South of Boston Web Design and Marketing

I just took the kids to Disney World.  It was a full week of Emerson into a whole different world - each day we’d wake up and figure out what park to go to, what rides to experience, and where to eat.  If you’ve visited Disney World, you know how all the details have been taken care of.  You arrive at the airport, sign in, and everything is taken care of.  We didn’t even need to get our luggage (it just appeared in our room a few hours after we arrived). 

It doesn’t take long to figure out why Disney is such a success.  It’s clean, organized, and the experience is unforgettable.  I heard comments like, “They [Disney] just know how to do it.”  There’s a reason Disney is successful.  It’s not luck, or circumstance, or a “good business model.”  Importantly, the same underlying principles that make Disney successful can make any small business successful.

Seeing the multitudes of people happily move through their day as Disney reminded me of Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s.  Next time you go to McDonald’s step back and watch the order.  The number of people, the location of each “station,” how the drive through orders meld with the orders coming in from the counter.  Ray Krock spend years perfecting the operations underlying the overall McDonald’s experience, and it was this eye-to-detail related to the customer experience that propelled McDonald’s to one of the most successful franchises in history.

It’s not enough to have a good product or service.  Small business owners need to focus on two key elements:

• The overall experience
• Delivery of that experience

How do your customers interact with your company?  Put yourself in the place of a customer, step away from your business, and walk through what a customer would experience when dealing with your company.  Take notes about things you’d change, add, stop doing.  Develop an overall experience that a customer would have.  Did they receive a thank you note?  Did they have a positive initial contact?  How did they find out about your company?

Now that you’ve developed what that experience may look like, begin to systematize the inner-workings of your company.  Make sure each customer has a consistent experience.  One way to do this is through technology and thanks to “cloud computing” (a.k.a. Software-as-a-Service) any small business can have access to a state-of-the-art customer relationship management system. 

A few years ago I worked for a financial service company.  We developed a system that made sure each client was contacted at least each quarter.  We used the leading Software-as-a-Service application, salesforce.com, to create reminders of these interactions and used HTML emails with merge fields to send customized communications.  We were able to create a number of automated workflows which resulted in a consistent customer experience.  Not surprisingly, the assets under management grew over 300% in 18 months. 

Step back and look at your company through the eyes of you customers.  Determine the optimum experience and try to replicate it over and over again using the latest technology.  It’s not rocket science, but it does take dedicated time and energy, and it will require you to get out of the day-to-day operations on a consistent basis.  

After dozens of calls from small business owners and startup companies we’ve decided to launch an affordable website design solution.  We’d love to get feedback, comments, and ideas about what we’ve developed if you have some time. 

Here are a few links to explore:

Home:  An Affordable Website Home Page

Design Choices:  Affordable Website Design and Color Schemes

Articles: 

The Affordable Website Problem

Why So Affordable?

How the Affordable Website Works

Affordable Website Service

Feedback:  Contact Us Form

I’ve worked with small businesses who ask, “How important is a web site anyway?”  No one called who said, “I was just on your web site…”  Often, very few of their prospective clients mention the web site so they assume no one is visiting. 

We have found that this assumption is often seriously off base and the statistics prove this true.  Ask your new clients if they visited your web site and you may be surprised by how many did.  I just saw a statistic in Entrepreneur Magazine that said, “41% of consumers say a frustrating online experience would make them less likely to shop at a retailer’s physical store.”  I believe this statistic also holds true for any local business, not just retail.

Other statistics from SEO RoundTable (8/22/07) show a significant trend toward local searches:

• 2.2 Billion monthly Internet queries have a local intent
• 82% of local searches resulted in contact with a local business
• 93% of local search conversions (sales) take place offline

Clearly, there is a “Silent War” taking place among local businesses.  People are looking at company web sites before they decide to contact the company - this is especially true with the 20 and 30 somethings.  Sadly, many small business owners have no idea how many people are visiting their web site, and don’t understand the value of a strong web property.

Importantly, your prospective clients have access to your web site as well as all your competitors.  If they don’t gain a good impression from your web site or find what they need quickly, they’ll visit your competitor’s web site a few seconds later and you’ll be none the wiser.  It is a ”Silent War” because a tremendous amount of business is won and lost via the Internet and company owners often have no idea. 

I would recommend that you install Google Analytics on your web site and look at your traffic each week.  Check out how many people are visiting, from where they’re visiting, what pages their visiting, and how long they’re spending on your web site.  While this data sounds complex Google has done an excellent job presenting all this data via graphs and charts.  Plus, it’s a free service from Google.

Also, check out your competitors web sites - does your web site measure up?  does it communicate effectively?  does it present the same kind of information?  This kind of competitive analysis is essential because often your web site will be your first impression.  If it looks amateurish, so will you.  If it’s hard to navigate and looks “low-end,” so will you. 

The local search trend has grown significantly in the past few years.  The way in which people interact with companies is evolving quickly and includes research on the web. If your clients/customers are not finding you via your web site now, they certainly will in the months and years ahead. 

Presented with this information, some company owners overreact and go overboard with their web site.  I worked with one small company who was spending tens of thousands of dollars per year on web development.  We were able to lower this expense significantly and provide a more professional web presence. 

You don’t need a high-end web site with all the gadgets and animation.  You simply need a professional web site that is easy to navigate and communicates what you’re about.  I would recommend that you avoid both low-end ”create your own” web site software as well as high-end Flash web sites.  Find a place in the middle and recognize the web site is only one part of an overall brand-building strategy. 

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com  

Back in September I posted an article about how we got to # 2 on Google in 30 days.  The article focused on two search phrases, “South of Boston Web Design” and “South of Boston Marketing.”  After I posted the article, I neglected posting new content to our South of Boston Web Design and Marketing Blog.  Our listing dropped to #27 and #12 on Google. 

It’s amazing how quickly search engines respond to new content.  A few years ago it would take months to get listed anywhere.  I remember submitting my site to Yahoo! and it took 3+ months to see the site anywhere.  Also, changes to the site would take weeks to get re-cataloged.  Technology has come a long way in a very short period of time.  The algorithms used by search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN are incredibly sophisticated these days. 

In fact, it’s my understanding that part of the reason Google is digitizing so many classic books is so they have a massive sample of quality content on which to test algorithms in order to identify strong content.  As these search engine algorithms become more sophisticated it will be far more difficult to “trick” them into getting web sites listed higher.  For example, when the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) industry began you could put hundreds of your key words at the bottom of each page and make them the same color as the background - they would not be seen by visitors, but search engine spiders would catalog them and your ranking would skyrocket. 

Those days are long gone - thank goodness!  Try that “trick” today and you’ll quickly be banned and penalized and your ranking will drop.  Now, it’s more about being a good Internet citizen as I recently discussed in a post.  

Back to the reason I posted these comments:  the speed and dynamic nature of local search placement.  After I realized we dropped in our Google ranking, I decided to do some more research and post more content.  Here’s the amazing part of the story - within 20 minutes Google already cataloged the page and the new post was listed in the Search results.  Our ranking for ”South of Boston Web Design” jumped to #11, and we were back to #2 for “South of Boston Marketing.”  I find it breathtaking how far search technology has come in such a short period of time. 

My recommendation to any company South of Boston is to find a way to add valuable content to your web site (perhaps use a blog like we have done here), partner with other businesses (cross link between web sites as much as possible), and don’t let your web site become static.  If it does, you’ll drop in the search rankings, but more importantly, you’ll become less relevant to those visiting your web site.  The Internet is dynamic and alive, so use your web site as a tool, not a brochure.
  

Technology has come a long way in the past few years, especially as it relates to printing.  I recently saw a 700 page hardcover book that was printed on-demand as a single copy overnight.  This was unheard of just a few years ago.  Even the cost of these on-demand books are coming down.  The potential savings in warehousing is substantial and other options like personalized content in books is also becoming a possibility. 

The other technological advances are in digital printing - we recently uploaded some business cards to www.overnightprints.com and in 3 days we received them for a total cost of $14.  The cards were not quite as good as you’d get from a printer, but very close.  I was amazed by the quality and speed.

The downside to digital printing is you have limited options of paper - it’s pretty much one-size-fits-all approach.  In the south of Boston area we’ve used www.bondprinting.com.  They do a good job, have good customer service, and good selection.  The nice part of this option is you can choose from many different paper samples and the final product is slightly superior to digital printing.

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

Web design is an interesting industry because it’s so subjective.  A designer may create a wonderful web site, truly an amazing work or art, but it may not communicate effectively. 

Here’s the rub: Web site designers are first and foremost artists.  They’re primary goal is to create beauty.  Yet, the Internet is about sharing information.  The webs’ primary purpose is to deliver relevant information, regardless of how this information is packaged.  Several years ago I owned a self-help web site that was truly pathetic from a design perspective - it was built on some lame template, had no images, and the layout was horrible.  Yet, within a year or so I sold over 1,500 packages that helped people live a better life and had over 6,000 subscribers to my newsletter. 

I then had a professional web site designer redevelop my web site.  I thought the conversion rates would increase and more people would sign up for my newsletter.  Nothing changed.  The conversion rates remained the same and so did the percentage of people signing up for the newsletter.  The fact is, it’s not so much about web design as it usability and valuable information.  

Conversely, a small business needs to create a professional image.  I recently met someone at a conference, looked the company up on the web, thought the presentation was horrible, and decided not to do business with them.  The key is to balance usability, content, and professional web site design.  The key to success is rarely one element (unless you visit www.craigslist.com, of course, which has little to do with anything graphical).        

When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content is king along with inbound links.  When it comes to giving a professional image, design is essential, and a poor design can cost you business without even knowing it.  When it comes to presenting vital information, usability is the essential ingredient (which is why Blogs end up doing so well in search engine marketing).

You’ll notice on our web site we use this blog to provide valuable design and marketing information to small businesses south of Boston, and we use the corporate web site (www.sinatraco.com) to present our web site design service and design samples.  Adding a blog to a web site design strategy is a great way to bridge the gap between valuable information and a professional image.  

Usability is also essential.  I found a great web site that has over 100 “best practice” usability tips (see link below).  Some of my favorites include:

9. Redundancy in Navigation. Navigation is fundamental to website development so redundancy assures users will find what they are looking for. Some may be attracted to images, some may wish a descriptive text link and some may wish to see an embedded link which assures them that what they are clicking is what they want. It never hurts to make it easy for the user to find their way around even if that means pointing them directly to what you think they may want.

From Schkecy

42. Keep everything close. No matter how complex your directory structure may be, there’s no reason any page should be more than three clicks away from the home page.

From Bob Gladstein aka qwerty
Raise My Rank SEO Services

49. Keep the page simple. Direct the readers eyes to the important parts of the page. Overloading the page headlines and links in confuses people.

50. Be careful with animations & marquees. They distract a reader from reading your content.

51. Make links obvious. Don’t use the same font settings and color to make links visible only on a mouse-over.

From Bernard Ertl
SEO Help - search engine optimization reference, tutorial and advice

Full list of 101 web site design usability tips can be found here:   

 http://www.keyrelevance.com/articles/usability-tips.htm

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

As a small business owner, your world changed today.  Your life got easier.  Your ability to manage information, processes, and customer relationships just became seamless. 

Today, Salesforce.com (the leading on-demand Customer Relationship Management application) and Google just announced a strategic partnership.  I’ve been writing about “software-as-a-service” almost since the beginning of this industry.  I’ve seen first hand how these applications, which are delivered via the Internet, have transformed companies.   

While the industry has been slow to develop due to security issues, when Google announced their Google Apps solution it gave the industry a shot in the arm.  Since then, the momentum has been building (since August Salesforce stock is up over 50%).  The synergy between these two apps are amazing:

Seeing these different applications work in concert is nothing short of amazing, but knowing that all this can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection is fantastic.  Now, anyone within a company can have access to all critical data at any time from anywhere, even via wireless devices.

Today, the world of business changed.  While the effect may not be felt for years to come, today is historic.   Visit salesforce.com at 3:00 ET today to see the full announcement. 

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

As a design firm, we’ll often want to see how a web site has evolved over time.  We use a tool called the “Way Back Machine” to look at what web sites looked like over time.  It’s easy to do.  Go to this web site: http://www.archive.org/web/web.php, type in a web address, and click “Take me Back.”  It’s fun to see how different web sites have changed over the years.

The Google Principle

Google has been highly successful for one reason: They do one thing better than anyone else.  Importantly, their focused approach is reflected in their design and communication.  Use the “Wayback Machine” from above and take a look at what Google’s web site looked like in 2000.  You’ll notice that in almost 8 years there is virtually no change to what you see to day.  Do the same thing with other search engines like Yahoo! and MSN and you’ll see significant differences. 

This exercises uncovers one of the most powerful principles in building successful companies: consistency and focus. While Google focused on one thing, Internet search, and kept their offerings concise, other search engines tried to diversify their offerings.  Yahoo!, who once focused wholly on search, added dozens of other offerings, which watered down their search offering and gave Google a competitive advantage.  If I need to find something on the web, I’m going to go to a place that pours a large percentage of their resources into this functionality.

A small business can do the same thing.  Ask yourself what you can do better than any other company in Massachusetts?  What is your specialty, and how can you maintain focus on what you do best.  A fantastic book about this subject is Good to Great by Jim Collins.  A good overview of his ideas can be found in this pdf document: click here

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

When I visit a web site I can’t stand waiting for a bunch of files to load in order to click the “skip intro” button.  Personally, I think Flash web sites should be banned.  They’re expensive to create and maintain, and Flash does not add a great deal of value.  Prospective clients don’t want to be “wowed” - they want to find specific information quickly via a professional and easy to navigate web site.  Flash does not facilitate the process of finding information and therefore should it should have limited use.  

If you do need to use it, I would recommend adding a few Flash elements like we use on our site on the home page - we scroll testimonials and logo designs and Flash is not used anywhere else.  Even this small amount of Flash can slow the time it takes to load a web page so use it sparingly. 

Templates:  I’ve seen a number of web sites that sell template web site, and many of these are Flash designs.  For the average webmaster these can be tough to use.  They’re often promoted as “easy to use,” but I have yet to find one that truly is.  If you’re new to web development or you’re looking for a designer, beware of glitzy Flash designs - you’ll rarely get a return on your investment.

In addition to not being user friendly, the search engines have a hard time indexing and navigating Flash web sites.  This is critical to your success as a small company.  People need to be able to find you on the web (what’s the point of a web site that no one visits?).  In other words, Flash does not help the search engine cataloging process and should not be used if your intent is to get listed in Google, Yahoo!, and the like.

Here’s a few articles about the dark side of Flash:

http://www.seoresearcher.com/seo-flash-is-evil-five-big-reasons-not-to-use-flash.htm

http://apptools.com/rants/flash.php

http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/flash-ing.html

http://www.dack.com/web/flash_evil.html

Some of these articles go back a few years, but they’re helpful if you’re considering a Flash web site.  Most companies have moved away from Flash, but I still come across them now and again - often it is a newbie who does not understand the nuances of web design best practices and is influenced by an over-zealous web designer.

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com

I found a great resource on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) I wanted to share:

www.SEObook.com

I liked it because it’s honest - there are so many “tips and tricks” out there related to SEO and most of it is trash.  It’s similar in nature to my post about this subject, but takes the idea light years.  Aaron Wall really does know his stuff and I’ve enjoyed every word of his book.

Note: this is not an affiliate link, it’s simply an honest recommendation - I will not earn any fees for sharing this link.

If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site:  www.sinatraco.com