June 9, 2008
I was thinking a bit today on the difference between the words ‘cheap’ and ‘affordable’.
Really because I often get calls from clients asking for ‘a cheap website design’…
So I thought I’d examine the words a bit and how I view them in my own life.
First of all, to me, some things that are cheap, really aren’t affordable in the long run. One of my bad habits is picking things up at the dollar store. Cheap household tools especially. Have you ever bought one of these junky pieces of crap?
If you have, you know that they are good for about one, maybe two uses. Then it’s right back in line at the dollar store again for a new screwdriver or crescent wrench. Now, at first glance, that buck I paid for said tool may sound like a good deal. But as my wife pointed out one day, it’s really just paying the premium price in installments. Yup, a good old Craftsmen tool runs about 6 bucks or so. So if I’d have paid the price the first time, I’d have me a doozy of a wrench and not have to worry about it breaking.
Do Craftsmen tools break? You betcha. But they offer a warranty for the price you pay. So you are covered if something does happen to your tool.
How does all of this apply to affordable website design?
Simple. Cheap does not always mean affordable. Cheap and good are rarely mentioned in the same sentence. Cheap denotes a half effort. A less than par performance. A less than average product.
So no. We don’t offer ‘cheap’ website design.
We do offer affordable website design.
Call us and see:
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
Posted by admin under Affiliate Websites, Business, E-Commerce, Real Estate Websites, SEO | Comments (0)
May 26, 2008
Is where you host your site important?
Many say yes, and I tend to agree. There are ‘Bad Neighborhoods’ on the web just as their are in the real world.
The difference is that these are website neighborhoods.
You see, each web address (www.yoursitenamehere.com) is actually tied to a number defining it and it’s whereabouts. These numbers are called IP’s (Internet Protocol). Each host pays for the use of specific blocks of these numbers and in turn assigns them to websites that are hosted with them.
You can have a shared IP or a dedicated IP. And I always suggest that you pay a little extra for a dedicated IP if the option exists at your host. It is a factor with many of the algorithms and can help your SERP (Search Engine Results Page) placement.
Shared IP’s with many hosts can be a bad thing. Your site can be held guilty by association by some of the engines. For example, if your site is hosted on the same IP along side adult sites, hate sites, spammy sites, etc, you can see your results drop. Yup, you might be living in a bad neighborhood online.
At times you can see these same issues with dedicated IP’s as well. Your IP block could be littered with junk sites and your site fall victim.
This is why we take extreme effort to guard our boxes and the sites we host. We personally know every single person on our servers. We do not offer public hosting, only private hosting exclusively for our clients.
At either rate. Be sure and investigate your hosting thoroughly. Know the neighborhood you are living in online. If you don’t like your neighbors, maybe it’s time to consider a move.
Until Next Time….
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
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May 24, 2008
So you’ve either purchased a book or magazine outlining basic HTML and design, or you’ve just completed a class at the local junior college and you’re ready to build your site.
Cool. Let’s do it!
One thing you really need to take into consideration is this. Though you now likely know some really cool stuff, you don’t need, or want, to use every single bell and whistle in your new site.
Nope. If you can take one thing into your design is the KISS method.
Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Believe me. My very first website was FULL of really cool features, marquee’s, flashy stuff, etc. And it didn’t make me a dime.
Why? Well, back in the mid 90’s when I started building sites I really didn’t know much about what would actually SELL users. All I really knew was a bit of code and how to put it into pages. In my first website (which hasn’t existed for well over 13 years now, thank God…), I did not take into consideration that I needed to write some really excellent sales text. I didn’t take into consideration simple stuff like the time it takes for a page to load, what was sitting above the fold, what are the hot spots within a page, where do the eyes tend to wander, etc.
Nope. I didn’t know a thing. Luckily I had a mentor help me tear that page apart and rebuild it. To teach me that the online world and the real world are really one in the same. In order to sell your product you must have some sales ability. You need to tell your users WHY they should buy that product from you. You need to guide them through the site, and through the sale.
So yes, you now possess some awesome skills. Take the time to learn some basic sales to go with it. Write good text to include within your site. Study the layouts of successful sites and ask yourself WHY these sites are successful. What physical characteristics do many of them have in common? What aspects do you see over and over again? Remember, these sites use specific sales psychology for a reason.
It works.
If you’re confused and need help with designing your site. Please feel free to give my office a call.
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
Posted by admin under SEO | Comments (0)
May 21, 2008
One question I receive often in my email is whether or not to use free or low priced templates for projects.
Now, my response might surprise you. Because my answer might just be yes. Depending on your project, your budget, your time of delivery needs, etc.
Every project is different, and every client has a different set of needs, goals, and expectations. Budget constraints are probably one of the biggest hurdles you have to overcome when moving forward with bringing your project live online.
With a really tight budget, free templates can be just the solution to cut corners and get moving on the web. But there is a catch. Getting that template to perform well in the search engines is still going to take quite a bit of optimization. Adjustments to the code to make it perform better.
A well optimized template containing CUSTOM content (the actual text within your pages) can perform extremely well. We have several clients that have taken this route, and many of them are indeed sitting at the top of the search results.
So don’t let overwhelming price quotes stop you from bringing your dream into realization.
Call us today and we’ll gladly help you decide the best route.
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
Posted by admin under Affiliate Websites, Business, E-Commerce, Real Estate Websites, SEO | Comments (0)
May 19, 2008
Domain name selection. Your ‘www’ on the web. An easy part of the design process, right?
Maybe. For some. But not for everyone.
One of the things we encounter a lot with new clients wanting better search engine placement is that they have often opted for a poor domain name for their site.
For example. Let’s say that ‘Bob’ builds custom bicycle seats. Really really cool custom bicycle seats. And ‘Bob’ is really really proud of his work. His art. His passion. So ‘Bob’ decides it’s time to take his product online.
‘Bob’ shoots on over to his favorite domain registrar and finds that his DREAM url (domain name) www.bobsfantasyseats.com is actually available! So ‘Bob’ registers that bad boy for ten years, with dreams of being the biggest manufacturer in the world when it comes to cool custom bike seats.
But did ‘Bob’ pick a good name for his product? No. ‘Bob’ picked a cool name for ‘Bob’….
What he failed to do is to consider using some basic keyword research in order to find a good domain name that might actually help him rank better in the search engines.
Before you start writing your email to me full of branded examples (www.google.com comes to mind…) let me say this. YES, using other optimization methods, coupled with an excellent advertising budget, ANYTHING can be branded. If you have millions of dollars, you can make wooymooy a universally recognizable brand.
The fact of the matter is, most of my new clients don’t have an unlimited budget. Most don’t have years to cultivate the branding and the time to wait for other optimization methods to compensate for a branded domain. No, most of my clients want faster results. And that means looking for a domain name pertinent to the product your selling. Using keyword research to see what your users actually type into the search engines.
So going back to our example, wouldn’t it have been much better for ‘Bob’ to consider something like custombicycleseats.com? Even custombikeseatsbybob.com would have been better than the domain given in the example. Because these domains contain keywords that Bob’s buyers might actually search for. Resulting in visitors that are not only curious about your product, but resulting BUYERS.
What a concept, huh?
But yes, it can be confusing, and we are here to help. We are experts in helping you locate the best possible domain name for your products.
Give me a call and I’d be happy to help.
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
Posted by admin under Affiliate Websites, Business, E-Commerce, Real Estate Websites, SEO | Comments (0)
May 15, 2008
SEO. Search Engine Optimization.
You probably have an idea of what this is. But for the average Joe starting a new website, you may not have any clue what you need to do in order to optimize your site for great search engine results.
A quick search for firms offering SEO services may not help much either. There are about a million companies out there offering to ‘make you number one’….
Even more common, are unsolicited offers by email offering these same types of search engine dream results.
But if they were really able to do that, why in the heck are they spamming you? Why aren’t they just reaping the benefits of their inside knowledge? Sitting at the top of the listings themselves for ANY term they want?
Because good, solid, long term, quality SEO is a mystery to most of these companies. SEO for RELEVANT terms. Terms that will actually make sales for you. Now that’s the ticket.
What these companies promise and what they deliver are too very different things. What they count on is your lack of knowledge and your absolute need to receive good search engine traffic. They know you are desperate, and they know you’ll shell out a few dollars in the hopes that ‘this company may just be the one…’
Stop to think a minute though. If they were the one. If they hold the key. Why are they spamming people in order to try and drum up some business?
Because they don’t know how to obtain good solid listings for relevant keywords. Plain and simple.
What they usually deliver for their promised top ten placement in their ads is this. A non relevant term or phrase. Something that NO ONE wants. Something that NO ONE searches for. Yes, they kept their promise to you and you are now the proud holder for the number one spot for the search phrase “I like oily jelly.”
Unfortunately, even if someone actually did search for that term, which is highly unlikely, I’m pretty sure it won’t help you if you’re selling real estate.
Nope. Unless you’re really offering ‘oily jelly’ (bleck), it’s wasted dough. It’s wasted time. It’s absolutely worthless.
So Chuck you ask. What is a good, solid SEO strategy?
So glad you asked.
Give me a call, and I’d be happy to help you develop a long term strategy for your site that will actually help you SELL your products.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Chuck Crawford
559-761-0910
Posted by admin under SEO | Comments (0)
