many things you can and should do to get that traffic to your site. Your success also hinges on the traffic you create for your site.

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