Personal Branding in 2010 and how we can help

Personal Branding has become a very popular, and much needed, marketing strategy for many companies and business professionals. William Arruda, a personal branding consultant and founder of reach personal branding, recently came out with his hot trends for 2010 in the realm of Personal Branding http://bit.ly/c4vpUz . Not all 10 of these may apply to your business but the below trends are trains we feel every business should be ready to hop on.

Video, Video, Video
Thanks to greater bandwidth, cheaper storage, and a proliferation of products and services that make shooting, storing, viewing, and sharing video easy video will be king in 2010”

Unified and Video Search
Combined search – tools will become more common while Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines will combine traditional search results with real-time content (from tools such as Twitter) and video results—making searching easier and more accurate. Those who are building their personal brands will need to use various tools to ensure their visibility is positive and pervasive.”

Branded Partners
Often more traditional in their approach to marketing and delivering their services, professional-services firms (accounting, law, consulting, etc.) are going to jump on the “brandwagon” with reckless abandon in 2010.

Digital Dirt Elimination
As Google results affect more aspects of our lives (getting a job, a loan, a date, etc.), people will engage firms such as ReputationDefender, Defend My Name, and Online Reputation Manager to eliminate digital dirt.

At eye9 we understand that now more than ever, your online presence is more than just your site, it is about every aspect of your digital presence. When we work with our clients our goal is to ensure your company’s message (brand) reaches your customers, no matter what online avenue they are using. If these are areas you are interested in learning more about or you just have a general site question feel free to give us a call or drop us a line, and we would be more than happy to sit down and talk with you.

eye9 Design is a leading Denver website development company .

Catching Conversions with PPC

If you’ve been following our apple analogy, you know that SEO is the juicy story for 2009. But don’t be fooled. Good marketing is holistic, and thoughtful PPC advertising can complement your SEO efforts in a targeted, immediate way.

Whether you’re new to PPC or just reinventing your marketing strategy, check out our tips for creating benefit-driven ads that will improve your conversions—and increase your profits.

Communicate your core attributes.

Take an in-depth look at your products and services to determine why Joe-consumer should choose your business over a growing sea of competitors. Is it your cheap deals? Your lightning fast shipping? Premium product offerings? Articulate these distinguishing features in each of your ads.

Write to your keywords.

After you’ve done the research to determine which search phrases convert, it’s time to turn that research into tightly written, keyword-dense copy. And remember to be specific. Consider expanding “Web Design” to “Funky Web Design” when you’re trying to reach that off-beat audience segment.

Craft an arresting headline.

Content is king, and that goes double for your headlines. Pique your audience’s interest. Ask them a compelling question. Wow them with your benefits, but don’t forget the keywords. With a 25-character max, you have very little space to appease both users and the search engines.

Lure users with instant, tangible benefits.

You’re probably saying, “Duh,” but you’d be surprised how many advertisers don’t include promotions, discounts or other enticing offers in their PPCs.

Follow through with your stated benefits.

The easiest way to do this is to create a landing page that’s specific to your ad. Taking this step won’t help your CTR, but it will build valuable rapport with your users. If your ad promises 50 percent off and the landing page doesn’t elaborate, users will run for the “back” button and conversions will plummet.

Test the waters.

It’s unlikely you’ll strike paydirt with your first round of PPC copy. As you update keyword research and narrow down your audience needs, it’s important to try different headline, ad copy, anchor text and call-to-action iterations. Tracking your ad success will help justify your investment—and apply what you’ve learned to future ad groups.

Contact us today to get a free PPC analysis of your website! We provide you with a detailed report for your business with a complete budget forecast.

eye9 Design is a Colorado website design company, specializing in web and graphic design, web development, and seo optimization. Denver, CO.

Buy an apple or plant an apple tree: why SEO is the best investment for 2009

If you want the crispy juiciness of a good apple, you can head to your local supermarket and satisfy your craving. On the other hand, if you plant an apple tree you will have a harvest of apples every year for years to come.

Traditional marketing is like purchasing an apple. Good for the quick hit, but when you stop paying for the direct mail, billboard, or call center, that marketing effort ceases to exist.

With search engine optimization, you gain rankings that produce fruit for years to come. When your SEO campaign ends, your rankings are still there. Not only that, but you product a harvest of work that far exceeds your initial investment. Here is what one of our Denver SEO clients had to say:

We’ve noticed more phone traffic via web inquiries. Keep up the great work! I am happy to be working with you all, I think this investment is paying for itself.

One of the pillars eye9 has built our entire business around is SEO. It is not just an add-on, it is a central marketing strategy. Look at just a few of the 40 rankings we’ve achieved in the TOP 5 at Google!

2009 is great opportunity to gain market share, contact us today about an SEO campaign for your website and you will reap the benefits for years to come!

Easy keyword research with Google Search-based Keyword Tool

In this video podcast, Brian covers:

Why keyword research is foundational to SEO (search engine optimization)
How the free Google Search-based Keyword Tool can be used in keyword research

Podcast Video: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Why should you invest in good design?

As a business owner, I know it is essential that we examine all of our expenditures. This is even more important in a down economy. As you approach your upcoming website design or graphic design project, why should you invest in good design?

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with media (web, print advertising); good design allows you to stand out or at a minimum hold a strong placement against your competitors
Good design can create a bond (association) between you and and your target demographic.
Good design clearly portrays your brand and ideals to potential clients/customers; for example, a green company emphasizing their commitment to the environment
Good design elevates the perceived quality of services by demonstrating your commitment to excellence in everything, including your collateral

USER INTERFACE DESIGN (behind the scene) – Also known as: Information Architecture

Good design must include excellent User Interface Design. UID is summarized in the question: “how difficult (or easy) is the website to use”

When applied to designing websites, UID refers to the structure and flow of a site. If a site is difficult to navigate, making it hard to find what you are looking for, the user most likely will not contact the site owner or purchase a product.
Well structured websites have a natural information flow that most users will find comfortable. Comfort on the web is beneficial as there is no knowledgeable salesperson at your visitor’s side to guide them. The web is a self-service environment, with no instruction manual or training. Good UID ensures your user can find what they need, and guides them to your conversion pages
A good user experience forms positive impressions of your product/service offerings, allowing visitors to intuitively access the information they need. This will be a primary factor in whether or not they come back!

eye9 Design is a leading Denver Design Firm providing web development and Colorado SEO.
Thanks to Bret Glassett, our Senior Web Designer, for his significant contribution to this article.

Google’s seismic shift on dynamic URL’s

In this weeks installment of “why you need a SEO company in your corner,” Google overturns a half decade of conventional wisdom. In the debate of dynamic URL’s versus static URL’s , SEO professionals believed that static URL’s were superior for several reasons:

Search engines can index them easier without all the odd characters: & ? =
They are easier to read in Google’s search engine results pages, and keywords from the users search terms are made bold
Static URL’s are easier to use in marketing materials
They are simpler to give out when obtaining backlinks

Number one was by far the most important factor, as it was assumed that static URL’s improved your rankings. The other factors, while still relevant, related to appearance only.

However, Google has now turned all this on its head, releasing an official blog post that they prefer dynamic URL’s. In that article, they say

While static URLs might have a slight advantage in terms of clickthrough rates because users can easily read the urls, the decision to use database-driven websites does not imply a significant disadvantage in terms of indexing and ranking. Providing search engines with dynamic URLs should be favored over hiding parameters to make them look static.

Google regularly makes changes to how it ranks websites, though they are usually not this dramatic and far-reaching. This illustrates the importance of having a SEO optimization firm in your corner that can help keep you up to date with these important developments!

Focusing on Google still the best bet for SEO

Google continues to gain market share and widen its lead against other search engines, as reported in PC World .

Google was used 63 percent of the time in August, compared to 61.9 percent in July, according to figures released Friday by comScore , which tracks online trends.

Yahoo came in second in August at 19.6 percent, down .9 percent from July. Microsoft garnered 8.3 percent of traffic in August, down .6 percent from a month prior.

With our seo optimization process we focus on getting your website ranked in Google’s search results. These techniques will still allow you to gain rankings in the other search engines as well. However, Google’s dominance makes it clear that they are still the best bet.

Which Content Management System is the best?: CMS Series part 3 of 3

In part 1 of this series we answered the question “What is a Content Management System? ” In part 2 we covered “Why you need a Content Management System .” Now we are looking at a question we are asked frequently: “Which content management system is the best?”

It’s a bit like asking “what is the best hammer for me?” Well, what are you going to be doing with that hammer? Are you framing out a two story house or putting up a picture frame? Those are two very different tasks, and two hammers that would be a “best fit.”

There are two main kinds of CMS: open source and custom. Both allow you to easily manage content, media, and users. Both are stable, secure, and scalable for future growth. However, each have their benefits and drawbacks:

Open Source CMS

Definition: software created by a community of developers , free to use and adapt to your purposes
Benefits: extensive documentation, countless modules, easy to find developers
Drawbacks: website pages load slower (more queries), one size fits all approach limits customization, complicated administration area includes unused features
Options: Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress (all on PHP)

Custom

Definition: CMS which is constructed around your specific task, workflow, or technology requirements
Benefits: faster page loads (fewer queries), everything you want and nothing you do not
Drawbacks: no extra features
Options: Keep it Simple CMS

What feature or characteristic is most important to you?

If you want open source software, extensive documentation, a community of developers: Drupal or Joomla
If you want the site completely customized to your workflow, quick loading pages for visitors: KIS

eye9 Design is a Colorado web design company providing website design and web development services to clients in the Denver metro area and across the nation.

Why you need a Content Management System: CMS Series Part 2 of 3

In part 1 of this series we answered the question “What is a Content Management System? ” Now we are looking at why your site should have a content management system, or “CMS.”

A website has become one of the primary modes of communication in today’s business world. It has many advantages, including

Omnipresent: a website is not limited by geography or time zones, and can be accessed 24/7 by visitors around the world
Transient: did you decide you want to change that marketing tagline? Found a typo in that press release? You can change content and, unlike brochures or signage, it is instantaneously available to the world

However, there are a couple challenges that companies often face

Expertise: websites are written in coding languages that most people cannot effectively use
Frequency: website content has a notoriously short shelf life, and needs to be updated regularly to stay fresh
Budget: paying web designer fees to upload a press release can be a drain on your budget

Content Management Systems eliminate these barriers. They allow anyone to update the website without technical knowledge, allowing more people throughout your organization to have a role in keeping your website up to date. It also allows you to focus your technology on investing in new web development features or increasing your search engine rankings.

We have covered “What is a CMS ” and “Why you need a CMS.” In the final part of this series we cover “What is the best Content Management System? ”

eye9 Design is a leading Denver website development company .

What is a Content Management System: CMS Series Part 1 of 3

First off, what is a content management system (CMS)? As the name implies, a CMS is a tool that allows you to manage your own website without any design or development experience. There are a number of great CMS, and we build your website on top of this platform so you can update pages, menus, pictures, users, and more.

Sometimes metaphors are helpful to explain concepts more clearly. Let’s say you need to get from Denver to Phoenix, so you need a car. Toyota has spent millions of dollars in R&D to make sure the car is dependable, efficient, and easy to drive. You may never understand the principles of aerodynamics or torque. However, if you can push the gas pedal (and the brake!) and steer the car, you do not need to understand all that.

Just like your investment in a car allows you the benefit of easy transportation, a content management system allows you to manage a website without any programming knowledge. Like Toyota, developers have spent countless hours developing dependable, efficient CMS that are easy to use. Similar to the car example above, you do not need to understand the technical principles behind the tool. You just need to know how type some text, insert a picture, or upload a file…basic tasks you likely perform every day on your PC!

Now that you know what a CMS is, check out part 2 of this series: Why you need a content management system .

eye9 Design is a leading Denver design firm .

Personal Branding in 2010 and how we can help

Catching Conversions with PPC

Communicate your core attributes.

Write to your keywords.

Craft an arresting headline.

Lure users with instant, tangible benefits.

Follow through with your stated benefits.

Test the waters.