So you have heard of Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn and the many other social networking sites, but the question is are you making the most out of them to help your website?
The answer is probably NO.
Try to think if you do any of the following
1. Do you mention your website URL when you Tweet or change your status
2. Is your website URL in your signature when you post in forums
3. Is your website URL actually part of your profile in your chosen social networking site
4. Do you remember to use Twitter to Tweet when you update your website.
These are just 4 simple ideas you can do right away to help promote your website, but remember to keep to limited as these sites are meant to be about socialising not self promotion.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to http://potissimus.co.uk for more info.
Monday 21 December 2009
Thursday 24 September 2009
Tip 22 - Use Video
Use video on your website to increase visitor interaction.
After thinking about the way the web is going and what people are actually doing online and the more common tasks people are now doing is watching video. With an abudance of video hosting solutions out there you shoudl be incorprating some form of video in your website and marketing efforts.
We have all heard of the big boy out there in terms of online video, that is of course youtube.com the great thing about YouTube is it is easy to host your video online and all the necessary links are included to embed your video on your website.
There are a few key rules to making and hosting your video online.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
After thinking about the way the web is going and what people are actually doing online and the more common tasks people are now doing is watching video. With an abudance of video hosting solutions out there you shoudl be incorprating some form of video in your website and marketing efforts.
We have all heard of the big boy out there in terms of online video, that is of course youtube.com the great thing about YouTube is it is easy to host your video online and all the necessary links are included to embed your video on your website.
There are a few key rules to making and hosting your video online.
- Your video should be kept short, to a maximum of around 3 minutes in length.
- The content of your video should be interesting, try to avoid videoing you sitting in a chair talking about your product or services.
- Your video DOES NOT have to be professional looking, you can use the included tools on both Windows (windows movie maker) or on Apple (iMovie) to make a suitable video for online.
- The files size of your video shoudl be kept as small as possible, ideally to a few MB.
- Informative videos are always the best, thing such as how to's, instructional videos always do well.
The current main topic people do when watching online is firstly watching news related video, and then watching teaching or instructional videos. Everything from how to change your car oil filter to play the guitar.
So think about what you have to offer, if you have a product you job is a whole of easier. If you have a service you need to put your thinking cap on and think of an imaginative way to show what you do. Without being boring.
If you want any assistance or need further advice on how to get your video online, just drop me an email.
Happy Videoing.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
Thursday 27 August 2009
Tip 21 - What is Really Important for SEO
Firstly what is SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimisation and it is simply the tasks involved in trying to improve your website ranking in the search engines. It is normally concerned with such activities as analysing on page text, checking site for validation, getting links and a whole lot of other stuff to get more people to your website.
It has often been said that one of the most important things to have on your site is such things as a relevant title, your chosen keywords within certain types of tags, and a great amount of linking sites to your website.
The following is a list of things that are no longer as important as they once were in getting good search engine ranking.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
It has often been said that one of the most important things to have on your site is such things as a relevant title, your chosen keywords within certain types of tags, and a great amount of linking sites to your website.
The following is a list of things that are no longer as important as they once were in getting good search engine ranking.
- Keywords in Bold or H tags i.e (H1, H2) It is now not as important to have your chosen keywords shown on your website in highligt or bold tags. The search engines are now not as concerned about your website showing text highlighted on the page.
- Lots of sites linking to your website It is now not that important to get lots of links to your website, it is a lot better to get relevant links to your website, although even this will not longer make a lot of difference to your search engine rankings. It will however drive traffic to your website that is relevant, and this means the people following these links may buy your product or sign up for your list, or what ever you wish.
- Meta Tags Meta tags such as description, keywords are no longer relevant in order to gain search engine placement, and this is to the point that some engines dont read them at all. They are still a good idea as it give your site content and allows the browsers to know more about your website.
So you may be saying to yourself if I can't play with my keywords and can't have them bold on my page, and the millions of links I have dont mean anything. Well what does?
The thing to remember is that your website is not meant for the search engines, the design, layout and wording is aimed at your audience. So when ever you work on your website keep in mind that it is an internet user that will use your website, after all they see it in a way that the search engines don't. Make a point of writing good content, and in the process of writing good content, by good I mean good for your topic, you will actually create a site that has lots of nice keywords in it. Without trying too hard to create the content for the search engines.
As for sites linking to your website, it is more important to have a few relevant links than lots of irrelevant ones. This achieves a two fold result, one the search engines look better on this as they see your are not just spamming your website across the internet and secondly you will get traffic to your website without the need for any search engine traffic. After all if someone is on a news article and your site shows up and they click on the link then you get a relevant visitor to your website, then the search engines look at this incoming link in high regard. So when you are trying to get links to your website, try to get high ranking relevant sites to link to you. News and TV website are always a safe bet, but also harder to get links from. That way you not only get people to your website who are interested in your topic, but you also gain an increased position in the search engines.
So in short, the best way to make sure your website is optimised for the search engines is to make sure you do the following.
- Write and Design you website with the visitor in mind. This includes the website copy / text as well as layout and design.
- Try to get incoming links that are from relevant and respected sources, such as local newspaper, TV, radio or any other website that is seen as an authority on your subject.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
Thursday 13 August 2009
Tip 20 - Design over Substance
Ok so how often have you been to a website and thought, what a nice looking site only to find the site navigation hard to use, or the website just not functioning. Unfortunately this an all too common problem. It is mainly due to websites being designed and not developed. This means that too many website have taken design over substance and ended up with a poor website.
Let me explain if you take your home as an example. When your house was built it was first designed by an architect, they decided which doors lead to where, how many rooms there are, where the walls are and so on. It was not designed by an interior designer, as they would come in after the house was built and add the nice finishing touches, after all on the inside your house is nothing more than bricks and mortar.
So how does this fit with your website? Simple, behind the scenes your website is nothing more than a bunch of code (the bricks and mortar) that holds it all together and makes it work in the way you want it to. to see this in action click on the view menu at the top of your browser and select the option for source or page source. It does not matter if you dont understand what you see, you just need to remember that this is all the internet sees of your site. Whether you are searching on a search engine or looking at your site in your browser.
When you are looking at your website, or thinking of getting it redesigned or a new one designed, make sure you go to the right people at the right time. The place to start is with a Technical Architect, they will make sure your site is designed and developed just how you want it and that it will all fit together and work like a charm.
There are lots of agencies out there who do great designs, they also tend to off a lot of offline designs too such as leaflets, popsters, logos, etc. They may be able to make you website look great but due to the fact they are designers your site will lack the necessary functionality that comes with being a website.
So remember this simple lesson, when getting your current website redone or a new one built, start as you would for your home, get the functionality designed by a Technical Architect. Avoid using one of the many companies who also do offline designing (leaflets, brochures, etc) as they will only sub-contract parts of your website out to someone who can do the coding side. All of which will cost you more, where as if you start with a Technical Architect they will make sure you get the right people for the job from day one, and this will save you money in the long run.
If this all leaves you wondering where to start, please feel free to visit my website Potissimus.co.uk or drop me an email sean.connolly@potissimus.co.uk and I will do my best to guide you through this internet driven world.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
Let me explain if you take your home as an example. When your house was built it was first designed by an architect, they decided which doors lead to where, how many rooms there are, where the walls are and so on. It was not designed by an interior designer, as they would come in after the house was built and add the nice finishing touches, after all on the inside your house is nothing more than bricks and mortar.
So how does this fit with your website? Simple, behind the scenes your website is nothing more than a bunch of code (the bricks and mortar) that holds it all together and makes it work in the way you want it to. to see this in action click on the view menu at the top of your browser and select the option for source or page source. It does not matter if you dont understand what you see, you just need to remember that this is all the internet sees of your site. Whether you are searching on a search engine or looking at your site in your browser.
When you are looking at your website, or thinking of getting it redesigned or a new one designed, make sure you go to the right people at the right time. The place to start is with a Technical Architect, they will make sure your site is designed and developed just how you want it and that it will all fit together and work like a charm.
There are lots of agencies out there who do great designs, they also tend to off a lot of offline designs too such as leaflets, popsters, logos, etc. They may be able to make you website look great but due to the fact they are designers your site will lack the necessary functionality that comes with being a website.
So remember this simple lesson, when getting your current website redone or a new one built, start as you would for your home, get the functionality designed by a Technical Architect. Avoid using one of the many companies who also do offline designing (leaflets, brochures, etc) as they will only sub-contract parts of your website out to someone who can do the coding side. All of which will cost you more, where as if you start with a Technical Architect they will make sure you get the right people for the job from day one, and this will save you money in the long run.
If this all leaves you wondering where to start, please feel free to visit my website Potissimus.co.uk or drop me an email sean.connolly@potissimus.co.uk and I will do my best to guide you through this internet driven world.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
Friday 31 July 2009
Tip 19 - Content Management Systems
When it comes to your website, we all know the best way to increase traffic and make it a better website is up to date content. In the past this has meant using your web master to update your content, which has been a time consuming task.
Thankfully gone are the days of relying on your web master to update your content thanks to a wonderful thing know as CMS or Content Management Systems. Put simply these allow the end user, in other words you to keep your website content up to date, this includes everything from the pictures to the text.
There are an adundant number of CMS around and using one does not have to cost the earth, as if you use an open source CMS option then the only cost is the implementation.
Now depending on which technology your site is based on, whether it is .Net, Php, Java there is an open source solution for you.
As I work with Microsoft Asp.Net my personal favourites are umbraco and DotNetNuke these are both Asp.Net / VB.Net based solutions and are simple to set up and use. Word of warning is that they do require some level of technical knowledge to use everyday, although if you get your web master to set them up correctly you should have no trouble using them.
There are a lot of other CMS options available, another one I quite like, although it is PHP based, is Typo3 , although it is better to use the pre built installer for Typo3, which you can find here Typo3 is a nice simple solution and again its open source so the costs are minimal.
WARNING
Althought using open source software saves on time and money, you must be away that open source means everything is available to everyone, this includes the source code. So where honest decent developers are helping develop these systems and push them forward, you also have the dishonest developers who are looking to compromise your security. So just be aware that your MUST make sure your security is tight when using open source.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
Thankfully gone are the days of relying on your web master to update your content thanks to a wonderful thing know as CMS or Content Management Systems. Put simply these allow the end user, in other words you to keep your website content up to date, this includes everything from the pictures to the text.
There are an adundant number of CMS around and using one does not have to cost the earth, as if you use an open source CMS option then the only cost is the implementation.
Now depending on which technology your site is based on, whether it is .Net, Php, Java there is an open source solution for you.
As I work with Microsoft Asp.Net my personal favourites are umbraco and DotNetNuke these are both Asp.Net / VB.Net based solutions and are simple to set up and use. Word of warning is that they do require some level of technical knowledge to use everyday, although if you get your web master to set them up correctly you should have no trouble using them.
There are a lot of other CMS options available, another one I quite like, although it is PHP based, is Typo3 , although it is better to use the pre built installer for Typo3, which you can find here Typo3 is a nice simple solution and again its open source so the costs are minimal.
WARNING
Althought using open source software saves on time and money, you must be away that open source means everything is available to everyone, this includes the source code. So where honest decent developers are helping develop these systems and push them forward, you also have the dishonest developers who are looking to compromise your security. So just be aware that your MUST make sure your security is tight when using open source.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
Wednesday 4 February 2009
Tip 18 - Check It Regularly
Once you have your website up and running, that is not the end of the story, you need to check your website regularly.
There are 2 important factors to consider when checking your site.
1. Make sure you keep your content is up to date, this goes for both the general stuff about your company, yourself or whatever but also for the stuff that is governed by outside forces, such as laws, policies or anything else.
2. As new browsers and operating systems come about make sure your site still looks like you want it to, I cant say how many sites I have seen that dont look right now that the RC1 version of Internet Explorer 8 has been released. If you wish to only target a particular browser or operating system, make it clear on your website.
These are just two main factors, you may also wish to consider the look and feel of your website, after all if you site starts looking dated in terms of design it will put people off, or if your prices are not up to date, or your product list, well I think you get th picture.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
There are 2 important factors to consider when checking your site.
1. Make sure you keep your content is up to date, this goes for both the general stuff about your company, yourself or whatever but also for the stuff that is governed by outside forces, such as laws, policies or anything else.
2. As new browsers and operating systems come about make sure your site still looks like you want it to, I cant say how many sites I have seen that dont look right now that the RC1 version of Internet Explorer 8 has been released. If you wish to only target a particular browser or operating system, make it clear on your website.
These are just two main factors, you may also wish to consider the look and feel of your website, after all if you site starts looking dated in terms of design it will put people off, or if your prices are not up to date, or your product list, well I think you get th picture.
Are you making the most out of your website. The answer will most definately be no. Ask for a FREE report now. Go to www.potissimus.co.uk for more info.
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