What is good design worth?
In today’s business world, websites are no longer in the periphery. Businesses are using their websites as the cornerstone of their marketing efforts, even replacing brick and mortar stores.
So it begs the question…what is good design worth? What would you pay for a website that attracts new visitors, reflects your company’s unique values, and converts visitors into customers?
Here is what one customer had to say about what our design means to her small business.
The most impressive thing about working with eye9 is their ability to respond to my requests and develop a site based on my personal design tastes. Not only is the site aestheically pleasing, but it also suits the needs of my small business
Keri Welch, MementobyKeri.com
Your Colorado web design company - Recent work
eye9 Design is a leading Colorado web design company that provides…well, let’s let our clients do the talking.
When I began working with eye9 Design I had a pretty specific idea in mind. In the end, they far exceeded my expectations. People are amazed when they look at the site! Thank you for working so hard to perfect our website. You guys rock!
Jessica Yost, T. Garrett Construction
As one of the leading Colorado web design companies, our process-driven design achieves results every time. We start by listening to your needs, and have you fill out a web design questionnaire that gets at the purpose of the website, and who you are trying to reach. It also helps understand your website design preferences, so that we start off the project in the right direction.
Links, links, links: why links are essential in SEO
Successful search engine optimization strategy has two prongs: on-page and off-page optimization. On-page optimization involves a competitive keyword analysis identifying which keywords your target audience is using, and which keywords you can best compete for. We then implement those keywords throughout your title tag, content, file names, and other meta tags.
Off-page optimization is gathering quality links to your website using those same keywords in the link (anchor) text. This step is often neglected by many clients we speak with. However, off-page optimization is as important as on-page, if not more so. The quality and quantity of links from external websites, called “inbound links,” is paramount. If you look at the SEO industry consensus, the half of the to 10 factors have to do with inbound links.
Here is practical advice on how to gather internal links
- Send individually addressed emails to your colleagues, friends, vendors, and clients. Let them know about your newly optimized site, and ask them if they would link to your site.
- Tell them what you would like the link to say. This is extremely important. Let’s say one of your top keywords is “Denver ski shop.” When you ask your friends to link to your site, say: “The words used in the link itself are important to search engines because indicates what my site is about. So please use the phrase ‘Denver ski shop’ as the link to my site http://www.example.com.”
- As a general rule, avoid link farms and paid links. Natural links from colleagues and clients are more…well, natural. Search engines are always tweaking their results to reward real, natural, quality links.
- Utilize our link building services: we provide link building services to our clients through our partnership with one of the top 10 link building companies in the world. Your links are obtained from the right partners based on a thorough research of your competitors and potential business market space. We also keep in mind these quality guidelines
- No Frame Sites
- No Java script pages
- No link farms
- No redirected sites
- No sub-domain sites
- Keywords in anchor text
This comprehensive, two-pronged approach has helped us get a variety of clients and keywords into the top ten of Google search engine results pages. Contact us today about optimizing your site for maximum search engine penetration.
eye9 Design is a leading Denver, Colorado SEO company providing affordable web site search engine optimization to clients across the nation.
Does the age of my site matter? How to fight the Google “Sandbox Effect”
As they say…”communication is the basis of every relationship.” Unfortunately in your site’s relationship with search engines, that communication is definitively one sided.
It is a given that you want Google to rank your site well. Unfortunately, Google at best only hints about what it wants from your site in order to rank it high in the SERPs (search engine results pages). That is why SEO (search engine optimization) community has closely studied different techniques to identify those that produce higher rankings.
So what about the age of your site? Does it matter?
Absolutely.
As a matter of fact, a consortium of leading SEO professionals ranked it the #4 overall factor affecting your position in the SERPs. Some SEO’s have even developed theories about the existence of a “Google Sandbox” which acts a bit like a probation period for new domains.
If you have a domain that is several years old, this should come as good news. Working with an aged domain makes our work as an seo optimization firm easier. However, if you are starting a new website, this is far from a death knoll. As a matter of fact, it emphasizes the need for effective search engine optimization.
In this article I will address in detail the following questions
- What is the Google Sandbox, and does it exist?
- How can I get out of the Google Sandbox?
If this level of detail is beyond what you are interested in pursuing, here is the bottom line: the age of your site does matter. Since the age of your site is basically beyond your control, it is even more important to address those factors you can control. We help you strategically select a set of target keywords through a database analysis, implement those keywords throughout your meta tags and content, and gain links from other websites. If you optimize a newer site, as the domain aging process takes care of itself you will have positioned yourself for success and maximum return on investment.
For those of you who desire more information…read on!
What is the Google Sandbox, and does it exist?
To start things off, here is a good definition from webpronews.com
Some programmers have viewed Google as uncomfortable to rank newer websites until they have proven their viability to exist for more than a period of “x” months. Thus the term “Sandbox Effect” applies to the idea that all new websites have their ratings placed in a holding tank until such time is deemed appropriate before a ranking can commence.
Why would Google depress the rankings of a new site in the SERPs? SoftwareMarketingResource.com provides a very plausible explanation (condensed here).
As the SEO community figured out the basic elements of Google’s ranking algorithm, inbound links, original content rich with keywords, and the proper use of anchor text, search engine spammers began to take advantage of these elements. Search engine spammers would setup websites that were in clear violation of Google’s policies with the knowledge that eventually their website would be banned from the listings…The idea for spammers was a simple one. Capitalize off of Google’s traffic for as long as they can (before they get banned), then do it all over again with a new website. The method was extremely effective and easy to implement…
To solve this problem, Google determined that it would compromise…All new websites that were launched would be put on probation. As time passed, and as the sites continued to pass any spam filters they ran, the website will not be held back from performing well in the rankings. Eventually, after quite a bit of time had passed, a site would be allowed to “leave” the sandbox and join the rest of the established websites.
This is a very logical explanation for why Google would want to use a sandbox effect, but it certainly does not prove that they do! Depending on who you read, Google has debunked or basically confirmed the existence of the sandbox effect. So what should we make of all this?
- Age matters. This has strong consensus among leading SEO professionals (”…not the date of original registration of the domain, but rather the launch of indexable content seen by the search engines”)
- Many SEO professionals have observed, especially in competitive niches, that it can take 3-6 months or more to see real progress in the rankings. Whether this is due to a sandbox effect, or simply that newer domains key factors like lack aged backlinks…you be the judge.
How can I get out of the Google Sandbox?
The same principles apply whether you are in a probationary period (if it exists) or if you have a finely aged 10 year old domain. We help you strategically select keywords and implement them in the essential areas. This is the foundation of our seo optimization process.
Here is how it works
- You submit a list of keywords related to your website/services/products
- We run these keywords and related variants through our database of data from all the major search engines
- This analysis tells us two important things about your keywords and related variants: the amount of traffic and the level of competition
- Based on this data, and the relevance of the keywords to your site, you select a set of keywords
- From these keywords, we optimize the following tags: title, description, keywords, and alt
- We have you or your copywriter create SEO rich paragraphs for inclusion on your index page and/or landing pages
- Links…links…and more links: it is essential that you obtain links to your site from other sites (called “linkbuilding,” we are available to assist you with this)
Conclusion
So there you have it. Google will always play “hard to get” when it comes to the specifics of how domain age or any other factor affects your rankings in the SERPs. However, by following tested and proven seo optimization techniques we help position your website for success. Maximize your return on your website investment and optimize your site for search engines today!
eye9 Design is an seo optimization firm based in Denver, Colorado.
What you can do to increase your SEO rankings
Did you know you have an essential role to play in your search engine rankings?
The tips below apply whether you just had your site optimized for search engines and want some “next steps,” or you simply want some “DIY” SEO optimization ideas.
There are two essential things for you to do to ensure your website climbs its way up the search engine rankings and stays there.
- Links, Links, Links: We have taken care of the “on-page” factors by optimizing your meta tags and content. The other half of the equation is having websites linking to yours! Without both, you will have limited success. Here are some tips for getting links.
- Send individually addressed emails to your colleagues, friends, vendors, and clients. Let them know about your newly optimized site, and ask them if they would link to your site.
- Tell them what you would like the link to say. This is extremely important. Let’s say one of your top keywords is “Denver ski shop.” When you ask your friends to link to your site, say: “The words used in the link itself are important to search engines because indicates what my site is about. So please use the phrase ‘Denver ski shop’ as the link to my site http://www.example.com.”
- As a general rule, avoid link farms and paid links. Natural links from colleagues and clients are more…well, natural. Search engines are always tweaking their results to reward real, natural, quality links.
- Content, Content, Content: Create a page for each of your top few SEO terms. If “green car widgets” is one of your important terms, create a new page with an article all about your widgets. Be sure to put “green car widgets” at the beginning of the page title (the words that appear at the top of the browser). Also, mix your other related SEO keywords into the content of the page! After you have created the article, link to it from different places where the term “green car widgets” appears: the sitemap, content text, and SEO text. For an example on how to create and link to internal content, go to www.eye9design.com.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
It usually takes time for Search Engines to move you up in their rankings, especially if you have a new site and few links from other sites. In the mean time, consider using Pay Per Click (PPC) marketing from Google, Yahoo, or MSN (the ads that appear on the right hand side of the page). While your goal is eventually to have your listings in the organic results (the main content area), strategic PPC campaigns with well written ads can drive relevant traffic to your website.
Contact us today about supplementing your search engine strategy with PPC advertising.
eye9 Design is a Colorado SEO company providing SEO optimization services to our clients in Denver, Colorado and around the world.
eCommerce Web Design: free PayPal Shopping Cart vs. integrated ecommerce solutions
While most of our clients choose an integrated ecommerce shopping cart, the free PayPal shopping cart provides a compelling option for those with limited needs…and a limited budget.
What are the advantages of each?
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Integrated ecommerce shopping cart: we develop a cart on your hosting account, so that the entire secure shopping and checkout process stays on your server. This allows us complete control over the shopping experience. It also enables us to use an integrated content management system (CMS) like Mambo, and gives you the SEO benefit of having all the product information on your domain.
If you are looking for a flexible, powerful, and scalable long term ecommerce solution, choose an integrated shopping cart.- Example: Sumbody.com
- External ecommerce PayPal shopping cart: we develop a shopping cart which allows your visitors the benefit of buying multiple quantities and items. Since it is hosted entirely on PayPal’s servers, this requires less setup and therefore is less expensive.
If you are new to ecommerce, or simply have limited ecommerce needs, the free PayPal shopping cart is an excellent alternative.- Example: TheHoopSource.com
- Here what Justen Byler of TheHoopSource.com says about his new site:
eye9 took a small business idea and created a website to suit even the biggest business. The overall look and the functionality, including PayPal incorporation into the site matched and then exceeded our expectations. We look forward to a long relationship with eye9.
Are you interested in taking advantage of the myriad of opportunities presented by internet commerce? Contact us today, and select “eCommerce” for your area of interest.
*A note of clarification: PayPal does offer payment processing services (Website Payments Pro) for integrated shopping carts as well. The free PayPal shopping cart demonstrated here (Website Payments Standard) is an external shopping cart, hosted on PayPal’s servers.
eye9 Design provides affordable ecommerce website design services and Denver web site development to our clients across the nation and around the world.
Google Goes Universal
Last week Google made the most significant change to its search results in years. I have devoted increased space to this change so you can be informed about what is changing, why it is important, and what you can do about it!
What is changing?
Google actually has multiple search engines for blogs, news, products (formerly known as “Froogle”), books, and more. In the past you would see a small area under the search box highlighting results from other Google search engines. If you search for terms about John Grisham’s “The Broker,” you might see Google Book Search results above the normal results. Now, Google is incorporating search results from some of their other engines into the normal results….hence the moniker “Google Universal.”
Many in the SEO community are calling this search “predictive.” Google is trying to predict based on the actions of other searchers what kind of information you are looking for.
Here are some examples of how this predictive search works:
- David Beckham is easily the most recognized athlete in the world. He is known for his golden foot..and also his golden looks! He is a consistent favorite of photographers and tabloid writers. Notice a search for his name returns image results in the #1 position, and news at #2!
- Search for Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and you will find Video results in the 3 and 4 positions. Also, you will see Google suggesting “thriller lyrics” as a relevant search, and including results from that keyword phrase! Talk about predictive…
- Other notes:
- While Google is becoming more “universal” in its results, notice the tabs which allow you to switch to other Google search engines entirely (Images, News, etc). Tabs that are visible vary with each search as Google tries to predict what kind of information you are seeking.
- Blog, news, image results and more can appear in any position in Google’s search results.
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Why is this important?
- First of all, Google is the search engine market leader and expanding its dominance. Anything they do matters!
- Secondly, this means that effective websites will leverage content in a variety of media. Focusing only on textual content may get you bumped to a lower page as blog, news, or video results take the higher positions.
What can you do about it?
How can I optimize my site for the “New Google?”
- Leverage your content through a variety of media. Do you have a series of white papers you could turn into a blog? How about images from your last industry conference, with seo optimized file names? Commercials can be turned into YouTube videos, and press releases can be sent to free press release websites.
- Contact us today about how to optimize your site to take advantage of these media.
Want more information?
This video, from Barry Schwartz at SEORoundtable.com, provides an excellent walk through of the changes.
Web 2.0…am I missing something?
Clients will ask me from time to time, with trepidation on their face: “What is web 2.0?” The underlying question is: “Am I missing something?”
Web 2.0 “refers to a perceived second-generation of Web based communities and hosted services such as social networking sites, wikis and folksonomies that facilitate collaboration and sharing between users” (Wikipedia). Sharing…collaboration…communities….are these really new? As this Wikipedia article attests, the term becomes a bit meaningless when you consider that these capabilities have all existed since the beginning of the web.
It is most helpful to think of web 2.0 as an increased emphasis on participatory websites. Think dialogue…not monologue. Have you considered how effectively your website is engaging visitors? Statistics software like Google Analytics can help you analyze which pages are most popular on your website, and which pages visitors remain on the longest.
To enhance the “stickiness” of your site and increase your return traffic, take advantage of the many community tools available today
- Blogs
- Podcasts
- Videos
- Wikis
Also, many corporations and organizations are effectively using websites like MySpace and Facebook to raise awareness about their services and products.
Are you missing anything with web 2.0? Only if you ignore the opportunity to engage your visitors by deploying today’s community website tools.
Speaking of collaboration…click on “Leave a comment” below and tell us what you think!
eye9 Design is a Denver web development company providing web site development to clients around the globe.
