Archive for September, 2007

I released another published article about small business turnkey websites, and not just the scams. Brand name cookie cutter websites can have a downside, so you may want to read about the topic of brand name turnkey sites here. Here’s an excerpt.

The ideal scenario for any small business is having an original site with fresh content added often instead of a cookie cutter clone. Integrate a blog and forum as appropriate and you create a search engine magnet, but that traffic is meaningless if your content is stale and only optimized for search engines. It is more important to design content for visitors who are more likely to stay longer and eventually buy when you provide quality information and value for money.

In a previous article, readers were warned about scam turnkey sites, including some featured in late night tv advertising. You may want to read how one woman lost more than $10,000 over 2 years without one cent in profit as documented in another article I wrote, Tips Before Buying a Turnkey Online Business.

Use due diligence before spending your hard earned money. Contact me for an opinion before you buy, or consider joining online marketing forums to get neutral feedback before you pay for an online turnkey site. You may find seo, search engine optimization, very difficult with a cookie cutter website.

Many small business websites include hyperlinks that read “Click Here”, and the site may have been created without realizing why that type of link is a major mistake in website design. Most website hyperlinks are obvious, so visitors will know the colored text within a paragraph is a link. Rather than “Click Here” using a more literal text description of the content at the link destination is better for several reasons:

1. The descriptive text makes the linked content more obvious
2. Persons with disabilities using screen readers have literal feedback
3. Search engines give more value to key words in links for improved SEO

Visit the Small Business Resource Center home page to view examples of multiple text links. Each meets the 3 items and advantages on the list shown above. Anything you can do to enhance your visitor’s experience, including search engines, will benefit your small business website performance.

Tip: There are more methods to assist persons with disabilities, especially blind or vision impaired visitors, who depend on easy accessibility to understand your content. It is a major mistake having graphics on your site without adding a small piece of code in the html called the ALT tag. The ALT tag is best kept at 4-5 words and is used to describe the graphic that persons with vision actually see, and allows vision impaired persons to know what is displayed even though it cannot be viewed.

Ask your designer if you have a site with graphics and the ALT tags are missing. They’re easy to fix.

Literal hyperlinks instead of “Click Here” and ALT tags for graphics are simple to add, and will result in a more professional website design.

A blog post at EzineArticles.com shows the mug illustration from the graphic tutorial I posted on August 17, 2007. After reading the warm comments, I decided to create a custom high resolution version of the mugshot available for download for EzineArticles platinum authors, and others.

View the tutorial and custom photo illustration used for the wallpaper from my previous post, or right click and save target as to download the free EzineArticles mug desktop wallpaper here (250kb JPG zipped folder). Unlike some free downloads, you do not have to register or reveal your email address.

Article writing is a great way to increase backlinks, and the desktop wallpaper is a friendly reminder to keep writing.

Here’s more seo advice for your online small business. For more favorable search engine optimization results, consider the importance of theme based website content. The trend by search engines means your overall site content is evaluated to establish your theme.

Here’s what that means. As indexing becomes more sophisticated no single page on your small business website is used to determine your business slant. Instead, the content of all pages are studied for the theme or connection between all content. Keep information on your site niche related for better results.

In addition, avoid adding links to external sites with content that has nothing to do with your business model. Otherwise, you dilute your potential search results with material that is irrelevant to the audience you are trying to reach. Stick to your purpose for being online, and add fresh content often that is specific and defines your product or service.

Resist the temptation to add links to “friends” unless their business is somehow related to what you do. You may change your strategy in the future by adding new products or services outside your current business. At that point you should certainly ramp up content to redefine your site theme.

Finally, while your target focus has a purpose, you may realize unexpected results. As an example, my core business is website design and matching graphic art for print. In addition, I provide advice for small business owners on just those subjects, yet a recent new client reported they found this blog on Google page one for small business advice blog.

The results fit my theme, yet I was pleasantly surprised being recognized for small business advice which is something I give away for free. Call or write if you want to learn more about seo and latent semantic indexing.