The 1 Web Design

When Is the Right Time to Hire a Marketing Firm?

admin — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:25:47 +0000

Many people believe that hiring an outside marketing firm is only for the rich and famous – whether big companies or big names, celebrities or politicians. Even though much of that misconception is true, most major brands and famous individuals do count on the help of a marketing firm, we take exception only to the “only” part. Even small or medium sized companies can profit plenty from outsourcing their marketing needs to a firm.

It’s time to hire a marketing firm when you look around and realize that your business, no matter how small or how niche, faces competition. Whether that competition is stiff or slight, the time to act is now. If your competition already seems to be appearing everywhere and is taking huge bites out of your territory, the time to hire a marketing firm was yesterday. If not, the time is today, before the previously mentioned nightmare takes place.

Marketing is essentially communication through copy and graphic design – telling your potentials clients about the services or products your business has to offer, and doing so in the best way possible. Marketing firms are professionals in this kind of communication and are the best way to perform this kind of
communication. Their sole focus is to make the world aware of your presence and your products as well as to get the potential clients out there to consciously decide to choose your business over the competition. Hiring a marketing firm is a way to work smarter rather than harder and to create an image for your company that will both nurture and foster your business and brand. It’s much easier to sell your stuff if everyone already knows who you are.

It’s time to hire a marketing firm when you realize that you need a fresh perspective on your product or your business in general. If things have been feeling a little stale recently and it seems like the same old both in your sales and in your methods, don’t worry, that’s perfectly normal. That’s exactly why there are good marketing firms out there, to shake things up and give you some fresh ideas on your marketing strategies. There are hundreds of brilliant ways to get your products into peoples’ households – half of which you’ve probably never heard of. And that’s fine because your job is to make a good product or
provide a good service, one that your clients will be happy to have purchased. It’s the job of your marketing firm to stay abreast of all these tips and tricks and use them to get your products sold.

So stop trying to make it up as you go. Instead, rely on the experts who have what it gets to put you on top of the competition.

4 Ways You Can Use Video to Keep Visitors on Your Website Longer

admin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:53:26 +0000

With the boom of YouTube, Flash, and now, HTML5, video is a powerful way of promotion and providing content on a website. Compared to reading long, boring articles, many people would rather watch a shorter, more entertaining video that gets the point across in more stylish fashion and in less time. For those looking to take advantage of videos for their websites, here are 4 tips on using videos to keep visitors on your website longer:

1) Use Bullets

Similar to conducting Powerpoint presentations, when delivering information, rather than showing full paragraphs that would either be read word for word or somewhat paraphrased by the narrator, it is much better for a list of bullets to get a point across. Then the narrator can simply discuss the topic in his own words.

A visitor might as well be reading an article if full paragraphs are shown in the video. Keep things simple and use less words.

2) Include Interesting Infographics, Images, and Animations

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, right? So rather than fill a video with lots of words, take advantage of the video medium with infographics and images that can summarize a topic in a manner that is easier to digest and more entertaining.

With the animations, once again, simplicity is key. Have you seen those annoying animations in some Powerpoint presentations? You don’t want to get that carried away with things. As long as you have something that isn’t boring and static, a basic animation should help keep your material fresh.

3) Animated Narrations

If a narrator is utilized for the video, make sure his or her delivery is engaging and not in monotone manner. Who would want to listen to someone with a robotic voice for several minutes? How are you supposed to sell a product or get your point across that way?

That’s why it’s necessary to have someone who has the ability to speak in an animated fashion to keep visitors on the site.

If you have a hard time delivering a clear, concise and energetic message, try using teleprompter software so that you’ll have one less thing to worry about.

4) The “Table of Content” Video

You can use a video that lays out the various features and contents of your site. This can be one of the first videos that a visitor would encounter on your site. Imagine this as a table of contents for your website to help visitors better understand the purpose of your site and how to better navigate through the various pages.

Having such a video should help increase overall activity on your website as they’ll be better informed of what they can do and find there.

Video is Here to Stay

Web video is very powerful when used properly. Above were just a few ways to keep visitors on your site for a longer time, but for more strategies, learn to experiment and think outside of the box. The more unique your approach, the better it will attract visitors and keep them on your site.

Remember that quality is always better than quantity.

How much should a website cost?

admin — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:00:38 +0000

At some point, almost every entrepreneur finds themselves asking “How much should a website cost?” Unfortunately, there is no one-size fits all answer because it depends on a lot of different variables. It’s a lot like asking how much a house should cost.

One key factor in the cost of a website is the web design firm that you choose. If you want a stunning design, be prepared to pay for it. Firms that charge a premium can do so because they have invested years of hard work and a considerable amount of money to develop the skills, experience and reputation that they’ve earned. Hiring these firms usually means that your website will present a more powerful image and produce better results more quickly than if you chose a less qualified firm.

The capabilities of your website are another factor in the cost. If you just need a simple website with a quality design and a few static pages, you should be able to find several reputable firms in the $1,000 – $2,000 range. If you need something a bit more labor intensive, like a content management system or e-commerce, the price tag can quickly jump to the $2,000 – $5,000 range. For something even more complex, such as a website similar to My Space or Twitter that will require a lot of custom back-end programming, your costs will be even higher – often well over $10,000. Additional features mean additional costs because despite what many people seem to think, there is no “easy button” that a web designer can simply push.

An often overlooked factor in the cost of a website is your own planning and communication. If you change directions in the middle of a project, that means that your designer has to go back and start over, resulting in additional charges. Likewise, the more clearly you can communicate any changes or revisions, the sooner they will be able to complete your website to your satisfaction, helping to avoid additional charges.

Time can also be a factor in the cost of your website. When you ensure that your web design firm has enough time to handle your project properly, your costs will always be lower than if they have to shift other projects around to meet your deadlines. Many firms charge a 100% – 200% surcharge for rush jobs, especially if it requires working through weekends. Being well-prepared can often help you keep your costs down and make for a smoother process.

One final thing to consider in the cost of your website – it’s completely acceptable to negotiate, but be realistic. Don’t expect a designer to cut their fees in half, work for a share of your profits or design your website prior to payment to “see if you’ll like it.” They are professionals, and as with any other business relationship, they should be treated with the same respect that you expect from them.

Tips on Choosing a Domain Name

admin — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 14:35:08 +0000

A solid keyword domain name is the key to establish a strong presence and making the resources of the Internet more reachable. With a great name, it’s always easy to reach new and existing clients. Therefore, a number of companies are ready to spend a large amount of money to get hold of and promote a good keyword rich domain name.

Choosing a keyword domain name can be vital to the success of a website. In order to take advantage of search engine traffic, people choose keyword domain. By selecting a domain that is equivalent to a keyword search, websites are able to rank higher for targeted keywords and thus benefit from added traffic and more potential clients. Whether to opt for a brandable domain or a keyword domain is a choice one must make in accordance with their business plan.

Follow these simple rules to maximize the benefit of a keyword domain, accomplish success in directory submissions, and enhance site keyword density:

Structure

Order the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) in such a manner that more vital keywords are listed before those that are less important. For example, if he target keyword is “money” then money-online.com would be more effectual than online-money.com.

Length

A majority of studies confirms that a number of people use two words or more in a search; as a result phrases are very useful.
Always stick to two-three keywords, with hyphens in between.
A lengthy, complex URL is more likely to be rejected by directory editors’ sites from which one would like to receive links.

Correct English and Must Make Sense

In order to execute directory submissions and link popularity campaigns, the URL should be grammatically correct.
When examined by an editor, “money-online-white.com” might sound like a less-reliable resource while “white-money-online.com” sounds more justifiable and is less likely to be questioned.

Put together “power words”

In order to create a distinctive domain name that is still available, one way is to add another less important word to the mix. A few examples include: now, top, just, goto, pro, guide, online and find etc.

Try to Register a .com Domain

Whenever possible, use “.com”. In case it is a business website, avoid using domains ending with “.biz” or “.org”. You can can consider registering a “.net” domain, but as most people are familiar with “.com”, it is better to stick to convention.

In addition to the above, an understanding of the domain name system (DNS) is also vital while choosing a domain name. The DNS is set up to make regular words map to IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. In order to connect all computers on the Internet, an IP address is used by networks. A domain name can be up to sixty-three characters, comprising of letters, numbers, or the dash symbol. For example, in the world of computer networking, the web address fishing.com becomes the IP address 124.133.1.1. However, it’s the domain name that people around the world use when looking for Web sites or sending an e-mail.

Finally, it is very important to choose a keyword phrase very carefully. This can be considered as one of the most critical decisions one will make regarding the success or failure of a website. One must identify the exact phrase that searchers will use to find a website. The more targeted the campaign is, the more increase in sales will be achieved.