Black Friday, Cyber Monday - It's that time of year again!

With the economy slowing to a crawl, and businesses desperately looking to increase profits, the holiday season is now upon us. The unofficial start to the holiday shopping season is black Friday and for some retailers it couldn't come any quicker.

What does this all mean for my business?
It's time to start dishing out the deals. Whether you are a small mom and pop shop or a fortune 500, this is the time to offer deals to your customers. They are expecting it and will demand it in some cases. So why not make everyone happy and come up with a great deal for the holidays? Or better yet come up with a limited time offer for this coming weekend?

What better way to attract interest then making something available for a short period of time? The urge to have something before it is gone, is usually enough to fill a store, or at the very least have people talking about it.

How do I get the word out?
Email blasts and banners on your website are probably two of the easiest and fastest ways to notify people. Email blasts work great for getting your existing customers back to the store, and banner ads will ensure that any new visitors are aware of the great deals as well.

If you don't have a large following yet you can always pay to advertise. The quickest way to get going is usually pay-per-click through Google Adwords or any of the other PPC companies. It's relatively quick and easy to have some ads setup and running within a few hours. This is great for the last minute planner who needs to get the word out quick.

But what do I have to offer?
What don't you have to offer. Whether it's a product or a service that your company provides you have deals that can be made. Lets say you are a chimney cleaning business, why not offer 1 free cleaning with the scheduling of a regular cleaning by December 1st? If you have products you can always offer buy 1 and get one half off, or free or whatever works best for your business model.

Free shipping is always a great way to give your customers a little treat. Many times shipping is what people look at as a deciding factor in where they will purchase their items. So why not take that factor and make it void, offering free shipping might drive more traffic then you originally thought.

Remember: It's not about the quantity, but rather the quality of the discount!

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

3 Types of Contact Forms and When to Use Them

Contact forms are on almost every website that you go to. Sometimes they are long and drawn out, other times they are short sweet and to the point. Although many of us may not love the long drawn out ones, there are times when each is appropriate. When you break it all down there are three basic varieties of contact forms 1) In Depth 2) General Information 3) Quick Contact. The trick is knowing when to use which form.

In Depth Contact Forms:
These forms are the ones where you are asked for everything but what the first word you said as a child! Seriously, they are very specific about what information they are asking for and are usually at least 15-20 questions long. At first thought this may seem like a complete waste, and that no-one would ever fill out a form this long.

In depth contact forms are good for a variety of applications such as on a real-estate site, an insurance site, or even a medical site. On each of these sites the company needs to know as much information as they can in order to assist you as quickly and efficiently as possible. The one thing that you want to make sure of when using a form that involves gathering some highly personal information (such as social security numbers), is to have the information collected in a secure database that can only be accessed through an administrative area requiring you to login.

A poor use of an in depth contact form would be on an ecommerce website. You don't need a persons social security number, age, or date of birth (typically) in order to sell someone a product. Using this type of form on a "simple" site can have some pretty devastating effects on you conversion rate.

General Information Contact Forms:
These types of forms are probably the most common type of form seen around the internet. They typically ask for the basic information such as name, tel, fax, email, comments, etc. They are usually only 3-8 questions long and take very little time to fill out and submit.

A great place for these types of forms is on any website where you are looking to have people get in touch with you for general inquires. For example on a website that sells bikes you may want a general contact form for people who have questions about parts, style bikes, etc. This allows a website visitor an easy to use option to contact you and give you some information on what they are looking for without having to pick-up the phone. These types of forms can generally be sent via email, and don't usually require a secure area to be stored in as nothing personal is really being sent.

A poor use of a general contact form would be on a car insurance website where you want to provide customers a way of requesting an insurance quote. These types of forms usually do not request enough information to give any type of valuable quote to a customer.

Quick Contact, Contact Forms:
These are the short, sweet and to the point forms. They generally only require an email address, name and description, sometimes a phone number also. These are great for visitors who know your company, know your site and just want to quickly reach out to you for a question or for you to get back in touch with them.

These forms are great to use in conjunction with a full contact us form page. You can use these quick forms throughout the site as they take up very little room and provide a great call to action area. For visitors that need more in-depth information they can easily click the contact us button where a more general or in depth form will await them.

Remember: Providing the right means of contact can mean the difference between a visitor and a client.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

What web based business should I start that will make money?

This post is for people who are currently looking to "break into" a web based business. Over the years I've come across many people who have asked the question "what's the most profitable web based business to be in?". The first answer that comes to mind is "if I knew that do you think I'd be doing this?". However, I usually catch myself before that comes out and I explain to them that there is no silver bullet.

Don't you just build the site and make the money?
Many people are under the impression that it is as easy as just putting up a website. As soon as you go online your orders will start rolling in. Unfortunately, this is where many people get into trouble. The website takes longer then they expected, the costs are higher than they originally anticipated and the site goes up and no one is going to it.

Just like with a brick and mortar store it doesn't just happen over night. No matter how many stories you've heard about the guy who is rich from the internet, it just simply is not that easy. I don't want to stop anyone from trying, I simply want to make sure you are completely aware of what goes into a web based business.

The website
For some reason people think that building a website is easy. That if they had a little time on their hands they could just as easily put one together. To some extent this is true, but will that site be any good? What if you decided that building a house was easy and you put yours together, do you think it will last very long? Are you an electrician, plumber, contractor, and architect? If not, you probably wouldn't attempt this. So why then would you attempt to put a website together when you more then likely do not know the first thing about the mechanics of a website?

It may seem like a cliche, or overused advice, but let the professionals do what the professionals do. You know the business you are doing and you wouldn't think twice about having someone from another profession come in and run your business, so why would you want to take over building a website?

Marketing for your website
So now you have the website, it's all built, and by a professional web developer who took the time to ensure it is SEO and user friendly. What do you do now? Now it's time to market the site. You have to let people know that your website exists. There are hundreds if not thousands of ways to do this. You can advertise in the yellow pages (online and offline), submit your site to various directories, get into Pay-Per-Click marketing, request inbound links to your site, send out a press release, and so much more.

Staying up to date with your website
Even after you have built the site, marketed it, and have customers coming in you need to make sure you are staying on top of the site. If you sell a tangible product you want to make sure you are updating your inventory and/or product information. You want to post specials and send out newsletters letting your customers know what is going on. Just like with that brick and mortar store, you have to make sure you are keeping and attracting the attention of your customers.

Remember: A website is more then just a page online, it's a business just like any other store.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Build, Review, Adjust, Review again...

A website is not a static thing. A website is something that should be changing on a regular basis, but not just because you feel like changing it. Those changes should be made on visitor behavior and/or new product/service announcements.

Changing based on visitor behavior
Website analytics are an extremely useful tool when it comes to figuring out what your website visitors are doing. However, the process shouldn't just stop at seeing what they are doing. You need to make sure you are adjusting your site accordingly. Lets say that your visitors are all coming to your home page and from there only 25% are moving further into the site. It's time to review and revise the home page so you can increase your conversion rate to interior pages.

What good is a site if the only page people go to is the home page? Chances are the home page is just the tip of the iceberg of what you offer, and those visitors are missing a great deal of information. It's time to make a change, and be sure when you do make the change you consult some clients and people who may not know your site well to see if the change is effective.

Other changes
A change isn't always because of visitor behavior but also because of new product or service information. If you have a new product coming out or that just came out, you want to be sure you promote that as much as possible. Put a nice area on the home page, or in the news section. Just be sure that it's visible and draws people's attention.

Remember: Change is a good thing, when done correctly.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Should we have a slogan?

There's a lot to be said for a well written, well marketed slogan. Just think about some of the great ones "Reach out and touch someone", "Drivers wanted", "Have it your way", "Don't leave home without it", "The quicker picker upper", etc. All you have to do is say these lines and people will typically know what product you are referring to.

A really good slogan will not only be catchy but it will also relate to what you do. "The quicker picker upper" is a perfect example. Paper towels are meant to pick up spills and the quicker the better. So not only do you have a catchy slogan, but you are telling people what your product/service does all at once.

How do we come up with a slogan?
It's certainly not as easy as it may seem. A good slogan requires thought, research (to make sure no one else is using that line), and creativity. Take for example our slogan "Ignite Your Site™". We wanted to incorporate our name and also that we build websites that will help increase business. Typically someone who is having a good streak, or doing really well at something is considered to be "on fire". So we took all of that and come up with "Ignite Your Site­™".

There are companies out there that specialize in slogan development. There are also freelancers that you can hire temporarily to help bring in some fresh, creative ideas.

What do we do once we have a slogan?
Very simply, start using it everywhere. Put it on your packaging if you have it, your business cards, your stationary, etc. Make sure everyone in your office knows what the slogan is, and knows the reasoning behind it. It's important to have company buy-in with the slogan. You certainly don't want one of your employees on the phone telling someone about the slogan and then snickering about it with them.

Your slogan can and should become synonymous with everything your company does. Are you attending a trade show, or hosting an event? Your slogan should be incorporated as much as possible (without going overboard).

Remember: A slogan can be like a salesperson, the more people know it the more it will help sell your products/services.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Memory vs Hard Drive - What's the difference?

OK, I'll admit this is probably a little off topic, but I get asked this question all the time. If I get a bigger hard drive will my computer go faster? Or, I have a lot of memory but I can't save any more files to my hard drive, what's going on?

I guess having used and worked on computers since middle school has made me oblivious to the fact that this stuff is not just common knowledge. There are people who really do not understand what the difference between a hard drive and memory is. So I've decided to see if I can help explain this a little better. The reason this has come up this week is because my father and I were having this discussion over the weekend and I didn't feel like I was explaining it as clearly as possible. So I thought about what I could relate it to that most people would understand. So here goes...

Lets think about your car for a minute. You have a gas tank and you have a battery right? OK, your gas tank holds the fuel for the car and stores that fuel until it is called on to run the car. The battery is used for things like the lights, radio, locks, horn etc. The battery doesn't hold anything but a charge that is used when needed.

Think of your hard drive as the gas tank for your computer. You can fill up the hard drive with files that when needed are called on and can be worked with. Unlike a car you can put the files back that you've just used, where as the gas is gone, but you get the idea. Now the memory for your computer is like the battery. It doesn't store anything it just holds the "charge" that is used when the computer needs to run or think about programs. The larger the memory the faster or more efficient your computer is able to run.

So when you are looking to purchase a new computer for yourself or the office remember that the larger the number is for the memory the more efficiently your computer can run, and the larger the hard drive is the more files you can store on the computer. Hopefully this will help at least one or two people.

Remember: You store stuff on your hard drive and you pull power from your memory.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Making a negative a postive!

In today's economy there is a lot to look at in a negative light. Gas prices are through the roof, the economy is struggling to stay afloat, unemployment is on the rise, and businesses are starting to see a slow down. So what is positive about all of this?

It's what you make it out to be
It's very easy to sit back and complain about how bad things are, and most likely you will probably find a few people to join you in that discussion. However, it takes a motivated and passionate person to find the silver lining and use it to their advantage.

Lets take the gas prices for a minute. The price of gas is increasing across the country and around the world, so how can we spin this to be a positive? Well lets say you are a company that is able to allow your employees to work from home. You can send out an email about how "You're going green one step at a time" and talk about how this will help keep costs to your customers down and quality up. You've now let your customers know that you are a forward thinking company that cares not only about themselves but about the customer as well.

What if my customers are having a tougher time economically then we are?
Offer a discount. When you know your customers are trying to cut costs and save money wherever they can, make sure you are working with them to do this. Get on the phone, have a discussion and let them know you want to help them make it through this tough time. Sure you may not make as much on your markup, but you've just kept a good client and chances are when times get better they'll remember what you did for them.

There's nothing that says you have to charge more just to stay afloat. Sometimes cutting your profit margin, or offering your products/services a little differently can actually increase business, or at the very least keep things steady.

Remember: Work with your customers and you may find that things will start working for you.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

How can specialization help a website?

When you specialize in something you become not only good at it, but most likely great. You know your product/service inside and out and eventually you've seen almost anything and everything that could happen. Specializing also gives you an edge over your competitors because while they may "do it all", you "do it right!".

How does specialization translate to your website?
Very simply put, it gives your website that same advantage. Think about all the sites that you have been to, and think about the ones you would go to in order to make sure you got just the right product for your situation. Chances are that site was specializing in that area. They had all the information you needed, just the right products and their staff and/or website could answer any question you had.

Are there any other benefits of having a specialized website?
Absolutely. Sites that specialize in one area stand a much better chance of being seen as an authority on that subject. For example, if you had a shop that was all about car stereos and only car stereos you stand a better chance of being found under that then the site that also sells car seat covers, windshield wipers, etc. This is because your pages and your entire site are structured around a very specific, defined set of keywords.

What if I can't specialize my site?
Just because your company/business is not specialized doesn't mean your website can't be. You have several options here, you can create separate websites for each of your divisions or better yet you can create sub-domains for each of your divisions. This way you can drive people directly into whichever sub-domain is appropriate for them and still gain the benefits of a larger more content rich website.

Remember: You don't have to necessarily be specialized for your site(s) to appear that way.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Egg Hunt Anyone?

Hopefully you answer no to this question! An egg hunt is great for little kids and parents around Easter time, but it's certainly not what you want people to think of when searching for something on your site. You don't want to make people run around your site looking for what they need; you want to make it readily available.

Multiple points of entry (MPoE), is the name of the game. Many times people say "why do you have a link to widgets in two places, isn't that redundant?". Yes it is, and for very good reason. Would you have noticed the link to widgets if it was only in one place and that one place was at the bottom of a list of other links? Probably not. Sure it may seem a little redundant, but wouldn't you rather be redundant and have people find what they want then be conservative and have them "hunt for eggs"?

Now don't get me wrong, I think that there is a fine line between being positively redundant and negatively redundant. You certainly do not want to start making every word in every sentence on your website a link. However, appropriately done, a little redundancy can be a positive thing.

Take for example www.target.com - they have multiple ways to get to the same thing. What they did however is use different wording each time. So if I wanted to get some bedding I can click on 'Bed and Bath' on the top nav bar, or 'Bedding' on the left nav bar, or further down there is 'Bed and Bath' as a text link on the left nav bar. Three ways on one page to get to the same area of the site, but it works and it doesn't feel like they are yelling at me to get there.

Take some time to look at your site. When you are on the home page specifically or any landing page you should have at least two ways to get to the same place (for the most important sections at least). Have one way be a nice navigation button/link and another be a content bucket or ad/button. I think you'll like the results you see.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Networking as Advertising

I often have clients and friends ask what the best form of advertising is. They want to know where they will get the best ROI for the least amount of money. Of course everyone wants to know this and it tends to be a little different for each business when you talk about traditional advertising mediums.

That being said, I firmly believe that there is one form of advertising that costs next to nothing and can be pretty fun and/or interesting for just about every industry. What is this advertising avenue you may ask? Well to put it very simply it's NETWORKING! You know, getting out there and meeting people in different organizations, groups, places, etc.

Now you may be thinking that this isn't really advertising, but I beg to differ. What better form of advertising is there then a real life conversation about you and your company? Who is there to better explain what you do then you?

I mentioned above that it is as close to free as you can probably get when it comes to advertising. Really all you need is a handful of business cards, which you can get 500 cards today for less then $50, and a place to go. Even if you have to throw in gas, dinner and some drinks you probably will only spend $100 for one night of what could be numerous valuable contacts.

With the craze of blogging today, networking can even be done from your own desk. Now you can't get much cheaper then that for advertising can you? Browse the internet for blogs or forums that relate to your business or industry and start posting. Now I say start posting, but I DO NOT mean start "spamming" the blogs and forums. Simply start engaging in conversation by commenting on someones blog, and give yourself a footer at the bottom of your comment that notes your website address, name, and company and you've just advertised for no cost and without being an annoyance to the site you are viewing.

With technology so readily available and the internet broadening everyone's horizons, there are thousands of ways to make yourself visible. It requires a little of your time and thought, but it doesn't have to be a hundred thousand dollar ad campaigns in a magazine to be effective. Word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising, so get out there and start talking!

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Finding the Right Website Development & SEO Firm

Finding the right website development and search engine optimization (SEO) firm can be hard. Often times they are two different companies as well. So how do you go about picking the right firm? This post will give you five ideas, tips and thoughts when considering which firm to go with.

#1 . Are they responsive?

This may sound like an odd question, but you will be surprised at how many companies are not. How quickly did they return your call/email when requesting information from them. How much time did they spend with you, before they rushed off to their next call or meeting? Be critical when selecting a firm. You want to find a company that you can create a long lasting relationship with.

#2. Do they have examples?

Examples of previous work that the firm has done will give you a good idea of what they might be able to do for you. You should note that past experience doesn't always mean future results for you. Whether you are having a new website built or starting up an internet marketing campaign, knowing what the company can do and has done is important. This doesn't mean you should ignore all of the new, smaller firms with less experience but it's another tool in your arsenal to ensure you are getting the best "bang for your buck"!

#3. Are they teaching you?

You might wonder why they should be teaching you. We're not talking about them sitting you down like a student and showing you step by step what they are doing. We are talking about explaining in clear and easily understandable terms what they will be doing and why and what effects it may have on your company and/or website. You wouldn't buy a car without the dealer telling you why this car is better then the older model or competitors model, would you

#4. What are you getting?

You might think to yourself, well I know what I'm getting. But do you? When you are signing up for that $5,000 website do you know how many pages you are getting, what is included in the hosting and whether they are writing the copy or are you? When you are signing up for that internet marketing campaign are they going to be giving you weekly, monthly, or quarterly reports? You want to be sure a clear outline of what the deliverables that you will be getting are. You wouldn't think about buying a house without knowing if the appliances you saw in there come with the house, so why take any chances on your website and/or marking plan?

#5. Will you have any say in what goes on?

Communication is key. A good internet marketing firm and/or website development company will involve you in almost every step of the process. You know your company best and your industry and it would be foolish to think that someone else could market your company without your input. Of course they should be able to understand what it is your company does and what differentiates you, but there will be areas that will need your input and approval. The most successful campaigns of any type require a lot of communication and whether yours is a small or large campaign it deserves that same attention.

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Remember, these are just some examples of what you should be looking for. You might find a company who only lacks in one area, or is just starting out in the field and they could be just the right fit. The one thing that holds true throughout is that you must do your homework and really know who it is you are going to be working with.

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Ignite Media LLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization