Small business owners should be wary of experts who promise web design seo performance without showing evidence of positive results. Too often web developers use deceptive means to improve ranking and lasting results are unlikely. A new Content Management System or CMS web design related free PDF download entitled Case Study of CMS Web Design Performance of Small Business Owner Website was released earlier today with the following topics:

• Introduction of Search Engine Philosophy
• Comparing CMS Web Design to Static Pages
• Overview of Web Design SEO Performance Results
• Screenshots from Actual Search Engine Traffic
• Search Phrases and Summary of SEO Results
• Appendix of CMS Web Design and SEO Training

The purpose of the report is to demonstrate to web design clients the value of the advanced seo, search engine optimization, methods being taught to cms web design customers. The report includes advice as well as screenshots of actual searches that brought recent visitors to my website after visitors searched Google for cms and related web design terms.

While the advantage of easily adding new content using CMS is key, most new pages may take time to show up in search results, perhaps months. One search result earlier today was to a new page launched yesterday, so having pages optimized for search as well as providing quality content can provide page one ranking in Google, and new traffic in less than 24 hours. Another new page featured in the web design and seo report made page two out of 457 million results.

My advice for best practice web design has always been design for visitors first, and then add quality original content often. Those words quality + often = happy repeat visitors and search engine traffic.

Right click this link to download the illustrated CMS Web Design Performance Report (286kb, pdf, 7 pages). You do not have to register or provide an email address to enjoy this free web design related report. Readers are encouraged to forward the PDF to friends or small business peers who may be interested in this web design and seo performance breakthrough using cms.



TAGS: advice cms free pdf report seo search engine optimization web design

Labels: advice, cms, seo, websites

                       

The latest episode of the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast was released earlier today, and includes the transcript of today's program: Web Design SEO Audio Ebook. The subtitle of the free to download PDF is "Search Engine Optimization Step by Step Guide", and this SEO tutorial provides detailed methods for optimizing keywords in a small business web design. You may download the ebook without obligation because you do not have to register or reveal your email address.

Download the PDF ebook to read as you listen along to the podcast episode as I read the transcript of the program. In addition, the PDF SEO tutorial has bonus information with added search engine optimization tips that are not included in the audio podcast. Here is one excerpt not in the podcast with another definition of the term SEO:

SEO has more than one meaning and stands for "Search Engine Optimizer", also, which means a consultant offering search engine optimization services. The true experts get anywhere from $5000 to $20,000 for optimizing a single website.

In addition, there are unscrupulous people who know the buzz words contained in this report, and they razzle dazzle clients into paying thousands in recurring monthly or annual fees with zero results. New clients have contacted me and reported ongoing SEO service payments for years without results, yet they accept lame excuses and just keep paying. Here’s one way they are deceived.

Search engines do not reveal their algorithms for serving up search results, so this secrecy is one weapon the unscrupulous SEO snake oil salespersons use to explain away poor results. Be very wary of anyone who promises page one. It is a lie.

Listen to the "Web Design SEO Audio Ebook" podcast episode, and then download or read the PDF tutorial "Search Engine Optimization Step by Step Guide" here (454kb, pdf). Learning do-it-yourself web design and keyword optimization can save small business owners thousands in annual fees. Your only investment is your time.



TAGS: advice pdf tutorial podcast seo search engine optimization small business advice web design

Labels: advice, audio, podcast, seo, tutorials, websites

                       

The new photo gallery display web design technique in CSS on the main site was used to redesign the post card and flyer gallery page. The old version was converted to pure CSS in perfect XHTML with CSS2 and zero code errors. This advanced web design method includes similar features to the recently created business card artwork gallery as follows:

(1) 3 rows of 6 post card and flyer thumbnails (18 examples)
(2) enlarged views of each post card on the same page
(3) seo friendly caption in actual text in enlarged views

A key advantage of this web design technique is the old design showed just 6 examples of artwork that required scrolling to view the entire page. The new css web design method displays 18 examples in approximately half the open window browser for easier viewing by visitors. An added bonus is the seo or search engine optimization of the enlarged views with descriptive text captions that may be indexed by search engines.

View these 18 graphic art examples of full color custom designed post cards and flyers as displayed on this gallery page. Gorgeous post cards or flyers in full color 2-sided designs allow cost effective advertising to mail or hand out. This Post Card and Flyer Artwork Design Gallery includes front and back enlarged images of custom flyer and post card artwork.



TAGS: post card artwork css gallery graphic art seo search engine optimization web design

Labels: artwork, examples, seo, websites

                       

As part of the web design makeover of the Small Business Resource Center website I converted the custom business card gallery in pure CSS. The thumbnail graphic of each of the 50 business card examples has been reduced in size, and the CSS layout renders enlarged versions of each, and all within a half page area. Unlike web design techniques in some photo galleries using javascript or flash, the business card gallery renders enlarged views instantly without a popup window or redirect to a JPG on a new page.

View the following screenshot from this gallery of custom business card artwork, and note that the card thumbnails and enlarged version (larger than actual size) takes up very little space on the page. The sequence of encircled numbers in the graphic below point out (1) the 5 rows of 10 business card thumbnails as contained in an area 550 pixels wide by 180 pixels high, the (2) enlarged view of one of the business card designs as displayed below the gallery rows, and (3) the seo friendly caption in actual text that appears under each photo.



(1) the 5 rows of 10 business card thumbnails
(2) enlarged view of one of the business card designs
(3) the seo friendly caption in actual text

This improved web design technique with CSS allows having 50 photographs with enlarged views in half an open browser window. The caption under each photo adds search engine optimization value to the web design because the text can be indexed by search engines. The caption text is visible to visitors for improved usability, also, which helps people viewing the business cards identify the company and their business for each design.

View the Graphic Art | Business Card Design Gallery to see this advanced web design technique for creating a business card or photo gallery with CSS. The enlarged views of the 50 cards are each 400 pixels wide, so presenting 50 cards in such a small space is a big improvement over the previous version of that page.

Finally, the web design of this page is complex yet meets W3C standards compliance with perfect code in XHTML and CSS2. A revised gallery of post cards and flyers will be next using this same technique. Unlike the current design with a handful of examples, the post card gallery will include 18 custom post card designs in a similar small space. Readers interested in a compact photo gallery web design for their small business website are welcome to email me for a quote.



TAGS: business card artwork css gallery graphic art seo search engine optimization web design

Labels: artwork, examples, seo, websites

                       

A new page of our main site provides web design advice for small business owners including a CMS web design video tutorial just released today. The video demonstrates how the Small Business Resource Center website was converted from static pages to CMS or Content Management System generated pages using plain text.

The video includes a tour of the backend admin section of this site, and a demonstration of how new pages may be added to a CMS based design in plain text without having to learn or know HTML code. An important aspect featured in the web design tutorial is how my custom designed CMS system provides simple methods of adding META information for search engine optimization, or SEO, also.

At the same time, a new episode on the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast provides advice and information about web design using CSS styles, or cascading style sheets. The podcast show notes link to the video, also. The new and easy-to-use technique for creating a new small business web design with CMS relates to CSS for separating content and presentation and is a big part of this latest web design service.

Existing customers with static web design pages created by me are welcome to inquire about converting their website to an owner managed content management system. A $500 discount off my published price is good for existing customers and valid through June, 30, 2008. Watch the CMS web design video tour and podcast episode about web design and css styling to learn more, and then don't delay as the end of the month approaches.



TAGS: advice cms content management system seo video tutorial web design

Labels: advice, cms, examples, podcast, seo, tutorials, video, websites

                       

The custom web design of the main site of the Small Business Resource Center website has been converted to a CMS, Content Management System, and all 70 pages are done. The advice blog and podcast graphics conversion to match will be done soon so the entire site has a consistent look. This CMS system was selected after 2-3 years of research for a simple method of creating a web design with perfect XHTML and CSS with a tableless design.

The web design makeover to CMS follows the announcement of this new service 2 weeks ago here, and in 2 podcast episodes about CMS. The purpose of a Content Management System for web design is allowing small business owners the control to add, edit, or delete content to manage their website without learning how to code in XHTML.

Unlike most CMS software out of the box, our custom web design with matching graphics, and significant template modification, has been done to maximize aesthetics and allow SEO, Search Engine Optimization, of your small business website. Tired of paying your web developer each time you need a change? Follow this link to learn about a custom web design with CMS for your small business.

Interested in a tour of a working CMS web design? Visit my main site to view the 70 page web design and CMS makeover. Technically my blog and podcast are done in CMS, so the overall content of this website has more than 350 pages of information and advice for small business web design and related services.



TAGS: content management system cms launch news small business services web design

Labels: cms, general, launch, seo, templates, websites

                       

As new technology evolves, the evolution of web development design and cms web design continues to make great progress. My goal has always been perfect code to comply with W3c standards with zero code errors, and creating websites designed with seo rich content for search engine optimization. Most CMS, content management systems, create code errors yet with 1000 files in the system to tweak, getting a perfect cms site has been nearly impossible.

With the newer wide screen format for personal computers, the layout of some websites are not displayed as well as expected. The reason in some cases is a stretchy design that fills the screen and creates long sentences in wide screen view. The advantage shows up on smaller computer monitors at 800 pixels wide, yet that goal is practicaly obsolete.

From tracking stats of visitor systems used to view my site, it turns out that fewer than 5% are on 800 x 600 screens. The purpose of a flexible design is filling the screen on all sizes without needing a horizontal scroll bar, yet accommodating older technology appears to affect very few people.

As a result, my choice for the future is fixed width site design of 960 pixel wide sites that will apparently display well on any size screen. By using xhtml with css these custom web designs will also display well on small screens like the iPhone or cell phones, too.

Meanwhile, the design evolution and cms web design has conquered the problem of creating a site the owner can manage, and finally have perfect xhtml and css. To begin demonstrating this newer cms method of web design, I've added a section for readers to view to see the development and evolution of cms. The concept and new feature is the subject of the latest podcast episode entitled Custom CMS Web Design Demo, so you may now listen about this breakthrough in design services that I offer. Email comments or questions from any page of this website.



TAGS: advice cms content management system search engine optimization small business services

Labels: advice, examples, podcast, seo, websites

                       

The latest podcast show comparing blog formats from Blogger and WordPress was launched today with advice for small business owners. If you're undecided about the benefits of blogging, or which format to select, the show gives comparisons of format, ease of use, and other features on these top blog formats.

The show features a review of a new custom matching blog done in WordPress for one of my personal sites, and features bonus tips for advanced plug-in options and themes or templates for WordPress. An integrated blog custom design to match your main site is one of the best search engine optimization techniques I can recommend. Contact me at any time for no obligation free advice about blogging for small business.



TAGS: advice blog blogger podcast small business advice WordPress

Labels: advice, blogger, podcast, seo, templates, websites

                       

Would you prefer to be number one with Google, or number one with new customers? Making page one for any search in Google is great for small business website owners. Agonize over getting there and you may be wasting time.

Quality content in website design can make the difference. If your company strategy for success is centered on search engines, you need to consider more proactive methods to attract customers and realize SE traffic is just one segment of marketing your small business.

The time spent agonizing over your position in PageRank or Search Engine Results Pages (PR or SERPs) could be better spent on conversion. A ton of traffic is useless if people arrive and don't buy. Track your stats to see landing pages, where they came from, visitor length, and popular pages, and then adjust your content to please the majority based on trends.

You decide. Again, would you prefer to be number one with Google, or number one with new customers?

If I only taught one phrase for search engine optimization it would be "Add Quality Original Content Often". Time spent tweaking and improving your small business site content for a positive shopping experience may be more productive than wasting time trying to figure out page one strategy. Worry about customers first. You may get that new revenue and page one!



TAGS: advice small business advice search engine optimization website design

Labels: advice, seo, websites

                       

Time management as a small business owner is a matter of sorting tactical and strategic activities. The value of a blog is really a strategy with future benefits, not a tactical activity like other day to day tasks that require immediate attention. For me, building a reputation for my niche establishes long term traffic worth more than the value of any one post.

The tactical distractions in a small business that are time wasters need to be recognized. If you come across a link or interesting email that has you following an internet trail to oblivion, stop. We all do it, and it may takes hours away from real work. As soon as you learn to recognize those things that are fun yet don't generate revenue, you may find more time to dedicate to a blog.

For blog post ideas I subscribe to Google Alerts which delivers daily news on related subjects, and sometimes I follow my blog tags to view other opinions. A visit to the tag cloud on the Technorati home page may be a good source for what's hot and interests people for a given moment. Client feedback is another source of topic ideas for small business bloggers. I've even taken content from my emails to new prospects with advice that I wrote and use part of that if the advice makes a suitable blog post.

Blogs provide one of the most cost effective ways to promote your small business, and the seo or search engine optimization value is worth making blog time management a priority.



TAGS: advice blogging search engine optimization small business advice time management

Labels: advice, blogger, general, seo

                       

Another custom web design was launched earlier today for Shizz Entertainment, an indie artist recording studio in Philadelphia, PA. The simple starter website will expand over the coming months to add more details about their services, including featured artists, music downloads, and perhaps videos.

Shizz Entertainment specializes in recording, production, and promotional services for independent music artists. Genres include gospel, rap, rythym and blues, jazz, and poetry. Solo and group indie performers are welcome to inquire about low cost solutions for getting started.



The above screenshot of part of their website includes the custom logo design that I created for Shizz which is already being used for posters, printed marketing materials, and t-shirts. CD cover designs are in work.

Previously covering Philadelphia metro only, Shizz Entertainment is expanding with services for indie performers in most East Coast cities. New website content will be provided and added as their time permits, yet a free download sample CD with 21 tracks is scheduled for release soon.

The custom web design for Shizz Entertainment meets W3C standards for XHTML 1.1 and CSS2 with zero code errors, and content is optimized for seo, search engine optimization.



TAGS: launch custom logo design custom website design small business services news seo

Labels: examples, general, launch, seo, websites

                       

The latest podcast episode of the Small Business Website Mailbag features free resources for keyword advice for seo in web design. Tools for small business owners linked in the podcast include the websites of Key Word Discovery and DupeFree Pro.

Listen to Optimize Your Website Keywords here to learn about free methods for search engine optimization of key words and phrases on your small business website, and then consider this software review of DupeFree Pro.

The features in this quick review of DupeFree Pro software were not covered in the podcast episode. Besides the value of being able to easily calculate keyword density, DupeFree Pro may be used to test for duplicate content, also. Imagine doing copy and paste to insert content from your website, and then quickly finding out if any other site owner is using your content without permission.

Perhaps you write advice articles published online, and just want to check if others are giving proper credit when they choose to republish your articles. Maybe you have several articles on one topic and want to check the percentage of duplicate content between two versions. DupeFree Pro allows you to do this easily, also.

Duplicate content is a major problem trying to achieve positive seo results, so you may want to test for duplicate content within your site, also.



TAGS: advice keywords podcast review search engine optimization small business advice web design

Labels: advice, audio, podcast, reviews, seo, software, websites

                       

For small business owners, free methods of web promotion are the ideal way to promote their business. Here are more ideas on search engine optimization, and how joining forums can add backlinks to your site.

Backlinks are links to your website that the major search engines find. Each is like a vote and the more votes may increase the ranking and importance of your site. Avoid link farms or schemes. Those will backfire, yet joining a forum and adding value to the internet is a safe method of becoming known.

Search for online forums for your business niche, and then join to add comments or expert advice to the community. You may want to brainstorm and consider what topics interest your customers, and join a forum that would interest them, and then offer expert advice. Most forums require a certain number of posts to qualify for additional privileges, because some one shot visitors are just spamming to get another link to their site.

In most cases after 5 posts or replies to topics in the forum you are allowed to add a signature block to your posts including 1-3 links to your website, blog, or podcast. My advice is use a text hyperlink about what you do and not your company name. For my business, a link with "web design" as the displayed text adds more value than just your name.

Finally, it's important to understand that your forum signature block links provide the potential for attracting visitors based on the value of your advice. It is NOT the place to solicit business, so keep in mind you are there to help, and by helping you may enhance your reputation as an expert. My advice is joining several forums and contribute freely to the benefit of others, and gain backlinks as you remain an active member.



TAGS: advice small business advice search engine optimization forum

Labels: advice, seo

                       

Search engine optimization of your small business website does not have to be mysterious. Learn the basics and surprisingly most SEO strategies can be successful using free promotional resources. Your only investment is time.

Consider the 80/20 rule when it comes to SEO consultants. They're all expensive, yet only 20% truly understand proven long term methods for optimizing for search engines. Some of those 80% use deceitful methods to boost site ranking that fail long term because they get caught and punished by Google.

Others charge recurring annual fees to optimize your site, and some owners pay thousands per year while left scratching their head because of poor performance. You may want to consider do-it-yourself DIY website promotion.

If you can't make time to climb the learning curve for search engine optimization of your small business website, then hiring a service may be the answer. Beware of the razzle dazzle consultants who mystify seo. They should be willing to detail what they will do for their fee, how it is done, a time estimate, and the target results.



TAGS: advice small business advice website promotion seo search engine optimization

Labels: advice, seo, websites

                       

The advantages of a small business custom integrated blog have been covered many times on this blog. Previous topics covered advice about the benefits of blogging, my services for integrated small business blogs, blog writing tips, and blog promotion.

From reviewing a wide variety of blogs, one common error for many small business blog owners is still apparent. The purpose, function, and format of blog tags and labels is not completely understood, so the search engine optimization value of many blogs may suffer.

To further assist my small business clients enhance their blogs, I just released a new podcast episode with details and a lesson on blog tags and blog labels. I strongly encourage bloggers to visit the podcast and listen to this advice to help overcome any confusion comparing and using tags and labels.

Based on what you learn, it's okay to do edits on blog posts and republish each one.



TAGS: advice blog tags blog labels podcast search engine optimization small business advice

Labels: advice, blogger, podcast, seo

                       

The latest episode of the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast was released earlier and includes a bonus SEO Report in PDF for immediate download. The podcast episode Tracking Website Statistics gives a tutorial on setting up an account at StatCounter, and includes the free PDF download with step by step advice to add and track visitor website statistics to enhance SEO benefits.



Visit the podcast to listen to the small business website advice, and then download the accompanying PDF with no obligation. Visitors do not have to register or reveal an email address to receive the PDF report.

The benefits of knowing site traffic behavior, and how it relates to your core business, may allow owners to make adjustments in site content. SEO, or search engine optimization, is an added benefit of adding site visitor statistics.

You may want to read my detailed review of StatCounter services here, also.



TAGS: advice podcast search engine optimization small business advice tutorials websites

Labels: advice, podcast, seo, tutorials, websites

                       

Small business custom website design clients often ask about making page one in major search engines as part of website design projects. My latest podcast episode just released over the weekend with audio advice to Add an Integrated Website Blog helps answer that question. Here's an excerpt from the show notes:

Listen to learn about case studies of new small business website blog integration, and the positive results others have experienced from this advice. The blog of a recent custom small business website launch that I designed made Google page one in 1 week.

Search engine results found in Google page one and Yahoo page one were emailed to me by some of my clients in as little as one week from the time their site launched. Having an integrated blog and posting often helps small business website owners get listed sooner, and obviously some are making page one in major search engines in weeks. Blogs add fresh content often which is one of the methods for search engine optimization that I teach.

My policy when describing my custom website design services is still no guarantee of page one results, yet following my advice and blogging certainly has proven worthwhile. Here's the link, again, to listen to case studies of new small business website blogs in the Small Business Website Mailbag podcast.



TAGS: advice blog podcast small business search engine optimization

Labels: advice, blogger, podcast, seo, websites

                       

A custom website redesign with matching blog was launched yesterday for The Gourmet Gift Shop, Inc. of Stockbridge, Georgia. The main website is an online store for this manufacturer of custom gift baskets for corporate accounts and individuals. The site meets W3C for valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS2 and features a new logo design, an integrated PayPal shopping cart, and a Gift Basket Expert Advice blog.



In addition, custom pages were created for 404 Error - Page Not Found, a customized thank you page for completed purchases, a cancel page for incompleted orders, and finally a custom htaccess file for 301 permanent redirects of all the old page file names. Key on page content and the streamlined xhtml code was also optimized for seo, search engine optimization.

Visit their new custom website and online store for gift baskets for