Technology and Marketing http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo website development for small business Tue, 08 May 2012 19:25:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Learn about website enhancements Adding video is perhaps the simplest way to include multimedia. A podcast is well worth the effort, in terms of attracting the attention of potential customers and retaining existing clients. Flash is a great multi-purpose tool for adding to both the aesthetics and the functionality of your site. A blog or an RSS feed will keep your site up-to-date with current, useful and interesting content. website development for small business Paul Elwood http://www.elwoodstudio.com/images/logoblue_300.jpgTechnology and Marketinghttp://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo websites, marketing, technology, podcasts, podcasting, video, CMS, graphic, design, developer, database, business no Paul Elwood elwood@elwoodstudio.com Podcast http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo/?p=56 http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo/?p=56#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:56:02 +0000 Debra http://www.elwoodstudio.com/wordpress/?p=56 Why Podcast?

A Podcast is simply a prerecorded audio or video file, saved in one of several specific formats and posted online along with a feed page. What’s most interesting from a marketing point of view is the fact that podcasts can be subscribed to.

Similar in some ways to a magazine subscription, the information is delivered on a regular basis and in a consistent format. Your podcasts can be made available to anyone who has an interest and an internet connection.

How does having my own podcast benefit me or my customers?
Simply put, a podcast makes your information more easily available. Suppose you have information that needs to be passed on to your clients on a regular basis-say, a schedule of events, or special sales offers. Your audio podcast can be produced and posted online once, and will be automatically distributed to everyone who has subscribed to it.

Audible directions for the assembly of a component would be useful for certain customers to refer to. Perhaps hearing a friendly voice explain how to fill out a claim would make the process simpler. In any case, once subscribed to your channel, it’s very easy for your customer to pick from a list of individual podcasts, then download and listen to what they want.

There are literally dozens of ways this technology can benefit your customers. In a very real sense, there’s never been an easier way to get timely, topical information to the people who need it.

What about special equipment? Any recent generation web browser has the capability to play audio podcasts, typically allowing the file to open in it’s associated music player. There are also many software programs available with which you can subscribe, download, store, organize and play podcasts; these are known generically as aggregators. Perhaps the best known and most robust of these is Apple’s iTunes, which is both cross-platform and entirely free.

The process: once we record your podcast, it’s edited and assemble it into it’s final form, then posted to a folder on your website. The Elwood Studio will create an xml file- your feed – and this is the web address that the podcast subscription software will point to.

]]> http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo/?feed=rss2&p=56 0 Why Podcast? A Podcast is simply a prerecorded audio or video file, saved in one of several specific formats and posted online along with a feed page. What’s most interesting from a marketing point of view is the fact that podcasts can be subscribed to. Similar in some ways to a magazine subscription, the information is delivered on a regular basis and in a consistent format. Your podcasts can be made available to anyone who has an interest and an internet connection. How does having my own podcast benefit me or my customers? Simply put, a podcast makes your information more easily available. Suppose you have information that needs to be passed on to your clients on a regular basis-say, a schedule of events, or special sales offers. Your audio podcast can be produced and posted online once, and will be automatically distributed to everyone who has subscribed to it. Audible directions for the assembly of a component would be useful for certain customers to refer to. Perhaps hearing a friendly voice explain how to fill out a claim would make the process simpler. In any case, once subscribed to your channel, it’s very easy for your customer to pick from a list of individual podcasts, then download and listen to what they want. There are literally dozens of ways this technology can benefit your customers. In a very real sense, there’s never been an easier way to get timely, topical information to the people who need it. What about special equipment? Any recent generation web browser has the capability to play audio podcasts, typically allowing the file to open in it’s associated music player. There are also many software programs available with which you can subscribe, download, store, organize and play podcasts; these are known generically as aggregators. Perhaps the best known and most robust of these is Apple’s iTunes, which is both cross-platform and entirely free. The process: once we record your podcast, it’s edited and assemble it into it’s final form, then posted to a folder on your website. The Elwood Studio will create an xml file- your feed – and this is the web address that the podcast subscription software will point to. Why Podcast? A Podcast is simply a prerecorded audio or video file, saved in one of several specific formats and posted online along with a feed page. What’s most interesting from a marketing point of view is the fact that podcasts can be [...] SEO Tip: Who Links to you? http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo/?p=165 http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo/?p=165#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:25:15 +0000 Debra http://www.elwoodstudio.com/wordpress/?p=165 Reciprocal linking is one way that top search engines determine the validity- and the ranking- of your website. The basic premise is this: if valid sites link to yours, your site must be valid as well, and the more valid sites linking in, the more value your site has. Tip: You should always encourage other quality sites to link back to your site.

You can easily check to see what sites are already linked and how your site is described on those sites. Using googles built-in link checking: open google.com in a browser window and type link:domainname, then click the search button. 


This will check all the links that google is aware of.

Another online check uses http://www.wholinkstome.com/. This list is more complete than the google list and might be used to check spelling, address, current contact info and site description.
Making a point to find out who’s linking back to your site on a regular basis can help you stay on top of your web presence and improve your search engine positioning.

]]> http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo/?feed=rss2&p=165 0 Reciprocal linking is one way that top search engines determine the validity- and the ranking- of your website. The basic premise is this: if valid sites link to yours, your site must be valid as well, and the more valid sites linking in, the more value your site has. Tip: You should always encourage other quality sites to link back to your site. You can easily check to see what sites are already linked and how your site is described on those sites. Using googles built-in link checking: open google.com in a browser window and type link:domainname, then click the search button.  This will check all the links that google is aware of. Another online check uses http://www.wholinkstome.com/. This list is more complete than the google list and might be used to check spelling, address, current contact info and site description. Making a point to find out who’s linking back to your site on a regular basis can help you stay on top of your web presence and improve your search engine positioning. Reciprocal linking is one way that top search engines determine the validity- and the ranking- of your website. The basic premise is this: if valid sites link to yours, your site must be valid as well, and the more valid sites linking in, the more [...] Simple tips for better results http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo/?p=206 http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo/?p=206#comments Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:59:07 +0000 Debra http://www.elwoodstudio.com/wordpress/?p=206 Simple tips for better results:

It’s especially important during trying economic times to make sure that the tools we have at our disposal -namely, website and web-based technologies- are doing the very best job that they can for us. Here are a few simple things to consider about making your site a more effective marketing tool:

First, know who your target market is.
Your message should speak to them directly. Often websites seem to be focused on what’s important to the site owner rather than what’s important to the site visitor.

Secondly, the website should address not only the target visitor but the reason she’s there.
Put yourself in the head of the potential target visitor. What do they need? Why did they land on your site in the first place? And is the reason that they’re at your site being address immediately?

Third, have a clear idea of what a successful visit means.
Unless you have an ecommerce site- and even if you do- that might not be as straightforward as you think. Ideally, everyone who comes to your site would end up contacting you about your product or service. Realistically though, this is an incremental process. Think about your own surfing habits- it’s very unlikely that you have a clear action in mind, navigate directly to a particular site and purchase the product or service you want as linear steps in a single process; you might want to look at some competing sites and compare pricing or value, for instance.

Visitors that behave in a way that you’ve decided constitutes a “successful” visit are “conversions”. Determining what constitutes a conversion and then measuring conversions against total visitor traffic gives you a pretty good place to start measuring how effective your site is… the problem is, deciding what constitutes a conversion isn’t always intuitive.
Think of the website as a funnel. At the top of the funnel are lots of visitors who’ve come to the homepage of your site by accident or design, by referral, directly or via search engine. At the bottom of your funnel are the conversions- visitors who do some behavior you’ve decided to track as a successful visit. Your conversion rate depends largely on the kind of site, content, how you promote, and your expectations. A conversion may be a request for more information, visit a certain page or downloading a pdf file… could be anything you’re looking for the visitor to do.

The primary reason for determining what constitutes a conversion other than say, someone calling you on the phone and asking to buy a product is that although that is the desired outcome, there are typically many steps between entering the site and offering up your credit card number. Is your product expensive? Are there similar products that invite direct comparison? Does it have a long sales cycle? is it an intangible? Measuring the intermediate steps -conversions- between site entrance and the ultimate desired outcome, then using that information to facilitate the ultimate desired outcome will help you improve your site’s overall usefulness to your visitors.

And most importantly, don’t forget to measure your results.
Statistical tools for websites have come a long way in the last few years. They’re inexpensive, easy to use, and an absolute necessity for testing and improving your site.

Look at the areas of the site that get the most traffic and determine if that’s actually where you want site visitors to focus. if that’s the case, consider spending resources on those areas. If not, how can the under-accessed pages traffic be improved? Making the links more visible? Making the content more engaging- or more to the point, making sure that the page in question answers the basic question that the site visitor has come to your site for- namely, will this company solve my problem?

]]> http://www.elwoodstudio.com/newsandinfo/?feed=rss2&p=206 0 Simple tips for better results: It’s especially important during trying economic times to make sure that the tools we have at our disposal -namely, website and web-based technologies- are doing the very best job that they can for us. Here are a few simple things to consider about making your site a more effective marketing tool: First, know who your target market is. Your message should speak to them directly. Often websites seem to be focused on what’s important to the site owner rather than what’s important to the site visitor. Secondly, the website should address not only the target visitor but the reason she’s there. Put yourself in the head of the potential target visitor. What do they need? Why did they land on your site in the first place? And is the reason that they’re at your site being address immediately? Third, have a clear idea of what a successful visit means. Unless you have an ecommerce site- and even if you do- that might not be as straightforward as you think. Ideally, everyone who comes to your site would end up contacting you about your product or service. Realistically though, this is an incremental process. Think about your own surfing habits- it’s very unlikely that you have a clear action in mind, navigate directly to a particular site and purchase the product or service you want as linear steps in a single process; you might want to look at some competing sites and compare pricing or value, for instance. Visitors that behave in a way that you’ve decided constitutes a “successful” visit are “conversions”. Determining what constitutes a conversion and then measuring conversions against total visitor traffic gives you a pretty good place to start measuring how effective your site is… the problem is, deciding what constitutes a conversion isn’t always intuitive. Think of the website as a funnel. At the top of the funnel are lots of visitors who’ve come to the homepage of your site by accident or design, by referral, directly or via search engine. At the bottom of your funnel are the conversions- visitors who do some behavior you’ve decided to track as a successful visit. Your conversion rate depends largely on the kind of site, content, how you promote, and your expectations. A conversion may be a request for more information, visit a certain page or downloading a pdf file… could be anything you’re looking for the visitor to do. The primary reason for determining what constitutes a conversion other than say, someone calling you on the phone and asking to buy a product is that although that is the desired outcome, there are typically many steps between entering the site and offering up your credit card number. Is your product expensive? Are there similar products that invite direct comparison? Does it have a long sales cycle? is it an intangible? Measuring the intermediate steps -conversions- between site entrance and the ultimate desired outcome, then using that information to facilitate the ultimate desired outcome will help you improve your site’s overall usefulness to your visitors. And most importantly, don’t forget to measure your results. Statistical tools for websites have come a long way in the last few years. They’re inexpensive, easy to use, and an absolute necessity for testing and improving your site. Look at the areas of the site that get the most traffic and determine if that’s actually where you want site visitors to focus. if that’s the case, consider spending resources on those areas. If not, how can the under-accessed pages traffic be improved? Making the links more visible? Making the content more engaging- or more to the point, making sure that the page in question answers the basic question that the site visitor has come to your site for- namely, will this company solve my problem? Simple tips for better results: It’s especially important during trying economic times to make sure that the tools we have at our disposal -namely, website and web-based technologies- are doing the very best job that they can for us. Here are a [...]