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Click to view jfladell's profile EXPERT jfladell 14 posts since
Oct 20, 2008
15. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:25 PM
in response to: Vince
Vince:

There are two elements to building a good website. The first is the design which should align with your overall companies branding/logo and be good looking yet easy to use for every type of site visitor. The second element is content and is the one that is most often ignored by business owners. You have one chance to make a first impression and get your message across to your site visitor and your content should enable you to capture the site visitor and convert them into a lead or sale.

In addition to the two big rules I would suggest the following:

1) Don't use Flash on your home page as it is difficult for novices to navigate through
2) Make sure your site is optimized for search
3) Make sure you site is built using standard coding or tools as each coder can be an artist and making changes can become costly and difficult.

Jordan
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Click to view Tori's profile Host Tori 79 posts since
Aug 15, 2008
16. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:26 PM
in response to: SBOCTeam
Hi Jordan and welcome to the SBOC!

When is it time for a small business owner to redesign their site?

~Tori
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Click to view jfladell's profile EXPERT jfladell 14 posts since
Oct 20, 2008
17. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:33 PM
in response to: Tori
Tori:

Thanks for the kind words. In regards to redesigning your website I would say that if you haven't touched your site in a year it may be time to freshen it up. The other reasons to change or redesign your site would be if you change your logo, upgrade your store, add new products or any event that can be positioned as exciting for your website visitors. Once your site is rebuilt the best way to keep it fresh is to change the content weekly or monthly. A website is only as good as its content so I would recommend you keep it as fresh as possible.

Thanks,

Jordan
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Click to view Bernoulli's profile Professional Bernoulli 9 posts since
Dec 6, 2007
18. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:34 PM
in response to: SBOCTeam
Hi Jordan,

About how much should I budget for an information website (i.e., no sales).

Thanks
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Click to view jfladell's profile EXPERT jfladell 14 posts since
Oct 20, 2008
19. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:39 PM
in response to: Bernoulli
Bernoulli:

That is a hard question to answer without knowing how much revenue you generate and what you traditionally spend on marketing, but I will give it my best shot. My suggestion is to cap your spend at about a $100 per month and that should include hosting, email, design and basic search marketing. Don't forget to identify who your audience is and make sure your content contains a call to action so your site visitors can take the action you would like them too.

Jordan
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Click to view Interpreter's profile Mogul Interpreter 27 posts since
May 29, 2008
20. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:39 PM
in response to: SBOCTeam
I want to run an email campaign but dont want it to look spammy. Do you have any best practices that you could share? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
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Click to view jfladell's profile EXPERT jfladell 14 posts since
Oct 20, 2008
21. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:43 PM
in response to: Interpreter
Interpreter:

The first step is too make sure that your list is an opt-in only list. Then I would suggest using a service like constact contact to distribute your list as they are known as a reputable source to most web users. Finally they also provide many templates that you can leverage so you can make the message look and feel professional to those who receive it.

Thanks,

Jordan
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Click to view Generation4's profile Mogul Generation4 50 posts since
Dec 11, 2007
22. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:44 PM
in response to: SBOCTeam
How do you develop a unique brand for your website? What are your tips?
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Click to view jfladell's profile EXPERT jfladell 14 posts since
Oct 20, 2008
23. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:48 PM
in response to: Generation4
Generation4:

Your question is pretty broad so I will do my best to answer it. The key to having an unique brand on the web is too make it easy for a site visitor to remember your domain name and to provide them compelling content or entertainment on your site. The internet is a very viral community so the Internet brands that stand out are either the ones who are first to provide a service i.e. Ebay or enhance an existing one like Facebook which has lept MySpace. I hope that helps!

Jordan
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Click to view flex_00's profile Authority flex_00 18 posts since
May 29, 2008
24. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:49 PM
in response to: SBOCTeam

Are there elements of a website that I should definitely outsource? What do you feel would be too much for a small business owner to handle on their own?
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Click to view jfladell's profile EXPERT jfladell 14 posts since
Oct 20, 2008
25. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:53 PM
in response to: flex_00
Flex_00:

My general opinion is that a small business should outsource 100% of their web development and search marketing with the exception of daily content updates. The reason for this is that your expertise is not in web development and your time is better served growing your business and working with your clients then it is trying to build your site and manage your search campaigns. It would be like a client developing their own exercise program they might get good results on their own but thier odds would increase by using a professional trainer who has expertise in that area.

Thanks,

Jordan
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Click to view SBOCTeam's profile sboc SBOCTeam 328 posts since
Jul 27, 2007
26. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:53 PM
in response to: SBOCTeam
Jordan

What is the most common mistake SMB's make when first using web marketing tools like SEO & SEM?

The SBOC Team
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Click to view jfladell's profile EXPERT jfladell 14 posts since
Oct 20, 2008
27. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:57 PM
in response to: SBOCTeam
SBOC:

The most common mistake SMB's make when launching their SEO/SEM campaigns on their own is they tend to pick keywords based upon cost rather then what their potential customer would use to search for them. The SMB owner does not recognize that the expensive words are the ones that used to search often and therefore drive the best results so they pick words that are rarely used and generally underperform. The second most common mistake is using generic words instead of specific phrases that target your customer which is why I recommend you outsource this function to an expert service provider.

Jordan
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Click to view SBOCTeam's profile sboc SBOCTeam 328 posts since
Jul 27, 2007
28. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 2:58 PM
in response to: SBOCTeam
Jordan,

All perfect responses! As we approach the end of the hour, do you have any words of wisdom for the Community that you would like to leave with them?

The SBOC Team
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Click to view jfladell's profile EXPERT jfladell 14 posts since
Oct 20, 2008
29. Re: Live event now: How your website can convert sales Oct 28, 2008 3:04 PM
in response to: SBOCTeam
First I want to thank everyone for participating today in our forum and I appreciate the opportunity to answer your questions. In general I would suggest that each of you remember that not everyone is a jack of all trades and the internet is a medium which changes daily if not weekly so before you spend one dollar on your website or search campaign make sure you have properly evaluated the cost of outsourcing versus the cost of doing it yourself. Finally please remember to have a call to action for all of your site visitors and give them an easy way to contact you so you can track the performance of your website and search campaign.

Thanks,

Jordan
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