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Spider Food (1) :: Thinking outside of the web box.

This article is the first in a series of Spider Food / Search Engine Optimization / SEO articles. Your website should promote your business and your business should promote your website.

Before we get started with Search Engine Optimization, and learning to feed the Spiders, let's take a much broader look at your business and website promotion. Any truly effective website promotion campaign will also include several offline website promotion strategies. Getting your website online is not enough; having a page one ranking in Google, Yahoo and MSN is really fantastic but it is not enough either; you need to promote your website, both online and offline. Think of your website as a new and valuable dimension to your existing business, think of your website as part of your business and not as a separate cost or, hopefully, profit center. Create your marketing campaigns with your website as an integral part of them.

Your website should be an integral part, not only of your marketing, but also of your business. In fact, instead of being a drain on your precious resources, did you know that your website can actually help you to manage your day-to-day business operations more effectively? Strategic database design can and will help you to manage your day-to-day business operations and can also be used to automatically update your website with key business information. A well designed database-driven website will help you to manage your business more effectively and will also work for you 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. This is what we mean by "Web Designs That Work".

Online, your site needs to be promoted through search engine optimization, directory listings, strategic link exchanges, effective advertising, publicity through free and paid press releases and other promotional strategies that will vary with the nature of your business. These will be some of the subjects of upcoming Spider Food articles.

Offline you should always include your web site address anywhere that you place your business name. Don't write, print, or even say your business name anywhere, or any time, without the website address being included. Here are some ideas:

• Answering Machine and/or Voice Mail Outgoing Message
• When you leave a message for someone
• Your email signature
• Checks
• Letterhead
• Return Address Labels
• Envelopes
• Business Cards (make some special website business cards also)
• Yellow Page Ads
• Newspaper Display Ads, Flyers or Inserts
• Classified Ads
• Invoices
• Sales Receipts
• Product Packaging Materials
• Direct Mailings
• Post Cards
• Press Releases
• Company Brochures and other Literature
• Radio and Television Ads
• Billboards
• Signs in Your Store
• Signs on Your Vehicles
• Your Shirts

Place signs with your website address on them in your physical location to generate more traffic to your website, and to remind your customers that you are a progressive company that uses technology effectively. Make business cards for your website and place them on or near the signs. Integrate, don't isolate. Your offline and your online campaigns should really be ONE cohesive campaign. An integrated marketing approach is your most effective strategy.

Get the picture? Does it have your website address on it? I hope so. Any material that you produce for, or about, your business should always include your website address. The more you use your website address the more impact it will have. Using your website address in print, television or radio advertising allows you to effectively communicate the full breadth and depth of your business in a much smaller, or shorter (i.e. cheaper) ad. www.4yourwebsite.com tells you all that you need to know to find out all that you want to know about us. Do you have a www (World Wide Web) address that tells me all that I want to know about you? If not, Contact Us now. Your website will show your customers that you are interested in serving their needs in every possible way. For your younger customers, and some of your older ones too, your online presence verifies and legitimizes your very existence.

Now that I've got you thinking more effectively and globally than just search engine optimization (SEO), Spider Food (2) will get down to the business of getting your website found by those search engines, you will learn to feed the spiders. It's all just a matter of learning what, when and how they like to eat. Remember, your website should promote your business and your business should promote your website.

Every work of a genius normally ends up being very simplistic. The main reason for your web site is to boost the business coverage of your products or services to the wider public. It will and should increase your customer audience. The simpler you create your website, the easier you and your clients find it is to use. Increasing your virtual customer base, do not forget about business in reality. Remember that the online shop and real business must work together. It means that website is one more office or shop for your business in cyber space. One is an extension and continuation of the other. It is important to create such a website which reflects the main stream and character of your business as well as bringing in new clientele.  On planning a website, divide this process into several steps. A good arranged plan is a half way for success.  You may have a look at our proposed steps.

Step one. First of all, you have to Identify The Mission of Your Project in the online marketing arena. Then you must determine short-term and long- term aims and objectives of your site. Think about target audience of your website. Then it is time to consider the functionality. Site content must be relevant to the topic as well as updated and fresh. 

The Second step regards Development and Design. You have to consult with a web design company about style, size of your site as well as discuss stages of web design and development performance. You can propose your vision, and they will express their opinion. Thus you will find a common consensus.  After the general decision is undertaken, the time is then set for the designers and programmers. Cooperating with each other they build, construct and test your site. 

The Third step is your Review and Advice. Development of your site is offline, so you can have access to the all stages of the process. This is greatly needed as you can give your views and feedback. Your review helps to go in the right direction. Also it is considered necessary that checking of your site in various browsers should be made. Before your site goes online you must be sure that all is working well. Once the tests are over your website is ready to be launched and presented to the public. We have spoken about the technological side of website building.

The Fourth thing is SEO. Once the website is complete you need to promote it. Search engine optimization or website promotion is a powerful marketing tool. You must arrange a good marketing tactic. Promotion strategy is the key factor in online business. How does it work? As long as key-words and phrases are indentified, the site then must be processed for submitting to the search engines. The goal is to get high page ranking in the search engine results. As long as your site is an integral component of advertising campaign, you will need a professional consultant. Birmingham Web Design company can help you to promote your site.
 
 The Last step is Safety and Updates. To give the finishing touches to your site, take care of security and updating. Regarding firstly, that all information you provide to the website design company must be protected. Added to this, as your business grows you will have to update your site with the current news and forthcoming events. Visitors will expect it and clients will think that the site is working and always is updated, and thus trust such a company.
Finally, this is just an initial basis for you to think. If you switch on your imagination in cooperation with a team of professionals, then this enterprise can turn into a pretty and money-making website. We wish you good luck!

About the Author

Kaweb, is a Birmingham web design company, produces web sites. We work with our clients from initial ideas to the websites' design and promotion. Our range of services is wide: planning, programming, designing, optimization etc.  With board of professionals that have over 20 years of experience in marketing and a young team of programmers and designers, Kaweb are well placed to offer proven marketing services on the basis of the latest programming technologies.

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Have you heard someone talking about difficult scenarios relating to outsourcing their software development? Hearing such stories can make you wary about outsourcing your own projects. After all you do not want the headache of difficult programmers or those that do not complete the job on time. Yet if you are aware of some common problems that can occur with outsourcing you can take action to safeguard against them from the very start.

A lack of communication is the most common problem out there. You may be friendly enough and so is the programmer, but what is really being said? What each of you interprets could be extremely different from each other. It is vital that you verify you are both on the same page. If visual materials can be shared in addition to oral communication it is even more effective. If you have questions make sure you ask so that no one is assuming anything.

Take your time to find the right individual for the job. You may have to spend time interviewing several software developers or team leaders before you are confident that you have found the right one for your needs. That is time well spent though so do not undervalue it. Would you rather put in more time now at the front end of things or wait until the project is a mess and you have to invest much more time and even money to straighten it all out?

There should be some form of written documentation verifying what will be taking place. This way there is no question about the specifications of the project, the pay for it, time frames, or testing intervals. Be very specific in each one of these categories. Should a change need to be done to that documentation both parties need to agree to it. For example you may both agree that further work will be done and another $1,000 will be paid for it. Make sure additional documentation is completed to cover such changes as well.

Never make the mistake of not being involved in what is taking place with the project. It is understandable that you are not an expert is this field or you would likely be doing the work yourself. However, you do not want to just have the date the work is due circled in red on your calendar. Then when it does not show up or it is wrong you will be in a panic. Make it a routine to communicate with the programmer at least once a week. Make sure they have access to multiple ways to communicate with you. That way issues can be addressed immediately and safe time.

Testing at regular intervals during the project is essential. This should definitely be part of the documentation between you. This allows you to regularly test what has been completed so far. This process will help to keep problems to a minimum. It is much easier to address smaller issues that it is when they continue to be built upon. This testing is your responsibilities so do not just assume the programmer is finding everything or you will be in for a disappointment.

Testing also offers you another benefit whether you realize it or not. It encourages the programmer to stay on schedule with the work. They would not be able to put it off and then rush to complete it before the end. When they know testing dates are coming up they will strive to have things working as well as possible by that point in time. This is a great way to eliminate sloppy work and to avoid getting the final delivery behind schedule.

Avoiding these types of common problems in relationship to outsourcing software development means you are more likely to get the results you seek. You will be able to move along through the project with the programmer and work together on anything that does come up. You will be able to have your completed project on time and in the right format. You will likely save a great deal of money in the process which is definitely something to make your day a bit brighter.

About the Author

Proven Web Solutions . Malaysia Website Design and Web Marketing Consultant.At i1WebSifu, we provide Superior Quality and World Class Website Design and Web Marketing Solutions for your business needs. Be it dazzling websites and portals or customized software solutions, our team is trained and ready to fulfill your every need. Visit http://www.i1websifu.com

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