Over the past couple of months I have met several small business owners in the Scranton, PA area who have had the same questions about web design and search engine marketing, so I figured I would take a moment to share them with you. I will also provide the answers so you can become a little more knowledgeable in small business web design and online marketing.

Question #1: How come there are no sales happening at my online store?

Well that is a common myth that if you build it they will come mentality does not work in the online e-commerce world. You have to make sure your small business website is optimized with proper meta-tags and then you have to market your site online through paid and organic efforts among others.

Question #2: What is Web 2.0 and do I need it?

Web 2.0 is a term that was created to explain the next evolution or step in how we as a society use the World Wide Web. This current phase can help Scranton web designers as well as online marketers bring new customers to their clients by using social media networks and video. So yes embracing web 2.0 into your marketing plan is essential for small business online marketing success.

Question #4: What is the difference between paid and organic search?

The main difference is time. With paid search you can pay to be on the top of the search engine results by way of ads and it would be a matter of hours before you see your ads running along your competition. With organic, it might take several months to see results of link building efforts with in your small business SEO service. Either way time is what you need to be aware of when considering the right route to go.

Question #5: How big of a website do I need and do I need all that flashy intro stuff?

Google and the other search engines do take into account the size of your site when calculating rankings, but size is not everything. A well optimized small business website with only a couple of page could out rank a larger site if it had a solid number of backlinks. Being a Scranton web designer and a small business SEO professional, having a fancy intro is not great for rankings. Sure it makes the site exciting, but it all depends on the type of computer the visitor has on whether the movie plays right or hangs up the browser. You are better of with a site full of embedded videos and pictures then a flash intro.

I have to say that Scranton small business owners have come along way in understanding the internet and how it can benefit them and their business. These are only a few of the questions that I get asked on a daily basis. If you have any questions feel free to contact me through the contact form and I will be happy to help.

Let me show you just a few of the reasons you may want to think about coming to us for a complete website redesign.

Making Your Website Look More Attractive – Does your small business have a website just for the sake of having a website? Is it just a small one that covers just the basics with no bells or whistles since you had no experience in website design? If either of these questions sounds familiar, then chances are you should redesign your website. As a business owner, you want the best results. A major key to seeing success comes from how appealing your website looks.

Organization Can Make All The Difference – Another main reason to get a site redesign is because right now your website is terribly unorganized. Older small business websites contain information scattered throughout the entire site, without any rhyme or reason. Chances are visitors may not find the information they are looking for or get confused by the flow of it and leave. Say goodbye to that potential sale then.

Develop the Right Style For Your Website – Every site designer I know all agree that style is one of the most important aspects of a small business website. We all have those certain things which we would love to see on our websites, but there is also other “stuff” you need to take into consideration when designing a website, for example, what is most suitable for your business, and what would a visitor be most interested in seeing. With a website redesign should could one developed for the style which you are looking for and deserving.

Promote Your Website – One of the main keys to a company’s ecommerce success is the extent of their website promotion. There are a number of different ways to increase your site’s visibility. Some of these are search engine optimization, email campaigns, social media campaigns, PPC campaigns and other forms of internet marketing.

Stay tuned later this week for part two of why a small business should consider redesigning their website.

Before the Myspace and the other social community revolution started to ravage the Internet landscape, small business owners had to either hire a web designer or use a template website such as Bravenet to create a web presence. Back then those template websites were very economical, but lacked all the customizable features that a web designer could provide.

Even though Bravenet has gone by the wayside and Myspace has taken its place as a way for small businesses to get a piece of that online market, it is not the best long term solution for a small business that is looking to enter the online business market.

There are several steps that need to be taken if you are a small business owner that is looking to revamp or even create a web presence from scratch.

1) A domain name that represents your business name is worth its weight in gold.

a. Just like a logo, your domain name is very important. You want to choose a domain name a close to the name of your business. That way consumers and internet surfers will remember your online presence with ease.

2) Looks are everything!!!

a. Even though templates are easy to put together, it comes down to being unique and separate yourself from the pack. Spend the time to pick the colors and overall structure of your website before you go to a web design company.

3) Being social is good, but you need a home.

a. Having a Myspace or a Facebook account to represent your business is a good thing, but should not be the overall solution. Those social sites should be used as a compliment to your main small business website. Those social sites are a great way to dive traffic to your main site and will be a great way to interact with customers.

So if you are a small business owner looking to get a piece of the booming online business market, remember to use the social community sites a compliment to your main site and if you’re looking for help with this, we offer a social media optimization package. Remember there is no place like home when it comes to having your own website and domain.

Luckily, I don’t consider myself a bad SEO but that doesn’t mean I hit the nail on the head every time I try to generate some popular linkbait. Creating one that works is hard work combined with a little bit of luck and timing.

I’ve learned a few tricks from reading other people’s blogs but mostly through trial and error. I’ve created some good linkbait pieces for Mystic Liquid and I also came up with my fair share of bad ones. I won’t link to these because it’s my blog and I would rather not embarrass myself.

But what makes something linkbait? I’ve read some industry people claim that almost anything can be linkbait as long as it elicits a need for people to link to. That’s only somewhat true. Yes, the idea behind it is to get a great amount of website owners to link to in a short period of time but it also needs to be on topic, not just any post you feel like throwing together.

Here a few other thoughts I have of what makes a great linkbait post:

·Create content worth reading – You can have an awesome looking website full of images and flash but if there is no useful information on it, then what’s the point? Your website’s content not only needs to be well thought out but also amazing. It needs to be something so incredible that everyone will be talking about it. If you can do that for your audience then the links will keep coming.

·While you’re at it, make it unforgettable and compelling – The better the quality of your content, the better your chances are for finding return visitors to your site. Sure it’s great to get people to read your blog post initially but the true sign of a successful site is by getting them to come back. You should start to see a return from your effort by seeing a greater number of links back.

·Tell something interesting - No one wants to link to your blog if it’s just another ordinary post that is so dull it will put you to sleep. I found that one of the more effective techniques in linkbaiting is by telling a story, better yet telling an interesting story. Give someone a reason to read it and like it so much that they recommend it to a friend to read. That’s the type of response you want from your linkbait post.

·Target a subject that’s hot right now – What are people talking about in the blogosphere? These are the topics you need to address. That means you need to be constantly informed of the latest industry news no matter what the niche market may be. Quickly scan through popular social sites or even browse the pages of StumbleUpon or Digg to see what everybody is talking about.

·Know your audience – Your linkbait should be targeted to those potential visitors. It needs to be written for people who want or are interested in what you offer. If you specialize in website design and your linkbait is about kittens, don’t expect any favorable results from your effort.

The simple fact is that linkbait is just like any other article, blog post, or picture on a web page. The only difference is that it is specifically done for the sole purpose of gathering as much links from as many different sources as possible.

Everyone always talks about their best linkbait ideas but I want to hear about some of your worst. Let us know some of the stinkers you guys have come up with.

All over-dramatics aside, we do enjoy creating websites for Scranton small businesses as well as enjoy the fact we are the leader in the Scranton SEO field but it didn’t happen overnight. Learning about the different intricacies of website design and better yet all the different theories behind search engine optimization is a large task. The trick is knowing where to look. Here are a few posts that I read over the past few days I found extremely helpful. I hope you do to.

Search Engine Land has a fantastic write up on why they love small business SEO.

Lisa at Bruce Clay wrote an informative piece on 6 easy steps of SEO.

Aaron Wall has a video explaining why business owners need to start blogging immediately.

Brian Clark at Copyblogger has another great post on writing innovative and interactive content.

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day and give that special someone a day to remember.

One of the reasons Mystic Liquid has become the leader in the Scranton SEO industry is because from day one we understood the importance of the right domain. Before any SEO campaign is started, heck even before a website is built, we begin the task of finding the perfect domain name to suit all of a clients needs now and for the future. It is hands down one of the more underrated steps during the process of on-site optimization.

The right domain name can make or break a website for both SEO and user purposes. In the eyes of a user, a domain name works towards forming impressions about your online credibility. A well-chosen and relevant name works to develop a good, lasting impression in the minds of those current and potential customers.

If your website is trying to create a new brand or develop a new niche in the market, register a domain name that contains as few characters as possible. Make it short and easily recognizable for those lesser experienced web users and above all avoid using multiple hyphens.

Search Engines Love Relevant Domain Names

For SEO purposes a good domain name is crucial. Think about it. It’s the first thing the search engines see when they find your website. When we are choosing the right domain name, we want it to contain at least one or two of the major keywords you are trying to rank for. Thus by doing so, search engines automatically assume you are an authority on those keywords.

It isn’t a bad idea to put together your site’s goals, keywords and objectives before choosing one. The domain name states what you do best, instead of just what you do and is wonderful way to develop a long-term online brand, supplement a brand as well as a short-term traffic catcher. If it is at all possible, choose one that describes the product or service you are offering.

A catchy name that sticks in the minds of users is also a plus when looking for the perfect combination of words. Take Mystic Liquid or Equator Live for example. Someone may not remember what we do perhaps but they certainly will remember exciting names like these!

The Down Side of a Bad Domain Name

A poor domain name leaves your website looking non-credible and potentially unreliable. Two things you don’t want to be when trying to build authority and business.

If your domain name does not contain any keywords on the subject matter or theme of your site, I wouldn’t expect to see any type of ranking benefits from the search engines.

I’ve also seen a few shady webmasters try black-hat tactics such as keyword-stuffing just to see their sites banned from the SERP’s pages due to these spammy tactics.

Take the Time to Find the Right One

As you can see choosing a domain name isn’t just something you can go on a whim. After you found one that you think would work for you, visit some of the more reputable registrars such as GoDaddy or Blue Host. They offer easy to use tools to help find relevant domain names based on the keywords you want your website to rank for.

· Go deep – There is nothing that the search engine spiders like more than deep linking. Try to have as much links as possible coming in to nearly all of your pages. Doing so tells the search engines that your site has lots of relevant content on it and other sites feel the same way since they are linking to it. If a site only has links coming into its homepage, the search engines think your site has little content and therefore little value for their results pages. There is also the chance they will determine that your links were generated by spammy automation rather than by the value of your site and penalize your site.

· Go bold – Use html tags like <b> </b> around some of your more important keywords on each page. Don’t go crazy and have every single one of your keywords bold. A few times splashed into your on-site content will not only show the spiders your keywords but also grab the attention of that ever important user.

· Robots take the first exit – If there is no getting around using image links in your navigation bar, you better also include the use of text links. Make sure they show up first in the source code. The search engine robots will follow the first link they find and not follow any other additional links to that same page.

· Link titles – Links need to have titles, as well. This helps users know where you are sending them, but there are also instances of the search engines using this in their algorithms to figure the relevancy for a page.

· Anchor text – You need anchor text in links but try not to overdo it. It isn’t good in the eyes of the search engines if all of your inbound links look the same and point to the same page. It sounds off some alarm bells because it like automation and spam, things search engines really don’t like too much. Try using your URL sometimes, company name other times, “or just changing up the anchor text into different variations of the phrase.

· Write articles – Show off your writing skills for some free publicity. Here is where hiring someone to do content generation becomes important. Article exchanges are a little link exchanges, only that you are writing an article for someone else’s website in exchange for a link. Write an article on search engine optimization services with a link back to your site at the end of it. You both make out. You get a link and the other site gets some fresh relevant content.

· Use several domains – It might be worth the time and effort to use multiple domains if you have several topics with enough information that could each support its own website. Search engines usually will only list one page per domain on any given search, and there is a good chance your website’s information might deserve two. Secondly, directories normally accept only home pages. With the use of multiple domains, you can get more directory listings.

· Site map – All relevant websites need a site map, especially if you want to be taken seriously by the search engines. A site map should be linked to from every page on the site. This helps the search engine spiders index every page with just two clicks, particularly the deeper pages not normally indexed at all.
There are many more steps in the process of search engine optimization. Every aspect of it needs to be broken down and looked at dependent on the needs of the individual site you work on. There are always details to comb over and changes to be made. Hopefully, these above mentioned tips can help you get started in improving your rankings.