Archive for December, 2007

Save up to $1,000 on Logo Design When Your Website Designer Creates Your Logo

December 28th, 2007

Getting noticed by potential clients and customers is essential in today’s business market.  And we all know that there are different ways that people are likely to notice you.  Sure, you could hang out in a plaid leisure suit and try to get passing folks to stop rolling their eyes long enough to hear your pitch. Or you could don a custom tailored Armani suit and have people stop and inquire about how you might assist them.

New businesses and even established companies have to vie for customer’s attention. One of the most effective ways to get recognized it is to have a memorable, timeless, consistent, and recognizable company identity.  Your reputation for quality business is a part of that, as are referrals from existing clients.  However, when it comes to attracting new business, in this day and age, you want to have a public image that is clear and effective.

Starting up a new business is an expensive endeavor, and often areas like logo design fall into the “we’ll do something temporary now and fix it later when we have some cash flow” category.  But this is one of those areas where you can’t afford to skimp. First impressions are everything, and your logo is going to be the first thing most people see.  And, you want to make sure that first impression is a good one!

Even if you have only a moderate budget, you don’t have to settle for an unprofessional, unimaginative logo. With few exceptions, you are going to need a website as well, even if it is just a single page with information about what you do and how to find you.  Building in logo design as a part of your website design can be a great way to have your cake and eat it too.

Most professional web design companies, like Digital Peabody, have quality graphic artists on staff. When you are interviewing web design companies (read this informative article on how to hire a web design firm) talk to them about the idea of branding.  Let them know that you are looking to create a cohesive marketing and communication plan, and ask if they have the resources to do that for you.  Ask that when they create the bid for your site that they include the cost of designing a logo.

The average price of a professionally designed basic website is around $4,000. If you were to hire a graphic artist to create a logo along with a corporate identity package you are likely to pay around $2,000. Chances are your web design company will underbid that when it is included in the cost of a larger project. It is likely that you can have a custom logo designed for only $1,000, half of what you would pay elsewhere. That’s a great deal considering how important your company’s branding is to your success.   

Contact Digital Peabody today to discuss how we can help you create the perfect public image.

Posted in Web Design, Website Tips
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SEO Services - Why You Need a Search Engine Optimization Maintenance Service Plan

December 11th, 2007

These days it is not enough to simply have a new website designed, have the website optimized by SEO Professionals, and expect it to continually rank well. To ensure that your website will continuously improve its rankings, you need a  search engine optimization maintenance plan. There is a very simple reason for this: rankings attract more visitors and make more sales. If you leave your site alone after the initial optimization, you are likely to quickly lose the new business your website generated from the initial optimization.

The bulk of the work was done when you first optimized your website. Now you want to maintain that success and even improve upon it. The good news is that SEO maintenance tends to cost much less than the initial optimization. The cost, of course, depends upon your website and the industry it caters to. Typically the more competitive the industry, the more expensive it is to maintain your ranking.

Here is a list of features which are included in Digital Peabody’s SEO maintenance plans:

Ranking Analysis – Search engine rankings fluctuate. Not only are your competitors trying to out rank you but the search engines also change their ranking formulas. More sites are added to the web each day so you need a professional website company to monitor your search engine rankings for each of the major search engines.

Traffic Tracking – To stay on top, you need to know where your web visitors are coming from and what keywords are being used to find your site. If the majority of your traffic is landing on one particular page, you need to know so that you can put your most important message or best products on that page. Understanding your traffic is all about keeping your ranking and using that information to increase sales and improve services.

Keyword Research – The thousands of websites that are added to the internet each day influence the ranking of keywords. Keywords that received high rankings a few months ago may not do so today. In other words, high search engine positions for your most important keyword phrases is great but if you are not receiving any traffic from those phrases, you will need to evaluate the keywords that you have used. Attaining a #1 ranking for keywords that no one will search for, is not very helpful.

Researching New Keywords – For the reasons stated above, you must maintain good rankings. Analysis of the current keywords used on your site plus researching new ones is important to your business. But you don’t merely identify a list of keywords. You need to add updated the content of your website to include the new keywords. Often times this includes minor changes to the page titles, meta tags, and text headings. Sometimes it may involve additional sections to the site, rewriting content and reorganizing the website’s structure. The degree of changes needed to accommodate new keywords is dependent upon the specific requirements of your website and market.

Competitive Analysis - An integral part of search engine optimization is determining what keywords your competitors are using. Since competition is always changing, you need to continually know where your key competitors are currently ranked for the same keywords you are using for your website. It is also a good idea to know how many competitors you have within each of the major search engines.

Inbound Links – The more inbound links or links that point back to your site there are to your site, the better your ranking will be on the search engines. You need to routinely increase the amount and quality of the inbound links to your site. This requires extensive research of other sites related to yours and requesting to add or exchange links with them.

SEO maintenance should be an integral part of your business plan. Since a website is often the first introduction people have to your business you must make sure that they will find you. After the initial optimization is done, you, therefore, need to continuously maintain and improve upon those results.

To find out more about Digital Peabody’s Search Engine Optimization Maintenance Plans, please call Lauren Engel at 303-468-5707 or 312-933-3430.

Posted in Search Engine Optimization
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How To Build Trust with Your Online Customers

December 10th, 2007

Over 99% of consumers check to see who is behind a website before you purchase something from a website. When there is no contact information or anything about the owner or company, most consumers will move on.

Unfortunately everyone has heard a few too many stories about corruption on the internet and nobody wants to be the next victim.

As a website business or website owner, your first job is to protect your client and conduct your business in an honest way. To convey this to your customers, here is a short list of things you accomplish this:

• Provide Contact Information – When you need help the worst thing is not being able to reach someone who can help you resolve the matter, right? At the very least place an email and regular address on the website. But since most people prefer to talk to a real person rather than use email, you should provide a telephone number. Answering a few questions might be enough to win a customers trust.
• Include an “About Us” Page – Let your customer know all about yourself and/or your company. Another nice touch is to include some photos of staff and facilities. In short, the more you can establish a personal bond with your potential buyer, the greater your chances of success.
• Include Testimonials – Over the years we have found that testimonials are a great way to showcase your business, its services or products, and establish credibility. It takes a lot of time to get fresh testimonials but it is always well worth it.
• Use Secure Transactions – For e-commerce secure transactions, know as an SSL Certification (Secure Security Link) is a MUST. If a consumer is providing you with his or her credit card number, home address, or other personal information should be able to do so without worrying about have the sensitive data compromised.
• Explain Your Policies – Be upfront about your policies, terms, and conditions. This way you clarify most of the issues prior to the transaction and both parties know what to expect. Put your customer’s fears at ease and you will have a happy customer.
• Accept Refunds - Always accept reasonable return and refund requests. Deal with them promptly and professionally, no matter how the customer acts towards you during the process. It may be a hassle, but this instills a lot of trust. A customer’s biggest fear is that he/she may not receive what he wants or may not be able to return it.
• Provide a Guarantee – If you provide a guarantee for your product or service it will place your customer’s mind at ease. The longer the guarantee the better.

If you follow all of these tips, you will make more sales based on the credibility and trust you have established from your website.

Posted in Website Tips
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Why Does Your Company NEED a Website?

December 9th, 2007

In the United States, it is exceedingly rare to find someone who isn’t online. Just about everyone uses the internet. Some people shop on it; some people us it to gather and analyze information; some people use it to make new friends; and some people use it for business needs. Everyone is online line for one reason or another so there is absolutely no excuse not to have a web presence. If you are still wondering what an intelligent website can do for you, take a look at the results of a recent study conducted by the world-famous Graphics, Visualization, and Usability Center from Georgia Tech University:
Nearly 85% of all U.S. households have Internet access, and more than 90% of users say they find businesses and services through internet search engines.

Now, let’s get into the numbers.

According to the U.S. Census bureau there are over 300,000,000 in living in the United States. Roughly speaking, that means that well over TWO HUNDRED MILLION people use the internet to find businesses. No matter what you think, that’s a heck of a lot of people.

Let’s be really conservative and say that only 1% of the U.S. population is interested in your business or services. That’s 3,000,000 people. We know that 85% of that group are on the internet. That’s 2,550,000 people. Of that group we know that 90% are potential customers searching for your business or service. That means that potentially 2,295,000 customers can find your website!

Clearly, no matter what you do – big or small – a professional website is an absolute must for your business.

Are you ready to get started?

If you would like to get started, please call Digital Peabody’s Web Strategist, Lauren Engel. You can reach her at 312-933-3430 or 303-468-5707. Be sure to ask about discounts for new websites!

Posted in Web Design, Website Development, Website Tips
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What is RSS and Why Is It So Simple?

December 9th, 2007

RSS, it’s so easy that SIMPLE is its middle name. RSS is short for Real Simple Syndication. Syndication means to supply for simultaneous publication. In the print world things like newspaper columns get syndicated because it is an easy way to distribute news. On the internet, RSS is a perfect way to distribute any type of content that is frequently updated such as news, blog entries, podcasts, articles, or job listings, lost & found items, personals, and headlines.

It gives internet users the ability to quickly scan the sites that interest you without being bombarded by unwanted email or newsletters.

There’s tons and tons of information on the internet. RSS is an automated way to keep current with your favorite website.

What Is an RSS Reader?
RSS is usually called a feed or web channel. You read the feed through software called an RSS Reader. RSS Readers are a dime a dozen. Actually, they are free – so is the content that you get from them. Using your RSS Reader you subscribe to a feed. There are a few ways to subscribe to a feed: you can enter the feed’s link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. On a regular basis the reader checks your subscribed feeds for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.

How Does RSS work?
From a high-level technical perspective, an RSS file is written in a simple (get it? simple) language that is called XML. Think of it like HTML’s simple cousin from the country. Information is put in the file and the recipients of your RSS receive that information through an RSS reader.

Now, for the BIG Question: How RSS Benefit Your Website?

• Convenient
  Instead of looking at 20 different websites, you can get an update on 20 different websites at a single glance. You don’t need to wait for a single page to load!
• Customizable - With a click of a mouse you can add or replace RSS feeds to your reader. In most cases it is faster than signing up for a newsletter.
• Dynamic - When your website has new content, users know it instantly.
• Anti-Spam - Since users opt-in to receive RSS feeds, you bypass spam filters, firewalls, and avoid spreading viruses.
• Unobtrusive - Allows users to see some of your website’s content without needing to visit your site.
• Fresh - When you add an RSS feed to your site you provide fresh content without lifting a finger.
• SEO - Search engines favor websites that have new content on a continuous basis. When you add an RSS feed you provide that new content on your site.

Do You Have Questions About RSS?

Please call Digital Peabody’s Web Strategist, Lauren Engel. You can reach her at 312-933-3430 or 303-468-5707.

Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Website Tips
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The “Must Have” for 2008: Every Company and Organization Should Have A Web Strategist

December 2nd, 2007

Every business has a plan, right? Some aim to make money and some want to find world peace. Whatever your goals are, you need a strategy to achieve them. Whether your business is strictly online or completely offline, a website is no longer a good-to-have item. A website is a necessity and a strategy for your website or web product is equally as important.
That’s where a Web Strategist comes into play.
A Web Strategist is responsible for defining the near- and long-term direction of your website. In order to succeed at this, they must have a keen understanding of your business, your customers, and the tools that are available to help you.
This is how it works.
Whether you are an established business looking to leverage your know brand assets, a small-sized company who needs to adapt to the internet or a new startup looking to quickly get up and running, a Web Strategist asks three crucial questions:

1. What is your website’s purpose and who is your audience?
2. How will your website get enduring results?
3. Will your audience find what they need?

The bottom line is that a fancy design alone isn’t going to define your company. Or a new marketing strategy. Or a better interface. It’s only when you consider all these elements simultaneously that you have the power to reshape your business into something enduring and category defining.
In today’s internet landscape, it’s essential for forward-thinking developers to conceive new ideas that strategically speak to your audience. A Web Strategist asks a lot of questions, they study how your audience uses the internet, and they learn about your industry.

Talk to Digital Peabody’s Web Strategist about our time-tested process that will produce a website that is totally aligned with your audience.

Posted in Website Development, Website Tips
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