website testing

Website Testing for More Revenue

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In the last year, here in Tulsa, WalMart has been moving some stuff around. Okay, they’ve moved everything around! The entire layout of the store has changed. The groceries are still on the same side and the retail remains on the left side of the store, but all of the isles are different. You could almost feel the frustration in everyone’s tone while they searched isles and couldn’t find what they were looking for. WalMart had a reason for doing what they did — I hope! I can only imagine how much time and research dollars went into setting new goals, testing and exploring new layouts

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online advertising

How to Find a Good Media-Marketing Company

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What things should you, as a business owner, look for in a company that has promised you online success? With our economy the way that it is, business owners have to get smarter and look for this type of help when it’s not feasible to have someone in house do it all (which would be ideal). So what do you look for? There are many talented 1-man shows out there that know what they are doing, and there are large firms that can do the very same.

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Smart Business Owners are Marketing Online

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Online MarketingI’m currently reading a book entitled The New Rules of Marketing and PR that my friend and local business owner Brad Johnson of Lawn America loaned to me.  It’s quite good!  I came across a story about a company that we all know and can identify with, and I found it relevant to many of the business owners that I speak to every week.  So, I thought I’d share…

Century 21 Real Estate LLC is the franchisor of the world’s largest residential real estate sales organization, an industry giant comprising approx. 8,000 offices in 45 countries.  You’ve seen Century 21’s TV ads before, but you haven’t seen them lately.  In 2009, the company pulled its national TV advertising and invested those resources into online marketing.  That’s a huge move considering the amount of TV they were doing. Read more

The Power of the Online Review

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online reviewsHow important is someone reviewing your business or organization online?  I don’t know, because there is no way to put a number to it…but I’ll try.  I do know this:  I’ll listen to another consumer about a company rather than some form of one-directional advertising trying to get my business for the same company.  Not that I don’t pay attention to advertising, but is that just because I look at it to critique it and draw ideas from it?  Some advertising has turned into a form of entertainment, I think.

I look at it this way: the consumer was once in my shoes, performed a similar search for a local company that provided a service that they need(ed), and they made a decision.

How is their experience with that company captured?  How can we, the other consumers, learn from their decision to choose one company over another? Well, (drumroll…..), enter the online review. Read more

The Internet Professional

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The Internet Professional

The Internet has come a long way in the little over a decade it’s been part of daily life. Not only do some 25% of the world’s population now have ‘net access [Internet World Stats, June 2009], but it’s easier than ever for those users to contribute to the Web rather than just passively consuming its content.

Only recently the field of Web design emerged as a hot new profession. Every business wanted a presence on the Web, and in the days of the dotcom bubble investors were lining up to throw money at Web startups. Someone had to build those sites, and that someone was the Web designer.

The profession lost its sparkle after the 2000 crash left too many Web designers chasing too few jobs. But the technology that’s arrived since has virtually killed Web design. That technology includes blogs, social networks, cell phones and everything else that allows anyone to establish a fancy Web presence with just a few clicks and update it just by typing in a box. Read more

Investing Online

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I am at the doctor’s office getting my eyes checked & hopefully will be getting a new pair of glasses because I spend my time making a living in front of a computer which probably isn’t the best thing to maintain good vision. Maybe there is some truth to what our parents told us when we were little: ”don’t sit so close to the TV – it’s bad for your eyes!”

Anyway, these times are the rare occasions when I’ll pick up a magazine & read an article that I wouldn’t normally read online or in a forwarded e-mail. So, I picked up the most recent edition of Fortune magazine as I was intrigued by the cover that eluded to the magazine being chocked full of articles of still being able to make big money in a rapidly declining economy. Guess what over 50 percent of the articles were focused on? The internet! Microsoft is buying Yahoo, should have bought Facebook, needs to make better computers & stay away from the web, Apple is going to take over the world, phonebook advertising will soon be something we tell our grandchildren about, & my son won’t know what a CD player is. As a web designer, my digital world seems behind the times. When I once felt on the cutting edge with my gadgets, I feel as though the tools & gadgets I have now, even though the help me accomplish great things, will soon need upgrading. Actually, I am writing this blog entry using my already out of date & no longer cool Palm TREO 650 🙂 Read more

What is Your Money Doing for You?

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Clients ask me all the time how their money can best be spent among print, radio, television, internet, direct mail, etc. Since I find myself primarily staying busy doing web design and internet marketing, my answer is usually the same: stay away from print advertising in local newspapers and put the money to work for you on the web.

Why is this good advice? Because on average, for a decent print ad in a major newspaper, you are going to pay at least $400, and you may get to run the ad between 1 – 3 days. You don’t get to select who looks at the ad, how old they are, how much money they make, and the worse part of all, you have absolutely no fail-safe way of knowing if people even SAW your ad! Read more

Desktop Publishing – Part 2

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In the last installment that we posted on desktop publishing back on September 6th, we mentioned some do’s and don’ts for those of you wanting to get some designs done in house (from your own office) without hiring a professional graphic artist or designer. Although we recommend that your marketing efforts be developed professionally, we are posting this advice from the assumption that you have gone to the trouble to at least have your logo and Web site designed by an agency that knew what they were doing. We never recommend designing your own logo or attempting to put your own Web site together. Graphic design and web design standards change too often for the average consumer to know what’s on the up and up, and to actually produce something that will have any kind of shelf life. Read more

Guaranteed Search Engine Placement?

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There are a countless number of companies that promise top 10 or even top 5 placement in the search engines and larger indexes such as Google, MSN, Yahoo, etc. if you pay them “x” amount of dollars. Let me dispel this myth: no one can promise and deliver those types of results. Don’t get me wrong – it is possible to achieve good search engine placement for new and existing sites – we do it every month for our clients. But to guarantee this type of thing is wrong, and that’s how you can tell the difference between those that just want your money and honest web developers that know how to perform this service, and are willing to sit down and take the time to do it. Read more