Posts Tagged ‘seo’

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Show Notes
Podcast episode 067 entitled Tips Defining Website Goals provides advice for planning a new web design or the upgrade of an existing website. If you’re already online you may not have considered the need to freshen up your website or upgrade to XHTML. Listen now and you may change your mind. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• Introduction to the Web Design Plan
• The Planning Phase of Web Design
• Website Owners Ultimate Pet Peeve
• Simple Marketing Plan for Success
• Quick Tip of the Day – Why Your Website Needs an Annual Budget

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:45 Main Topic – Tips Defining Website Goals
0:05:55 Quick Tip of the Day – Why Your Website Needs an Annual Budget
0:07:10 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:07:40 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 067

Referenced Links
Intro to XHTML by W3C, the standards authority for web design code

According to the W3C “XHTML is a stricter and cleaner version of HTML”. When evaluating a new or existing website design, my advice is considering XHTML which has been my standard for years. The advantage is code that is forward looking to perform well now and into the future. Follow the W3C referenced link above to the article comparing both before deciding to have your site created in older HTML.

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Podcast episode 066 entitled Custom CMS and Writing Style comes from a conversation earlier this week with a cms web design client. They realized their style of writing for their website is too wordy, and after offering advice I decided to share key points with listeners. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• Custom CMS Client and Writing Style Intro
• Website Visitors and My 5 Second Rule
• How People Scan Your Web Design Pages
• The Most Overlooked Website Writing Secret
• Website Tip of the Day – Resources to Improve Your Writing Style

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:45 Main Topic – Custom CMS and Writing Style
0:06:07 Quick Tip of the Day – Resources to Improve Your Writing Style
0:07:43 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:08:13 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 066

Referenced Links
Wikipedia NPOV Article for Neutral Point of View writing

Key words are important when writing for the web. The decisions about how to present content will be easier to implement once you understand website visitor behavior as they navigate your website. The link to NPOV provides interesting writing advice from a technical standpoint, yet success writing for the web is less formal. The practical advice in today’s episode is about being more conversational and “talking” to site visitors.

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Show Notes
Podcast episode 065 entitled Church Custom CMS Design Idea results from a forum post where a do-it-yourself website designer asked for a review of their church website. The old style of graphics and outdated code really needed professional advice for implementing a custom cms web design. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• Introduction to Church Custom CMS Web Design
• Custom CMS and Do-it-Yourself Compared
• Custom CMS Web Design Qualifications
• Evaluation of the Existing Church Website
• Custom CMS Design Conclusions and Advice
• Website Tip of the Day – Why a Visitor Counter is a Bad Idea

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:45 Main Topic – Church Custom CMS Design Idea
0:09:25 Quick Tip of the Day – Why a Visitor Counter is a Bad Idea
0:10:34 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:11:04 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 065

Referenced Links
Custom CMS Design PDF Download to learn seo and cms techniques (pdf, 50 pages)

Listeners with an existing static website for any business will benefit from the advice in today’s podcast even though a church is noncommercial. The advice applies to site design quality, so anyone considering a custom cms web design should find value in the advice. Note: You do not have to register or reveal an email address to download the 50 page PDF guide to cms and seo shown above under referenced links.

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Show Notes
Podcast episode 064 entitled WordPress SEO and SEF Tutorial results from the recent launch of the custom-cms-design.com website with an integrated WordPress blog. The SEO or search engine optimization goals for the new blog were met with some interesting WordPress plugins and a little creativity. SEF stands for Search Engine Friendly. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• Overview of WordPress Blog for Custom CMS Design LLC
• Search Engine Optimization Goals for the WordPress Blog
• SEF or Search Engine Friendly File Names Tutorial
• Enhanced SEO with the All in One SEO Pack WordPress Plugin
• Social Bookmarks Plugin Solution for WordPress Blog Posts
• Quick Tip of the Day – WordPress Default Admin User Workaround

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:45 Main Topic – WordPress SEO and SEF Tutorial
0:09:47 Quick Tip of the Day – WordPress Default Admin User Workaround
0:11:13 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:11:43 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 064

Referenced Links
Custom CMS Design LLC blog post reference example (Link removed – site no longer online)
WordPress All in One SEO Pack Plugin features and download page
WordPress Sociable Bookmarks Plugin features and download page

Listeners may want to open the first link above to the blog post example as they follow along with this WordPress blog SEO and SEF tutorial. Examples of SEO discussed include search engine friendly or SEF blog post file names, features from the All in One SEO Pack plugin, and adding social bookmarks in the post footer.

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Podcast episode 062 entitled Web Design Services and Price presents advice for novice web design professionals trying to break into the custom web design field. The tips apply to do-it-yourself web design for site owners, also. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• Web Design Price vs Quality Tradeoffs
• Analogy of Website Design and Used Cars
• Best Practices for Search Engine Optimization
• Web Design Site Navigation and Visitor Experience
• Tips for Web Design Planning and Future Growth
• Website Quick Tip of the Day – Web Design Standards for the Novice

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:37 Main Topic – Web Design Services and Price
0:06:11 Quick Tip of the Day – Web Design Standards for the Novice
0:07:43 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:08:13 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 062

Referenced links
CMS and SEO Tutorial Ebook to view and download. No registration required.

The tip of the day and referenced link to the pdf ebook provides valuable advice for novice web design students just getting started. The search engine optimization research and implementation advice at zero cost is equal to what many charge $1000s to learn.

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Show Notes
Podcast episode 061 entitled Blog and CMS Website Strategy offers advice for creating new pages in a content management system or cms web design, and then announcing the content on your blog. The result is enhanced seo, or search engine optimization, because each new page added to your main site provides two pieces of new content for search engines. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• Advantages of an Integrated Custom Blog in a CMS Web Design
• Disadvantage of Relying on Your Blog Only for Adding Content
• Search Engine Optimization in a Phrase: Add Original Quality Content Often
• Case Studies of Custom CMS Web Design Clients with Integrated Blogs
• Two for One Strategy When Writing Lengthy Blog Posts
• Website Quick Tip of the Day – Using Twitter to Promote Your Site and Blog

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:37 Main Topic – Blog and CMS Website Strategy
0:06:34 Quick Tip of the Day – Using Twitter to Promote Your Site and Blog
0:07:45 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:08:15 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 061

Referenced links
Get web design advice on Twitter by following me at @JimDegerstrom

Twitter? Yes, I mentioned Twitter. For those listeners unfamiliar with the social network on Twitter, it is more than “What are you doing now…”. Personally, I follow other web design professionals from around the world to stay up to date on trends in our industry. For your small business, Twitter provides an easy to use method of promoting your brand, also. Listen to today’s tip of the day to learn more.

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Show Notes
Podcast episode 060 entitled Web Design Conversion to PDF is a review of an online tool for converting a web page to pdf including active hyperlinks and all graphics. This free tool provides an interesting approach for doing web design demos and communicating with clients. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• Web Design Projects and Client Communication
• Web Design Page to PDF Online Tool Discovery
• Applying the HTML to PDF Converter in Web Design Projects
• Example PDF of the Web Design Home Page of This Website
• Quick Tip of the Day – Adding META Code to PDF Documents for SEO

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:37 Main Topic – Web Design Conversion to PDF
0:04:57 Quick Tip of the Day – Adding META Code to PDF Documents for SEO
0:07:03 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:07:33 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 060

Referenced links
Online Page to PDF Converter web designer tool
Sample page to pdf conversion of this site’s home page (pdf, 391kb, 1 pg)

The majority of future podcasts episodes with web design related advice will be shorter than the 12-15 minute average. Less complicated subjects about web design will be covered in-depth for the benefit of web design developers and their customers. Exceptions that require longer episodes may be featured at times.

The tip of the day includes advice for META code to enhance PDF search engine optimization, or seo.

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Show Notes
Podcast episode 059 entitled CMS Web Design Conversion Tips provides a review of a new project to convert an existing 98 page website to a custom cms web design. Factors to consider in the new web design includes smooth transition to minimize website down time. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• SEO Factor Considerations in Site Redesign
• Comparing Web Design Long URLs to SEO Friendly URLs
• Redirecting Old Web Design File Names with HTAccess
• Using Draft Mode for Instant Web Design Conversion
• Website Quick Tip of the Day – Custom 404 Error Page Advice

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:45 Main Topic – CMS Web Design Conversion Tips
0:07:58 Quick Tip of the Day – Custom 404 Error Page Advice
0:10:09 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:10:39 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 059

Referenced links
Humorous 404 Error Pages from sites with a sense of humor

The problems of converting an existing web design to a newly redesigned website can go smoothly with proper planning. The tip of the day about custom 404 pages adds another point to consider even if you are not redesigning a site. Testing your site with a fake page file name will tell you immediately what your site visitors will see. Like it? No. Listen to the tip of the day, and look into having a custom 404 “page not found” added to your web design.

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Show Notes
Podcast episode 054 entitled 2009 Web Design Predictions takes a look at forward looking concepts of web design, and what to plan for site enhancements in the future. Topics include web design trends for seo, cms, DIY web design, multimedia content, and page width standard for 2009. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• Search Engine Optimization Trends in Web Design
• Content Management Systems or CMS for Web Design
• Ease of Use in Do-it-Yourself Website Owner Web Design
• Web Design Content Enriched with Multimedia
• New Standards for Web Design Page Width in 2009
• Website Quick Tip of the Day – Time for an Annual Web Design Checkup

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:45 Main Topic – 2009 Web Design Predictions
0:11:46 Tip of the Day – Time for an Annual Web Design Checkup
0:13:28 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:13:58 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 054

Referenced links
Ebook download of 2009 Web Design Predictions (podcast transcript, 6 pages, 252kb pdf)

Keeping up with the changes in online technology, visitor behavior, and web design strategy is necessary for success in custom web design. The advice today provides pointers for do-it-yourself web design site owners with practical advice for web design best practices. Web design techniques that do not change with new technology could very well experience future problems when compared to a competitor’s website.

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Show Notes
Podcast episode 053 entitled Web Design Podcast Anniversary is a review of the first year of web design audio programs of the Small Business Website Mailbag. The first episode is reviewed to compare goals and accomplishments during 52 podcasts each Saturday for one year. We’ll look ahead at future plans for 2009, plus announce details of a $500 contest. Here’s the outline for today’s program:

• One Year and 52 Saturday Podcast Episodes
• Review of First Web Design Advice Podcast
• First 10 Episodes and Essence of New Web Design
• Podcast Anniversary Feedback Contest and Prize
• Future Plans for this Web Design Advice Podcast
• Website Quick Tip of the Day: Tips Before Starting a Podcast

0:00:00 Podcast Theme Music and Introduction
0:00:45 Main Topic – Web Design Podcast Anniversary
0:09:04 Tip of the Day – Tips Before Starting a Podcast
0:10:52 Podcast Outro Theme Music and Credits
0:11:22 End of Small Business Website Mailbag Podcast 053

Referenced links
First audio web design advice podcast episode and introduction

The $500 contest announcement in this episode provides details for listeners who provide feedback on their favorite Small Business Website Mailbag podcast show. Contestants identify 1 of the 52 episodes in an email with an explanation in 25 words or less why a particular show was their favorite. The winner will be selected based solely on my judgment and announced on January 3rd, 2009. The $500 design credit may be used in 2009 towards any and all web design related services that I provide including custom web design, blogger design, video production, or even custom graphics.