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Following are some resources that I can personally recommend!

Esther C. Kane
Eckweb Designs, Inc.

EXPOSE YOUR WEBSITE
by Esther Kane - Eckweb Designs

One of the BEST ways to market your web site is to show the Internet audience that you KNOW your stuff!

If you would like to write an article about any of the following topics and submit it to our Newsletter, we would love to review it for inclusion in future issues.

Our topics of interest are...

Marketing (General)
Internet Marketing
Small Business Issues
Web Design
Web Hosting
Web site Programming

Contact us today about your article(s) and get yourself promoted!!

Editorial

SEO Can Be Complicated

I've been providing SEO services since 2000 so I forget sometimes that what I've learned in these last 7 years is not so common place.

I have to remind myself that just because someone owns a website or just because someone works on websites, doesn't mean that they are familiar or have even heard of many of the factors that are needed in order to make a website SEO friendly.

But, with that being said, I have to admit that I have many clients who "try" to understand it. They call me with many questions. Great questions. And although they may have a limited amount of knowledge they do try to understand the process. But I have to admit that sometimes I feel like the mechanic at the car garage trying to explain how the car's engine works to someone who normally just puts the key in to get it started.

I mean, do you have to know how the engine works in order to drive a car? No, but it sure is helpful if something goes wrong with the car! And I can certainly understand that the Internet business is filled with scammers and snake oil peddlers so the more you know, the more secure you feel about who you hire over the Internet. I can't argue with that philosophy! I use it myself!

During many of these "tutorial" type of conversations the remark I most often get is "This SEO thing is so complicated!" Yes, it is. There are many, many factors to consider and implement when it comes to getting a website page optimized for the search engines. And even after it's optimized, there's so much to do on a regular basis. I easily spend 3-4 hours each month on each client's website and that's only for the regular maintenance associated with the monthly marketing program. So, yes, it is complicated. And to make it even more complicated, it's constantly changing. There's always something new, something else to be done. It's exciting and frustrating all at the same time!

So, if you ever have a conversation with me and I sound exasperated, please don't take it personally. It's difficult for me to explain some SEO factors and I want to make sure to explain it in a way that makes sense. I know this whole SEO thing can be complicated but if you absolutely don't feel that you need to know how the engine works, then don't worry about it. Just as long as you know enough to drive the car!


Sincerely,
Esther C. Kane
Eckweb Designs, Inc.
678.765.0120
Improved Search Engine Rankings

Suggested Best Practices:

A good first question to ask is “Who exactly are we targeting??? If you are targeting a specific country, targeting a specific language-speaking audience, or your web site copy is specifically for a country or language-specific audience, use a ccTLD (country code top level domain) that relates to your target country rather than a general .com domain. For example, a ccTLD would look like www.domain.fr, www.domain.ca, www.domain.jp, or www.domain.co.uk. Always use ccTLDs for each language of your site.

Avoid having multiple language sites on the same domain, e.g., www.domain.com for English language content and www.domain.com/fr/ for French language content.

Make sure that there is not any duplicate content on your .com and any other sites.

Make sure your pages identify what language they are in, e.g.,

If you cannot use a ccTLD, use a subdomain, e.g., fr.domain.com. Google views a subdomain as a separate site.

Benefits Of Best Practices:

A ccTLD communicates to search engines the focus of your site.

A ccTLD is the quickest and most accurate way to communicate regionality to the search engines.

A ccTLD assigns more weight for local search. It allows your site to be more easily included in Google Canada, Google Mexico, etc.

Search engines tend to have higher confidence and often give a ranking boost to a ccTLD site for local searches. For example, Google France may give a more favorable ranking to a France-specific (.fr) site.

FAQ:

Q: What about using subdirectories such as www.domain.com/fr/? Can we do a 301 redirect from a subdirectory to a ccTLD, e.g., from www.domain.com/fr/ to www.domain.fr?

A: From a search engine perspective, it is always best to use a ccTLD. If a ccTLD is not possible, then consider using a subdomain. We do not recommend using subdirectories for international sites or language-specific sites.

Q: What does Google say about the use of TLDs, ccTLDs, subdomains, etc.?

A: “Use TLDs. To help us serve the most appropriate version of a document, use top level domains whenever possible to handle country-specific content. We're more likely to know that www.domain.de indicates Germany-focused content, for instance, than www.domain.com/de/." (Source: Google Blog)

posted by Doug Ausbury in category: Organic SEO

The post above is from one of my favorite blogs, SEO SpeedWagon.

Not Your Usual Marketing Tips

Not Your Usual Marketing Tips
Vol. 5, No. 5

May 1, 2007

What the heck is this guy doing in Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management?

Recently I discussed the importance of self-promotion. Through such tried and true methods as press releases, seminars, event marketing, trade shows and web content.

Why self promotion? Simply because no one else is likely to do it for you, and if marketing has any role in your business development mix – and, of course, it should – you need to let your audiences know about your product or service.

But it doesn’t always have to be about what you do for a living. Sometimes, it can just be about…you.

That is, if you’ve got something universally interesting to talk about. Have you been awarded or even nominated for a significant industry honor? Have you been on a charity mission to some other country? Have you been lifting a hammer lately for Habitat for Humanity? Have you decided to create a scholarship fund in your family’s name?

Then too, the nature of your story doesn’t necessarily have to be a lofty one. Just, again, something truly interesting.

For instance, about that guy at the top of the page… He is currently starring in and directing “Leatherheads,” a romantic comedy about pro football, circa 1925, portions of which were filmed here in Charlotte.

And yours truly got the unique and rewarding opportunity to appear in it!

Want to read an 8-day journal all about it? Go to: http://www.jdkmarketing.biz/leatherheads.htm

And for those of you with your own unique and compelling story to tell…I invite you to send it to me at joel@jdkmarketing.biz If it’s got “legs,” I’ll try to get it into www.lifeincharlotte.com, a new online compendium of news and features celebrating diversity and achievement throughout the Queen City.

In the meantime, see you again the first Tuesday of next month for another boffo, 4-star triumph for Not Your Usual Marketing Tips.

Joel Kweskin
JDK Marketing Communications Management
704.846.4835, office
704.575.8850, cell
704.841.2746, fax
www.jdkmarketing.biz

Little Brain Teaser - Or Is It?
Sent in by Paula Moore

CAN YOU READ IT?

Fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too. Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 % of plepoe can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it.

Paula Moore specializes in web design, graphic design and flash design. She's my CSS guru! For amazing logos and web designs, contact Paula Moore at PickMeAndMoore.com

SEO Friendly Redesign
By Mark Johnstone

A growing number of our potential clientele come to us with websites that have been up and running for some time. Most inquire about search engine placement services they want performed on their website. All too often we are seeing websites that have not been designed with even the simplest considerations for search engine friendliness. It is important to note that not all websites are created equal – some website designs will perform better when it comes to search engine placements than others.

After a brief initial analysis with a client's website we have found that it usually falls into two categories. The first being websites having the ability to produce highly successful search engine placements. These types of websites do not appear to have any "road blocks" in place due to any design or structural flaws and generally they are suitable to begin an extensive SEO campaign. Everything is in place with the overall design structure for our team to perform the tasks needed to carry out a successful placement campaign.

The second type of website we encounter are the ones that may or may not look atheistically pleasing and/or contain major site-wide structural flaws that can harm your placements. These are the clients we strongly recommend a website redesign for and is the topic for this article.

Why not get the most "Bang for Your Buck" when it comes to spending your marketing dollars? A properly redesigned website will attract new visitors to your product or services and the search engines will be able to promptly and properly index your content, potentially resulting in better placements.

This category of website often includes a variety of issues that can harm placements or even turn away visitors. When we asses a website redesign for a client we make good use of a quick checklist to give an on-the fly analysis of what potentially is wrong with the current design. When walking through the following list with a client, it is easier for them to visualize some of the fundamental flaws that they might have. The following is a snap shot of what we look for:

1. Navigation

The type of navigation used on a website is perhaps one of the single most important factors when considering a redesign. Hardcore SEOs will always advocate the use of "text only" navigation on your website. There is no doubt that the search engines have little trouble following each page linked via this method, however one can be restricted atheistically on how the navigation looks to a visitor or search engine.

A good rule of thumb if you incorporate a graphical method (or Flash) of navigation is to definitely include a link-only version of those links at the bottom of each page. For larger websites only include the top level of each section. The addition of a site map page is also a must and the listing of these links should be displayed as text.

Regardless on how fantastic your website looks or how relevant your content might be, if the search engines cannot spider through and index this content – nobody will find it.

2. Content

The content itself should be clear and easy to read. Visitors to your site should not have to endlessly hunt to find what they are looking for. The proper organization of content will logically help you organize the all important titles or themes for each page. Make your best attempt to present one message per section (or page) when organizing your material.

3. Doorway, Splash, and Hidden Text

Particularly with older web designs we see designers and site owners alike have attempted to incorporate some very "old school" frowned-upon SEO tactics or design methods. These commonly include doorway pages, splash pages and the use of hidden text. To help with analyzing whether or not your site currently utilizes these "black hat" tactics read " The Top 10 Worst SEO Tactics "

4. Cross Browser Accessibility

Although Internet Explorer still dominates as the number one browser there are other browsers to consider when considering a redesign. Thankfully this is not as big of an issue as it once was however take the time to view your current website in different browsers - flip between Internet Explorer and Firefox for example. Chances are you will see each browser has its own traits for displaying web pages. In some cases important elements of your design might be lost or not show up on as you intended.

5. Focus of Message

So many websites lack a concise message. Are people able to understand what you are trying to say? If we find that the answer is no, we inform the client that their site is a good candidate for a redesign. By addressing this issue it will greatly assist in developing successful strategies for a search engine placement component to your project. The use of organized and clear content does in fact open more doors for a wider scope when it comes to performing any SEO tactics on a website.

6. Other "Nuts and Bolts"

Quick Loading
Do visitors need to wait to view your website? Even graphically heavy websites should load quickly – images and content should not only look attractive but must also be optimized to load quickly for all visitors to your website.

Page Titles
Page Titles are extremely important when considering your redesign. For additional detailed information on the importance of page titles corresponding to the actual page content read Ross Dunn's " Is Your Website Search Engine Friendly? Your Personal Checklist ". Ross digs deeper into the subject and provides you with a guide to do a self analysis of your own website.

Meta Content and Alternative Content
Although it is widely known that the inclusion of Meta Tags is not as important as it once was with the major search engines these days it still is prudent to have these included within the code of the site itself. We often come across high-end designs for companies of all sizes that do not even include Meta content.

7. Templates - Off the Shelf Solutions

Currently there are wide arrays of "Off the Shelf" website templates available online and there are definitely some templates that are better than others. One common problem with these templates is that you are somewhat restricted to the template itself. Unless you have a bit of graphical and design knowledge the final result will always be "what you see is what you get". By incorporating a custom design you will always have the flexibility to alter the look and feel without having to struggle with manipulating the template.

So What do I do Now? Not to Panic…

It is important not to panic if you find your website falls into one or more of these design mistakes. Nine times out of ten the hard work you put into your initial design can be translated and or transplanted into a website that both works for your visitors and the search engines alike. Content and imagery can be reworked and optimized to fit properly into your newly created online presence along with additions that may fill holes that are found along the way.

Mark Johnstone
Mark has been working with the Search Engine experts at StepForth Placement Inc. for the past two years and has been trained by some of the most reputable SEO's in the industry. This allows Pure Ignition's clients to take advantage of a Search Engine friendly web solution that will give any business that much needed "head start" on the internet.