Summer 2010 enews: Make the Most of Summer 2010

For many of us, summer moves at a different pace. The “lazy days of summer” seem to slow everyone down, and with that comes more free time in your workload.

Make this summer anything BUT lazy. Use any newfound free time to its fullest potential by facing the things that may have slipped through the cracks this winter: keeping your website content fresh or keeping up with social media.

This summer, let CiWeb help you find the information and inspiration you need to keep your website content and social media accoutns fresh!

For a nominal fee we can provide you with a one-stop-shop for all the latest information in your field! Answer just 2 simple questions and we’ll do the rest!

1. Let us know 3-5 areas of interest
2. List any blogs of websits you frequently visit

We’ll use this information to research your field and then set up a feed reader on NetVibes.com featuring 10 high quality blogs/websites in your field.

Then, all you have to do is visit your NetVibes page and you’ll have access to the most up-to-date information from some of the best sources online.

The next step is easy… Share this great information with your social media connections or draw inspiration from it to update your own website content.

What are you waiting for? These “lazy days of summer” won’t last forever, while everyone else is sittin’ back relaxin’, give them something to read and someone to remember… YOU!

June 2010 enews: “Content is King”

All the web pages at the top of the Google search results have one clear thing in common: great content. Search engines read. They read huge amounts of information in order to supply searchers with the best possible results. So, the better your content, the easier it is for a search engine to find your website and direct potential customers there.

How do you make sure your content is great?

The Basics:

• Make Frequent Updates (at least every few weeks)—it’s a good idea to add new pages as well as update existing pages
• Have Few or No Spelling Errors
• Write Brief Paragraphs (1-4 sentences)
• Write Brief Sentences (10 words of fewer)
• Include Lists
• Focus on Contextual Relevance- make sure your content relates to your keywords

Take it to the Next Level:

• Creating Content: Create your content in response to the visitor you hope will read it—What do they need? Where have they come from? Who do they want to speak to? What tone should you use?
• Maintaining Content: Keep track of expired dates—old information gives the impression that your site is poorly maintained. This could stop visitors from returning.
• Updating Guideline: update your content as often as you want viewers to visit. Always provide your visitors with something fresh so they won’t lose interest.

Once a potential customer reaches your website it is up to you to keep then engaged. You can do this by providing compelling, relevant and persuasive content. Your website is unlike any other marketing opportunity your business has—visitors have given their consent for you to persuade, educate and communicate with them and they are full engaged, they came to you.

Don’t miss any more opportunities to fully flex your website’s marketing strength. Update your content today!

May 2010: Do you have video on your website yet?

Incorporating Video into your website is the hottest trend in the web world. But video is much more than a “cool” addition to your website, it is a savvy business move that can increase your ranking in search results, improve your brand and customers relations, and increase profits.

Search Engine Benefits:

• Stand out. Video provides an enhanced listing in search results- an embedded version of your video will appear right there amongst other sites simple links!
• Appear more often. Multiple videos on your site will provide you with more chances to appear in search results.
• Find new sources of traffic & exposure. Submitting videos to portals like YouTube allows a wider audience to see your message, while also linking back to your website so they can receive more information.

Brand & Customer Relations Benefits:

• A great first impression. Video provides an awesome introduction to your business and your brand, adding life in a sea of static text. Additionally, video shows honesty and integrity and is a catchy way to express your business culture to new or potential customers and clients.
• The perfect pitch. Re-record a video until you get it just right and then allow your audience to hear your perfect sales pitch 24 hours a day 7 days a week!
• Be shared, be seen. Current customers and clients can recommend you to friends and colleagues in an easy and fun way by sending a link to a video where YOU can speak directly to this new audience.

Profit Benefits:

• Captive audience. The average website visitor takes less than 60 seconds to decide whether or not to leave a site—video holds their attention longer, increasing the chance of a visitor becoming a customer or future client.
• It doesn’t even matter if they watch it. That’s right, research shows that just the option of watching a video increased sales for businesses. Shoppers are more likely to buy a product with a video (even if they don’t watch it) then a product without video.

REMEMBER, just like with all content on your website quality counts. Seek out a professional video company to provide you with the best possible video message for your website!

April 2010: Spring is here! It’s time to breathe new life into your website…

Whether your website is 5 years old or 5 months old, there’s a good chance you’ve been neglecting it. Many website owners plan out every detail of their site pre-launch but don’t give very much thought to continuing their site’s development post-launch.

This spring is the perfect time to start thinking about it! Spring cleaning shouldn’t end with your house… it’s time for a springtime site spruce up!

Keeping your site fresh is important to your image, brand credibility, and SEO (how easy it is for internet-users to find your site when searching on Google).

If you haven’t updated your site in years, you should consider a design upgrade. Give your site a new look to drive more traffic to it. Many old sites are designed in ways that are no longer compatible with some browsers. Updating your design will make your site easier to view, easier to find on Google, and easier to maintain!

And easy site maintenance brings up another simple way to spruce up your site– fresh content! The websites at the top of Google search results have one thing clearly in common—great content. Frequently updating your site with news, articles, pictures, and other fresh content will keep people visiting and sharing links back to your site! This means your current customers will visit more often and be even more likely to share what they find with potential new customers.

“Weed out” anything unnecessary or old on your site and replace it with something fresh and interesting!

Spruce up your website with CiWeb this Spring!

October 2009: Improving your SEO through CSS (in a nutshell)

If someone said to you: “why don’t you improve your SEO with CSS?” you may think to yourself, “well I would if you I had any idea how to decipher whatever crazy code you’re speaking in.” Here, we will decipher that code. SEO and CSS are things that every website owner should understand. They are extremely important ways to enhance your website and expand your audience at the same time.

What is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process of improving traffic to a given website by increasing the site’s visibility in search engine results. Paying attention to SEO leads to more people viewing your site because it will appear higher in search results for information pertaining to what is offered on your site.

Ever wondered how Google decides which links to offer first in search results? Ever thought about how important this is? How often do you look on page 2 of the results? Do you even scroll past the fifth link? SEO is crucial to your website’s success!

What is CSS?
CSS is the answer to some SEO prayers. CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and is a method of web design. Basically, CSS separates the style of a site from its content. Think about a website—the layout of each page is generally the same. There are things that never change—these things are controlled by a CSS style sheet. By using CSS to its full potential,

THIS: < td width=”100%” >< ont face=”verdana,helvetica,arial”
size=”+1″ color=”#CCCC66″ >< span class=”header” > < b >Join now!
< /b >< /span >< /ont >< /td >

Becomes THIS: < h2 >Join now!< /h2 >

because all of the styling code is separated from the content (or message) of your site—in this case: “Join now!” It’s easy to see that CSS made your message easier to read.

So how does this all come together?
When it comes to CSS and SEO, less is more. In code, what’s easier for you to read is also easier for a search engine to read. Search engines like Google send out “spiders” to “crawl” your site and read its content. A site that uses CSS is much easier for a spider to read and understand, so it will receive a higher listing in search engine results pertaining to its content.

October 2009 E-News

The Problem:
If you’ve updated your browser lately, you may have noticed that your website is no longer displaying properly. You are not alone—web giants such as YouTube.com, Wikipedia.org, Facebook.com, Flickr.com, Amazon.com and AOL.com are struggling right along with you due to the changes being made during browser updates. In fact, there are some 2,400 sites that Microsoft has discovered do not render properly in Internet Explorer 8 (IE8).

Why?:
The problem boils down to newly accepted “web standards”. Have you ever looked at your site in IE and then later in FireFox? Did you notice any differences? How about when your site renders on a BlackBerry or other PDA? Web standards are in response to these differences—they are the rules developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that make it possible to design for all browsers and devices as easily and quickly as designing for just one.

Think of your browser like a translator—it takes the code that web designers write and translates it into something you can understand—your website. IE8 was designed to demonstrate Microsoft’s commitment to compliance with web standards, so the default settings on this browser interpret web content in its most standards compliant way. IE8 is like a translator that isn’t taking into account any mispronunciations or slang, so your message gets jumbled—your site no longer renders properly.

Prior to IE8, browsers were much more lax in their interpretation of code. Browser adherence to the newly accepted web standards means that now, common practices of web designers every where (including those for Facebook.com and Amazon.com) must be reworked as technologies continue to grow and develop.

It would seem that there’s an easy answer to this problem—don’t use IE. Unfortunately, the majority of the web surfing world will still be using it, and they won’t be able to view your site the way you want.

The solution:
It’s time to update you website. It may seem like a pain, but these updates are necessary today and are going to make a big difference tomorrow. Think of your website like a car—your old high school clunker may get you around the block, but if you’re looking to drive across country you’ll want to invest in a hybrid! Your old site may work just fine with the lax standards of old browsers, but stricter adherence to web standards is the future and without the necessary updates your site could become obsolete.

The bonus:
Why do people have websites? So that other people can see them! This necessary update to your site will make sure that your website is seen correctly and more frequently. The adherence to web standards means the use of style sheets (CSS) when designing a website. In a nut shell, this means that the style of your site is held in a separate file than the content of your site. This allows for search engine spiders to crawl through the your site’s content without getting caught up on all the code.

THIS: < td width=”100%” >< font face=”verdana,helvetica,arial”
size=”+1″ color=”#CCCC66″ >< span class=”header” >< b >Join now!
< /b >< /span >< /font >< /td >

Becomes THIS: < h2 >Join now!< /h2 >

Even if you don’t understand what that all means, it’s easy to see that the second option is easier to understand. If a search engine spider can quickly and easily understand the contents of your site you will start appearing higher in search engine results.

It’s time for an upgrade.

Great Opportunities to Learn About Social Media!

It’s been far too long! We hope you all had a great holiday season and that 2010 has started off wonderfully for you. Now that we’re in a new year it’s time to focus on YOU and your business. Our last post was all about setting resolutions for the new year for your business… now it’s time to let us help you achieve them!

If one of your resolutions was to begin building up your online presence through social media than we have a great opprortunity (3 actually!) for you to do just that.

CiWeb’s own Andrea Kirchuk has teamed up with Jeff Jewell of Jewell Computing Solutions (www.jewellcomputing.com) and Chef Jewels Quelly of AngelFood (www.angelfoodpcs.com) to bring you Warren County Lunch ‘N Learn! Visit the Lunch ‘N Learn site to learn more: www.warrencountylunchNlearn.com. Enjoy an informative 1 hour session featuring delicious food for high-quality information on how to get started in Social Media and some Best Practices (Goal Setting, Speaking the Language, Joining the Conversation and more!). Then, learn how to protect your business computing systems while spending more time online.

Be Smart. Be Safe. Be Successful! (and have your tastebuds utterly satisfied!)

Pre-Register today!

Happy Holidays From CiWeb

Real-TIME friends v. Real-LIFE friends… Will Real-Time Social Search make for more Real-Life Social Interactions?

Technology is a beautiful thing. It keeps us connected to those we’ve lost touch with (I found kindergarten friends on facebook!), it allows us to spread content and brand information to millions with the click of a button (hello millions of twitter users), it offers a lasting marketing strategy more useful than direct mail (unique personal websites!)… but through all these connections, does it sometimes feel like we’re keeping everyone at arms length?

Isn’t it easier and more comfortable to send an email or text than to make a phone call?

Social Media is barreling full speed ahead as the top search engines work tirelessly to incorporate real-time search into their results. It’s more important than ever to have a large presence on the web… But will piling in countless cyber-friends and followers just mean that we’re making our in-person interactions even fewer and further between?

I SURE HOPE NOT!

While it is important to fall into social media movement (and make a big splash), do not be so blinded by it’s power that you discount the power of a face-to-face smile and handshake.

Here’s an example of why actual real-life networking is still going to count for something even as social media and real-time search roll on: Local Social Search. Now search engines and social media sites are using location specific trending and social searches to give people the information they seek right from their own community!

This may seem like the perfect opportunity to ditch your neighborhood morning networking meeting and sit on your computer honing your social media brand instead.. but consider this: a consumer is far more likely to trust the opinion and recommendations of their peers, colleagues and friends than of advertisements. SO GO THE EXTRA MILE! The more people that know you in “real-life” as opposed to “real-time search”, the more people that will be giving you glowing reviews.. which means more customers for you.

The web is a powerful tool, and coupled with the power of a little personality– you’re sure to find success.

Let us help you build your brand online: http://www.computerimagesweb.com

99 ways to Improve Your Communication ONLINE

While searching through articles on twitter this morning I came across a post by @sueyoungmedia. She tweeted about one of her blog posts: “99 Ways To Improve Your Communication”. (I highly recommend checking out her original post). Many of her suggestions got me thinking about how communication online is so crucially important– so here are some of her suggestions (with my comments in italics) and how you can apply them to your online communication.

3. Choose your words carefully. Be thoughtful when writing or choosing the content for your website. Understand that every word matters– it determines the impression you make on your audience and your search engine ranking.

4. Speak and write with clarity. Remember, not everyone is an expert in your field. Consider your audience and cater your tone and word choice to them.

5. Read whenever possible; it expands your vocabulary. Be involved in Social Media- read blogs and articles and the opinions of your peers and colleagues. You’d be surprised how much there is to learn and consider.

10. Prepare an outline when writing a speech, long blog post or article. Don’t talk just to hear yourself (or in the case of the web–see yourself). Have a plan and a message and craft that message through careful research, organization, and attention to detail. Make what you write worth reading.

11. Focus conversations on other people, not yourself. Your website isn’t about YOU, it’s about THEM–your audience and customers. Be sure to put the customer benefits before the features and accomplishments of your business or organization.

13. Use dark backgrounds and light colored fonts for PowerPoint slides. Color, design and presentation are important no matter what medium you choose to express your message– think about what your choices say about your business or organization and how these choices affect your audience.

17. Write to express, not to impress. When sharing your knowledge or expertise in your website’s content or through social media (twitter, facebook, blogging), do not write to show THAT you know– write to share WHAT you know.

27. Improve your communication skills by observing positive role models you admire and respect. Follow or Friend great users on twitter, facebook, or digg. Subscribe to blogs by people you are impressed with and you provide you with high quality information. Be inspired by the people you connect with online and work hard to provide them with just as much hight quality information and inspiration.

29. Speak from the heart. Enthusiasm is contagious. Show your audience that you love what you do.

33. Walk the walk and talk the talk. Be congruent. Building your brand and identity online is great, but you must have actions to back this up. If you constantly post great information about your field, you better be applying it your own business or organization as well. Don’t just KNOW– DO.

35. Identify where you ideal clients hang out and go there (this is true for places and Social Media). Don’t dive into online branding blindly– consider your audience: who are they? what are they interested in? what websites do they frequent? Then work to post content on social media sites that will draw your audience in and to your website. On your site– optimize for the keywords your target audience is most likley to search for. Make conscious choices in content, tone and design– be sure that your site is “user friendly” for your target audience.

37. Write your blogs consistently so people can gain insight into your expertise, experiences and personality.

39. Understand the importance of self-promotion and personal branding. We can help you develop a consistent message with your website and across several social media profiles.

49. Avoid excessive and distracting clothing patterns, jewelry, make-up and accessories- especially when you are the speaker… A website that is all bells and whistles but has no concrete content is ultimately useless. It’s better to present a great message in a simple, streamline way than to actually be offering your audience nothing by a pretty presentation.

54. Stay on message. Know what you want to say and don’t let other things distract you from that message. 

55. Dress like the person you aspire to be. Have a unique, well designed website. This will speak volumes about who you are and what you stand for. You can’t find this from a template– visit www.computerimagesweb.com to see how unique sites for unique YOU can make all the difference.

58. Have a good handshake. Any presence you have on the internet has the potential to be a “first impression” for one of your audience members. Be sure that each page of your website and each post your social media sites makes a great first impression. Your entire online presence should be a strong handshake.

67. Write Tweets of less than 125 characters; leaving space for people to Retweet and spread your message.

68. Connect with people’s emotions by using real-life examples and sharing stories. Testimonials can be a great addition to your website– it’s statistically proven that people are more likely to use a product recommended by their peers than by advertisers– use this to your advantage.

72. Understand the importance of making small talk. Be REAL. People respond to things they can relate to. Make your audience feel like they have a close relationship with you and your business by using social media sites in conjunction with your website. Conversational posts can be a great way to establish yourself as down-to-earth and accessible to your audience (and as long as your posts are strong you’re also making a great impression).

86. Have a mission or value statement that has repeatability so others can communicate it for you. Use this mission or value statement to keep your internet marketing on course. Know what message and image you want to project and make decisions that help you achieve that. If all aspects of your online presence exemplify your mission or value statement, your audience (whether encountering you for the first time or 50th) will know exactly what you and your business or organization stands for. 

A huge thank you to Susan Young for her blog post. Check her out at @sueyoungmedia on Twitter or visit her website: http://getinfrontcommunications.com