The appeal to have a web presence seems quite simple at first. You may have a product or service you want to promote or sell and feel the need to market yourself on the web. It is a great idea, and can definitely improve the health of your cause. Like most things, however, ‘throwing up’ a web-site is not as easy as it sounds, even if you have a great web-designer and developer to help you out. Good web-sites can be propelled by a good design and a slick user interface, but a great site has had much more thought behond this. Here are a few steps to turn a good web-project into a great one:

1. Create an Outline
   As a giddy future web-site owner, your first inclination is usually one of two things: style and time. Style, meaning the ‘wow’ of your web-site, and time, meaning how quick you can get it up and functional. The biggest favor you can do for your new web-site is to table these two elements for a short while, and devote some focused time in creating a detailed outline for the content of your site. Start by writing down the main pages of your website, followed by the content that will flow within them. Good, ole ‘ fashion outlines with Roman numerals work great, although some people prefer the more interesting thought, or brainstorming bubbles. The more detailed you can get in this stage, the easier it will be implementing and organizing the your content in the later stages of the project. Having this ready before the design process begins will also help your designer better build the web-site around the content, which enables a better user experience.
2. Hire a Photographer
   Yes, I understand, your budget is quite tight. The web-site cost itself may be a bit overwhelming; even so, I still highly recommend professional assistance in the area of photography. In my design experience, great photography can take your site from a 5 to a 9 with an extremely low cost for the amount in return. Most professional photographers will charge a small ‘on site’ fee on top of their hourly rate to come out to your place and take photos. An hour’s worth of photography yielding 50+ digital photos usually only runs from $100 - 300 dollars. Still not convinced? Chances are you know someone who owns a decent camera, or has some impressive camera skills. Consider asking them for assistance or to borrow their camera and take them out for dinner. Do anything you can to get some great shots for your web-site.
3. Hire a Copywriter
   Okay, I know we are talking more money, but we’re also talking about valuable investments. A copywriter is an individual who has been trained in the area of writing text to market products. Many copywriters these days specialize in web copy, which not only greatly improves the user’s experience on your web-site, but is heavy on ‘key-words’ that attract the targeted market to your web-site. Many web copywriters have a good knowledge in search engine optimization and can greatly help your web-site move to the top of the search engines for specific key words relating to your venture. Great writers can make your site fun, witty, and professional, enabling you to keep visitors for longer periods of time. Chances are, your web-developer can refer you to a great web copywriter.
4. Create a Blog
   Even though Blogs are a dime a dozen these days, I am a huge fan. A blog can turn a static, boring product or business into a dynamic and fun connection point for your customers. It can also help keep your site fresh and appealing to the Search Engines by driving more traffic to your web-site. Apart from a marketing standpoint, blogging is fun!

I often encourage my clients to approach their web-project as the most important piece of marketing material they will have. Don’t skimp on planning, invest in great copy and photography, and have fun with it by starting a blog.

SEO or “Search Engine Optimization” is perhaps the most misunderstood phrase floating about the Internet these days. From the myriads of meanings and definitions it carries, to its grossly misunderstood employment, SEO seems to be the new Internet gimmick. It is not a gimmick because it is unimportant, but rather, a gimmick because of the ignorance surrounding it.

SEO can be compared nicely to exercise. We all know that exercise is very important to the health of our bodies, as is SEO to our web-sites. Everyone is trying to buy the newest and “quickest” way to get in shape. Thousands of treadmills and hokey workout gadgets are bought, then resold at garage sales each year. There is no quick and easy solution to getting into shape. Health requires work, planning, time, and a lot of determination and consistency.

Here are a few misconceptions many people have about Search Engine Optimization:

1. My web-developer should know how to get me to the top of Google.
   Your web-developer may “know” how to get you great rankings on Google, and if he / she does, you should expect to pay for it. Many large companies are solely devoted to SEO and can charge anywhere from 1 - 20k per month to keep a site ranked high. SEO is NOT a one time service, but a service that requires extensive time and research on a month to month basis.
2. I just read an article and found the secret to Search Engine Optimization!
   Wrong. Beware of gimmicks. There is no secrets to SEO; only hard work, time, and money. Just like exercise, good results can’t be seen by a one time effort. If you are short on hard work and time, forget about seeing great results on the search engines. If you are short on money, there are things you can do to improve your status over time like promoting the snot out of your website. Ask your friends to link to you. Pass out brochures and business cards with your web address around town. Start a blog to increase traffic. Give away something free to get people to visit your website. Create a newsletter to promote your service or product. Make sure to use great key-words in your copy. Have your web-developer submit a site-map to Google and Yahoo. Submit your site to a design gallery. Get your friends to submit your blog articles to social networking sites like Digg or Reddit. Two of the most important keys to getting good results are to drive traffic and get reputable websites to link to you. All of these things can be done by you, but they take a lot of time that usually don’t show results for awhile.
3. People aren’t finding me on Google; I’m doomed!
   Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself! You may not have 40 hours a week and 10k a month to fork out for SEO, but there are other ways to drive traffic to your site. SEM, or Search Engine Marketing, may be much more effective to get your new web-site off the ground and your products and services in people’s hands. SEM simply involves taking advantages of services that promote your website and drive targeted customers to your site. Google Adwords are a great way to kick off your website. This service allows you to pay-per-click, or set your maximum amount of money you are willing to pay for a click to your website. You can also target only people in your geographical area to refine the type of visitors you are getting to your site. Other similar services to check out are Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft’s adCenter.

So, Even though SEO may not have been as easy as you thought, there are still some great options to promote your website and gain interest in your product or services. Some great targeted SEM coupled with a little patience and hard work will eventually pay off! If you have any more questions about SEO or SEM, email me.