How do I choose a good web site design company?

Every talks about choosing the right SEO company but very few people talk about the right web site design/development company. Choosing the right web site company is arguably as important if not more important than choosing the right SEO company.

That seems like a bold statement to make, but if you think about it your web site is your foundation. If you are building a house and the foundation crew is not good at what they do, the rest of the house is structurally weak. The same holds true for your web site, if you are doing SEO but the web site is not built properly your SEO is limited in it's effectiveness.

So what makes a good web site company? I think as a company you should ask the following questions and expect to get something close to the following answers:

Q - Do you have examples of your work?
A - (Some design companies do not have a portfolio online but they should be able to show you examples by emailing or telling you the links to the sites that they have created.)

Q - Do you design using CSS?
A - Yes, we design using CSS as it is very important to keep the code of the site as clean as possible.

Q - Is your CSS design tableless?
A - As much as possible, there are certain times when tables are needed, but we try to use 100% CSS layout as much as we can.

Q - Are you using prebuilt templates?
A - (This answer will depend on the company you are going to, some are very upfront about using them. You want to be sure if they are that the templates are SEO friendly).

Q - Is the site mine when it is done being paid for?
A - Yes, after the site is built and paid in full you are able to take the files and move the site to wherever you feel comfortable hosting it.

These are a few simple questions that should help to make sure the web site design company you are using will be beneficial for your end product. You want to be sure that the company is not using all images to create your website and/or using Flash when it is not needed. Images and Flash are useful and graphically pleasing but they have their place.

Think of your website as that extra sales person. You want to be sure you are hiring the best possible candidate for the job and therefore the company building the site should be the best possible company for the job.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Is SEO worth it?

I was recently reading through some posts that were listed at Sphinn and came across one titled "What A Waste...Oh The SEO!!", in which they talk about how AMEX has decided to take the stance that SEO is a big scam. This brings to the forefront the question that many people often ask "Is SEO worth it?"

The answer to this is no as simple as one might think, in my humble opinion. You can not simple just say yes it is worth it, because as you can read in the above mentioned blog, there are times when SEO is simply not worth it. Whether you are being taken advantage of or the SEO you have hired just doesn't know enough, this scenario would yield the answer that NO it is not worth it.

However, if you have someone like Julie Joyce running your SEO campaign then I would have to say that YES SEO is worth it. A person like Julie will work as hard as they can to drive as much traffic to your site as possible while at all times keeping the best interest of your company in mind. This mentality is exactly what we preach and practice here at Ignite Media and commend Julie for conducting herself like this.

We realize that honest, hard working people are not always the easiest to come by. There are plenty of SEO companies out there who only care about the money they are getting for the "service" they are providing you and not about your success at all. As with any other purchase or contract in your life/business you need to know who you are getting involved with. Ask them for references, results, and/or an easy opt-out clause of the contract.

SEO can be worth it, and should be worth it, you just have to make sure you know who you are dealing with and that they are truly WORKING FOR YOU and not WORKING YOU FOR YOUR MONEY!

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Beyond Your Website...

Internet Marketing should go well beyond your website. There are various ways to promote your company using the internet without them ever having to have gone to your website. Below are a few ways that you probably have heard of, but just never tried and we urge you to try:

Blog Writing

Ok so this one is usually connected with your website, but people will find your blog in various ways. If your blog is run by blogger you will/can show up in their blog lists. People can also subscribe to your RSS feed, and therefore not have to go back to your website or blog unless something interesting peaks their curiosity.

Press Releases

The days of contacting hundreds of editors and trying to find their correct phone number are over. Today there are few sites that you can submit your press release too and they will do the syndication for you. Sure they cost a little money, but your time is cut down drastically so you can concentrate on your next task.

Email Blasts

You probably have a contact/client database somewhere. If you have email addresses in that list you can start an email blast campaign. We do not suggest that you use Outlook or any in house emailing program, but rather use an email blast service as they can provide statistics as well as keep you Anti-Spam compliant.

Link Building

Go out and find websites that would make sense to have a link to your website and maybe even you having a link to them. It can be an association, distributor, informational site, etc. As long as you can see a natural connection between the two sites then the link will be beneficial.

These are just a few ways that you can utilize the internet to help promote your company and website. If you stop to think beyond the confines of your website you may find there is a whole world of possibilities on the web.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Egg Hunt Anyone?

Hopefully you answer no to this question! An egg hunt is great for little kids and parents around Easter time, but it's certainly not what you want people to think of when searching for something on your site. You don't want to make people run around your site looking for what they need; you want to make it readily available.

Multiple points of entry (MPoE), is the name of the game. Many times people say "why do you have a link to widgets in two places, isn't that redundant?". Yes it is, and for very good reason. Would you have noticed the link to widgets if it was only in one place and that one place was at the bottom of a list of other links? Probably not. Sure it may seem a little redundant, but wouldn't you rather be redundant and have people find what they want then be conservative and have them "hunt for eggs"?

Now don't get me wrong, I think that there is a fine line between being positively redundant and negatively redundant. You certainly do not want to start making every word in every sentence on your website a link. However, appropriately done, a little redundancy can be a positive thing.

Take for example www.target.com - they have multiple ways to get to the same thing. What they did however is use different wording each time. So if I wanted to get some bedding I can click on 'Bed and Bath' on the top nav bar, or 'Bedding' on the left nav bar, or further down there is 'Bed and Bath' as a text link on the left nav bar. Three ways on one page to get to the same area of the site, but it works and it doesn't feel like they are yelling at me to get there.

Take some time to look at your site. When you are on the home page specifically or any landing page you should have at least two ways to get to the same place (for the most important sections at least). Have one way be a nice navigation button/link and another be a content bucket or ad/button. I think you'll like the results you see.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Survey Your Customers

I recently was speaking with a friend who works for a large marketing agency. She was telling me about how the company is very proactive about getting customers/clients feedback on the projects the company just completed for them. What a great concept, asking your customers before they have the chance to tell someone else!

What makes this approach so great? Well for starters you are getting first hand information from your clients on what they thought of how the project went. This allows the company to make an immediate change if necessary. All too often I find that companies wait until they hear a client had a bad experience from someone who overheard them, or who the client complained to. Why not give them a sounding board, especially one that you will hear?

How can we survey our customers?
It really isn't that hard. A simple postcard sized questionnaire/survey will do that trick. A few well thought out questions will get you some really good feedback. Keep the questions short and to the point, and make sure they will get you information that will be useful to evaluate.

Another approach is to try doing an auto emailing when a job is complete. The email can have a link/links to an area of your website that has a short survey. This can be even more useful then a hand written survey because the data is already electronic as soon as the person is done with the questionnaire.

There are a variety of different approaches you can take. The point is, do something! Getting feedback from your clients is vital to ensuring that your company will continue to grow. You cannot fix what you do not know is broken, and you will never know its broken unless someone tells you.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Know Your Own Website

Have you ever been on a website, called up the company and asked them where something is? Or have you ever emailed a company because you couldn't find what you needed on their website, only to have them email you back and say "look on our website"?

Many times companies are not using or looking at their own website and therefore don't know what is there and what isn't. This can be incredibly frustrating from a customers view point. You need to know what you are putting out there for people to see and read.

There should be a system in place to have your website reviewed on a regular basis by as many people in the company as possible. This will ensure that all the information is there and it is in the right place. The ideal people to do this are the customer service people who are answering the phones, they know what people want and can tell management that something is missing and needs to be added.

You certainly would not put out a catalog before you reviewed and proofed it, so why would you not look at your website is available to anyone with an internet connection?

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

The Budget is Tight, Should Marketing Stop?

Are you crazy? NO, marketing should increase! That's right, you should be marketing your company more then ever. People still need your services/products, but they just might not need as much of your services/products. That just means you have to find more people to buy from you then you did when times were good.

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes that companies make. They know they have to cut spending but they tend to look in the wrong direction. Marketing is what gets you new business and clients you may not have reached before. Marketing is what will keep your name fresh in the eyes of your existing clients.

You don't have to to crazy and spend way over your budgeted amount but you certainly should spend what your budget allows for. Get a new ad in a magazine, start up that PPC campaign, build that new section of your website, start that new email marketing campaign, and more. Let people know that you are out there.

How does this help me in the long run?
So now that you have decided marketing during the slow times is a good idea, you can look at what it will do for you down the road. When the economy starts to lift you will be that much further ahead of the competition (or what is left of your competition). With your continued marketing efforts you will most likely pick up new business and when your existing customers are ready to start spending more you will already have shown them that you are still around.

It may not be easy, and it may seem like an extra cost that you could save on right now, but if done right, marketing during the slow times can insure that your company goes on to do well during the good times.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Differentiate Your Business

Make your business stand out from the crowd. Something every business owner knows they have to do, but most are not clear on how they can do it. It is easy to get stuck in the "bubble" of your industry and not see where your company can stand out from your competitors.

The answer can be as simple as a return policy or a shipping method that no one else in your field offers. Sometimes the smallest of things can mean a lot to the customer who is buying your goods or services. Free shipping is probably one of the most common ways to attract customers, but it certainly is not the only way.

A small baby equipment rental business in Canada (www.tinytravellers.ca) was recently discussing ways in which they can really give their clients that added value and get them to rent again. It didn't take long before the ideas started to take on a life of their own. Something as simple as giving a free gift with every rental such as a baby bib with their logo on it, or a child's toy again with their logo on it. For the small expense of printing these speciality items they will get some great reaction and most likely a large referral program by word of mouth (the best type of referral!).

You are probably thinking that it is easy to think of something for a baby website, but it can be that easy for any business. It just requires thinking about every part of your business, from the minute you say hello to that potential customer to the minute you get the final check for the product/service they purchased. Are there areas you should be giving out discount cards if something doesn't go right? Would a personal letter for each product shipped out give your customer a reason to speak highly about your business? There are thousands of things that can be done with any business.

A business that is looking to grow will do whatever it takes to get ahead. Sometimes that requires taking a step back and looking at the big picture. You can make your mark you just need to find a way to separate yourself from the crowd.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Knowing Your Audience...

Everyone has heard this saying a million times "Know Your Audience", but it is probably one of the most important sayings in business. As a business owner, blog writer, employee, marketer, or any other job where you interact with customers you need to know who they are.

I don't mean you need to find out what type of food they like to eat, or what color is there favorite color. When they say "know your audience", they mean know what level and what style you are writing or speaking to them in. You never want to assume that whatever you write or say is coming across as clear as you may think it is.

Take for example a small mom and pop shop on main street USA. If they have a website for their childrens toy store and they write a weekly blog you would expect that the language would be simple, fun, and easy to read. You certainly would not want to read about the technical specifications of how each toy is put together (or at least most people wouldn't!). On the reverse side if you are a major manufacturer and your clients are engineers you would want to be sure to have technical information on how your product/service works.

Knowing your audience also helps with the search engines. The search engines pick up text from your website to display in their results page. If you are that mom and pop shop you would want to give searchers a good feeling from the moment they find out about your website (the search engine results). You only have one chance to make that first impression and every little bit counts.

Choosing your style is just that, your choice. With this blog, we have chosen to keep the style more casual and informative. Being a blog about marketing, business and internet related businesses we could certainly get into technical specifications of a website, or the statistical data about each and every market, but that is not the style we chose. You cannot please each and every visitor that will come to your blog, but you can please the type of visitor that you would like to get as a client. Sending people away isn't always a bad thing, especially if that visitor was not your ideal customer.

A good approach to take before ever writing your first word is to do some field research and see what else is out there. Take a look at the blogs and sites you like and don't like and see why it is you feel that way. Once you've done this, you should have a good idea of the style that will work for you and your business. Most importantly, have fun with it and the people reading will most likely come back to read more.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization