As the world becomes more and more reliable on technical gadgets, almost everybody you know has an iPod or iPhone or some tool to listen to their music or keep them on the web while on the go. More and more people are accessing the internet and your website with these devices. It’s not a bad idea to learn ways to keep this group of people interested in what you have to offer by catering to their choice of electronic devices.
Get Apps
Everybody who owns these iDevices crave apps! Applications are what make iPod users continue using these gadgets for more than just simple music, photo and media enjoyment. You can actually create an application yourself, or you could outsource if you feel you’re incapable. Either way, you can include an app in your small business design that allows visitors to download the application to access your website easily, with just the click of a button. You can also get very creative with apps. They don’t need to lead users to your website alone; they can also include some form of game to engage them. Free apps for your visitors are definitely a great choice for your website. You can search for tutorials to make your own applications or check out a variety of helpful videos on YouTube.
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When working on your small business website design, one of the main questions you will need to answer is the question of your website’s identity. Assuming you are a small business, maybe even a one-person-shop, do you disclose this on your site, or do you pretend to be a bigger business than you really are?
This is one area where there are no hard and fast rules, and where either approach can work, so each business should do what feels right to them.
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I find it surprising that some small businesses still don’t have a website. Typically, small business owners who decide not to have a website say something along the lines of, “My business is very small. It’s just me and three employees. I don’t want to sell my products online. Why do I need a website?”
My answer is always the same: regardless of the size of your business, and whether you plan to sell your products online or not, you do need to have an online presence, or you risk losing potential customers. Here are the four main reasons why even the smallest mom and pop shop should have a website:
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If you’ve been considering an online advertising campaign for your small business, you’ve probably come across the term “landing page.” The concept of a landing page is new to many small business owners, so don’t worry if you aren’t sure what it is or how it’s different from the other pages on your website. It’s actually a very simple concept that can really increase the effectiveness of your advertising campaign.
What is a landing page?
A landing page is exactly what it sounds like—the page a potential customer lands on after clicking a link. Technically, any page on your website can be a landing page. However, the most effective landing page is one that was created to match the needs of the person who clicked on the link that leads to it. The goal of a landing page is to capture the visitor’s attention and get them take an action you desire—make a purchase, for instance, or fill out a sign-up form.
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I’ve been observing my small business design clients for the past couple of years to see how they choose to use social media to promote their businesses.
My unscientific conclusion: small businesses seem to either love social media and use it as much as they can, or avoid it completely. There’s almost no middle ground, and it’s especially interesting to me that the clients who avoid social media are almost, it seems, afraid to use it.
Businesses worry about using social media for several reasons. The main reason is that they worry they will be wasting valuable time and resources on something that is no more than a hype – a passing trend that will disappear within a few years, leaving all those businesses who poured time and money into social media marketing with nothing.
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If you read my recent post on understanding and improving the Google PageRank for your small business website, you know a bit about the importance of inbound links. In addition to improving your search engine rankings, having your business website listed on many websites simply ups the odds that customers will find you. Here are a few ways you can get your website address out there on the Internet:
Claim your search engine listings. Google, Yahoo, and other search engines allow business owners to claim their listings. This allows you to make sure your website address is listed and control the way the search engines index your business. You can use www.getlisted.org to see how your business has been indexed by the top search engines and find out which listings you haven’t yet claimed.
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Small business owners have been using article marketing for decades, but the Internet and new Web 2.0 sites have really increased its potential and popularity. The principle behind article marketing is pretty simple: the idea is to promote your business and website by writing articles to be published as free content on other Internet sites. These articles promote your business by including a link back to your website and a brief bio about you and your business. Writing quality articles and submitting them for publication on other sites is an investment of your time, but one that can have real benefits for your small business website.
Benefits of Article Marketing
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In order to publish your small business website to the Internet, you’ll need to choose a web hosting provider. There are many web hosts to choose from, with prices ranging from free ad-based hosting to expensive monthly fees. Choosing a provider can seem a bit overwhelming, but if you start by figuring out what you need to run the website you want, you’ll be able to evaluate different web hosts much more easily. We use Startlogic.com, which offers us exactly what we need to host Design Leap.
Think of choosing a web hosting provider for your website as choosing a hotel to stay at on vacation. Your website has to stay somewhere in order to have access to the Internet, but some hotels will be a better fit than others. Do you really need a huge suite with a minibar and 24 hour room service? Or will a single room and a continental breakfast serve your needs just fine?
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As the world becomes more and more reliable on technical gadgets, almost everybody you know has an iPod or iPhone or some tool to listen to their music or keep them on the web while on the go. More and more people are accessing the internet and your website with these devices. It’s not a bad idea to learn ways to keep this group of people interested in what you have to offer by catering to their choice of electronic devices.
Business, Website Content | admin | 
August 31, 2010 6:56 am | 
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