This is cross-posted from our sister site: www.WebTrainingWheels.com
I frequently see young fledging artists and businesses using Flash to make a fancy- looking website thinking it will allow them to play in the big leagues, and set them apart from your average upstart. But this strategy is like playing in a beautiful stadium with no-one in the audience.
Here’s some reasons why that can be a Very Bad Idea:
1) Flash is hard to properly optimize for search engines. While there have been some advances by the search engines in this area, you will not be able to optimize your site in the depth and detail that you can an HTML site.
2) This means that, sure your site might come up first in Google if someone types in your company name, but that means they are already looking for you and aware of you. What about all the potential visitors you miss out on because your site does NOT rank for a slew of other related keyphrases?
3) With an HTML site you can optimize each page according to its content, for different phrases/words – this is the best way to do it. Flash does not allow you to do this – essentially your homepage will be indexed but not much else.
4) When you are a new artist/business looking to raise awareness and expand your target audience, you need to make yourself as accessible as possible to targeted traffic, and that means SEO in addition to other promotional avenues. Don’t make an already uphill battle even harder by starting out with a Flash-site that immediately limits your audience.
5) Because of all the above, your organic search traffic will be relatively low, at least to start out with, leaving you to rely on other methods to get traffic, such as your own promotional abilities to spread the word, slugging away on Facebook etc.
6) Loading pages, especially when they take too long are an obstacle to people getting to the good stuff. You risk losing people before they even see your site, never to return. And if you do get repeat visitors, it’s a bit annoying to have to wait for the site to load every time.
My personal advice for using Flash is to limit it to adding cool, but functional design features or flourishes, but not to build an entire site only in Flash.
It’s easier for well-known brands to use Flash, or even sites that are very text-light, and still rank highly because they receive a lot of incoming links from many other sites which helps them compensate for the lack of text on their own site. Using an example I saw on an old post at SEOBook.com, we can see this demonstrated in a search for “coffee” or “chocolate”. At the time that post was written, Starbucks ranked #1 in a search for ‘coffee’ despite having very little text on their site, and Hershey’s and Godiva ranked top in the chocolate search. This was attributed to the amount of incoming links for these brands which proved them to be relevant. These brands still rank highly today, but in both cases the #1 spot is now taken by pages on the distinctly un-flashy Wikipedia.
Visit www.WebTrainingWheels.com for more posts like this.
This is cross-posted from our sister site: www.WebTrainingWheels.com
A Guide To Online Marketing Terms – Part 1
I put this simple guide together to clarify some of the terms that I throw around on this blog. I’m finding that many people have heard these terms, but aren’t necessarily 100% sure what they mean or why they should care. If there is a term you have heard that is not included here, drop me a line [lucy AT webtraingwheels.com] and I’ll consider including in a future installment of the guide.
What is Web 2.0?
Web 2.0 describes the evolution of the internet from its early days of static web pages that waited to be discovered by web surfers (web 1.0), to dynamic, portable, social web content that lives in multiple places and can be easily shared and consumed in multiple ways. You can copy and paste simple code to place a video on your website, you can subscribe to a website via email or RSS, you can vote for content you like on sites like Digg, or you can bookmark it and share it on sites like StumbleUpon and Delicious. All these things are part of web 2.0
Why you should care:
The way content is created is different now. You can work with video and images as well as text. Your content has the possibility of ‘going viral’ by being shared, re-posted and reaching a wider audience than you can reach just from your own website. By choosing what sites to subscribe to, users filter and customize their content to suit their own tastes so there are plenty of niche markets and communities you can discover, be part of and cater to.
What is Social media?
Social media is a huge part of web 2.0. It began to be buzzed-about with social networking sites like Friendster (remember them?) and MySpace. You could create a profile and start making ‘friends’ with other people on the same website. From there it developed into sharing content and voting and now many websites offer the ability to create a profile or interact directly with other users, and the content, in some way. Social media also relates to the phenomenon of user-generated content. So instead of news, entertainment, or any other kind of content only being generated by specific media companies, now anyone can create and publish content, whether it’s a blog post, a video, photographs etc.
Blogging For Your Business – Workshop – June 27
11 Jun
Posted by elemental as Marketing Tips, web 2.0 tools
“Blogging For Your Business” Workshop – Beginner Level
“It was easy to feel overwhelmed by the big, bad world of bloggers. Lucy demystified it all and I’m now addicted to my blog! Thanks, Lucy!” – Andrea, Boli Bling Designs, LittleDesignerBook.com
If you would like to use a blog to enhance your business but aren’t sure where to start, I will show you how to do it from the ground up.
This workshop will show you everything you need to know in order to set up a blog, maximize both SEO (search engine optimization) and branding potential, and the basics of using your blog as a marketing tool. If plugins, widgets and RSS are alien concepts to you, I will enlighten you, demystify the process and give you the confidence to take control of your web presence.
Attend the next workshop on June 27th, to learn in a comfortable, friendly environment, and network with other budding bloggers. There are a limited number of spaces available, so it’s necessary to register below to confirm your place.
Topics to be covered:
- How a blog can help your business
- How to install and set up a blog (using the Wordpress platform)
- How to use Wordpress and it’s features
- How to install key plug-ins
- The do’s and don’ts of blogging
- Marketing and attracting traffic to your blog
- Becoming a ‘blogger’ – integrating blogging into your business routine
- I also provide post-workshop support to help you implement what you have learned.
The next workshop will take place:
June 27th from 1-3:30pm in West Los Angeles (full location information provided upon registration)
The fee is $45 per person.
Non-profits get a $10 discount!
Email me at: lucy@elemental-consulting.com with questions, for more info or to claim your non-profit discount code.
Register now and secure your place. Click below to use either Google Checkout or Paypal to make your payment. When payment has been received you will be sent a confirmation email.
Or you can use Paypal
I also provide 1-on-1 services, and consulting services for existing businesses looking to maximize their web presence.
“Lucy helped us update our blog by providing our team with best practices and areas for improvement. We’ve seen increased traffic and greater customer engagement since we implemented her suggestions. Lucy is very friendly, and a great teacher- we appreciated her approach and expertise.” Deborah, MyCorporation
It can be daunting process to start a blog from scratch so here’s a few tips that might help.
1) Just Do It! Take A Small Step, Any Step!
Starting is the hardest thing, but once you’ve taken that first step, it will become easier. It’s easy to come up with a laundry list of reasons why not to do something – I don’t have time, I need to redesign my site first etc etc. In reality however the most important thing to do if you are new to blogging is simply to BLOG and start building up your stash of content. Ultimately the more content you have the better, so start NOW with your first post.
2) Keep It Simple
Don’t worry about tricking out your blog with every little widget right off the bat. You can figure that out in time. Start out by just getting some posts up – short and sweet will do the trick. All the widgets in the world aren’t going to help if there’s no content.
3) Don’t Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Good.
I stole that concept from The Happiness Project but it works for blogging. Your writing style and voice will develop over time so don’t expect it to be perfect right away. This is YOUR blog – not a national newspaper so as long as you have something of interest to share, don’t worry about sounding like a Pulitzer prize winner. Allow yourself the luxury of practice – write some posts and the more you do it, the more comfortable you will get with the process. Get into the feel of writing and allow your own style to develop.
4) Get Into a Routine.
This is necessary advice when trying to develop any new habit – essentially this is what blogging is. Try and carve out certain times during the day and week that you will reserve for blogging -30 minutes here and there, or whatever you can manage. If you leave blogging to the end of your already full to-do list, chances are you will never get to it. So make it a priority and make an appointment with yourself. Set yourself realistic goals – one post a week, for example – a goal that will motivate you without overwhelming you.
5) Who Do You Want to Come to Your Site?
This is one of the central questions that you should keep in mind when blogging. Who is your audience? Oftentimes your audience can be broken down into several different categories or segments, each with a varying profile of interests. Sometimes when you are stuck for an idea, it can be helpful to re-visit your list, pick one of these segments and think about something that would be interesting or of value to them that could be turned into a blog post.
6) Anything Can Be a Blog Post!
Don’t psych yourself out thinking you have to write an essay each time. Sometimes it’s ok to do something easy like posting pictures of yourself at an event, pictures of people using/wearing your product, a blurb about another website that you find useful or interesting etc. Any number of things can be short effective blog posts. Surf around other blogs you like in your niche and get some ideas and inspiration. Think about what you would like to share, or something you as a reader would find interesting. It could be directly related to your product, or perhaps it’s a news item related to your industry, or just a funny thing that happened on your way to the trade fair. The possibilities are endless once you start thinking like a blogger. You can also join in the conversation of hot topics of the moment, whether it’s current affairs or something related to your industry. Bloggers often like to give their opinion, and people like to read that. So see what others are talking about and join in the dialog by posting your own thoughts. You can reference or quote other bloggers if appropriate (always give credit with a link).
7) Think Outside the Box
This seems like stereotypical advice, but sometimes it’s easy to not see the forest for the trees. It’s easy to get stuck in the rut of thinking only about the product you are trying to sell. But the good thing about a blog is that it gives you the chance to expand beyond your field and this will ultimately be good for search rankings. So instead of racking your brain trying to come up with a new way to talk about your product – let your imagination expand a little. Your main website is where the hard sell happens – your blog is where you get to express yourself and different aspects of your personality and business. Chances are, you are a good example of your target audience so think about the types of things you like to read on other blogs. If you happen to have a real flair for writing and have a distinct voice – perhaps you are funny, or have sharp insights on current affairs – these things alone can help you develop a following. Think about people like Perez Hilton and others who have developed audiences simple because they are entertaining – there’s no rocket science going on there!
8) Networking
Ultimately you will want to network with other relevant bloggers by swapping links. But don’t go crazy contacting tons of other bloggers until you have some good posts on your site and a good amount of content. If you request links from bloggers too early, before you have much posted, they may not want to link to you if it doesn’t look like you are regularly updating, or serious about your blog. But do keep a target list, or bookmark sites that you would like to connect with at some point. Also keep in mind that you shouldn’t target the most popular blogs right away because they may not see the value in connecting with a small blog site.
9) Don’t Ever Be Discouraged!
A common mistake of new bloggers is giving up too soon. Don’t assume that you will be an overnight success – this is the exception, not the rule. Give yourself some time to build up some momentum. And enjoy the process of blogging itself. The more you enjoy it, the more you will be motivated to make it a habit.
Your blog is not going to write itself and it only works if you work it. So it will take some effort and in the beginning it can feel like you are talking to yourself . But Rome wasn’t built in a day! You probably won’t get people leaving you comments the first day you launch your blog. But as you start to develop your content and attract visitors, those things will happen. Also, just because people aren’t commenting or emailing you, that doesn’t mean they aren’t reading. After all, how many blogs do you read? And how many have you actually interacted with? Make sure you have a way to track web traffic to your blog so that you have real info about who’s coming to your site and where they are coming from.
But the most important thing is never to give up. Be tenacious and persistent in your blogging practice and it will definitely pay-off.
Why You SHOULD Blog
1) You have a business website that you would like to attract more traffic to.
Blogs are great for attracting more traffic for several reasons including:
- Search engines like regularly updated content. Many business sites are informative but not updated very often so are hard to keep at the top of the rankings, without buying keywords. Blogs can and should be updated on a regular basis with fresh content.
- Bloggers typically link to each other in their ‘blogrolls’ so once you start to exchange links with others, you will start to gain new traffic as your site is exposed to a new audience. Additionally the more inbound links you have (ie other sites linking to you) the more the search engines will like you.
- The variety of content you post on your blog will naturally expand the number of keywords and phrases that will lead people to your site. On a purely informative business site, you don’t always have the opportunity to target keywords outside your direct focus but a blog gives you more range.
2) You would like to give your business a more personal voice and develop a relationship with potential customers.
- A blog is a great way to add to and enhance your brand. It allows you to craft a more personal voice for your company, which is engaging to the reader. If a reader likes what you have to say and reads you on a regular basis they start to trust you. You can’t build that type of dynamic relationship with a static site.
- A blog allows you to share success stories from your customers, and engage with them through comments. Once you’ve built a decent readership a blog can be a great way to do free consumer research – test out product ideas and poll your audience.
3) You would like to establish yourself as an expert in your field.
- These days a lot of information is available for free on the internet – it’s almost expected. So you may as well join the fray and give people a taste of what you are all about and the knowledge that you have.
- A well-written, informative blog may help you to attract the attention of other high profile people in your industry that you may not otherwise have access to.
- You may also be able to pitch yourself as a guest blogger on other popular sites and blogs, further increasing your profile and credibility.
4) You would like the opportunity to network with other people and bloggers in your field or related areas. Being part of the blogging community allows you a way to network with others in a friendly fashion, without having to push a hard sell. It’s easier to make friends with people when you have something to offer (a link exchange, good content), rather than something to sell.
DON’T Blog If…..
1) You really don’t have anything to say. If you’re not inspired about your subject matter or feel that you have nothing to contribute, blogging may not be for you.
2) You think it will be a quick fix. Blogging is not an overnight quick-fix to getting more traffic. It takes a little time to start generating traffic, although once you get going you may see a snowball effect.
3) You’re not in it for the long haul. To really get the most out of having a blog, you will have to spend some time working on it, writing and promoting it. There’s no real way around that, so if you’re not prepared to carve out some time for it, you won’t be maximizing it’s presence.
