Web Site Optimization Tips

Dr. Dave’s Web site optimization tips:

1. Include Meta data in the keywords, title and description
2. Know what keywords you are targeting and use them in the Meta data and repeat them in the content.
3. Put more emphasis on targeted keywords by using them in headlines and subheads
4. Reinforce the importance of targeted keywords by making them bold face and/or underlined.
5. Include targeted keywords in your link structure by using them in hyperlinks
6. Do not embed targeted keywords inside images and Flash animations because spiders can’t crawl and index them.
7. Keep the layout clean and functional. Resist the temptation to cram everything onto one page.
8. White space is your friend – it makes the site look more professional and easier to navigate.
9. Include a site map
10. Include targeted keywords in the names of images and also in the alt text associated with images.

Visit DrDavesWebClinic.com to learn more about Web site optimization.

Increase traffic to your Web site with an SEO audit and design review by Dr. Dave

There is no silver bullet to help increase traffic to your Web site. A complex combination of factors impact Web traffic, and it takes a trained eye to identify and diagnose things that prevent a site from performing up to potential. Before you throw any more money at your Web site, pay per click advertising, or SEO, have Dr. Dave perform a check up and get an accurate diagnosis from a seasoned professional. Stop guessing. Stop experimenting. Stop wasting time and money.

A check up from Dr. Dave covers everything from Meta data, to content, site structure, link strategy and much more. The report you get is personally written by Dr. Dave, a marketing professional with more than 30 years experience. Not only do you get the benefit of his knowledge on Web design and SEO – you also get marketing makeover advice that covers layout and design, color use, copy and headlines, call to action, and much more.

Increasing traffic to your Web site begins by getting the basics right. After you know your Web site is designed and structured properly, then you can turn your attention to products, pricing, positioning strategy and other aspects of the marketing mix.

There are many examples of successful brand mascots, and there have been some flops too. So how do you tell if one is right for your company? There is a series of articles at Toons4biz that will help you find answers. Read about the Do’s and Don’ts for marketing with a brand mascot. Learn what type of companies, products and services benefit most from brand mascot marketing, and which type of products are not best marketed using a brand mascot.

Toons4biz puts professionally designed brand mascots within reach of small businesses. They offer pre-designed brand mascots what come in a clip art set featuring the mascot doing a variety of useful things. Small business owners can purchase a single image, or purchase an entire clip art set. The clip art sets also include logo templates that are easy to customize for the business. Toons4biz also provides custom mascot design services for those who want to own the exclusive rights to their mascot. Additional services also include logo design, Web site design and animation to bring a mascot to life and unleash its full potential.

There are ways to emulate shades of gray – cross hatching or stipple pointing, which includes the use of small lines, or dots, to create the illusion of shading. Not long ago, line illustrations were done using a pen and ink, but today, the illustrator’s tool of choice is the computer and vector drawing programs like Illustrator or CorelDraw. The vector illustrations these programs produce are infinitely scalable, which means you could enlarge them as big as you want without worrying about pixelization, or loss of quality. The line edges always remain smooth, crisp and sharp.

A good source for line illustrations is customlineart.com.

Dr. Dave performs Web site audits for people who want an impartial, third party assessment about their Web site.

Pay a visit to Dr. Dave’s Web Clinic and get an SEO check up for your Web site. Whether you are building your Web site from scratch, or just looking for ways to improve how your existing Web site performs in the organic search rankings, Dr. Dave’s SEO tips are a great place to start.

Unlike other SEO audits, or diagnostics, that simply provide you with a bunch of charts and numbers, the prescription you get following one of my check ups is written in plain English, and is written by a seasoned marketing professional and entrepreneur who knows what it takes to succeed. I visit your site and read through the content. I visit your competitor’s sites, and read through theirs. I give you a set of recommendations that covers strategic positioning, layout and design, branding, copy writing and SEO.

Before you spend one more dime on your Web site, get a check up from Dr. Dave, and make sure you’re on the right track.

The entrepreneur is a talented musician. Much of what resides within them is nebulous. It’s talent. It’s a fiery storm of thoughts and opinions and experience and drive and persistence. It is a bizarre blend of experience, knowledge, insight and intuition that allows them to make the big decisions in such a way to get the right results.

As a musician, the entrepreneur can draw upon his talent to create a beautiful sound that people love and adore and are willing to pay hard-earned cash for. He/she often doesn’t even fully understand where their talent comes from, or exactly how it works. It just comes forward, and they can play. They love what they do. They practice hard. The results are good. The system works, until…

One day he grows tired of toting the entire load himself. He wants to hire help and delegate. Playing beautiful music is easy to him – a transparent process. Surely he can teach others to do the same and assemble a talented team of musicians that will succeed to the highest level. The entrepreneur sets out to build an orchestra that will be his ticket to fame and fortune. No more small nightclubs.

Being a talented musician, the entrepreneur finds it easy to attract like-minded people who want to share in his vision – the American dream of prosperity. Upon finally assembling a 100-piece orchestra, he is ready to raise his baton, and with a flick of his wrist, watch all the adoring fans shower him with praise, and throw money at his feet.

Unfortunately his orchestra gets a luke warm reception. The music was somewhat disjointed and off-key. Rolling up his sleeves, the entrepreneur invites each musician into his office for an individual coaching session. Other than a few minor issues, he finds that each musician is quite talented in their own right. Confident again, he parades his orchestra back in front of a crowd. Again, the results were disappointing. Something just wasn’t right.

Now frustrated, the entrepreneur takes his anguish out on some of the musicians. “They are clearly talented, so they must be slacking off,” he thinks. “A little pressure should be the cure.” Pressure is applied. He fires a few. Some also quit on their own. Others come on board with hopes and plans of making a difference. More pressure is applied and a performance is scheduled. The show must go on!

Sadly, the results are no better. The music is adequate, but certainly not the shining accomplishment the entrepreneur originally envisioned. The public agrees. Sales are flat. Profits are dwindling under the pressure of supporting a full orchestra.

Crushed and bewildered, the talented orchestra leader crawls into bed and confesses to his beloved wife that his vision for greatness is turning into a nightmare, and he is at wit’s end. Calmly, she responds, “Did you give them sheet music?”

Entrepreneurs are a conundrum. The same qualities that make them capable of breathing life into a business, are the ones that prevent them from growing it. In the start-up phase of a business, entrepreneurs have to do a lot of the work themselves. They wear a lot of different hats and have to micro-manage. They have to trust their gut instincts, make quick decisions, and learn to thrive in chaos. As a business grows to include many more employees, they have to learn how to “put their guts on paper.” By that I mean they have to get everyone on the same page, with the same understanding, pursing the same goals with the same tactics. Everyone needs to have the same priorities.

It’s like writing sheet music for an orchestra. Without the sheet music, even the most talented and best-intentioned musicians will not play in harmony and the orchestra will never live up to its potential.

For businesses, sheet music is their marketing plan. The marketing plan gets all members of the company on the same page. It points out opportunities and challenges. It tells them what the corporate goals are; what priorities are; who’s responsible for doing what; how they are supposed to do it, when it is to be done; and what results are expected. Without this “map for success,” even the most talented and knowledgeable management team will fall far short of its potential.

We write sheet music for our clients.

E-Day, in Kansas City, is an extraordinary learning experience for local business owners. More than 300 local entrepreneurs come together to learn and share ideas. Local business legends Neal Patterson, Barnett Helzberg, Bill Kyger, Sr. will lead an all-star cast. Featured speakers include Keith Schacht of Facebook and Jack Stack, Author of The Great Game of Business. Other notable entrepreneurs will also participate in panel discussions. Mark your calendar: September 20 and 21, 2011. Check out the video and register online.

There is usually one person in a company that has the very best version of the story. Usually it is the founder or top sales person. They are the person who drives the business – drives sales the most effectively.

I like to sit down and pick the brain of that person so we can capture the story; put a little spit and polish on it, and capture it so it can be duplicated and deployed across a larger audience of qualified prospects. Capturing the story is what I call “bottling the lightning.” The bottle can be a Web site, a video, a brochure or direct mail campaign.

Once you tell the story the right way, and get it in front of the right people, success will follow.

That’s OUR lightning. What’s yours? Give me your elevator speech, and make it entertaining, insightful and memorable.