Step One: Get involved within your community or niche online. Stick to your websites subject or topic. Social Media plays a big role.

Engaging within the community is simply a good way to get links and build credibility, which also will most likely lead to more links. Posting short articles around your subject is good for increasingly visibility outside of search anyway. Nothing new. Just reiterated by Google.

Step Two: Create content that is useful to others.

If your passionate about what you do why not share your expertise online using things like tutorials, videos, and tools, surveys, research results, etc. Users who find helpful content are more likely to share it with others.

Step Three: Directory Submissions are the back bone of the internet.

“Directory entries are often mentioned as another way to promote young sites in the Google index,” says Google Search Quality Strategist Kaspar Szymanski. “There are great, topical directories that add value to the Internet. But there are not many of them in proportion to those of lower quality. If you decide to submit a site to a directory, make sure it’s on topic, moderated, and well structured. Mass submissions, which are sometimes offered as a quick work-around SEO method, are mostly useless and not likely to serve your purposes.”

Step Four: Make it easy for others to share your content.

Online tools such as facebook and twitter can be a great boost to your visibility. Using them properly matters so before posting ask yourself: Is what I am about to post a “tweet” or a “turd”? Sharing meaningful updates matters most.

Would like help learning how to optimize your website, please contact us at (970) 901-0062.

I visited the web site for the phenominal designer Paul Rand today. This man was truly a genius when it comes to logo creation, identity and branding. It might sound entirely absurd but he had a way of analyzing and breaking down a business or idea to its core and then crafting the seeming impossible.

If you haven’t visited the website you should (Click here to visit the home page) you owe it to yourself and your business.

I thought this clip from an article entitled “Logos, Flags, and Escutcheons” was particularly fascinating when you have time it would be good to read the whole article:

“Here’s what a logo is and does:

A logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon.

A logo doesn’t sell (directly), it identifies.
A logo is rarely a description of a business.
A logo derives its meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around.
A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it means is more important that what it looks like….

…A well designed logo, in the end, is a reflection of the business it symbolizes. It connotes a thoughtful and purposeful enterprise, and mirrors the quality of its products and services. It is good public relations-a harbinger of good will.
It says “We care.”

This piece is outstanding for anyone who is in business for themselves…if your designer doesn’t know who Paul Rand is your being cheated. Ask for a refund.

Some good food for thought when thinking about your logo.

Watch this Video as Steve Jobs Speaks about his experience with Paul Rand.

Hear Pauls’ own words:

The best way to explain it is this, for many the reason to reach the top of Google Search results page is simple, the motivation is financial. In reality getting to the top of the search results can result in financial windfall second only to a lottery winner.

However therein lies the problem. When money is involved strong competition is sure to follow. You can bet that any business or organization thats sits a top the first page of Google for a coveted key phrase is sure to spend big bucks to stay there.

In fact the competition can be so fierce that it might make one wonder is it possible that reaching the first page of Google, Yahoo, Bing, or others is almost impossible to attain? and actually even more difficult to maintain?

Getting to the top of the search results page can be a huge achievement, however, once there you need to vigorously defend it. There are literally hundreds and in some cases thousands of companies competing to reach the top. Simply getting there is not enough you must vigorously defend it with advanced seo techniques.

At Apples 2 Apples we help companies of all sizes and budgets get to the top of Google Search results and stay there!

Have a look at this example; it shows that Google gives preferential search results to organizations that support and advance the subject matter before displaying companies that sell items or services. Goto Google.com and type in the search field: interior design and you will find that the top search results are all authoritys in their space, like Design Institutes, Magazines, and Wikipedia

The User Experience and the intended Emotional Effect you hope to achieve…

When we consider User Experience we must consider the message we hope will resonate with our audience when they first hit our home page or landing page on your site. Your user must immediately get the sense of the value you offer by intuitvely discerning your primary attributes or reasons for the page you present online. A properly designed web page will have this goal within the overall theme of the website such as the goal of being informative, educational or direct.

Ultimately the question comes down to this: How do you want visitors to feel on a subconcious level when they visit your site?
Here are some examples: We recently did a creative session for an child advocacy group. When we pressed further we discovered that much of the work they do is on a referral basis through state, local goverment and the Judicial process. So we asked the organization what their 3 primary attributes were? Here is what we received in response. They felt that they were Professional, Caring and Supportive. By identifying these primary attributes through the creative process we could see just what their best traits as an organization were. Now you can see how we further able to refine the message they were hoping present and resonate with their audience.

Starting your design process is easy…

Designing a website has little to do with templates, dreamweaver or anything similar. Lets make that clear right up front that those tools have nothing to do with designing a site. If you’ve hired a “web designer” who is doing that, you might call us instead after you finish reading this article.

The easiest way to begin is to sit down with pencil and paper and ask yourself a series of questions. We call this a creative session. Believe it or not it has nothing to do with how you want your site to look!

The first and most important question you need to ask yourself is: What is the business goal of my website?

Sounds odd you say,… consider this…are you selling a product or service? Are you trying to attract new business? Or are you trying to reinforce a brand message you’ve already had professionally developed? 

If you think about that fundamental question it will affect the entire approach to which direction to take the development of your website.

It is going to effect the style, message and use of color immediately and sets the tone for entire site.

If you are currently working with a web designer or website developer has he or she asked you this question? Have they explained to you the entire process for designing your site. Have they identified your audience or target market? More importantly who the decision maker of your product or service offering is? Is that person Man or Woman?   

The reason I point it out is simple when you identify the decision maker, then you can immediately see the message of your new site.

Makes sense? The wrong use of tone, color, or inconsistent message and it doesn’t matter what your website looks like good or bad you wont be selling anything online.
Check back with me in 3 or 4 days and I will explain the 3 most important things about your business and how they affect the design of your organizations website.
Better yet, if you have a question or need help with web design email me or call us (970) 901-0062.

You’ll notice in some of the user comments that in some countries this type of search technology is already available.

The Mobile Web really is the future of Web Development and Applications.  Here is a nice demonstration of  Google’s voice search technology.  Here in this video my friend Google’s VP of Enginneering Vic Gundotra boldly demonstrates Google voice search at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. 

This video of Vic Gundotra is important to me because Vic’s helpful direction and kind suggestions to me personally has greatly influenced much of the technology we employ here at Apples 2 Apples web development.

~Chris

How does Google Commerce Search work?

Essentially Google is experimenting with ways to organize its content. There is real benefit to more vertical search and Google understands it. You see by organizing the web into broad but search focused categories such Commerce Google is enabling its users to find more of what is relevant to them on the web. Moving forward this also enables Google to filter search engine results pages in a much more meaningful way.

Take for example a search feature that was organized around News, now users could filter their interests even further to filter National, International, and Economic News. There’s a huge cost benefit to Google in terms providing even more relevant ad placements. The more relevant Googles content becomes the more Ad Agencies and Businesses alike will be willing to invest in Google Search Products. Essentially because the demographics for those audiences has become much more meaningful. In many ways this is a lessons learned from their interest in national online news publications which sell their ad space based upon content space within their online news publications.

The best way to see how you can benefit from Google Commerce Search is to view their Official product demonstration in this Video.

Click Here

Official Google Commerce Search Product Demonstration

Moving Forward it is important for merchants to hire an Seo Company to optimize their business for relevance within Google Commerce Search.

At Apples 2 Apples we help business become more important online everyday.

Contant us at 970-901-0062

or email Chris[at]apples2apples.us.com

Your website tells your story!

As human beings we have many things in common the Arts we enjoy such paintings, music, and theater all of these differents forms of entertainment are designed to appeal to the senses. Web Design is no different. When we design websites we are designing a visual display. What we are essentially creating is a form of media to engage the senses of our audience. We are in effect telling a story, the story of your business, your interests, your social circle you might say. The story is about you! So the question becomes how best to tell that story visually? What elements are important? Like any good book it should have a theme, basically what is this site about? Next every good book has main character the heroin you might say.  This person is you or your business or your interests. Next like any good social media site will tell you we need some drama. This is effectively the story or premise of your site and so on… Do you see my point?

Effective web design is a memorable experience

Most web templates do no such thing…Theres  no subject, theme, character or drama suited for your business story or interest. They are designed to appeal to widest possible uses. Like an encyclopedia, not a great novel. Certainly not a memorable website.

Your website has a purpose dont diminish it.

Are you considering having a website built? Before determining your budget determine what you are hoping to accomplish with your visual display, your website. I’ve heard many clients come to me and say well we just want to get a page up. Please the best thing to do is save your money in this instance. If you have a business, product or service you are trying to sell do you really just want to put a page online? There are now trillions of web pages on the internet. Chances are if you just put up a web page it wont be very easy to find. More importantly it isnt likely to tell your story like a great novel.

Web templates wont employ effective design principals

Theres is one more important point to consider, visually we as poeple see in patterns, we read in patterns, eye our is designed to follow certain lines and shapes. Placing certain elements within these patterns is what creates an effective web site or web presentation.

Would you like to know how we visualize shapes, colors, and fonts? Would you like help in putting together a beautiful and compelling web design? Call Apples 2 Apples today! (970) 901-0062 or visit us online at www.apples2apples.us.com