Website Checklist

When was the last time you REALLY looked at your website? Here are some ideas to use for a year-end check-up.

1) Do all your links work? Test them all yourself. Website changes and updates during the year often create broken links
somewhere else on the site. Seems insignificant, but how impressed are you by a site that has links that go to a wrong
page or worse, nowhere?

2) Is your company's full contact info on EVERY page of your site? Visitors can and will enter a site from any page. Make it
easy for them to contact you. Even better: Add your phone number and clickable email address somewhere at the top part of 
each page ("above the fold"), so visitors don't have to scroll down to find it.

3) Are there meta-tags in your site's HTML code? These descriptive tags are easy to add, and make all the difference
with Search Engine rankings. Talk to your web developer (or us!) about adding these essential pieces to your site.
Be sure your site is re-submitted to the Search Engines once you have the meta-tags in place.

4) Does the text on your pages really communicate what you do and the benefits of doing business with you? Pretend you are talking
to your best friend on your site. You'll write a compelling, honest, and factual account of why your product or service is
worth considering. Guess what? That's what your targetmarket wants to hear!

5) Simpler is better in life and in websites! Your new prospect does not want to wait through that big, expensive Flash opening
page just to get to your site. You have 5-10 seconds to keep a visitor once they land on your site. Keep them interested and
informed VERY quickly, or lose them.

Copyright © Mind's Eye Presentations. All rights reserved. 
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute this article
as long as this copyright notice and full information about 
contacting the authors is included.

The authors of this newsletter are Darlene Cary and Lynne DeLuca
of Mind's Eye Presentations, providing customized, effective
web strategies for businesses. Call us at 615-867-4009.

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Take a Look at Your Site Through Fresh Eyes 

Ask around these days, and you hear business owners and managers disappointed in their websites.  
Return on investment has been nil.  No traffic, no response, no sales.

"I spent so much money developing my website and nobody is coming to visit it.. What's wrong???"

SOUND FAMILIAR?  The stories are the same over and over..

.My website doesn't look at all like I thought it would.
.My website is up and there is NO traffic.
.My website just doesn't reflect my company's image.
.My site is down more often than it is up.
.I can't ever get changes made to my site when I need them.

Do you feel like you are powerless in a technical world that is WAY too complicated to deal with?

WAIT. You do have the power. Your website belongs to YOU. It should be a true reflection of your company's image on the
Internet, and should seamlessly blend with your overall marketing package, otherwise why bother having a website at all?

If you read this far and said, "They are talking about ME" then it is time to sit down and assess your website.

There are simple things you can do yourself to invite visitors to your site. Put your web address on all of your printed material.
Post new and interesting information on your site. Change your site content often to give visitors a reason to come
back.  Keep it fresh and ABOUT THEM, the CUSTOMER.

Copyright © Mind's Eye Presentations. All rights reserved. 
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute this article
as long as this copyright notice and full information about 
contacting the authors is included.

The authors of this newsletter are Darlene Cary and Lynne DeLuca
of Mind's Eye Presentations, providing customized, effective
web strategies for businesses. Call us at 615-867-4009.

BACK TO RESOURCE PAGE

 Pulling in the Searchers

Increase targeted traffic from Search Engines with an effective Page Title tag on each of your web pages.

Write a descriptive title of 5 to 8 words for each website page. Remove any "filler" words from the title, such as "the," "and,"
etc.

This Page Title appears on many Web search engines when your site is listed. Look at the listings at AltaVista.com. The Page
Title also appears at the very top of the monitor when viewing a website.

Bring Them In
Entice searchers to click on the title by making it descriptive and include something attractive. Change the Title tags on each
web page to reflect the info on that page.

How To
Example from the Mind's Eye News archive page on our website:

Place the Title tag at the top of the Web page between the <HEADER></HEADER> tags, in this format: <TITLE>Free Internet
Marketing newsletter past issues.</TITLE>

Additional Hints
Use some descriptive keywords along with your business name on your home page. Instead of "Wild Bird Station, Inc." use "Wild
Bird Station - Birdfeeders, Birdbaths, Backyard Accessories".

The more people see in the blue highlighted portion of the search engine that interests them, the more likely they are to click on
the link.

Bonus Hint: Now re-submit your website to the Search Engines, so they pick up your new listings!

Copyright © Mind's Eye Presentations. All rights reserved. 
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute this article
as long as this copyright notice and full information about 
contacting the authors is included.

The authors of this newsletter are Darlene Cary and Lynne DeLuca
of Mind's Eye Presentations, providing customized, effective
web strategies for businesses. Call us at 615-867-4009.

BACK TO RESOURCE PAGE

Copyright © Mind's Eye Presentations. All rights reserved. 
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute this article
as long as this copyright notice and full information about 
contacting the authors is included.

The authors of this newsletter are Darlene Cary and Lynne DeLuca
of Mind's Eye Presentations, providing customized, effective
web strategies for businesses. Call us at 615-867-4009.

BACK TO RESOURCE PAGE