Owner: Ignite Media Marketing Blog URL:http://www.ignite-media.com/marketing-blog/ Join Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:14:02 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Ignite Media is the spark your company needs to bring your website to the next level. With over 20 years of combined experience in Website Design, eCommerce Development and Internet Marketing, Ignite Media knows what it takes to market your company on the Site statistics:Click here
Egg Hunt Anyone? 2008-03-21 09:59:00 Hopefully you answer no to this question! An egg hunt is great for little kids and parents around Easter time, but it's certainly not what you want people to think of when searching for something on your site. You don't want to make people run around your site looking for what they need; you want to make it readily available.Multiple points of entry (MPoE), is the name of the game. Many times people say "why do you have a link to widgets in two places, isn't that redundant?". Yes it is, and for very good reason. Would you have noticed the link to widgets if it was only in one place and that one place was at the bottom of a list of other links? Probably not. Sure it may seem a little redundant, but wouldn't you rather be redundant and have people find what they want then be conservative and Read more:Anyone
Survey Your Customers 2008-03-17 13:25:00 I recently was speaking with a friend who works for a large marketing agency. She was telling me about how the company is very proactive about getting customers/clients feedback on the projects the company just completed for them. What a great concept, asking your customers before they have the chance to tell someone else!What makes this approach so great? Well for starters you are getting first hand information from your clients on what they thought of how the project went. This allows the company to make an immediate change if necessary. All too often I find that companies wait until they hear a client had a bad experience from someone who overheard them, or who the client complained to. Why not give them a sounding board, especially one that you will hear?How can we survey our customers
Know Your Own Website 2008-03-13 10:57:00 Have you ever been on a website, called up the company and asked them where something is? Or have you ever emailed a company because you couldn't find what you needed on their website, only to have them email you back and say "look on our website"?Many times companies are not using or looking at their own website and therefore don't know what is there and what isn't. This can be incredibly frustrating from a customers view point. You need to know what you are putting out there for people to see and read.There should be a system in place to have your website reviewed on a regular basis by as many people in the company as possible. This will ensure that all the information is there and it is in the right place. The ideal people to do this are the customer service people who are answering the
The Budget is Tight, Should Marketing Stop? 2008-03-10 07:14:00 Are you crazy? NO, marketing should increase! That's right, you should be marketing your company more then ever. People still need your services/products, but they just might not need as much of your services/products. That just means you have to find more people to buy from you then you did when times were good.This is probably one of the biggest mistakes that companies make. They know they have to cut spending but they tend to look in the wrong direction. Marketing
is what gets you new business and clients you may not have reached before. Marketing is what will keep your name fresh in the eyes of your existing clients.You don't have to to crazy and spend way over your budgeted amount but you certainly should spend what your budget allows for. Get a new ad in a magazine, start up that PPC
Differentiate Your Business 2008-03-06 07:41:00 Make your business stand out from the crowd. Something every business owner knows they have to do, but most are not clear on how they can do it. It is easy to get stuck in the "bubble" of your industry and not see where your company can stand out from your competitors.The answer can be as simple as a return policy or a shipping method that no one else in your field offers. Sometimes the smallest of things can mean a lot to the customer who is buying your goods or services. Free shipping is probably one of the most common ways to attract customers, but it certainly is not the only way.A small baby equipment rental business in Canada (www.tinytravellers.ca) was recently discussing ways in which they can really give their clients that added value and get them to rent again. It didn't take lon Read more:Business
Knowing Your Audience... 2008-03-03 06:56:00 Everyone has heard this saying a million times "Know Your Audience
", but it is probably one of the most important sayings in business. As a business owner, blog writer, employee, marketer, or any other job where you interact with customers you need to know who they are.I don't mean you need to find out what type of food they like to eat, or what color is there favorite color. When they say "know your audience", they mean know what level and what style you are writing or speaking to them in. You never want to assume that whatever you write or say is coming across as clear as you may think it is.Take for example a small mom and pop shop on main street USA. If they have a website for their childrens toy store and they write a weekly blog you would expect that the language would be simple, fun
Networking as Advertising 2008-02-28 19:40:00 I often have clients and friends ask what the best form of advertising is. They want to know where they will get the best ROI for the least amount of money. Of course everyone wants to know this and it tends to be a little different for each business when you talk about traditional advertising mediums.That being said, I firmly believe that there is one form of advertising that costs next to nothing and can be pretty fun and/or interesting for just about every industry. What is this advertising avenue you may ask? Well to put it very simply it's NETWORKING! You know, getting out there and meeting people in different organizations, groups, places, etc.Now you may be thinking that this isn't really advertising, but I beg to differ. What better form of advertising is there then a real life con Read more:Advertising
Finding the Right Website Development & SEO Firm 2008-02-25 08:48:00 Finding the right website development and search engine optimization (SEO
) firm can be hard. Often times they are two different companies as well. So how do you go about picking the right firm? This post will give you five ideas, tips and thoughts when considering which firm to go with.#1 . Are they responsive?This may sound like an odd question, but you will be surprised at how many companies are not. How quickly did they return your call/email when requesting information from them. How much time did they spend with you, before they rushed off to their next call or meeting? Be critical when selecting a firm. You want to find a company that you can create a long lasting relationship with.#2. Do they have examples?Examples of previous work that the firm has done will give you a good idea of Read more:Right
, Development
Welcome to the Ignite Your Site Blog 2008-02-22 12:42:00 Ignite Media wants to welcome you to our marketing blog, where you'll be able to read posts that deal with everything from website usability to best practices in search engine optimization and so much more!The blog will be updated on a weekly basis, so be sure to stop back often and/or subscribe to our RSS feed by clicking the link on the right nav bar.We welcome you to comment on any and all blog posts. Whether you agree, disagree or have additional information to add to the post, please take a minute to comment. We want this blog to be a place where everyone can come to learn and share.Welcome
and we look forward to hearing from you soon!--------------Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™www.ignite-media.comWebsite Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimizati
Beyond Your Website... 2008-03-24 07:23:00 Internet Marketing should go well beyond your website. There are various ways to promote your company using the internet without them ever having to have gone to your website. Below are a few ways that you probably have heard of, but just never tried and we urge you to try:Blog WritingOk so this one is usually connected with your website, but people will find your blog in various ways. If your blog is run by blogger you will/can show up in their blog lists. People can also subscribe to your RSS feed, and therefore not have to go back to your website or blog unless something interesting peaks their curiosity.Press ReleasesThe days of contacting hundreds of editors and trying to find their correct phone number are over. Today there are few sites that you can submit your press release too and
Is SEO worth it? 2008-03-27 09:05:00 I was recently reading through some posts that were listed at Sphinn and came across one titled "What A Waste...Oh The SEO
!!", in which they talk about how AMEX has decided to take the stance that SEO is a big scam. This brings to the forefront the question that many people often ask "Is SEO worth it?"The answer to this is no as simple as one might think, in my humble opinion. You can not simple just say yes it is worth it, because as you can read in the above mentioned blog, there are times when SEO is simply not worth it. Whether you are being taken advantage of or the SEO you have hired just doesn't know enough, this scenario would yield the answer that NO it is not worth it.However, if you have someone like Julie Joyce running your SEO campaign then I would have to say that YES SEO is
How do I choose a good web site design company? 2008-03-31 07:44:00 Every talks about choosing the right SEO company
but very few people talk about the right web site design
/development company. Choosing the right web site company is arguably as important if not more important than choosing the right SEO company.That seems like a bold statement to make, but if you think about it your web site is your foundation. If you are building a house and the foundation crew is not good at what they do, the rest of the house is structurally weak. The same holds true for your web site, if you are doing SEO but the web site is not built properly your SEO is limited in it's effectiveness.So what makes a good web site company? I think as a company you should ask the following questions and expect to get something close to the following answers:Q - Do you have examples of Read more:choose
Content is King. But who's job is it to get the content? 2008-04-03 08:17:00 We have all heard the saying that "Content is King" when it comes to building a website and marketing it for the search engines. It makes perfect sense, the search engines index content and if you have more content on your site then you have a better chance of showing up for specific terms/phrases. But who's job should it be to get that content together?I believe it should be a joint effort from someone that works for the company and the optimziation/marketing company that has been hired. This approach will ensure that you are building content that is relevant to the company at hand. Yes content is king, but relevant content is the supreme ruler!Why a joint effort?Who knows more about your business then people who work for you? Yes a search engine marketer should be able to pull informatio
Couldn't I just do it myself? 2008-04-07 09:29:00 Of course you can. You can build your own website, do your own marketing, write your own email campaigns, setup your own server, host your own site, and more. You can do everything; but should you? Probably not!We all work in a particular business. We all have a particular job. There is a reason why the mechanic is not building your website and the fruit stand carrying ignitions. The reason is, they don't know what each other knows about the business they are in. This may seem like a simple concept when talking about tangible products, but for some reason people seem to forget this when it comes to the internet.Everyone seems to think they are a web designer, and everyone seems to know how to market themselves on the web. At Ignite we won't stop you from trying it, but we certainly will be Read more:myself
I want a full Flash website! 2008-04-11 07:52:00 This is the phrase that a web site design company that also does internet marketing hates to hear! Sure, Flash
is great and makes your sit interesting, but what about the search engines and being indexed by them? What about the load time and the intro player that will cause many people to hit the back button on the browser, never to be seen or heard from again?Flash is a very good application and used appropriately it can be a very powerful application. A website
selling products should in most cases not be doing a full Flash website. A website promoting a rock band might be ok with a full Flash site, but not if they want to be found in the search engines any time soon!The problem with Flash is that as of today there is no way for the search engine spiders to crawl through a Flash website
A case study for knowing your audience 2008-04-14 07:01:00 Last week I read a very interesting blog post at SEOMoz. The post was titled "Colloquial Copy: When Perfect is Wrong" and was written by jkellygarrett. It is one of the most interesting and educational posts that I have read to date at this site, and most of their posts are very interesting and educational.The post talks about jkellygarrett's brother who is in the long haul trucking business and was upset that he couldn't find a website that used to be extremely helpful for his travels. With some creative searching they were able to eventually find the site again and realized something very important. The site was SEO'd but for the wrong audience! Seems a bit like an oxymoron, that you could SEO a site for the wrong audience but indeed you can.Instead of thinking like a trucker the company Read more:knowing
Email Blasts - Do they work? 2008-04-17 08:29:00 Email blasts are usually thought of in one of two ways. 1) A great marketing approach that is easy to implement and measure results or 2) Spam that people think of as a headache!Sure, email blasts are certainly both of these things, but you ideally want people to think of your email blast as the first not the second. Done correctly email blasts can keep your customers informed and help increase business while not annoying them.5 suggestions to keep in mind when sending an email blast:1) Short and sweet:Email blasts should not be filled with text about your company or anything else for that matter. They should be straight forward and to the point of the special or deal that you are pushing at that time.2) Use a service:DO NOT try sending out an email blast from Outlook or another email prog Read more:Email
Is a blog right for my site? 2008-04-21 07:36:00 Blogging over the years has become more and more popular and businesses are starting to wonder if they should be in on the "trend". There are many interesting and informative blogs out there, but there are just as many uninteresting and, dare I say, useless blogs out there. You want to be sure you are one of the interesting and/or informative blogs.You also want to be sure you have the time to dedicate to a blog. It's not an 8 hour a day project, but it does take some time and a regular routine. Blogging needs to be done on a set schedule, ideally 2 to 3 times a week or more. People who subscribe to blogs want to be updated regularly and they will move on to the next one if you are constantly delayed or not posting at all.Many companies think that they are not in an industry where a blog w
Planning a website for visitors and search engines 2008-04-24 07:03:00 When planning out a website
you want to be sure to focus on your audience. This may seem like pretty logical statement, but what happens when your audience is in two very different groups? Even more compounding is when one of those groups isn't actually human, but rather a robot! That's right I said a robot, as in a search engine robot that will crawl your website to see if they should index and rank your site for any phrases.Many people in my opinion make the mistake of "optimizing their sites for Google", rather then creating a website for their potential and desired customers. What good is having #1 rankings in Google for a particular phrase if when you get that traffic to your site they don't understand and cannot intuitively navigate your website? You've now lead a horse to a dried up Read more:engines
, search engines
Multiple divisions, how many websites? 2008-04-29 07:05:00 As companies become larger, often times they start to break down into divisions. For example a furniture company many break down into two general divisions such as commercial and residential. They may also break down further into sections such as bathroom, living room, etc. The question is, do you create different sites for these different divisions?Now there is no hard and fast rule for this, but at Ignite we would tend to lean towards the answer NO and/or probably not. We realize this doesn't sound very convincing but let us explain. In the case of the furniture company our answer would almost always be hard no. A company like this will benefit from having all avenues available on one site. The cross selling potential far outweighs any reasons you may have been thinking to have more then Read more:Multiple
Quality first. 2008-05-01 13:36:00 It seems that today people are most concerned with being found in the search engines, and getting the highest ranking possible. The problem that I have noticed though, is that the site that they want to send thousands of visitors to is second rate at best. I don't mean the design, although a good design doesn't hurt, I mean the quality of the content.The internet was founded and created to share information. People seem to have forgotten this over the course of the years. Information is what the entire internet is made up of and quality information will stand the test of time.Think for a minute about Microsoft. Imagine they built their website with very little information and took very little time to get quality content on their website. Do you think that developers would even consider goi Read more:Quality
SEO or SEM - What to do? 2008-05-05 08:46:00 There are two terms that people sometimes get confused, SEO
and SEM. SEO is search engine optimization and SEM is search engine marketing. From someone outside of the field they may seem identical, and in some respects they are. They are both focused on getting and converting website visitors into customers.So what is the difference and which is better?The answer to that is not nearly as simple. It really isn't a matter of doing one over other, but rather one before the other. SEO as noted above is search engine optimization. This is the process of taking a website and making it as optimized for the search engines as possible. For example this would include creating keyword rich and powerful title tags, enhancing and/or cleaning up the code of a website, and many other things. This is extr
SEO Rules - Do they exist? 2008-05-08 09:10:00 There are no hard and fast rules of SEO
(search engine optimization). There are many people who believe that they have a pretty good idea, by testing and researching, of what the search engines are looking for from a good website, but only the search engine algorithm creators really know. This research and testing has lead to some industry accepted best practice guidelines, but in reality if the algorithm changes, these guidelines will have to as well.Does this mean we shouldn't SEO our site?Absolutely not! A well optimized website will most often do much better then a website that is created without the guidelines and best practices of SEO and usability. SEO should be done as naturally as possible. A good SEO'd website in our humble opinion should go through at least 5 things:Keyword rese Read more:Rules
, exist
Which meta tags do I use and which should I not? 2008-05-12 07:49:00 There is a constant debate over which meta tags the search engines use when considering listing a certain page in their results pages. So how do you know who you should listen to and who you should ignore? Well that is not so easy, because no-one except the engineers working for the search engines know what they are looking for or not.So what do I do with my meta tags?Our suggestion is to use what
A referral is great - but your actions speak louder! 2008-05-15 08:59:00 This may seem a little off the beaten path today, but I assure you it most certainly has to do with marketing and your business. Have you ever been referred to someone by someone else? Usually if you have the person who gave you the information spoke very highly about that company and/or person. With this referral comes a certain expectation that you will be satisfied at the very least if not amaz Read more:speak
, louder
We started a blog, now what? 2008-05-19 09:55:00 Many people are under the misconception that starting a blog will automatically increase the amount of traffic coming to your site. Wrong! A blog takes time, content and links in order to really start driving traffic. It could be weeks to months before your first reader comes along.So what do I do to get more blog readers?There are lots of things you can do to get more blog readers. The most impor
Is Email Marketing Effective? 2008-05-22 08:22:00 Email marketing can be one of the most effective marketing campaigns that your company does. You have a captive audience that most likely has expressed an interest in your products/services before. With email marketing you are connecting to the people who want to hear from you and hopefully attracting them to purchase from you again. However there is always a right and a wrong way to do things.How Read more:Email
, Marketing
, Email Marketing
Can I redesign my site without losing my rankings? 2008-05-29 06:24:00 It's a common question among people who so badly want a newer looking website, but don't want to lose the great search engine visibility that they are seeing. How much is too much, and if it drops will it ever come back?Unfortunately there is no guarantee that anyone can make you as to whether your rankings will go up, down, or remain the same. However if things are done correctly you can certainl Read more:redesign
Should we hire an Inhouse SEO/M or Outsource? 2008-05-28 07:01:00 Choosing whether or not to go with an in-house or outsourced SEO
/M can be somewhat agonizing for many companies. There are many things to consider when going with either option, and each has its own set of pros and cons. And believe it or not, just because we offer these services here at Ignite Media, we don’t always believer outsourcing is the right choice.In-House SEO/MThe biggest thing to con Read more:Outsource
How can specialization help a website? 2008-06-02 07:24:00 When you specialize in something you become not only good at it, but most likely great. You know your product/service inside and out and eventually you've seen almost anything and everything that could happen. Specializing also gives you an edge over your competitors because while they may "do it all", you "do it right!".How does specialization translate to your website
?Very simply put, it gives y
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