Asking the right questions and getting the most out of your designer.

When selecting a designer and getting your site designed you need to make sure that you ask the right questions and also not leave anything out when getting the site designed. You don’t want to find your site done and find out you forgot to get a logo designed or something like that. You want to make sure that you get it done all at once.

The following will help you prepare yourself for a designer and also to find a designer or at least create a checklist of design elements and steps you need to follow.

Preparing for the Design

It is very important before you start the actual design to make sure you understand what you want your site to be able to do and also you need to have an idea about what you want it to look like also. I am going to cover functionality and also design/accessibility.

Functionality

Functionality refers to what you want your site to be able to do. Certain functions require certain programming elements. Some functionality is just a matter of design. Below is a general list of some of the most basic and most used functionality on a site. I have also listed some tools that will help accomplish the functionality you may be looking for.

• Shopping Cart – Makes it so that you can sell product.
• Email List Manager/Autoresponder – Gives you the ability to collect email addresses.
• Blog – The ability to blog information.
• Forum – Program used for communities. An example of a forum can be found at: http://forum.joomla.org
• Guestbook – Give people the ability to sign your guestbook and let people know they have visited your site.
• Content Management System (CMS) – Makes it easy to build a web site. Like a web builder program.
• Photo Gallery – Gives you the ability to create a photo gallery.
• Polls – The ability to create polls.
• Site Builder/Web Builder – Makes it easy to create a site from scratch.
• Calendar – A calendaring system to let people know of events and things that are coming up and happening.

ETC…

There are many other features available, but keep in mind that the more functionality your site has, often times the more expensive it can be to design or build. Also the more complicated it can be to manage. You can always add functionality later.

Design/Accessibility

Design is a matter of making things look good. Accessibility is a matter of making things work fluidly and making things work the best way that they can. Below are some things to consider when putting your design idea together.

• Logo
• Professional and Clean.
• Create a symbol that represents your business.
• Navigation
• 2 Forms of Navigation.
• Clear and easy to use.
• Colors
• 2 to 3 Complimentary Colors.
• Don’t use too many different colors.
• Make sure that you choose colors that represent feelings that you are trying to convey to your visitors.
• Forms
• Make sure that you understand what types of forms you may need for your site.
• Make sure that you use forms to make emailing you easier.
• Fonts
• No more than 2 different fonts.
• You are limited to the fonts you can use online.
• Often times fancy fonts are actually graphics of words.
• Graphics
• Make sure your graphics represent you business well.
• Make sure that you are legally safe using the images you are using.
• Photos often times are best to use to create a professional feeling to your site.
• Clipart conveys fun.
• Keep the graphics consistent.
• Optimize graphics so the look good but load fast.
• Keep it simple
• Load Time
• Make sure site is search engines friendly.

ETC…

There are many elements involved when it comes to web design. Just make sure whether you are building yourself or having someone else build it for you that you aren’t forgetting anything. The more vocal and visual you can make your vision, the more likely the design will be more accurate as the vision is interpreted.

Hosting

Once you understand what your needs are then you need to find a host that can fulfill your needs. Sometimes it’s good to talk to your designer to get some suggestions for a host that they are familiar with. Often times it pays to research hosts though because some hosts charge $50 a month and some charge $5 a month. Sometimes you will find that the $5 a month actually offers more.

When it comes to hosting always remember that the more you know technically, the cheaper hosting becomes. It will pay off in the end to educate yourself.

Creating A Guideline For Designers

When creating a guideline for designers you need to be very clear to what you need done. With what we have discussed above, you should have a very clear vision on what your needs are for your site. Designers cannot read your mind, they need your input to create the ideas that you have for your site.

Choosing your Designer

When choosing a host you should base your decision on price but more importantly experience. You should ask to see some of the things that they have done in the past. Some type of a portfolio to see what type of designing they have done in the past.

There are many different places you can go to find a designer. Below are what I would suggest looking into.

• Local Design Company
• Friends
• Local College

Sometimes you can give students internship credits for designing your site and you can often times get it done for free too.

Freelancers Online – Often times finding freelancers online can cut cost tremendously, but sometimes you run into communication problems and whatnot. Below are some sites you can go to:

• www.guru.com
• www.elance.com
• www.getafreelancer.com

You can often times cut costs but as the saying goes, “You get what you pay for.”

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Here’s the site http://im.com/ Instant Media, Internet TV

I have been reading so much lately about this company that I felt I wanted to share a quick blub about them. I first heard about Instant Media from a friend of mine (Brandon Buttars) and he sums up what they do by saying this:

Instant Media is more or less an RSS Reader or Aggregator, but it takes it to the next level. We have normal RSS Feed that just deliver content and we have RSS Feeds that will deliver PodCasts, which is audio that can be downloaded. Well Instant Media takes it to the next level of a VideoCast. We know that video is the next wave of technology. Since internet connections are getting faster and video creation is getting easier it’s a no brainer that sooner or later this would be something that we ran into.

You can subscribe to any type of an RSS Feed with Instant Media and you can also subscribe to different channels and buy movies through Instant Media. It claims that a lot of the videos are delivered in High Definition. Mix that with a Media Center PC or any type of a computer that you could use with your home entertainment and instantly only watch what you want and read only the news you want.

Pod-casting, Blogging and Videos are not going anywhere and this is leading edge technology. Remember what happened almost a year and a half ago with Google Analytics? So many people wanted the software cause its free and they got back-logged with requests, and you got put on a waiting list that I have been told took as long as 4 months to get accepted! I would recommend downloading the software now while its free and not to crowded!

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Lets take a few paragraphs to talk about your website, and what to avoid in order to not be considered SPAM. Most know about spam you get in your inbox everyday, and pop ups etc. Something that alot of people don’t realize is certain websites are nothing more then SPAM. They are a problem, but are not going away. As good as search results get these black hat seo guys still find ways to get thier spammy sites to the top of the search engine results. As long as there is money to be made there will always be spam. It will eventually catch up with them, and they will have to start over. We are doing this business for real and long term and you should never cheat your way to the top.

How to avoid being considered spam:

Improve the color of your website: Belive it or not certain websites can be considered spammy by the way they look. Have all the colors consistant and use some sort of a CSS to keep all the font size, link colors and pages uniform.

Clean up all pages: Make sure you do not have any pages on your site that do not look like the other ones with unrelated content.

Crazy naming: Avoid long and over hypen-nated webpage names and folder names. Also subdomains that have nothing to do with the main point of your website.

Keyword spamming: Be careful to not over use main keywords in the content (or title tag, meta-description or keywords) in a way its un-easy to read and does not flow well.

Ads: If you come across a site that has ads in the top left (or anywhere the content should be) of the page its probably a good indication that its a spammy site.

Keep all content uniform and to the subject, as well as stay consistant with the color, font and feel of the site, and not over-use keywords and stuff anywhere (so the site is easy to read) and you will be ok. Some of this seems elementary, but I am amazed at how many people do the simple stuff wrong still!

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When starting with search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) its easy to get lost and confused.  Most often think that all the traffic they will be getting is from places like Google, MSN and Yahoo!.  This is not the case anymore.  If you are not taking advantage of other means to be getting traffic then you are missing out on most of the market.

When talking about “SEARCH” yes,  Google does own 62% of the market.  (Second to Yahoo! and then MSN), but that is just search traffic, and does not include traffic you can get from other means you can get. 

A few ideas:

Blog Search Engines and Blog Directories 

The trend more and more lately that I have been seeing is people going directly to blogs for thier information.  (Even before they go to CNN.com for thier news)  If you have a blog and have not submitted it the right places then you are missing out.  Here is a few places I would suggest submitting to:

• BlogWise
• http://blogsearch.google.com
• http://www.pingoat.com
• Blog Search Engine
• Blog Hub
• Blog Daisy
• Get Blogs
• LS Blogs

Write Articles:

Articles go hand in hand with Blogs, because this is mainly what people are reading in the blogs — Articles.  Just think about things related to your industry and start writing articles about them.  For example, a great article about a site selling Grills would be something talking about tail-gating parties (especially with the upcoming football season)  You may need to be creative, but even if you are doing reviews on your products its better then nothing.  (not to mention it could help you learn more about the product you are selling)  Here is a reminder of the places that I would recommend submitting articles to:

• www.ezinearticles.com
• www.isnare.com
• www.articlecity.com
• www.goarticles.com

Submit to “Traffic Directories”, and  ”Niche Directories”

One other place I would like to touch on with this topic is directories, but not in the sense of using them for anchor text and search engine optimization, but for actual traffic.  Certain directories get good traffic to your website just by being on them, like www.uscity.net and would be beneficial for you to submit with.  Other niche directories like www.ecomall.com get good traffic just because of the niche.  Usually when the directory is more niche you will get better traffic from it, and it will not be included in “SEO Friendly” directory lists that are out there.  Its important to understand that even the “biggest” directories you may be more familiar with like DMOZ still will not get you much traffic.  I get maybe 10-15 visits a month from DMOZ, and about 200-300 visits a week from USCITY.NET alone!

The bottom line here is to be open minded, and understand that the search engines (although great source of traffic) is not the end all solution to your internet business marketing.  Always be creative in finding alternative sources of traffic, and your business will do better because of it!

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All weekend I have been getting my landscaping started, and have been using the internet alot in finding the right (local) people to do the job.  As I have been searching I am finding out something these kind of local businesses should be doing, like–Landscape Companies, concrete companies, retaining walls (companies), sprinkler systems etc.  I was not having good luck finding alot of relevant results, yet I know so many of these companies are here.  I get solicited on my door atleast 3 times a week from one of these kind of companies (is no landscaping that bad? lol) 

What lesson can be learned?  If you have any of these kind of companies in local areas or cities then create a website and do just a tiny bit of optimization.  I know I am not alone in my searching for the best SOD prices online, so there is such a market for these kind of people locally.

Most of these people I have talked to have said stuff like; “Oh I want to create a website and be found online, I just don’t know where to start.”  (INSERT– Great marketing opportunity for you!)  I can’t begin to tell you how much free services I have been given for even having a conversation about this kind of stuff with these business owners.  Being online scares them, not because they don’t think they can handle the business, but that have no clue how “online” works!

In areas where construction is booming (like here in Utah) I think you find this kind of stuff common.  In bigger more established cities you will find more relevant results, but still there is room for competition and improvement.

So what does the small business owner that is local do? 

• Get a website set up (even a simple 2-3 pager with basic service information and contact info)
• Implement local search engine optimization
• If they have no clue of who to talk to about these kind of services, then contact me matsiltala (at) gmail (dot) com
• Watch more clients call, and your business grow.

Once a website is established it serves so many purposes.  I can’t begin to tell you how many people I talk to locally (business owners) and I ask, “what is your website address?” and they say, “I don’t have one, but I want one.”  Well now is the time to get started so you can look more professional as an established business with a website.  You will also start to establish yourself with the local searches on the search engines.  You may not belive it, but most people living in a specific town are gonna search for stuff like, “Provo Landscape Company” or “Salt Lake County Landscaping”  I think you get the idea here!

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I know, I know … You see Yahoo! Publisher Ads on this blog, but I started making money with ad programs by using Google Adsense believe it or not. I still make money with Google Adsense as well, just certain blogs, and websites of mine do better with the Yahoo! Ads. (this one–case and point)

I wanted to share my feelings again about the importance of these kind of programs to anyone interested in making money online. The first ebook I ever wrote, I did so several years ago about making money with Google entitled “Money With Google“. If you have been making money with Google Adsense (or other ad programs) for several years, and are very experienced then the ebook is not for you. That’s not who I wrote it for. (If you make your money from these programs by means of spam and scraper sites then you SHOULD ready it.)

Who I did write the ebook for:

I wrote the ebook for the person that wants to make some serious extra cash with little effort, (this is no get rich quick thing though) and no previous internet business skills. The book was written for the person that has never even heard of money making ad programs such as Google Adsense, or Yahoo! Publisher Ads. When I wrote the ebook, Yahoo! did not have such a program, thats why its entitled: “Money With Google.”

Thus, the reason I blog about this today. I was updating some info for a (very basic) site for my father-in-law (www.vngeezer.com that basically shows off the pictures he has documented of the car restoration projects he has done over the years. (The main reason we developed the site was for his restoration project on his 53 ford f100 … ) I was thinking how easy it is for people to make money online. This simple website generates some decent cash flow for my FIL and he puts ZERO effort into it. Whats the lesson here? Even a mechanic that does not even know what HTML stands for can make money online with the right kind of guideance.

Like I said earlier, this is not a get rich quick thing … keep in mind that as with anything, you do have to put forth some effort to make it happen, (grrr, you mean the internet money fairy will not find me for doing nothing?) but with a little effort you could be making some decent extra money on the side! Contact me at matsiltala (at) gmail (dot) com if you have any questions, or just download the book here if you are interested in learning some of the techniques. Remember the book is basic, and for the beginner, so if you are an expert already (with making money with ad programs) you won’t learn much (other then my story!) I may be biased, but its a pretty good story that has atleast motivated thousands that I have worked with into making money online!

I have set up a personal relationship with a small business ecommerce hosting company to give everyone that has downloaded my Money With Google ebook 3 months of free hosting. So basically there is no risk at all. The ebook only costs $14.95, and you learn all my techniques, and get FREE HOSTING for 3 months! You can beat that! Even after all that, if you feel you were ripped off, and hated everything I said, you get your money back (no questions asked) … see, I wasn’t kidding … it really is risk free! The only thing I ask, is if you did learn something to share with as many people as you can, and send me an email telling me about your success!

What do I do now?

1. Download the book here
2. Apply for an ad paying program like Yahoo! Publisher Ads or Google Adsense
3. Start making money

Yes, it really is that simple! So get going! Do it now …

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Yahoo has been stepping up its fight against spammy, and scraper sites lately.  If you have found your traffic going down and rankings you once had on Yahoo! dissapear there is a good chance you have been banned.  Does this mean you need to get a new domain name and start over?  Not at all.  Just be aware of what Yahoo! is looking for in a website.   When you do follow these simple guidelines you can ask them to reinstate you (I’ll provide the link in a sec).  Make sure you are actually banned by typing in your website address in the search box of Yahoo!  If you find that there are no results; yet, you know you have been listed before, you are probably banned.

A few ideas for a Yahoo! friendly spam-free site:

• Write unique content and dont ever copy from anyone.
• Write the content for humans and then give consideration to what the search engines may be looking for.
• If you include anchor text, or hyper-links make sure they are useful links and not just there for the search engines.
• Write good, well written sentances for your meta-description, and write your title tags for humans not search engines as well.

If you have not followed these kind of practices lately with your website then its time to start.  After you have gone through your website with a microscope (so to speak) then its time to beg for forgiveness …. just click here: http://add.yahoo.com/fast/help/us/ysearch/cgi_rereview

Good luck and remember to play nice and you will never have to worry about getting banned again.

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Just a quick note to give praise to the internet!  I have been trying to sell my old home now since February — I am doing “For Sale by Owner” and I was trying during the “winter” months (and NOT using a Realtor) so I realize it was going to be tougher!  Well, two days ago I decided to buck up the listing fee ($250) and list my home on http://www.forsalebyowner.com  … In a matter of two days we received over 30 calls and had an offer we accepted.  This was all before the sign they give you even arrived!!  So, like I said, “The Internet is freaking amazing!  Also the power of certain websites!  Thanks ForSaleByOwner.com

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Its something every marketer online (or off) has to deal with–marketing budgets. It takes somewhat of a balancing act to be a successful marketer. Online you have so many things to consider:

1. How long to buy domain name for
2. Hosting Plans
3. Paying for content or doing it yourself
4. Web Design
5. Programming
6. Directory Submissions
7. Paid Listings (PPC)
8. Autoresponders
9. Article submission
10. Press Release

There are so many more things to name, but these are some of the biggies. Where do you start? How do you go about marketing successfully with out killing yourself and breaking the bank? You must have a marketing plan strategy, and create a business plan in order to succeed. That also includes time-management.

Everyone wants to have a “Dell.com” website, but don’t realize that Dell invests millions into thier system and website. As a small business owner you do not have that kind of money to be investing. Start small, and when you start making money re-invest the money into the company. Remember, you can have the prettiest site in the world, but if you can’t get traffic to it you will not make sales. The more money you make, the more you can invest in web design, marketing and other expenses. Once you get alot of that set in place, then start paying yourself.

Bottom line is to not think you have to do everything at once. If you try that as a small internet business owner it will break you! Ideas to marketing for cheap (if not free)

1. Free Directory Submission
2. Free Press Release Submission
3. Free Article Submissions

Set Goals, write a business plan and get a better understanding of what you will have to accomplish in order for the business to be successful!

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Its funny (to me) that inside Google’s webmaster guidelines it talks about submitting to the Yahoo! Directory.  I agree with what they recommend in submitting to it, but its amazing they will refer to the competition.  They mention submitting to directories like this one, and DMOZ (Open Directory Project-which is essentially Google’s directory), and other industry related sites because of the power they carry with them.

What is a link worth inside the Yahoo! Directory?  Consider looking at it this way:  To even get considered for inclusion you must pay a non-refundable fee of $299.  Most spammers will not waste thier time on a directory like this because they know what they are doing is wrong and will never be included.  This right here gives any sites listed with the Yahoo! directory an advantage over anyone that is not listed. 

Google will actually give sites higher priority that are listed within these types of directories.  Why is this?  They feel if you have met all the regulations of having a good clean site, worth being listed then it makes indexing you much easier, and they don’t have to worry about you being a scraper or spammy site.

It may seem like alot of money to spend ($299) just for submission with the Yahoo! directory, but the power it could carry for relevant website linking is in-valuble.  DMOZ is free, but could take anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months to be included.  Why is this a relevant directory?  DMOZ has a non-paid staff of editors that has a list of regulations in order to continue being an editor,and policies they must follow in allowing websites to be included.  Some editors look at the newly added sites often, and some editors take months.  Some sites I have listed have got included in less then a week and some having taken 4 months.  So you must be patient when trying to get your site listed with DMOZ.  Only if you have un-selfish reasons for doing so (you will be sifted out if you don’t), you can apply to become an editor for DMOZ and it could teach you so much related to good marketing practices in regards to directories.

My take on Google recommending directories like these two I have been talking about is simple …  You should find directories, or websites related to your industry that are not easy to get into.  These directories that have rules that must be followed, and editors that will review your site, no matter if it costs you to get in, or if you are put on a waiting list.  The (un-paid) editors recommendation to include you, and getting a link from one of these powerful sites could be worth 100 “regular” links.

Think of it this way.  What if your nieghbor told you to go buy a certain “good marketing book” compared to someone like Seth Godin telling you to buy a “good marketing book” … Who are you gonna listen to?  You better say Seth Godin or you have no business online!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed, or follow Chris Bennett on Twitter and make sure you check out our free analytics product BLVD Status and Social Media for FireFox Which is used by more than 500,000 marketers