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.

We have all heard about the many viral marketing campaigns that Snow Patrol and other unsigned bands used to create buzz using the internet, but what if you are just starting out and want to make a splash in the scene? I took on the project and begin to find some great resources for links and many social networking sites that could be very useful to spread the word about this new site.

The question comes down to what are some major components that need to be a part of an effective band or music site? I would have to think that a bio, contact, and a song page are the most important. After that you could go after pictures or even the video side of the industry. This can be accomplished through Youtube and some other social video sites. After that you can use the integration of a media player to play some songs while protecting them from scrapers.

Once you have the fans it comes down to keeping them. This can be done in variety of ways in today’s web 2.0 world. Mobile updates, Skype, RSS feeds from blog and even the old standby of emailing can be used to update your fans and visitors to your site of upcoming events and gigs.

The number one rule that we found while developing this band website was that the user must come first. That means that the experience and usability is key to developing a loyal fan base for years to come. Make sure you check your website in all the major browsers. This will ensure that the overall experience is the same for all that come to your site. Once the site is ready to go now is the time to spread the word.

This can be done on many of the social sites like Myspace and Facebook, but make sure that your website has a bookmark feature so that people can link to your site which will help in the SEO of the site. Also try and get links on the websites of the bars and clubs that you play. This will help with a better overall link structure. By interacting with your fans through the social sites and building traffic you can then use your analytics to judge if you need to optimize some other pages on the site. This brings us to the last point which is how to monetize your band website.

Traditionally this is done through merchandise sales. Not to worry if you do not have the coin to buy hundreds of t-shirts and merchandise with your logo on it. There is a website that will allow you to offer merchandise while keeping your overhead low. One such site is CafePress.com. There are many more site like them on the net with different deals and such, so spend the time and do the research. Once you have the merchandise next is the shopping cart. Find a reliable and integrated platform with unique landing pages. This will help in the online marketing of your band and products.

After several weeks of learning the ins and outs of the band and music website industry, we are proud to say that our friend’s website is starting to gain some fans and even seeing some sales.

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.

Mystic Liquid tries to focus on three principles of small business website design that apply to all websites.

The first is Simplicity

This is such an important principle, that it can easily be made into the top three web design principles all by itself. The important thing to always remember is that a web site must be designed to be as user friendly as possible and that is because of two main reasons. These are:

You want to make it easy for any future updates.

You want to make it simple for a user to navigate quickly and seamlessly.

This applies to all aspects of the website, from the design, to structure and the code.

Our next principle is its Modularity

All websites should be built and designed in a modular manner. What this means is that you want to create the site as a series of modules/components instead of a run-on sentence.

Doing so entails actions such as creating logical divisions in the site structure. Simple things like extracting out common elements like footers and using ‘include’ procedures to reinsert those elements back into your pages. Another option is to use external CSS style sheets rather than embedding it into your pages.

Modularity helps comply with the simplicity of the design as mentioned above. The thing I like most is that it cuts back on time and effort.

The final principle is the website’s Balance

The balance in a web page is one of those design aspects I see so many other designers take too lightly or forget completely. You need to balance out how much information is delivered on a page. You are basically deciding how much “stuff” to put on a page.

Do you want the page to be simple to look at or would you prefer it to be busy and exciting? These are two important questions when creating the balance. Just be careful that if you create a page that is too busy and overwhelming, more than likely a user will find it to be a distraction and will leave the site.

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.

From the start, if you’re looking to establish a presence online, you first need to get online. You need a website. Once you have that you can start making money. Think about it. Most people use websites to make money in one way shape or form. Some people use their site to sell products and then there are those who write a daily blog with AdSense ads all over it.

So as you can see there are countless ways to make a buck just from owning a website. Don’t believe me? Here are at least five different sites we have built for a few local Scranton small businesses:

· Sell your products – This is easily the most popular reason why small businesses must develop an e-commerce website of their own. You are free to sell your own products, while also controlling how much of a profit you make with every sale. A small business sees the biggest profit margins through choosing this route. Your customers appreciate good value and love low costs. Cutting out the middleman is a great way to provide them competitive prices while getting them back as repeat business. All you need is the products, pages developed to display it and a shopping cart to order it. You now have an e-commerce site selling whatever you want.

· Sell your services – No, I know not all small businesses sell products but offer services instead. So they are left wondering how their business can be helped through a web presence. While most of the technical stuff is vastly different, the overall theme and message of your site would still remain the same as one selling products. The only drawback with selling services through your website is the fact your potential for revenue is limited to the amount of time you can provide to a set number of service jobs.

· One of the main ingredients in building a website that sells service instead of product is the fact that since you are selling a relationship between a customer and yourself, you need to spend more time and effort establishes credibility. We do this on sites like this through developing rapport with the website’s visitors and then trying to show them the benefits of the service you’re offering them.

· Drop ship products – Maybe you love the idea of selling product but don’t have space to store it or the funds to set up a system of inventory tracking. I would recommend a drop-shipment website. These websites allow you to sell whatever type of product you want, even brand names too, with the ease of a few clicks from the customer. These business ventures are often profitable to a business since they require so little work to be done to it. Some companies run such a smooth drop shipping service that it nearly automated. You place the products on your site and the order is then filled and shipped from a third party warehouse.

· Recommend affiliate products – One great way to make money through a website is through an affiliate program. These are no-risk partnerships in which through your website, you promote another company’s products. Afterwards, depending on the amount of traffic and sales you directed, you earn a percentage of their sales. It works much like you receiving a commission for the sale you helped make. These are commonly done through ads such as banners or links on your site directing a customer to their site. You can actually make a lot of money if you market yourself wisely through affiliate site.

· Sell ad space – This one you really can’t do unless you already have an established and high traffic website. If you can show advertisers that your website can reach a large number of their target audience, they will be willing to buy ad space on your website. Don’t plan on making this your fulltime job because it really doesn’t pay that well. It works great as a second source of income but don’t expect it to be your business’s only source of income. You won’t be keeping your doors open for long.

As you can see there is a lot of potential out there for businesses to make money online. All it takes is the right idea combined with determination to make it work. The good news is that we possess both when it comes to working with and for you. Send us an email to see how we can help you with your website goals and aspirations. We’ll be glad to help.

What do you do when you need to jump start that part of your brain which handles creativity? I do know sitting, staring at your computer screen doesn’t work. I figured that one out the hard way after trying it for several weeks. I only ended with dry eyes and a project barely completely on time.

But like I said earlier, there are a lot of people smarter than me who’ve found themselves in the same situations. From those same smart people, here are a bunch of different tactics for getting over those annoying creativity blocks that I find to be extremely helpful:

· Do anything else – It happens to all of us once and awhile. We find ourselves doing the same thing over and over since it’s always worked for us. I suggest taking a break and go do something, anything else not related to design. Get your mind off things for awhile and come back with a clearer head.

· Try something outside your comfort zone – I knew a designer who would get in a rut once and awhile. When it happened, he would always go and try something new that he’s never done before. He said it gave him a rush of excitement and new ideas always to him when he felt like this. Now this exact same feeling may not happen for you but who’s to say it won’t. Go out and try something you’ve never been exposed to before. It doesn’t need to be skydiving or running with the bulls. Something as simple as listening to new music can awaken your creativity. The point is to try and feel all the different sounds, colors, styles, forms, features, elements of design, smells, etc. Take in these new experiences and be open to letting them influence you.

· Surround yourself with design – Every day you should try to surround yourself in design and make a habit of doing so. Have fun and enjoy yourself in a world of designer and other creative people just like yourself. My suggestion is to read other website designer blogs or join a bunch of graphic and web design communities and forums. Start up some conversations on the different subject and areas of design or just simply let them know your opinion. Start reading books and magazines on the subjects of design, colors, typography, or design software. You can only learn more and grow as a designer by doing so. The idea is to try and take advantage of all these outlets to find new ways to design.

· Let colors inspire you – Nothing breaks down the walls of a creative block like playing around with colors. Put down that elements of designs textbook and pick up your color palette. Play around with a bunch of different shades of colors and color variations.

· Write in a journal once a day, every day – This little hint works for those content writers as well. At the end of the day our brain is filled up with a lot of nonsense and clutter we don’t need. One way to flush all that out is to just start writing in a journal. It can be creative or it can just be your thoughts, whatever you think will stimulate your brain. Early morning has been shown to be the best time to work on this step since you are thinking and working on a near subconscious level and will free creative blocks.

As a matter of fact with it being Friday and I’m about empty on creative ideas for writing this post, I used one or two of these to get myself going. Let me know if you have any other tips of this kind that you use to get those juices flowing.

Now that you decided on building a website, what do you want it to do? You already know its main purpose but how it will benefit your company’s overall growth? In other words, what purpose do you want your website to hold? In order to answer this question, this you should recognize your own needs as a business.

A good, well-thought out and designed website, rich in on-topic content will address all of the following to your potential customers:

• Build up brand recognition – A well thought-out website helps potential clients, customers, and even, partners learn more about your company. Since all the information is coming from you, your brand and image comes off as positive and beneficial. This type of thinking works especially well for small local businesses that are not looking to go national with their services. The basic premise here is your website lets everyone know who you are, what you do, where to find you, and how to contact you.

• Drive local sales in a specific geographical area – Your website can also serve to drive customers to to local dealer locations. Wholesale B2B companies are a good example of this at work. Manufacturers don’t often sell products on their sites, but instead just offer product information as well as who sells their products.

• Sell your products or services – The number one reason why businesses develop websites is so they can get involved in e-commerce. Selling products online through an e-commerce store opens up your business to a whole new market of potential customers. You’ll want to have a reliable ordering system for products, an online catalog and a checkout system developed, as well.

• For customer service and support – For businesses that sell products, a websites can be a wonderful spot for placing troubleshooting guides, FAQs, technical information, instruction manuals, and much more. E-commerce sites love the idea of a no-hassle procedure for generating Return Merchandise Authorization labels.

• Save money by becoming more efficient – Through processing orders online by real-time credit card authorizations, companies save millions of dollars in salary in call center operators and sales staff. It also saves you money by cutting down on entry errors. An online catalog save money normally used on the paper, printing, and distribution of a physical printed one.

If any of these reasons for building a website are similar to your, then it is definitely time to get yourself a website. But where to begin? The entire process can be confusing so let us put your mind at ease. Send us an email about any website building questions you many have. We’ll be glad to see what we can do for you.

I wanted to let everyone know we are extremely excited to see 2008 coming and bring with it so many new and exciting opportunities in the world of small business website design. We have a lot of ideas and goals set for the new year and are looking forward to working along side you to make it all happen.

One of those goals is a little project we are putting together for the city of Scranton but we can’t give out anymore information about so you’ll just have to keep checking back in to see. We promise you’ll be impressed. Another one of our pet projects involves food, bars, parks, and web design. Curious what it can be? Again, you’ll have to wait and see.

Most importantly, our main goal is to help you build a presence online for your business. We want to see you succeed. If your business is drawing in paying customers, then we must be doing something right, as well. I hope you can see now why it is so important to us for you to show some great results.

Feel free to check in with us or just shoot us an email to see what we can do for you or if any of these projects sound like something you would be interested in getting involved with. We’re always ready to answer any and all your questions.