How to Create Website Shortcut to My Desktop
Question of the day:
How to Create a Webpage Shortcut On Your Desktop (Windows)?
That’s the question I was asked today by 5 different people. It makes sense for those who visit a particular website very often, sometimes it is easier to create a shortcut on your desktop rather than always looking for it. This method should work fine for Windows XP, Vista, and 7. Enough talking, here is how you can create a shortcut on your desktop for your favorite website:
- Place you cursor on an empty part of your desktop.
- Right click and select: New > Shortcut
- A shortcut wizard will open up.
Right Click On Desktop
Enter Shortcut Destination
Enter the destination to the shortcut you want to create. In that case you will simply enter the website or webpage URL. Click Next
Type a Name for the Shortcut
- Type in a name for the shortcut that will help you remember what it is for.
- Once you have entered the new name, click finish.
Test it
That’s it
Now you can create a shortcut for everything you need whether it’s a file, folder, or your favorite website. Just follow this instruction and you are good to go.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
What Your Site Can Look Like: A Design Trend Overview
The web today has a very wide spectrum of creativity running through it. Site design has expanded exponentially over the past few years. There are a lot of things people are doing to get noticed and have their site stand out above the rest. With this in mind I am going to give a brief overview of four design trends that are popular today in the world of web design.
Minimalism
Minimalist styled sites are really popular right now. They offer sleek, simple design with an emphasis on content. You can go traditional black on white or mix in a color or two. The concept is “less is more”.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 touched down a few years back but is still a great design trend to use. It has grown a lot since its birth. Web 2.0 is “simplicity with flare”. Gradients, white space, icons, use of color, bold logos, and reflections are just some attributes in line with the web 2.0 design movement.
Grunge/Texture
Grunge/textured designs have become popular for companies and individuals looking for a more edgy appearance. These sites may follow some web 2.0 attributes but throw in textured backgrounds and dingy attributes/scenery to the mix. A good change of pace if you are going for that feeling in your website.
Abstract/Large Imagery
Abstractly designed sites are just that, abstract. They slightly fit any conformity or normal sense of structure. Along those lines are sites that use large images/illustrations. This use of imagination is for grabbing the user visually. Normally this style is reserved for micro sites and for the enjoyment of the user.
These are just some of the styles that are out there today. What kind of site do you have? Does it fit in to any of these categories? Maybe it’s time for a design update.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Twitter - Right For My Business?
I found an article late last night entitled “Bye Bye Birdie: Why Twitter is on the Outs” that really sparked my interested in writing this article. The question of
“Should your business use Twitter?”
has come up more than once and it’s mostly been lumped in with social networking. In general I feel, and this is entirely my personal opinion, the answer is simple - it’s a NO.
SHOULD YOUR BUSINESS USE TWITTER?
NO!
But, such a huge conclusion requires some back story and justification. First what is Twitter?
What is Twitter?
Twitter’s mission, or explanation of their service has changed over the years. It started out as a “micro-blogging” service, that allowed you to answer the question, “what are you doing right now?” They have since updated this mantra to read “Discover what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world.” Although each is relevant, the term “micro blog” might be the best answer to what exactly is twitter. It allows you to setup a page and immediately begin broadcasting content (small messages). Those that follow you are immediately notified when you post something. And alternatively you can read what others are writing and be notified when someone you are following makes a post.
My history with Twitter: I was initially introduced to the service and started using it lightly in 2007 at a web application developers conference in Miami. Back then no one had heard of it (I feel like I should be wearing this T-Shirt). It was hot in the web development community, mostly because of its creator Evan Williams, who also created Blogger. It was hyped as the next big thing… and guess what, it’s become the next big thing. But, I personally feel it is a trend, a site that, while allowing a valuable conversation to be discussed, is being ousted by similar features on more relevant, and better aligned tools (ala Google Buzz or Facebook’s status tool). I remember being introduced to the tool at the conference and literally thinking “what the f@#! is this? who is going to use it? and how will it make money?” To me it always seemed like a cool little tool, but one that the masses would never fully adopt.
And they haven’t.
Here’s the problem with Twitter:
Twitter introduced the masses to the idea of a “status.” Allowing all of us to tell everyone we found necessary, or everyone that was curious, exactly what we were up to, what we were thinking, doing, etc. But, unfortunately I think others are taking the reigns and soon Twitter will be no more. Let me explain.
As outlined in the terrific article Bye Bye Birdie: Why Twitter is on the Outs… very few people actively use twitter. Here are the stats from the article, broken out from the linked video regarding social media from Edison Research.
Twitter Usage in America 2010 from Tom Webster on Vimeo.
The Good:
The Bad:
The Ugly:
Conclusion
Considering the ubiquity of twitter, the fact that it is here is undeniable. But, the numbers speak for themselves. As the video referenced above highlights towards the end, traditional media has been responsible for the explosion of the KNOWLEDGE of twitter.
I remember it was being referenced daily during the elections in Iran as a source by CNN and others on what was happening on the ground at that time.
But, awareness is NOT the same as use, and relatively speaking very few Americans actually use Twitter. And this makes sense. In comparison to similarly released tools from Facebook (which has a MUCH larger national and International audience) Twitter is confusing and requires one to duplicate their efforts (IE, why would I use twitter when I’m already connected to those that are important and can broadcast what I need on Facebook?).
The answer is simple - Twitter is more public - but your average user may not want that and even if they do, explaining the difference is difficult.
Finally, there’s the matter of simple business sustainability. How will Twitter stay afloat against juggernauts like Google? Google is already making money from AdSense/AdWords, monetizing their newly released Google Buzz through their network of small text ads. Twitter has yet to find a way to make money.
For all of these reasons I believe that although Twitter can and does provide value, it will not generally be the best use of your time as a person or company looking to market your business online. It should definitely fall to the wayside at this time in terms of priority. And I hesitate to say this trend (twitter) will continue to be around in the next 2 years.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
LinkedIN Advertising Review
Are you thinking about using LinkedIN’s advertising? Well I was too! And as I explained in a previous post… I like to test all advertising and new technology on Atilus BEFORE applying it or pushing it to clients.
About two weeks ago I wrote a post about our decision to test out LinkedIN’s advertising system after being offered a substantial coupon via email.
After two weeks of using the system (and the entire $250 coupon) we have come to some conclusions.
LINKEDIN STILL HAS A WAYS TO GO BEFORE IT’S ADVERTISING SYSTEM WILL BE OF LARGE VALUE
Okay, let me clarify some points on this. First of all, if you’re considering using LinkedIN you must first consider WHO is on LinkedIN… consider the website’s audience. Personally I like that it’s NOT facebook. It is not a site for everyone and their grandmother (no offense to grandmother’s out there).
...I love grandmothers (that was for you Jessica)...
Attempts at getting inflated birthday gifts aside LinkedIN is a business networking site, geared towards the true networking of business professionals. Personally I am ONLY connected to people I have actually met and done business with. I don’t have “friends” on LinkedIN. However, I don’t really use LinkedIN. I keep my resume up to date. I keep my recommendations up to date (for Atilus’ references/testimonials). I will occasionally go on the site because an old associate messages me. But, other than that I don’t use the site. I only see it being used for the above purposes as well as two others:
With that said… do all of the above offer enough opportunity for YOU (a potential advertiser) to get your message in front of a targeted audience? To give you an example if you were promoting a full-proof method to get hired, perhaps a guide to resumes/job solicitations, LinkedIN would be perfect. Personally, after millions of impressions and hundreds of dollars spent, we received only a few clicks and no actual leads. LinkedIN turned out to be MUCH more expensive, and less targeted (at least for our business), than other pay per click methods (AdWords, Bing, Yahoo, Facebook).
Additionally even if the people on LinkedIN performing the activities I mentioned above appeals to you and your business, I think the system has just a little bit farther to go in the way of targeting. For example only a limited number of targeting options were allowed and geographically speaking, their are a very limited number of major metropolitan areas offered. This meant I had to make a trade off between how targeted my audience was AND I wasn’t able to present my message in front of a geographically relevant audience.
Have your own opinions on LinkedIN’s advertising platform? Leave a comment!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Standard Homepage Content Practices
A website’s homepage is one of the most crucial aspects to any site. It can, a lot of times, make or break whether someone stays or goes. Every homepage should be made up of certain elements to draw in the user to want to dig deeper in to what that site has to offer. You should know what content to use and how to use it.
Homepage content usually consists of a variety of things that your site has to offer. The whole idea of the homepage is to tell/show the user what you have to offer without telling them everything; a teaser if you will. At the same time you want to highlight/feature what your services/information/products are that the user is truly looking for and what you what them to find. So with this in mind we have come to what a homepage may consist of:
Featured content
What you want them to notice most (products, services, blog posts, etc.) is usually shown in a large banner area at the top of the page.
Welcome text/images
This text/images welcomes the user to the site to what you have to offer.
Services
This is what the user most likely came to the site for in the first place. I recommend highlighting these to be a main focal point.
Blog/news posts
List of recent posts or a snippet of most recent blog/news post is a good source of content to be displayed on the homepage.
“Call to Action” Buttons
A highlighted button/text that can easily direct people to important places on the site. This could be places that users will be going to on a normal basis if they are using your site for a service. Sometimes used for quick direction to a contact page.
About us
Sometimes companies will like to place a small teaser about who they are if they don’t have much other content to work with.
Here are some examples of sites that have content and how it was used for the homepage.
These are just a few examples of standard content and placement most likely found on a homepage and are good practices to be aware of. What do you have on your homepage?
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Fort Myers, Naples Court Reporting
We are proud to announce our new client Gregory Court Reporting Services.
About Gregory Court Reporting Services
Are you looking for court reporting in Lee County? How about court reporting in Collier Countyf?
Whether your law firm is located in Southwest Florida or your case brings you here, Gregory Court Reporting Services has 5 locations throughout Southwest Florida to help meet your needs. You can rely on Gregory Court Reporting Services’ years of experience to deliver accurate legal records. No matter what you need, all of our records, transcriptions and other services are fully documented and archived. In addition to conventional fort myers court reporting Gregory Court Reporting Services also offers other transcription services including:
Gregory Court Reporting employs the latest technologies to produce prompt, precise transcripts, while ensuring the integrity of the testimony.
For over 20 years Gregory Court Reporting Services has been providing transcription and legal court reporters for thousands of clients throughout Southwest Florida.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
LinkedIN Advertising First Impressions
A couple of days ago I received an email from LinkedIN.
Background on my Experience With LinkedIN:
I have been a member of LinkedIN since day 1, but honestly, up until recently I thought it was complete rubbish. It just tries too hard to be everything else, although I’m starting to appreciate some of the directions it’s gone in. What do I mean by “everything else?” Well, it has an update bar - like twitter (and more recently Facebook), it now allows “friends” not just business connections ala Facebook, it has a whole question/answer section (a great idea), but it too closely mirrors Yahoo Answers system. And much more (blogging, pictures, etc.)...
But, amid all of this social media gobalee-gook it does have some awesome features:
So a few days ago I got an email advertising LinkedIN’s own advertising network. Truth be told I had no idea this existed, and expected something akin to Facebook’s own advertising platform. Because the ad featured an enticing coupon, we decided to jump in. Before recommending any products/services to our clients we like to try it out ourselves in order to understand it both technically as well as financially (does it REALLY WORK and will it provide a return?!).
Below is a list of first impressions, good and bad, as well as a quick summary.
LinkedIN Advertising Pros
LinkedIN Advertising Cons
LinkedIN Advertising Review Conclusion
At the end of the month I will review everything and do a larger recap/review once we have some actual data to present to you. But, for now, the major advantage, as I see it, that LinkedIN offers is targeting. I always felt that, although performance on networks like Facebook, was always not as good as other advertising solutions like conventional PPC advertising (via Google AdWords) they do answer the question:
“How do I get in front of an audience that usually needs my services or products, but may not be looking for them at this moment?righ”
AdWords, gets you in front of that audience the moment they are searching, but every other opportunity is lost. If they’re not searching, you can’t get to them. With this kind of advertising, where you target them based on their position, employer, etc. NOW YOU CAN. For the future I see this being a tool great for B2B businesses, IE if you sell printers, computers, consulting, and any other products or services to businesses, this could be huge AND you don’t have to deal with (and waste your money on) the riff raff that are on other social networks.
It still has a ways to go (targeting needs to get better), but it looks like this might be an amazing advertising tool for businesses targeting other businesses down the road.
As an aside, because of the nature of the site, as well as the advertisers I do think LinkedIN will always be much more expensive than Facebook ads or even pay per click advertising. However, that may be a moot point if the people you target purchase or sign up more.
We’ll see…
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
And Then There Was 9…IE9
Internet Explorer 9 is boasting improved graphic capability, faster load/run times, and next gen HTML 5 competence (of course everything a browser should have). IE9’s improved graphics range from full (to near full) CSS3 selector/attribute support to added color profiles. Speed improvements were made to make the user’s hardware work better for them. Faster Javascript run times and accelerated text and video rendering are some of the speed improvements IE has made to their latest installment. HTML 5 support will give developers the tools necessary to help launch design and development into the future.
Of course these are general improvements that Internet Explorer has been given. Plus IE9 is still in a preview/development phase that will still take some time to tweak to a beta release. And we all know how we love to get our hands on a beta release so we can talk smack about what is still wrong with it.
Till that day comes keep up-to-date on the full line of what IE9 has to offer by going to their preview site: http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/. Here you can find a list of demos and test ratings that IE9 is currently getting.
The real question is, “Will this finally mean the end of IE6 for good? Will its eternal hold over some designers out there finally end with the birth of IE9?” I would hope so. I’ve long set that ship sailing and you should have too.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Does My Website Hosting Matter?
You damn right it does! (and Google’s here to back me up)
When it comes to hosting we’ve done and seen it all. From both perspectives - your perspective as a client, you want your website to “just work” operate, come up, and your email to work. And as a development company, working with servers, with hosting reseller companies, etc.
A quick back story on Atilus’ hosting:
Initially we started out with the cheapest solution we could find. We could buy a large amount of space at discount host XYZ company and then resell to our clients for hundreds of percent profit! Unfortunately, it came back to blow up in our face - MORE THAN ONCE! Our first server went down - along with around 20 clients (only 20!) and was down for days. ALL of their emails were down - and what business doesn’t collapse now a days with out email? None, every business runs on email. We spent nearly 100 hours on the phone with support over those few days trying to correct the problem. We decided to switch hosts… but again, to a cheap host. And then it happened again! Despite all of these nightmare scenarios, this cloud had/has a silver lining. It was a slap in the face and a wake up call - don’t get greedy, offer a solid service at a competitive AND profitable price. Switching, and changing our prices has allowed our business to scale and our customers to remain blissfully ignorant of the nightmare of NO EMAIL.
Back to you and your question: “Does My Website Hosting Matter?”
We are often asked about hosting. We talk about hosting at EVERY new meeting with a client and most have purchased, or are planning to purchase hosting, but have questions. Occasionally, we have a client that hasn’t heard about hosting. Hosting is simply where your website sits, the computer that serves it up when you type in your address. Your website has to live somewhere - your hosting is where IT (your website) is stored.
Hosting Matters
Hosting matters for 1 major reason:
1) Crappy Hosting Costs You Money - Subpar hosting will ALWAYS cost infinitely MORE than the price of a premium hosting service.
Here’s a tiny example, we lost email using a bad host a number of years ago and is reflective of what we experienced:
If you lose email for 4 days
and your company only has 3 people…
and those 3 people (making $10/hr) can’t work because email is down
you will lose roughly $720!
This is a tiny company, with poorly paid employees. For a conventional website and email hosting a whole year will never cost $720. Even if you have hosted exchange (a much more conventionally expensive form of email) for 3 people it won’t cost anywhere near $720!
I’m probably boring you with technical details. But… that’s not all…
Bonus Reason: Your Hosting Affects Your Marketing
“Say what? How can hosting effect my marketing”, you’re probably asking? Well it’s simple, Google, and other search engines want to provide a quality experience for searchers… so if your website is NOT consistently up, you’re not going to provide that kind of experience. You will be ranked lower. Google has said this before, and Matt Cutts just reiterated it, your hosting affects your search engine results!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Top 5 Tips for Managing Email
Are you swamped by your email? Do you have tons of messages coming in everyday, so much so that you’re beginning to become overwhelmed? Me too! Or maybe you’re slowly getting more and you’re looking for tips on managing your email better before things get out of control. Regardless of what situation you are in, here are a few tips from me - Zach - an email master, that should help you out!
Give me 2 minutes - read this article - and I promise you will save tens if not HUNDREDS OF HOURS over the next year(s).
I get around 100 - 200 emails per day, and send around 50 (in addition to any number of meetings and about a dozen phone calls). But managing all of this communication, particularly email is easy if you follow these tips for managing your email more efficiently:
1) Stay Organized
What does your inbox look like… go ahead, take a look, I’ll wait... is it overflowing with thousands of messages? Or is it nice and neat?
If it’s neat, move on, but if your “inbox” is where you keep EVERY message, you ARE going to have a problem. If not now, then pretty soon, your email will overwhelm you.
Start creating folders, sub-folders, or tags for your messages immediately. Go through that large list, create appropriate folders, and start dragging and dropping. I particularly LOVE outlook because folders can be created in seconds, and email can be quickly organized.
2) Use Your Inbox as a To Do List
Again, I love Outlook. Why do I love outlook so much (even MORE than gmail, which has a similar feature)? Well, as you may have noticed you can click on a message to flag it… when something comes into my inbox and I need to take action on it, particularly something important, I flag it, and move on.
I will deal with it later.
Everything in my inbox is an actionable item, everything else (stuff I’ve completed, people I don’t need to get back to, or newsletters) get filed immediately or automatically. The stuff in your inbox should ONLY BE STUFF YOU NEED TO DO WORK ON! And if there is ANYTHING that needs to be done in regards to the email, even a tiny-baby step at the end… it stays in the inbox until it is complete.
3) Automatic Filing
That last tip brings me to my next tip… filing automatically. No matter what software you’re using for your email, it has a feature to AUTOMATICALLY FILE MESSAGES. Here at Atilus, I get about 1000 automatic notifications a month because of some of the software we have (analytics, scheduled invoices, etc.). I don’t need to read them all (although I do need to keep copies), but because of the way the software works I must get them. Instead of manually filing them each month (taking probably about 30 minutes/total), I’ve instead created rules in outlook to automatically file them away.
For more information on auto-filing emails in outlook check out “creating a rule” in outlook.
4) Say NO to Email
“What, Zach… this article is ABOUT EMAIL… how can I say no to email!?”
Studies have shown that multitasking actually SLOWS YOUR ABILITY TO GET THINGS DONE. You can get much more done if you “chunk” (I know it’s a funny word - it makes me think of a large chipmunk). Joking aside you’re wasting tons of time keeping your outlook open and jumping back and forth between new emails and the actual work that gets interrupted. Sure, your response time might look amazing to your clients or customers, but that is MEANINGLESS if you don’t get stuff done!
So what do you do?! Only read email a few times a day. Outside of that… I turn it off and actually DO work. Spending a lot of time emailing (communicating) actually creates MORE WORK, which is great… but it actually NEEDS TO GET DONE! Writing emails however, although at times necessary, is not the core of what needs to be done. For example, I received a request this morning for a new possible job with information. I need to create a proposal. If I continued to spend all of my time emailing people, that proposal would not get generated.
What Should Your Email Schedule Look Like?
This works for me: 1st thing in the morning, mid-afternoon (around 1pm - 2pm) and then again in the evenings.
Other than that… I’m working on the things that need to get done at the company, or work for clients.
5) Manage Expectations
One of the big things I’ve learned in business, and in life over the last half decade is to manage people’s expectations. Be they friends, lovers, or clients, people have expectations of you - sometimes they are implied and not even directly communicated.
So you need to take control.
I remember reading about email response time expectations a few years ago (not sure where, or if the numbers are even that accurate), but apparently people expect a response to email in less than 15 minutes. That’s right, no matter where you are, what you’re doing, people want to get a response from you in 15 minutes. And is it any wonder? With smart phones and ubiquitous wireless access, you can have access to your email pretty much anywhere, anytime.
Recently I was one of those people that wanted a quick response:
I emailed one of our software providers a question. It took them 5 days to respond. I was shocked. Although I never expected customer service from this particular vendor (they provide hosted project management solutions) I didn’t expect such a delay. We’ve spent literally tens of thousands of dollars with them over the last 5 years! But, in truth, it WASN’T an important question, and just needed to be answered “whenever.”
Anyway, your customers are thinking the same way. And how do you deal with this? Be upfront about response times, and if you do receive an email, shoot a VERY quick one back letting them know when you’ll be able to answer or address their problem, question, or inquiry. It’s that simple. Hell - you can take a week or even months sometimes to address something, but just letting them know when will keep rapport.
CAUTION - be sure that you keep the message in your inbox (see tip #2) and DON’T forget what you promised.
If you follow these 5 tips for managing email, you should be able to save time and do business more efficiently over the coming years. As always, if you have any questions, or tips of your own, feel free to comment below. I’ll be happy to hear from you!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Luxury RV Resort Florida
Are you the proud owner of a luxury RV? Maybe you own an American Coach, or a Damon. Personally, it’s always been a huge dream of mine to have a motorhome and then tour the country, and end my journey at a pristine destination right on the water, preferrably here in South Florida.
As a quick side note, one of the reasons this is a goal of mine, is because my grandfather did it. He and my grandmother retired and traveled the country for nearly a decade in their motorhome. Whenever we were close by we got picked up and traveled all across the North East and down to Disney World - some of my best memories involve that old motorhome.
But the question has always been - once you have your dream motorcoach, what now? Where do you go?
Well, a recently launched project of ours is here to answer your question, providing an amazing resort-like experience for those with luxury RVs.
We are happy to announce the final launch of Everglades, Florida based Luxury RV Resort company, Evergladesisle.com’s website and Internet marketing. We have been working with the team at EverGladesIsle as well as their marketing company AdSource for about 6 months now and are pleased to announce the successful re-launch of their newly designed website. In addition to a gorgeous new website, featuring information for Motorhome owners as well as existing residents of the resort, it also has videos relating to the everglades and a South Florida centered blog. We provided the following services:
So if you’re looking for a luxury RV resort in Florida, please check them out!
Thank you again to everyone at EverGladesIsle & AdSource.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Internet Success Takes Hard Work
I was going to write a productivity post, but that needs to wait for another time, as I stumbled upon something even more juicy this evening while perusing LinkedIn.
Thanks to Neil Patel for this great find.
I just got done reading an awesome post over at Daily Blog Tips entitled: “Interview: 12 Top Online Entrepreneurs” odds are you have probably heard SOME of the names on the list and, if, like us at Atilus, you work in the web industry, odds are you’ve heard of everyone on the list. Basically it is a survey of 12 of the most well-known and successful online entrepreneurs in regards to how they work, and how HARD they work. The 12 interviewed included:
And you may be completely blown away by the results.
You see, we get asked to do numerous AMAZING web ventures all the time, but more than planning, money, strategy, or any other “thing” you can bring to the table we like to discuss good ‘ole fashioned HARD WORK. Based on the interview, these top entrepreneurs are no strangers to hard work and despite ALREADY BEING SUCCESSFUL they continue to work their asses off cultivating their businesses, pleasing their customers, and bringing business in the door.
The Internet is no different than any conventional business. Sure, your 100+ hours/week can result in larger returns than other businesses or ventures, but it still takes dedication. I highly recommend checking out the post.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
How To Make a CSS 3 Button
CSS 3 is being incorporated into web design more and more as we progress into the future of designing for the web. Browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari are two of the main browsers that currently support some of what CSS 3 has to offer (unfortunately Internet Explorer is still trying to catch up).
With this said about CSS 3 being the future let’s put it to good use. CSS 3 has a number of new features that are just waiting to be tapped into but in this article we are just going to focus on what it can bring to the design table as far as making buttons are concerned.
I’m going to make a simple button using purely CSS 3.
Let’s start with a basic set up for a button:
Now the CSS:
The CSS used above is standard today and can be seen by all current browser types. This is purely CSS 2 at work here - nothing special so far. Now let’s add the magic (in this case magic = CSS 3). We will be adding a border radius, box shadow, and text shadow . Here is the code:
Now you are probably wondering what the extra lines are under the CSS 3 attributes that start with –moz and –kebkit. These signify the browser engine that is rendering the CSS. –moz is for Mozilla Firefox and –webkit is for Apple Safari. Without these the browser won’t know to render the CSS (for text-shadow you probably don’t need it but put it in anyway). The reason for this is that CSS 3 is not fully integrated into browsers yet and requires you to tell the browser engine that is rendering the code to call its name out and tell it to. Eventually we won’t need these prefixes but for now they are necessary.
But I digress.
I’m going to add one last style to the mix for good measure – a bottom border. So all together we have this:
Now as long as you are viewing this in Firefox, Safari, or some other CSS 3 rendering browser you should see this: (I have provided an image version for those without browsers that handle CSS 3).
If you wanted you could even create a small gradient in Photoshop (or equivalent application) and add it to the button for more effect.
And that’s it. Simple, right?
Here is a cheat sheet of all CSS 3 has to offer.
Now be wary when using CSS 3 in your designs. Remember that not all browsers support this so be sure that whatever you are designing works with and without the CSS 3 attributes you assign to it. Or you could just not care and do whatever the hell you want.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
The Truth About Online Business Services
Are you thinking about switching some of your businesses core services online? Thinking about making the SAAS (software as a service) jump? Well before you do, READ THIS!
Online Business Services (SAAS)
Before we begin, I’m sure you’re asking yourself: “What does he mean… what are online business services and what is this SAAS stuff?”
It’s basically conventional software or key components of your business that are now featured on a website. Here are a couple of examples we use here at Atilus.
Project Managment
Instead of having a centralized server house project management software we utilize the online service, Basecamp to manage all of our projects.
Accounting
Instead of installing a new version of quickbooks each year, we pay a monthly fee and use Quickbooks’ online version.
During our daily conversations with businesses we learn a lot about each of our clients, and if there’s one thing we have a passion about (other than web development) it’s business. So, occasionally we also make recommendations on business services like the ones outlined above. But the question is… do the pros outweigh the cons, and will YOUR business really benefit? So let’s take a quick look:
Pros
Cons
Possible Higher Cost - Not all services reveal a savings, in fact some are much more expensive. Case in point, Quickbooks - the very reason I’m writing this post! We would buy a new version every 3 years for about $100. Now we pay about $30/month, every month meaning our cost has gone up 900%. Holy shit! BUT… we weighed the pros: our accountant can access it alongside us from her office, we can access the data anywhere (including a clients office), and we get continual updates, saving us valuable bookkeeping and accounting duty/time. Well worth the extra money.
Data Security - This is a biggie and differs based on services, products, and packages. Security may be an issue in your industry, so be sure to check into this before you make a decision.
Helplessness - What happens if a service goes down? Helplessness. Unlike your own server or software, where you can call someone to get it fixed… you just have to wait. I find this very much akin to flying, sure everyone KNOWS its safer, but they’re still scared to death! Why? BECAUSE THEY GIVE UP CONTROL! In truth we’ve used about a half dozen applications online for the last couple of years and have had little or no problems the entire time. And if there ever is an issue, its fixed quicker than we could call an IT person into the office to fix our server.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Social Media - So Should My Company Care?
Lately, more than any other question I get asked about Social Media. If you’re like most businesses I’ve talked to you’re probably wondering:
All good questions. And, I’ll be addressing all three here.
Your Website
First, let’s talk about your website because that’s absolutely mandatory BEFORE you decide to jump into social media. I don’t care who or how you got your website, but you MUST have one. And, without getting too technical, it should be setup in such a way so that it compliments any possible social media marketing you’ll be doing. If you are curious as to whether your website is properly setup, drop me a line (zach - at - atilus dot com) and I’d be happy to take a look. Your website is the glue to your internet marketing efforts. You have a number of different ways to market yourself online, SEO, article marketing, enewsletters, blogging, blah blah blah… but they all come back to your website. They direct traffic back to your website, where your authority in your industry is confirmed, trust in your product(s) is underscored and this is where contacts and sales ACTUALLY happen. It’s just like a conventional brick-and-mortar business, sub in a website for the building, and Internet marketing for any other kind of conventional marketing. You wouldn’t be advertising your product or service without a building or at least a phone number to call for more information would you? Same goes for social media… YOU NEED A WEBSITE.
What is Social Media?
No use talking about all of this, without defining it. For the sake of this essay/article, I’m defining social media as a “social network.” Although other types of technology could possible fall under this category (blogging for example) this doesn’t seem to be what most people are interested in or talking about when they mention “social media…” more often they are referring to Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc.
Social Media is it Right For Your Business?
I’m going to go against the grain here and say, social media, is not right for a majority of the businesses we work with. But, notice how I said “we.” A majority of Atilus’ clients have been in the B2B sector, they are businesses that service OTHER businesses. So is social media right for your business? The answer of course is a question: That depends. What kind of business are you? Here’s the breakdown of whether or not it’s right for your business:
It all comes down to relationships. The problem of “if you should implement social media, or “why should you implement social media marketing” is easily and quickly addressed if you simply analyze your customer relationships. If you’ve spent some time on twitter or facebook you probably understand, in part how people communicate on these services and what they are looking for. They are intensely personal environments, where people connect to each other as well as to brands/products they love. Do you have a product or service that falls into this category? Would adding this help solidify those relationships? Does it enable faster communication, dissemination of information to your customer or clients? If so, then… implement social media now.
How do you implement social services and which ones are best?
Implementing the service(s) is fairly easy. There’s very little technological knowledge or hurdles to over come. However, if you have a proper website, one setup with particular types of technology you may be able to kill a couple of birds with one stone. For example, if you have a blog on your site you can link popular services like Facebook/Twitter to automatically update WHEN you post a NEW article. So you write an article and immediately all of your fans and followers are intantly notified.
What services are best? Well, that depends on you again. What isi your audience, clients, or customers using? And how do YOU plan on using these services. Twitter is very straight forward. A mini-blog, while facebook allows for some other fancier ehancements.
Regardless of WHICH service you use, your priority needs to be dedicating some time to managing your account and relationships across that service. It’s completely useless and a little ugly to have a stale account. Just like a stale website or blog. So you or someone else should dedicate some time to the technology.
How Much Does it Cost?
Free (sort of)!
More than ANY other thing on the web, I think social media is for YOU! AND ONLY YOU! (I’m talking about setup and maintenance here.)
This is a relationship we’re talking about, I don’t think you should be delegating this task or relationship to an outside company, marketing, or *GASP* PR Firm. Are they really going to be able to speak in your voice and handle any situations the exact way you would? Chances are no. Plus, they don’t know your personal friends on Facebook, twitter, myspace, etc. so how are they going to contact them in a personal, meaningful way?
When it comes to implementing social media for your small business - for those most part I recommend doing it yourself, or atleast hiring a company to coach you through setup, and maintenance, which will only take a few hours at most. But, that’s the easy part, the hard part is managing it - and rest assured… that DOES COST. It costs either in YOUR TIME, or in the money you pay an employee to do it.
And keep an eye on it.
In our business, we implemented social media for awhile, it was fairly automated, and allowed us to connect - yet another way - with a group of contacts, particularly through facebook. For the amount of time it took, it WASN’T WORTH IT FOR US TO ACTIVELY MAINTAIN. Your business may be very different. Again, it’s about your clients and what kind of relationships work best with them. If you sell custom furniture keeping an active portfolio and notes about your company up on Facebook is probably a fantastic idea (and solicit your users to take pictures of your products - for a FREE give away).
That last idea is the final thing I’d recommend. Using the tools in a creative way, centered around your business and clients’ wants in order to provide a better experience for your existing customers and recruit new ones. One to many communication, where you speak and your customers read/listen, is no longer the ONLY thing possible. Now you can solicit and get help from your clients - no matter where they are. Use this to your advantage and think about what will prove to your potential customers - watching your service from a distance (in social media-ville) - that they need to act.
What Others Are Saying (2)
Breaking News - Google Changes its Name to Topeka
Early last month the mayor of Topeka, Kansas stunned the world by announcing that his city was changing its name to Google. We’ve been wondering ever since how best to honor that moving gesture. Today we are pleased to announce that as of 1AM (Central Daylight Time) April 1st, Google has officially changed our name to Topeka.
Thank God! I personally was getting sick of saying “did you Google me?” and look forward to being…
Topeka’d?
For more information check out the article on Google’s Blog.
What Others Are Saying (3)
Crazy, Amazing Technology… is This All Necessary?
I know I’m probably going to get shot for writing this…
(an aside: how many other business articles do you read that start with the author talking about getting shot?)
Boring Story Time:
I purchased a pair of headphones yesterday evening. I live in a condo complex where the walls are thin, and I tend to work late. I listen to music while I work. I’ve decided that rather than keep my neighbors up, neighbors I’ve recently befriended, I would instead use headphones to listen to my late night jams. To make a long story short (”SHORT?! This is already TOO long Zach!”) I found a great deal on a set of head phones that are usually $100+ (CowBoom.com - interesting website), ordered, and away I went.
Today I got a delivery confirmation email letting me know that the item had been shipped along with a USPS tracking ID. I went to the website, input the ID and got an update… it had left CA.
HERE’S WHAT’S INTERESTING
(I know you want to skip to this section, but read the story…)
You can sign up for active notifications on the package, via email. EVERYTIME, the status changes, you will receive an email. If you have email on your phone things get even more interesting… Instantly, your package flies to TX, gets scanned, USPS servers get updated, an email comes to you, you’re phone picks it up… no matter where you are, within a few seconds to a minute you will instantly know every f#@‘ing detail of your package.
Beautiful…
Okay, it’s not beautiful, I’m being sarcastic, it’s pretty neat, but is all of this information REALLY necessary? Before your package would just come, when it came…
Now you have the opportunity to bite your nails in anticipation each time your phone beeps. Now you can analyze the time it takes for the package to move halfway across the country, and become anxious and upset as to why it takes 2 days to come to you EVEN THOUGH IT’S IN YOUR HOME STATE:
“It’s just in Jacksonville, why don’t they just drive it down today!!!!! I need my bloody headphones…”
Of course I’m just kidding, but it has me wondering is this all…
Information Overload
I guess I’m thinking about all of this because of a Frontline Episode I just watched over in PBS entitled: “Digital Nation.” Basically, what are the effects of all of this technology, how is it changing the way we live, behave, interact?
I don’t know about you, but I see a big danger in concentration. It has been increasingly HARDER to stay on task on accomplish a goal. For example… this whole article is a distraction. I was working on something else, when an email arrived, I remembered about my order, checked the status… and off my brain went. Now it just so happens I could indulge in such distractions today, but I should probably be doing something else…
Okay, going back to something else.
Thank you for listening to my rant.
- Zach
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Rework - The Business Book You Must Buy
I made a quick pit stop last night after a meeting at the bookstore. I was hoping to pick up a book on copywriting, but was stunned to find “Rework
” available at my local Borders. I thought Rework, the latest book, formally written and conventionally published by 37signals, wouldn’t be available at a local bookstore. I was wrong.
Why You Must Read This Book
Why do you need to go out, pick up this book and read it… and then re-read it…
Well we’ll come back to this in just a minute. I promise.
I picked it up - it’s very unassuming with very little conventional information on the back cover and decided to go for it. I respect Jason Fried and everyone at 37signals and we absolutely love their Online Project Management Software. We use it every single day here at Atilus. You’ve probably used Basecamp. This is the book about the business practices 37signals employed to become so successful and bring us Basecamp.
Here’s why you must read it… it’s short, quick, to the point, revealing everything you ever knew about business to be potentially right, and also highlighting the normal business stuff that gets us all in trouble.
Do you hate meetings? I sure do… they’re a waste of time, usually full of BS, and as the book states..
[meetings] often include at least one moron who inevitably gets his turn to waste everyone’s time with nonsense.
Who Should Read the Book
You will probably especially appreciate the beginning of the book, addressing Rework’s audience. This book is not for conventional business people. People with business degrees, MBAs, seasoned professionals with tons of employees, eeking out a living or the captain of a dying ship. No, this book is for a generation ready for change (no matter what their age). A generation who understands the ability for technology to transform, how to harness it, and how to take charge of your own destiny, if only in a small way.
Are you ready for a change?Ready to make money at something you love - even if you don’t make millions, or don’t even drop your day job?
Then Rework is for you. It’s for the people who’ve been in business, who feel like they work all the time, but never get ahead. If you’re simply stuck at a boring 9 - 5 job and wish you could do your own thing, work for yourself, and make money doing what you love, rework is also for you.
I highly recommend checking it out!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Comcast - Slow Internet Connection
I thought I would post this on our blog to see if anyone else has been having a similar problem, or going through similar situation with their Internet connection.
We’re a web company, we use the Internet, a solid connection is the most important thing in our business, without it, almost no work can be done. It is very important. But, lately I’ve noticed something on my home connection and was curious how many other people out there have experienced the same thing. During the day my connection is great - roughly from the hours of 7am - 7pm. But after that, I’ve noticed during the last couple of weeks, the connection almost completely dies. Sure, I can surf, read text, but when it comes to anything else - it’s just impossible. No video, no audio, no HULU!!!!! - it’s just too slow.
I’ve done some speed tests on the connect and during the day I get an average of:
But in the evenings that drops to:
A 98% DROP IN SPEED!!!
I’ve checked to make sure no one is on the connection, nope, my router is completely secure with multiple levels of protection. The only thing I think of is a) comcast throttles back the line drastically in the evening or b) it has to do with the “shared” nature of cable. In regards to the second one, I’ve had cable based broadband for roughly 10 years, and always thought this was a marketing myth made up by the suppliers of DSL.
Has any one of you experienced this kind of problem with Cable or Comcast before?
What Others Are Saying (1)
AdWords Professional Search
Looking for a way to find THE BEST companies or individuals qualified to manage pay per click marketing campaigns? Try Google’s new AdWords Professional Search. I got an email this afternoon from Google, regarding some updates to the platform and thought I would also introduce everyone to this cool little tool.
First, here’s some details about the tool, as well as some recently added functionality:
Go ahead - do a search - Atilus is on there. We’ve been certified AdWords professionals for year, and enjoy utilizing pay per click marketing for many of our clients. It offers advertisers the ability to immediately bring in quality, targeted traffic, often at a smaller price than other more conventional forms of online advertising. And it totally destroys conventional marketing tactics like, yellow page and newspaper ads.
If you ever want to know more, contact us.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
The Importance of the Physical
Thought I would take a quick minute to write about something we usually don’t write about - physical stuff, working out, eating right, etc.
How would you like to work harder, but have it be easier than ever before? You can and here’s how…
Well, before I get to that I highly recommend checking out the following video by Rob Dyrdek (it’s worth it, wait until the 0:30 mark):
Rob’s right, and after 4 years of business, I realized how much of a pain in the ass business can be - and it trickled over to my physical body and personal life. It’s a downward spiral, business stress = physical stress = bad habits/poor body = even more business stress. So lately, I’ve put my personal well-being, mental/physical at the top of my priority list and feel it’s trickled over into every aspect of my life, including business. Because you can’t take care of anyone else, until you’ve taken care of yourself - particularly in business.
Too often people equate working out and proper eating with ONLY looking good, or being less susceptible to disease. BUT NO!!!! Your brain, your mind, your ability to think is just as important, if not more important than these, and are as greatly affected by good (or poor) body habits.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Much Ado About Browser Fonts
Being a designer I am constantly trying to be innovative or at least keep up with the trends of today and tomorrow. So when I go about creating a site I always want to use cool fonts that I find that would fit perfectly for the design. But then I’m reminded of how limited we are to font selection when it comes to plain text being displayed in our browsers. Designers and developers all have to follow the least common denominator rule of font choice. This kind of sucks. We have been using the same fonts choices over and over again and it is getting kind of old. Here you can see the limited choices we have; some of which aren’t even a viable choice (e.i. Comic Sans).
Well out of necessity and boredom comes a solution. Many solutions actually.
Embedded Fonts
This is an old technique that Microsoft came up with long ago when we were kids. It allows the user to embed any font they wish into their CSS file. All you have to do is create the EOT font file and put it on your server. Then link that to your CSS file and voila, you have your fonts being displayed in the browser. You find out more about it Here. Warning: this is an a very old posting.
Drawbacks: Doesn’t work on Macs or anything else but Internet Explorer (So pretty much useless).
Typekit
Here is an upcoming company started in 2008 to help expand the possibilities of fonts on the web. Typekit is an online browser font distribution company (for lack of better definition).
About Typekit:
“Typekit is the easiest way to use real fonts on the web. It’s a subscription-based service for linking to high-quality Open Type fonts from some of the worlds best type foundries. Our fonts are served from a global network on redundant servers, offering bulletproof service and incredible speed.”
What they do is allow you to link to fonts they currently have under license to use on your site. They have an extensive list of fonts built up so far. I think this is a great idea and should be something to definitely look forward to in the future. Check them out HERE.
Drawbacks: It costs money $$$. There is a trial offer but is limited. If user doesn’t have Javascript turned on then it won’t work (let’s face it if this is the case they don’t deserve to see the fonts anyway).
sIFR3
sIFR3 is a project started a few years back to help with displaying the fonts you want on the web without any embedding of fonts. This is because it is all done through the magic of Flash.
About sIFR3:
“sIFR, or scalable Inman Flash Replacement is a technique for displaying typography on the web, without requiring your visitors to install the font you’d like to use.”
sIFR3 is what I currently I use today for any font replacement. It works great and can be completely manipulated like any regular font using CSS. Plus it has the added bonus of Flash qualities such as text effects (e.i. drop-shadows). sIFR3 is best for heading replacements but can be utilized for all text on your site. You can put as many font styles as you like at a time. There is a small learning curve to getting it up and running on your site but it is worth it. Learn more about it HERE.
Drawbacks: User must have Flash installed and Javascript running in their browser (if not the would-be replaced text will show which obviously can be styled using CSS. So there really is no reason not to use it.)
What do you think about the standard browser fonts? What else should be done to fix the “problem”? Do you know of any other solutions out there? Let us know.
What Others Are Saying (2)
What does a website cost? Web Site Development Costs
You probably came here in the process of doing research. Are you a small business looking to build a website, but you don’t want to get taken for a ride? Or maybe you’re a web developer considering branching out on your own and REALLY want to know what the going rate for website developments costs are. Regardless of who you are, having a baseline to work with is always a good idea. Atilus is always upfront about pricing and believe everyone needs to be too (although honestly many in the Internet marketing field are not - charging clients different amount based on their situation and income). Before we get to the pricing, I want to ask you… do you think you need a website?
This is important… and let’s just get this out of the way…
you need a website.
Period.
And not just any ol’ website, but a great website with a clear, crisp easy to navigate design, with superb usability and functionality. Furthermore, YOU need to be able to easily update that website. It doesn’t matter if you are a national corporate brand, a smaller brick and mortar with ‘plenty of business’, a brick and mortar with only local business, or an ice cream shop that only sells to people between 5’10 and 5’11 wearing baseball hats before 3 pm… you still need a website! Your business can be broad or niche, it can be large or small, and despite what you may believe… you need a website!
Now, what does a website cost?
Like the businesses they represent, websites are not all created equal and serve various purposes, therefore they can vary greatly in cost as the level of design and functionality increases and becomes more complex to suit your company’s needs.
Basic Website - $1000
$1000 A basic designed website, acts primarily as an online brochure, establishing a necessary presence online to answer your customers’ questions “do you exist?”, “are you professional?” and “what do you do?” A basic website can be done for a mere market average of $2000. This website will not allow you to interact with your audience (social networking, blog), transact business directly through your site (ecommerce), or enable you to manipulate and update the pages and content within your site without hiring a web programmer/designer to do it for you (Content Management System does enable this for more $$$). A basic website site will serve to help brand and market your company, showcase your products and services and inspire sales as a lead generating tool. Unfortunately, the design of your website will be templated at such low costs. This means that your site probably mirrors that of other sites on the web. With our firm, these sites will be CSS and XHTML Coded to allow your site to look the same on nearly every computer/device and will be Search Engine Optimized (SEO) for greater natural search engine ranking success. But not all firms code the same and have SEO as a top priority. Also, web analytics are provided with every site we build to track and ensure your web success.
Custom Website - $1500-$3500
$1500-$3500 Custom designed websites, with all the aesthetic beauty that you can possibly envision, cost a market average of $2500. These sites are still not quite as functional as other sites, but are extraordinarily pretty and all design elements are created and designed specifically for your site and tailored to your market needs. These sites will still not enable audience interactivity, ecommerce, or content management. The sites cost is due in part to the number of hours it takes to create your company’s custom design. The site will serve the same necessary purposes that a basic designed website will but will be far more aesthetically pleasing and custom to your businesses desires. Again, with our firm, these sites will be CSS and XHTML Coded to allow your site to look the same on nearly every computer and will also be Search Engine Optimized (SEO) for greater natural search engine ranking success. Web analytics are provided with every site we build to track and ensure your web success.
Content Management System (update it yourself) - $3000- $8,500
$3000- $8,500 Depending on the level of aesthetic design that is requested Content Management System (CMS) websites will run at a market average of $5,750. These websites are created with both functionality and design in mind, as you will receive both custom art design and mid level functionality including the ability to manage and update all content, images, and text contained within the pages of your site (infinite number of pages possible). With a CMS capable website, your site will have endless possibilities as a pluggable, flexible web application capable of adding additional features as you desire. These websites are built with the idea that you will have a significant number of changes, additions or updates to be made to your site in the near future. Instead of being charged hourly rates to make such changes, a CMS system enables you to do a majority of the basic additions without prior coding or web designing knowledge. Social interactivity with your site visitors is possible with a site of this caliber, as a BLOG will be present within your site enabling you to place posts of content that you believe is relevant and desired by your audience. Your audience can choose to respond to your blog posts and each others comments allowing for 2 dimensional interaction between you, your audience, and within your audience. Some ecommerce and real state listing sites can be created within this price range depending upon level of functionality and design. Also, sites of this caliber have varying prices with regard to design elements. These sites do have custom design work, but more expensive elements like Flash Art creation will affect pricing. Again, with our firm, these sites will be CSS and XHTML Coded to allow your site to look the same on nearly every computer and will also be Search Engine Optimized (SEO) for greater natural search engine ranking success. But not all firms code the same and have SEO as a top priority. Also, web analytics are provided with every site we build to track and ensure your web success.
Anything Additional/Custom - $12,000- $100,000
$12,000- $100,000+< If you are looking for advance functionality including social networking, blogging, ecommerce, or any other web application topped off with the markets leading design elements, you should expect to pay a market average of $25,000! Like I said before, some ecommerce and web applicable sites can be created for less, while most successful ventures are created for much more. Sites that have fallen in this price range include Facebook.com, Orkut.com, BestBuy.com, and WGCU.org to name only a few. A site within this price range will be built and hand coded from scratch. That means your site is unlike any other and requires the attention and expertise of an experienced web application developer(s) and web site designer(s). A site that falls into this category requires months of market analysis, software research, consulting, database design and implementation, software development and integration, site quality assurance and testing. This is the mother load and it is priced accordingly. I know what you are thinking, ‘who knew it was so expensive?’ And the only answer I can give is that web design and creation is like any other craft or trade and requires a high level of knowledge and expertise. Furthermore, with the rapid rate that technology and the internet is constantly changing, the gap is beginning to seriously widen between web amateurs and professionals. Can you still get a website for $500? Sure you can, but it will not display and operate like a professionally designed website will and it will be as ineffective and unsuccessful as the individual who designed it.
Need more? Read this.
What Others Are Saying (75)
Massachusetts Online Credit Union
Atilus is proud to announce the launch of the Quabbin Online Credit Union website. Out latest client has successfully launched their new website and we would like to congratulate them. This is a landmark occassion as Quabbin is the only online-only credit union in the country. Through their innovative use of technology they hope to slash conventional banking/credit union costs, all while providing customers the best rates and giving back to the Massachusetts community. Although Atilus was not instrumental in the development of the website, we have helped them launch a strategic marketing campaign including pay per click marketing.
Congratulations again to everyone at Quabbin. It has been a pleasure working with you so far!
http://www.quabbinocu.com
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Haiti Earthquake a Call to Duty
Rele Anmwe - Call For Help - Appeler à L’aide
If you’re looking at our blog, or have read our newsletters chances are you and I have had a conversation on the phone or in person.
AND, if that is the case you probably inquired about my accent.
I am from Haiti.
I was born and raised in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, 100 miles north of the epicenter of the earthquake that hit in January. I learned of the news much like the rest of the country, online, on television, on the radio. I had many friends and family in the center of quake. And much like you, I’ve seen the pictures from volunteers, news organizations, even friends. They are devastating.
But, this event wasn’t entirely tragic.
The Quake has been a wake up call for many to volunteer and help out in whatever way they can. And not just in Haiti, but around the world. Everyone I know has helped out and done what they can, from donating money, to providing blankets, food, and supplies, for those on the ground. In general many of us seem to have a renewed sense of compassion for our fellow man.
Thank you.
For nearly a year I had been working on a project in Haiti centered around telecommunication. The quake and devastation hit, friends, and partners were lost, and we had to scrap the project.
But, from the wake of the initial idea and the course of events over the last 2 months, the project has been renewed - with a new purpose. I have teamed up with new friends and partners to develop an automated phone line that provides free information for those in Haiti.
Only about half of the Haitian population has access to telecommunications devices (phone line, cell phone, computer or VOIP).
This was always a challenge for those wishing to communicate in Haiti, but in the days since the quake has proven even more problematic. People need to find information and resources in order to survive. They need information immediately. They need it at no cost.
With this system those on the ground can locate basic services such as food, hospitals, shelters, distribution centers, and more…
If you have any friends or loved ones in Haiti, or simply wish to spread the word about this service, please do so.
To learn more about Rele Anmwe please visit the site www.releanmwe.org
Thank You
What Others Are Saying (2)
Web Directories Your Website Should Be In
We always get this question here at Atilus, “are directories still helpful for SEO (Search Engine Optimization)? And if so, which ones are the best to submit to”. The answer is always the same: “it depends. If you’re talking about low-quality directories (a.k.a. link farms), don’t waste your time with them. But there are still some very good directories out there.”
Below is a list of the few good web directories left we have compiled, but they aren’t free. And that’s the reason most webmasters stay away from them. That makes these directories a lot more exclusive and links from these sites a lot more valuable to your website.
Another reason these directories are so good is that actual humans review the submissions they get and approve/decline requests manually; based on the quality of the sites they review. Because they only add quality sites to their indexes, links from these directories are worth A LOT more than links from spam directories. These directories are good for SEO and they can also drive very qualified traffic to your site.
Here is the list:
Happy hunting…
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Image Replacement Technique
Image replacement is being used all over the web today. It is used anytime designers want to place images where text would normally be, hence the name “image replacement”. The most common uses are logos and buttons. This is a time honored tradition among developers that has evolved over time for purposes of bettering the web and how we code it.
There are many ways to do an image replacement but I would like to show you my two favorite ones to use.
The first one is the one I use on a normal basis. I have picked it up from various developers and not sure who to give credit to.
First Technique
For this technique we are turning the span tag into a block element, placing a background image in it, and placing it over the text inside the
h1. What is great about this technique is that it leaves the text right where it should be on the page. You can also go as far as styling the text that would be there just in case the image doesn’t show up or the user has images turned OFF.The only drawback to this technique is the use of PNG images. Obviously if you were to use a PNG image the text underneath would show through…and this is where the other technique steps in.
Alternate/ Second Technique
This replacement technique is courtesy of Seamus Leahy and Stuart Langridge.
With this technique we are pushing the text out of view by making the
height: 0pxand theoverlay:hiddenthe “height” of theh1is then replaced with padding. This leaves you with a blank box to add a background image to.Like I said I only use the second technique when dealing with PNG images that allow the text to show through which really isn’t that often.
Both of these techniques are built around useability. The text is still on the page for screen readers and search engines which is what every good developer should be practicing.
Do you have a favorite technique to share? Let us know about it.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Google Local Search
Google Local Search is one of the fastest growing segments of search. Have you heard of it? No?! Well, that’s okay. But you’ve absolutely already used it and by properly harnessing Google Local Search for your business you can grow your traffic, sales and business, like never before. Read on…
I spent much of last week diving into Google Local Search. We’ve had experience with it, but honestly, it used to be as simple as, verify your business address, and come up on the first page for related results. But, things have changed. And, you really do need to strategize if you have a lot of competition. But, before we get to the meat of how to rank for Google Local Search. Let’s take a look at what it really is:
Google Local Search
You are familiar with Google Local Search. Trust me. Even if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you’ve seen and used Google Local Search. Odds are you’ve seen these listings, clicked on them, even purchased products or services through companies you discovered via Google Local Search.
Google Local Search is simply Google’s way of showing you more targeted local results.
Many times these results are listed beside a big map when you do a search. Take a look; go do a local search for car insurance. In my area I typed: “Naples Car Insurance.”
If you’re in the Naples area, you’ll see a map of Southwest Florida with points plotted, along with a list of A through G of companies that fit your search. Company G is Naples Car Insurance company, Pro America Insurance.
As a side note, if you’re not in the area you may not see the local listings. You can try your own local search to see a similar layout.
How Does Google Local Search Work?
Google local search works through location. Location is determined in two ways, your location (as the person doing the search) and the businesses locations (the results google shows you). Based on these two factors, as well as many other smaller factors, a list is shown. Your location is determined by your IP address (your physical address on the web) so Google can pretty accurately determine what City you are in. The business address is determined in a number of different ways (business website, outside local websites, business owner) - we’ll come back to this in a minute.
Why Local Search?
Why local search? There are two ways to look at this, why would Google do this and why do we want local search? Google wants to do this because it’s inline with their mission to index the world’s data, and provide the best search experience to users. Companies have been trying to do this for years. I remember attending a meeting with a new upstart company, funded by a pair of smarmy millionaires who wanted to do local search. They had this nifty idea on how to get all of the data in - paying stay at home mothers. It was kind of crazy, but possibly lucrative. It failed. Other comapnies have tried - yelp.com, citrysearch.com, among others. The truth is search has been good when it came to general information, but not location. Google came up with a simple idea to:
a) spider through all of the websites/companies out there and try to determine their address and
b) allow business owners to claim or post their own listings
As users we want this because it provides us with even more data on local companies/businesses, and for the first time it really puts the onus of what is revealed to searchers on the business owners. Local seasrch - in part - relies on businesses creating their own account, page, adding descriptions, selecting relevant categories, and physically providing Google with the correct info.
Why Your Business Needs to be on Google Local Search
Because of greater exposure. More views, more business, more sales. Google’s had local search setup for years. But, it wasn’t until very recently that google started displaying local search results (remember the map and A-G listings) alongside normal search results. And they do look good and bring in business! First of all they pop, they are totally differentiated from the other listings (either paid, or organic) and they look much more professional with an accompanying map. Finally, they bring in tremendous results. A local listing not only shows (hopefully) for popular search results in Google.com, but it will also appear when a person is doing searches specifically at http://local.google.com. To give you an idea of just how often people are using this kind of technology, a client of ours was at the back of the list of 1600 businesses in their same genre/area, but they still received nearly 1000 impressions (people seeing their local listing) in one month.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Naples Florida Car Insurance
Atilus is proud to announce Naples Florida Car Insurance, Pro America Insurance, Inc. as our latest client. We are providing a lot of ongoing services for the Insurance Firm, based in Naples Florida including:
Since starting the relationship just two months ago, we’ve already made a number of enhancements and look forward to many more in the future. The website has already begun to rank nicely, in the top 10, on Google for searches like “Naples Florida Car Insurance.” On a personal note we highly recommend in these troubling economic times to check out their services (they provide both car, home/house, life, and health insurance services). Pro America has a top notch team that provides their clients excellent service and we look forward to providing the same to them.
Welcome Pro America Insurance, Inc.!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Lutgert Exchange Mentions Atilus, Harry Casimir
It’s not too often we toot our own horn, but from time-to-time we do like to keep you informed of what’s going on at Atilus, mention our awards and/or acolades in order to give you, our friends and clients, a taste of what is going on.
With that said we are proud to announce that our very own Harry Casimir was recently featured in the Lutgert Exchange newsletter. The Lutgert Exchange Newsletter is the quarterly newsletter for the Lutgert College of Business and includes the latest news and information on Florida Gulf Coast University’s College of Business.
Download The Newsletter (PDF)
You’ll need to scroll to page 9 to see my friend and business partner Harry Casimir. Here’s an excerpt from the mention:
Atilus Director of Operations Elected to FGCU Alumni Board of Directors
Harry Casimir, Director of Operations and co-founder of Atilus, a web development company, has been elected to the board of directors of Florida Gulf Coast University Alumni Association. Mr. Casimir is a 2005 graduate with BS in Computer Information System. Harry founded Atilus with classmate Zach Katkin in 2005. Since then the company has developed over 500 websites for large and small businesses and nonprofts.
I would like to personally congratulate Harry for both the mention and the appointment to the Alumni Association. A big thank you is in order for Harry as well as the other members of the alumni association who, through donating their time and expertise, have provided such a great alumni experience for FGCU alumni’s.
What Others Are Saying (1)
A Website on time - Planning For Success
If you have recently had a website designed/developed, one thing you may have realized is that your web developer asks a lot questions. Why is this?
The answer is very simple; there are a lot questions because no one knows your business and your industry better than you. A web development company can research, study and analyze both your business and industry, but at the end of the day you still can teach the professional a thing or two. Most people and companies don’t understand this concept as basic as it may sound. A great web developer will use you to marry your expertise in your business and industry with their expertise in web development & Internet marketing.
A web project can sometime feel like you’re riding a train or flying in an airplane – completely out of your control and rife with delays and complications. But the same way you can plan ahead to avoid headaches during your travels, you can take measures to ensure your web project gets off the ground on time and delivers as far as timeline and budget.
A Word of Caution
Planning is boring and working on the actual “thing” (web design, marketing technique, etc.) is fun, so most people prefer to skip the boring part and move directly to the fun part, but the result is always the same – disaster. By providing a web Design/Development company your wish list of what you want, they can better help you craft an accurate proposal and plan that will meet your deadline and budget.
Here are some approaches you might want to try next time you tackle a web project (this is both for developers as well as businesses thinking about implementing a website change):
Write down what you want for your web project. Assuming you are about to create or redesign your organization website… write down what you want and what you expect from your new website! Sounds simple enough right? And it is. Don’t worry about having the technical knowledge to know exactly what to write, just use plain English, highlight things you’ve seen on other websites you like. It is the web developer’s job to decode this and figure out what it will take technically. To help keep things simple, divide this list into 2 sections: Must have (requirements) and Nice to have (things that would be great if budget and timeline permit).
More specifically, here are some things you should be able to provide.
Prepare your website pages and content. If you know your website will have about 10 pages, write your content and have someone with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) experience edit the content.
This may sound like a lot of work, but writing your website content before launching the website will help and your web designer layout the website better and make things go much smoother and quicker.
Here is the list:
Be understanding and anticipate delays. Not every web project delays and runs over budget, but if you factor in delays then you will not be caught off guard when they eventually happen. But you can eliminate the headaches and frustration by planning ahead (see above steps). A web development project typically involves work from both your developer AND you; understanding that your obligations to the project help or hinder the timeline are very important in making sure you stick to your goals.
Select a web company wisely. It’s true, not all web design and web companies are created equal. Most freelancers and companies will have a portfolio of websites they have done. Here are a few things you can look for while searching for a potential web designer, see if they have done any website that match your taste or something you like. You may even want to take it as far as calling companies in the portfolio and asking about the project whether they would recommend such a company.
Although this basic information is best suited for basic brochure website, you can apply the same techniques to a bigger web project. A well planned project is the best executed one because it saves everyone involves some headache at the end.
What Others Are Saying (3)
Windows 7 – What it Means For Your Business
Microsoft has finally listened to the users of its Operating System and decided to build Windows 7 around users’ feedback.
Did you submit your feedback to Microsoft for the Windows 7? If you did, I have to say thanks because the new OS is awesome.
I had the chance to mess around with the new OS and yes, they have worked a lot of kinks out.
Will you upgrade to Windows 7 this year? Do you might telling us why?
What Others Are Saying (1)
2009 Tech XPO III - Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce
Who would have known? Southwest Florida is teeming with technology companies! Get an opportunity to meet, view, or present your own technology at the 2009 Bonita Spring Chamber’s Tech XPO.
I am very proud to announce the 3rd annual Tech XPO. I’ve been working on the committee to help throw and market the event this year and it will be much bigger than last year! We are working with FGCU in order to get more students as well as more general attendance, so we are expecting a very large audience!
The event is one of the areas largest collaborations of business technology. We have a total of 29 area companies presenting their technology, or their technology products, and demonstrating what they do or how they use that technology to better service customers.
The event will feature interesting and amazing technology from all around Southwest Florida.
Location, Directions, Details:
March 12, 2009
Embassy Suites - Fort Myers (right off of Corkscrew)
10450 Corkscrew Commons Drive, Estero, Florida, United States 33928
Directions/Map
Free Technology Preview (open to everyone) - 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Formal Exhibition Hours - 5:30 - 7:30pm
Would you like to Exhibit?
There are still a few opportunities to exhibit your technology and business at the event. For more information please give me a call at: 239-243-4298.
What Others Are Saying (2)
2009 - The State of Web Development
This post is primarily for web developers, but might contain some valuable information for business owners, and marketing & sales directors as well.doe
2009 is sucking!
Well, for the most part right? We’re having plane crashes, and fires galore, not-to-mention, the too often mentioned collapse of the global economy sparked from the downfall of the real estate market (and real estate backed securities) that subsequently toppled some of the oldest, and most prestigious financial institutions in U.S. history. There seems to be little hope.
But, I truly believe there is. Tight money is forcing businesses, small and large, to really take a look at themselves, and their spending, and demanding that changes be made. We’ve already started doing this and are continuing to do so on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Everything can be done more effectively, efficiently, and for lower costs if one really tries. Processes can be refined and new technology implemented to really make your company sing.
And, this brings me to the meat of this article. 2009, and years to come, will be phenomenal for the web industry. Personally, I believe this global crisis is really the match that will give blaze to the web as the de-facto way of doing, marketing, and managing your business - regardless of size or industry.
How To Grow Your (or Your Clients’) Business
Although there are many examples of the Internets power in terms of reach and exposure I can give you one simply and quickly. A client recently came to us, asking for assistance with their web development and internet marketing. This client was ahead of the curve. This particular business had a website, had some content, and had even made the time and money investment (and foresight) to participate in online marketing (pay per click marketing through Google AdWords).
Now, they were doing OK. With an average 3 - 4 leads/sales from the web per week. Not a bad deal. Does your newspaper ad bring in that kind of business? After evaluating their whole setup we came up with an action-plan (and are continually meeting with the client to refine and come up with additional creative ideas) in order to get more leads and sales in. The client is now averaging:
Now keep in mind, this is over a 500% INCREASE from a company that was ALREADY ahead of the curve. Additionally, this is a COMPLETELY LOCAL BUSINESS. In this particular industry, conventional wisdom (as my team and I have come to learn) is that for this product’s consumers will never travel more than 5 - 10 miles to use it - it is VERY GEOGRAPHICALLY SPECIFIC. Additionally this does not account for sales that originate from the Internet, but are not being tracked (phone calls or walk-ins).
And this is a trend across the board. We have business owners who are finally switching their $5000 - $10000 print budgets over to digital mediums (albeit much less than before) and receiving the same or more traffic and sales. And they are bringing in 10’s or 100’s of thousands of additional dollars every month.
So what does this mean for us web developers? Well, the tides are finally turning. Magazines and newspapers are dropping left and right because they are just too heavy. Their infrastructure is so expensive and this can only be supported by expensive advertising. And, unfortunately, for the time being, the advertising is too expensive and does not get enough results to justify this expense.
So, 2009 and the years to come will offer a lot of opportunity for web developers, stemming from new and existing businesses looking to get the most from their advertising dollars. Keep in mind, it’s not about the best looking design, the best customer service, or the trendiest office, but it’s about results.
Does your marketing product (website and the steps you take to make it search engine friendly and marketable) deliver?
If the answer is no, or you simply don’t know, and you are simply trying to get your customers online as quickly or inexpensively as possible with no consideration for what your website must REALLY do Get out of the business, or start studying!
Because your website must get in front of your clients’ target audience and provoke them to act (purchase, signup, etc).
This is the direction every web developer should be looking.
What Others Are Saying (36)
Basecamp Project Management Review
Basecamp Rocks! There, I said it. If you’re a project manager, or web developer of any kind, researching collaboration software or other kinds of project management software you’ve no doubt run across 37Signals’ Basecamp Project Management system.Truth is, it has gained quite a following amongst developers, but it is a very capable project management system for any project or company
The Bad
Well, before I get to the meat of this review I thought I would quell some of the bad press out there about Basecamp. Although they have had some problems, we have now used them over the course of the last 2 - 3 years and the program has performed phenomenally. Without getting into too much detail, sure the program doesn’t contain EVERY feature, but that’s the point, it’s simple, intuitive and our customers are easily able to communicate with us through it - quite a feat!
Powerful enough to meet our needs, simple enough to be easy to use for our customers.
Interface
Time Tracking and Recording
Basecamp allows you to record time! If you are a web development company and you are not recording your time, first of all, what the hell are you doing? At Atilus we record our time for a number of reasons: to track the progress of a project (based on initial client expectations and contracts), to track employees, and to track our pricing for services (and adjust overtime according to our data). Everything is recorded. And, Basecamp’s open nature allows you to easily do this. You can track time for everything and anything, or not at all. Their time report exports (CSV) also make it easy to manipulate the data for additional manipulation and insight into your business and customers. How much time is spent on average for the setup of a blog, or the implementation of a pay per click marketing account? Easily determined with basecamp’s time tracking.
Pros:
Cons:
Collaboration
Not at the top of our list, simple because I saw the TIME tab first (basecamp is open right now), collaboration is supremely important - at least for our use of a project management system. For years we were having communication problems. I receive about 200 emails/day, and despite being a neat freak when it comes to my mailbox (keep it clean of all large files, organized, and delete/archive old messages) my mailbox is still hovering around 2GB. Crazy! Stuff gets lost, misfiled, etc. And, when communicating through someone else on a project - account executive information can really get misplaced or muddled.
Basecamp solves this problem. You can provide your client an account and allow them access to any number of projects (particularly helpful for developers working beside marketing agencies). Send a message through the simple messaging interface and !voila! everything is recorded. The addition of reply-via-email (messages sent through basecamp can be replied via email and immediately the response is posted as a comment to the original message) was a more recent edition that really kicked up the collaboration factor. Clients no longer even NEED to login to use the system. They simply respond to the message you send to them via email and everything is tracked and recorded for everyone to see.
Plus, for more private messages, you can make sure that only you and your team to see with one click!
Finally, the Writeboard interface allows you to collaboratively edit documents (word-like documents) and track changes among all those who edit.
Pros:
Cons:
To-Dos & Tasks
One of the most important parts of any project management system involves assigning tasks to people in your company or organization. Basecamp excels at this in the simplest way possible. You can create to-do/task lists (with a set of tasks) at will, track time per list and specific task, and your team can even communicate back to you via comments on each task. Additionally, Basecamp offer Templates so that you don’t always have to re-create the same set of tasks on recurring/similar projects.
Pros:
Cons:
Overall:
Pros:
Cons:
Clearly, the pros outweigh the cons, in fact, it is because of these very cons (in some cases) that the interface is so simple and clean, and almost anyone can pick up the system in a matter of minutes. So to conclude, use Basecamp if you are looking for a simple-yet-powerful online collaboration system to connect all members of your team with your clients.
What Others Are Saying (16)
How To Get People to Respond to Online Surveys
I was asked recently about implementing an online survey onto a website. It’s a very simple process and there are a number of tools available that make reporting and compiling the results easy and hassle free. Setup being a breeze, the real question is how do you get people to respond to online surveys? Or anything you are trying to elicit their interaction with. How can you get your visitors to sign up for your newsletter for example? The answer is simple:
Incentives
Provides your visitors, customers, or potential customers incentives for assisting you and/or putting up with your crap (newsletters for example). Today, I received a great offer from Embarq:
Fill out their simple survey and they will donate $5 to a charity of my choosing!
Fantastic idea. Normally, I probably wouldn’t have filled it out for $5, but if that $5 is automatically donated to a charity, why not? Me as an individual might have wanted more to partcipate, but the donation idea realy sparked my participation. But, it could have been other things, an amount off my next bill, free service upgrade, t-shirt, embarq branded sweat pants… anything.
So, how do you get people to respond to your online surveys?
Give them incentives!
What Others Are Saying (5)
New Website Feedback
Thank you for stopping by. We are working on redesigning our website and would like your feedback. Take a minute or two to let us know what we can improve on in our next site launch.
Thanks.
What Others Are Saying (4)
OnlyWire Updates
You’ll notice a nice little button now on the Atilus website, on the right on the side bar. I just wanted to author a quick post about onlywire, a service I’ve personally used for years that has recently made some updates. If you’re like me you probably have multiple bookmarking services. Each services has a seperate set of friends. We all share links to cool new websites, news and information, etc. Unfortunately each account has it’s own login and keeping them organized - or remembering to post to all of your accounts can be a bit daunting. So in came OnlyWire! Years ago I found this very simple little tool that centralized the posting to all of these services. Simple create an account, input your login credentials for any bookmark services you use and post once - to OnlyWire - and it posts everywhere else for you. A huge time saver!
Now, I haven’t been adding bookmarks too much lately, Firefox’s new bookmark/star tool makes things too simple! But, I found a post on a website that I really wanted to share. So, I clicked on my trusty OnlyWire button to find that the service had been updated, and required the use of their bookmark button (hence the button on our website) for a free account. The new design of the site is fantastic and although takes a little more time now to setup an account (add the button to your website for a free account, or pay for one if you don’t want to add the button) this is a very valuable tool and I highly recommend checking it out.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Atilus Wins Web Award
The national award for outstanding achievement in website development was awarded to Atilus for the design update and restructuring of all of WGCU.org’s content The redesign, search engine enhancements, and increased visitor retention, has resulted in an increase in the number of visitors to WGCU.org, nearly 100% in the first 2 months, with sustained monthly growth, since the initial redesign.
Zach Katkin, CEO of Atilus said, “We are excited to have received the WebAward for the WGCU project. Beyond the initial redesign we’ve also developed some social networking, shopping & membership management, as well as content management features that will continue to help provide a better experience and service for their audience. So check back (http://www.wgcu.org) often!“Atilus is a premier firm for Internet marketing and web (application) development, and provides web design and web development solutions.
The WebAward is a national award, graded by a panel of judges for three months, honoring development companies, websites and the companies that own or have commissioned the building of those websites across many categories.
For more information on WGCU, the award, and the team responsible for WGCU, please visit:
http://www.wgcu.org & http://www.webaward.org/winner.asp?eid=10047 & http://www.atilus.com
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
New Email Newsletter System
Simple Design & Creation - You can either choose from a template solution, import your very own design with a click, or have us build a custom design for you. Then our simple tools allow you to test your emails across different platforms.
Easily Manage Subscribers - Our email system automatically handles bounces and unsubscribes. Simply upload your contacts through an automated wizard and you are ready to send! Additionally you can add a widget to your website to collect email newsletter subscribers.
Pay as you go Pricing* - Instead of a monthly fee, you simply pay a base send fee and a price/email and don’t have to worry about paying for services you don’t use.
What Others Are Saying (3)
E-Junkie Free Online Shopping Cart
In doing some research for some clients as well as friends I stumbled across an interesting platform on the web called, E-Junkie. E-Junkie is used by various websites throughout the Internet including some friends and partners of ours. It is a free (or nearly free depending on what package you go with) tool to implement payment processing on your website. It hooks into paypal and Authorize.NET, making setup a breeze and incredibly fast.
E-Junkie seems to be particularly powerful if you are selling an kind of intellectual property or digital mediums online. For example if you are selling Wordpress Templates and Themes, Music Downloads, EBooks, etc. it makes setting this up (including control of what users can and can’t download from your store) incredibly simple. There is no programming on your part, you only provide the files and tweak the controls and only visitors who purchase specific products will be able to access and download. Additionally, client follow up, via email is all handled automatically so your customers receive confirmation, and download links and resources immediately after their purchase.
Finally, and perhaps most interesting, E-Junkie combines this shopping environment with a complete affiliate network, incentivizing all members to help spread the word about it’s vendors’ products. So for example if you use their cart to sell online you can select your product as a reseller or affiliate product and have E-Junkie’s entire audience help to market and sell your own products for a commission that you define during setup. I have seen many examples of online carts (paypal, yahoo, etc) and affiliate networks (CJ, clickbank, etc.) but E-Junkie is the first I’ve seen that combines these two together in a truly integrated network helping everyone benefit.
We will be implementing this on a few upcoming projects and I strongly encourage you to check it out!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
E-Junkie Free Online Shopping Cart
In doing some research for some clients as well as friends I stumbled across an interesting platform on the web called, E-Junkie. E-Junkie is used by various websites throughout the Internet including some friends and partners of ours. It is a free (or nearly free depending on what package you go with) tool to implement payment processing on your website. It hooks into paypal and Authorize.NET, making setup a breeze and incredibly fast.
E-Junkie seems to be particularly powerful if you are selling an kind of intellectual property or digital mediums online. For example if you are selling Wordpress Templates and Themes, Music Downloads, EBooks, etc. it makes setting this up (including control of what users can and can’t download from your store) incredibly simple. There is no programming on your part, you only provide the files and tweak the controls and only visitors who purchase specific products will be able to access and download. Additionally, client follow up, via email is all handled automatically so your customers receive confirmation, and download links and resources immediately after their purchase.
Finally, and perhaps most interesting, E-Junkie combines this shopping environment with a complete affiliate network, incentivizing all members to help spread the word about it’s vendors’ products. So for example if you use their cart to sell online you can select your product as a reseller or affiliate product and have E-Junkie’s entire audience help to market and sell your own products for a commission that you define during setup. I have seen many examples of online carts (paypal, yahoo, etc) and affiliate networks (CJ, clickbank, etc.) but E-Junkie is the first I’ve seen that combines these two together in a truly integrated network helping everyone benefit.
We will be implementing this on a few upcoming projects and I strongly encourage you to check it out!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Brinker Brown - Fort Myers Power Tools
Brinker Brown has a truly beautiful show room of the highest quality consumer and commercial quality power tools and even if you are not in the market, I highly suggest you check it out. This is a truly amazing story of a small business that quickly took off and has become a dominating force in the powertool industry. We look forward to working together with Brinker to market their offices, services, and showroom to a local audience and help them grow through time.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Banking Compliance
FileUs offers the following services:
Thank you to everyone at FileUs!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Nick & Stella’s
According to the website:
So, if you are looking for great food or pizza in Fort Myers, we highly recommend you check out the Nick & Stella’s website and Nick & Stella’s family sports pub! It was a pleasure working with the whole family and we look forward to growing with them over time.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
How Much Does Hosting Cost?
Prompted by a few items I’ve decided to write an article on the cost of hosting a website. This article is in part a follow up to two articles we wrote about the cost of website development and I think hosting and the ongoing costs of web development also need to be addressed.
Well, this morning we received another comment on our very popular blog article “What Does a Website Cost?” additionally I was just visiting the blog of the commenter and noticed that in their portfolio they had this website called: “cheap web hosting” which features a list of hosting companies with their price per month as well as their disk space and monthly bandwidth.
What is Hosting?
First of all I thought I would briefly explain what hosting is. If you are thinking about getting a website you’ve probably heard this term. If not, I’m happy to introduce you. Hosting is like rent for your website. Every time you visit a website there is a computer out there (in the ether) that serves you the website, delivering it to your home or work computer. Very summarized, your computer makes a request for the html, design, images, everything… a server delivers it, and your computer assembles the website. The process of storing your website on that server, so that users can visit your site, download it, and see it is what is referred to by the term “hosting.” Hosting is typically a monthly fee.
Besides the hosting of your website you should know that, conventionally, there are no other fees for your website. This is something we get asked a lot. How much does my website cost per month? How much is ongoing maintenance for my website?
Your development company may be able to setup some kind of maintenance, marketing, or search engine optimization package, that will involve additional fees, but usually, for a smaller site (brochure site with 10 pages) this will not be done nand may not be necessary. So hosting is your only necessary recurring fee.
Just to be totally clear there may be yearly fees associated with the purchase of your domain name (website name, example: http://www.example.com) as well as other fees depending on your website type. Ecommerce sites for example typically need to purchase an IP address & SSL & usually have separate fees for payment processing.
Types of Hosting
Before we get to cost I wanted to mention the three conventional types of hosting:
Shared Hosting - Single account where you are given a certain amount of space on a server.
Pros: very cheap
Cons: Unreliable, share resources with up to thousands of other sites
VPS (Virtual Private Server) - Is a type of hosting where a physical server has been split into multiple servers (through fancy software) such that each has the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine. Each virtual server can run its own full-fledged operating system, and each server can be independently rebooted.
Pros: full control over your part of the server, still pretty inexpensive
Cons: share resources with others on the same server, requires technical knowledge of running a webserver
Dedicated Server - When you have access and control over your own server.
Pros: lots of space, full control
Cons: more expensive, requires technical knowledge of running a webserver
So How Much Does Hosting Cost?
Again, this depends, both on what you need or what your website needs, what your are looking for in a service provider, and what service provider you choose. Numbers vary widely. For the very low end, for shared hosting, you can take a look at the cheap hosting resource I mentioned above with prices ranging from $5.00/month to $60.00/month for a shared hosting environment. For the middle range a VPS will usually run around $30 - $150/month. A dedicated server will run about $100 to many thousands/month.
At Atilus we’ve been through all of the above types of servers/hosting environments. In fact, my first company was a hosting company. I choose to become a reseller of shared hosting accounts and offer hosting to clients locally and on the web. Unfortunately many times there are many multiples of resellers, meaning thousands of websites are on one server, making reliability an issue and technical support is not available (a reseller, not having full access to their server cannot always diagnose and trouble shoot or fix problems).
Throughout the years we’ve been upgrading, and at every step providing a better experience for our clients (uh-huh sales pitch time). I don’t want to go down the sales pitch road, but I do want to explain some of what goes on in the back so that you can understand and make a good decision proceeding with hosting. We dealt with shared accounts through a reseller account, which led to both unreliable service, and technical support frustrations (for our clients as well as for us, as we could never get anyone on the phone). We upgraded to a VPS, which meant we had direct access to the system and weren’t dealing with a reseller, meaning better uptime, and more technical support. Unfortunately, spotty, fast-growing hosting companies still led to poor support experiences and general uptime and reliability was still unreliable because of the shared resources of a VPS. Next we went with a dedicated server, which meant some more work for us, in maintenance and technical skill, but solved many of our performance issues, but physical support was still an issue (if your dedicated server’s hard drive fails someone needs to replace it). Finally, we bit the bullet and have switched to leasing a dedicated server, at a datacenter, and by a company that promises and delivers 100% uptime and incredible support. The experience has been great for our clients as well as our team.
Recommendations
That was a big tangent, but the point is, that to have the best experience possible, you want the fewest hurdles between your website and the computer (and the team that manages that server) that actually serves it. If your website is small, I highly recommend going the shared hosting route, but not your conventional shared hosting route. Although Godaddy and others have their place, ponying up a little extra per month will greatly increase your ability to consistently deliver your website to your visitors, ability to send/receive email, reduce any costs associated with downtime. At this level prices will probably be around $20 - $60/month.
Go with a smaller hosting company, but be sure to ask questions such as, how many websites are on the server, do you own the server or manage it yourself? You can also ask for referrals to get a better idea of the experience others have had. These packages will be more expensive but, many times have additional incentives (greater support, better uptime, better security, website maintenance) to make them worth your while. For all but the most extreme cases, a VPS or dedicated server is simply not a viable option for a company website. But, there are exceptions.
If you’d like to talk more about hosting your website, please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
What Others Are Saying (3)
Site Analysis & More
Contact us via the web today for a free site analysis (that is of course if you already have a site!) or if you don’t contact us via the web for $200/off the setup of a basic website.
Free Site Analysis
$200 Off a Basic Website
Our basic website package is a perfect start for small or medium business looking to jump online and gain traffic and sales through the power of the Internet. Contact us today online and receive $200/off our normal price.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Selling Websites
Selling is an important part of any web company, although this probably isn’t one of the things you thought of when you first started your web business. Luckily there are tools and videos online to help you learn how to be a truly great sales person:
Ok, so not really. Just thought you might enjoy a chuckle. Found this by way of BNET.
What Others Are Saying (2)
Naples, Fort Myers, Networking
This new website was completed just a few weeks ago and we have been busy adding content, and establishing relationships with local businesses and local business resources in order to make it a success.
What is Bonita Business?
BonitaBusiness.com is a resource for everything business in Southwest Florida, the website includes the following:
In the very near future we have plans to release a business forum, where young, old, seasoned and new business owners or those with a love of the business, can get together and discuss topics relevant to the Southwest Florida community. We also have plans to implement a job board, for finding jobs at local companies.
Personally, this project was started to give back. My partner and I are small business owners and have had an amazing journey throughout the last couple of years. We will be documenting that journey across the pages and posts in the website, revealing the secrets and hurdles we continue to implement and leap over to get where we are today.
The articles on the site will be in the following 7 major categories:
Each category will feature posts by experts around Southwest Florida, each experts in their fields.
If you have any suggestions for the growth of the site, or would like to partcipate, please feel free to contact us, leave a comment… and go check it out!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Young and in Charge
Just got done reading a very interesting article about young, upstart companies, run by…. very young people. There are a number of businesses throughout the country run by people fresh out of their teens! It is a crazy world indeed. Just the other day I was asked when I will be graduating from high school. : ) (I do have a baby face)
The businesses span the gamut from conventional product manufacturing and distributing
My own personal opinions on young people running companies aside, there was a very interesting quote:
It’s true, no matter what your age, or experience, the Internet is equalizing or minimizing the cost and effort it takes to test an idea out. So, what are you waiting for, why not start a business today? You can start by getting some ideas and figuring out what made these young entreprenuers so successful.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Wholesalepowertools.com Site Launch
Looking for powertools? Well we’ve created the site for you! We’ve been working for a number of months with the amazing team at WholeSalePowerTools.com to create a huge, in depth shopping cart to provide the world, and the Internet with the best deals on power tools and power tool accessories.
As always, it was a pleasure working with the WholeSalePowerTools team and we look forward to growing with the new site.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
“Ball Don’t lie”- and either does NBA’s Rod Benson.
There is a growing trend of athlete-bloggers, who are candidly and courageously giving fans and outsiders the inside scoop and view of their sport, league, and relationships.
Some, mainly league officials, coaches and fellow players, have been voicing their own opinions and distaste for athlete-blogging. And they should be scared, as blogging is the voice of liability forcing individuals and entities to be responsible. The doors that have been secretively closed for so long are now being blown wide open… or are they?
The voice of reason seems to be setting in for the these athlete bloggers, though. A “bite the hand that feeds you” feeling is washing over them, and making it very difficult for athlete-bloggers to be as candid as they would like to be.
Read the very eloquently stated response of Rod Benson.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Hurricane Fay
We’ve all prepared. We’ve said our prayers and made peace, contacting everyone we’ve ever done wrong by. Hurricane Fay is coming.
All joking aside, it’s actually Tropical Storm Fay, but by landfall tomorrow it is expected to have become a Category 1 hurricane. According to MarketWatch.com:
Atilus’ offices are directly centered around the spaghetti lines and in the middle of the cone of uncertainty. Check out the picture below to see exactly where we are in relation to where the storm is supposed to go:
We are the red dot with a white border.
Having personally been through Hurricane Charlie and the other storms during that crazy 2004 season I am not too worried, but definitely prepared. Atilus will be closed tomorrow because of the storm and we are expecting to open up again first thing on Wednesday. We will all be working from home though so should you need to contact us email would be best.
A quick note though, on doing just a little bit of research for this post I stumbled upon MyFoxHurricane, a very intense site dedicated to tracking hurricanes. Although it is targeted around the Tampa Bay area it has valuable information for anyone watching this or other storms. And… it also offers live chat, if you’re so inclined.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
A Foreclosed Home Solution?
Sell Your House to Europe (I guess the name says it all)
The problem is complicated. You’ve probbably seen or read our writings about the housing market more than a few times. Real estate and property values in Southwest Florida in particular (specifically Cape Coral and my former hometown, Lehigh Acres), as well as other major areas throughout the country, have been devastated by the collapse of the market, brought on through subprime lending. I am almost finished with “Confessions of a Subprime Broker” by Richard Bitner as some loved ones have been really affected by this downturn and I wanted to know more about this debacle.
The solution Sell Your House to Europe offers is simple. Sure, 8500 homes/day are being foreclosed on (over $2,000,000,000/DAY!!!!), but what if there was a way to bring in outside investors or people looking to purchase a second home within the United States? With the dollar being so low compared to the pound or Euro you could also leverage conversion rates and purchase an already supremely discounted home or property for even less.
Sellyourhousetoeurope.com is a simple site that attracts a vast European audience through heavy overseas marketing (both on and offline) and connects them with homeowners in the United States needing to sell or rent their property.
It is a great solution, and sellyourhousetoeurope.com employees are constantly traveling, networking, and marketing overseas to ensure the success of the site as well as the success of its subscribers.
We are very happy to have been a part in sprucing up the site with some enhanced design elements, and look forward to performing online advertising services as well as possibly assist in the programming of the site in the near future. So, if you’re looking for a solution to this Foreclosed Home problem, I highly recommend checking out http://www.sellyourhousetoeurope.com.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
MyHappyTrading - Building Wealth Together
Atilus is incredibly proud to announce that we have launched our latest project My Happy Trading!!!!
What is My Happy Trading? Well, it’s a top secret project we’ve been working on for nearly a year. Planning began around this time in 2007. MyHappyTrading.com is being described as:
Ebay for [financial] content
Ebay allows you to sell products, tables, chairs, body organs, etc.
MyHappyTrading.com allows you to sell your finance related content. Our automated system allows anyone who likes to write about finance (stocks, options, forex, etc.) to author content, record trades, and send email alerts to their followers and make monthly recurring revenue for providing this information… and so much more.
Here is a screen shot:
Okay, so that is the revolutionary idea. But, is that it?
No, of course not! There is so much more. Here is a breakdown of all of many of the amazing features:
We’d like to thank everyone at MyHappyTrading for working together to create such an amazing project. It’s been an amazing journey and we hope you will check it out.
What Others Are Saying (2)
Iphone: what they don’t tell you.
So after days of internal debate I decided to give in. I was pulling the trigger. That damn iphone was going to be mine. Until…
In order to enjoy the capabilities that make the phone so amazing requires activation and a 2 year agreement. You might be saying,
Yes, but what if you decide to move away from ATT service? What if you decide that you no longer want to be held at the mercy of their agreement, and instead you wish to go through a separate service provider for your cell use, and would rather use your iphone for the Ipod and Wi-Fi (Hot Spot) capabilities?
Well, you can’t. Without an active service contract all of those fancy functions are rendered useless.
I wonder if the calculator still works?
What Others Are Saying (1)
The Best Keyword Tool… Ever!
If you perform any kind of web services, particularly web marketing services, you are probably familiar with many of the keyword tools available. Pay per click marketing, and search engine optimization gurus, for example, are probably all-too-familiar with Google, Yahoo and Wordtracker’s keyword tools. There are many keyword tools available (some free, some not so free), that allow you to find and extract keywords that your target audience is searching for.
But, today, a revolution has happened!!!!!
Google released their amazing “Google Insights” tool.
The tool, pulling data directly from Google’s database of searches, allows you to target categories, timelines, and even… specific areas!
By choosing some or all of the above you can then hone in on words and phrases that are a) not only currently being heavily searched for but also b) find terms that are quickly gaining speed. Every web or internet marketer needs to add this tool to their repertoire immediately!
P.S. you can also use the tool to predict the future.
What Others Are Saying (1)
Orlando Internet Marketing
Did you know 95% of money spent online is spent by national brands on national advertising?
But! 95% of all searches are done for LOCAL products and services!!!
People from Orlando and surrounding areas are looking for you, they need your products, and want your services. Are you showing up where you need to on the Internet?
From start-to-finish Atilus can help you plan, develop, and implement a complete Internet Marketing and Web Development strategy. In 2007 our clients closed over $30,000,000 in business because of the Internet. Many of our clients (who had previously thought the Internet “WOULD NOT” bring them business) switched much of their marketing budget, almost completely to Internet Marketing.
If your Orlando business is ready for a change, ready for a more efficient, trackable, profitable marketing contact us today for Internet Marketing.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Customer Service: The 1 true element of business.
This blog post is technically related by nature but not by content.
We have spoken about this issue before, but the business community at large is still not listening.
As a service provider or a product retailer, which should encapsulate all businesses, your number one concern, priority, and purpose is to relate, appeal and please your client or consumer base. PERIOD.
Furthermore, I do not care where you are placed in your managerial hierarchy within your company, what your name badge dictates, or email signature signifies, you are a Customer Service Representative. As high up as the President and CEO of a company, you exist because of your consumers not in spite of them. Your title is only pertinent and reflective of your internal company role not your external company role.
This blog post is inspired by a recent experience of mine, in which I was told by the “General Manager” of my apartment complex that she could not guarantee that the maintenance men would take their shoes off before entering my living room to fix my air conditioning unit (which has been broken and “fixed” 4 different times.) You cannot promise that they would take their shoes off? Why not?
She responded that they report to the “Maintenance Manager” and he reports to her. What?
Does there have to exist such a disconnect in a management interface?
She should have agreed to my simple request and responsibly made sure the “Maintenance Manager” was aware of my concern. A simple phone call would have alleviated any potential problem.
It is amazing how something so simple can mean so much to your customers, and yet be so hard for businesses to comply.
Well, my lease is up soon, and my check book reports to my pen and my pen reports to me… looks like I have a disconnect of my own.
A related video you may find interesting:
What Others Are Saying (2)
Don’t Mess With Google, Duplicate Content
Don’t break the rules! I just discovered an interesting thing. My colleague, senor Scott Clark, wrote a post about his new blog youtech.me. I did a quick search for the title online:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Promote+your+web+venture
Atilus does pretty well, between 1 & 2 depending on when you search. Not bad at all! Google is routinely indexing the site and we have seen our posts on Google in as little as 5 minutes.
But, as many of you know I authored a post the other day on “How to get on techcrunch.com,” and I decided to quick see if that one was popping up:
http://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+Get+on+TechCrunch.com
No Atilus. Strange.
I then searched for the actual page and wah-lah (is that how you spell that).... nothing.
It seems that Google completely ignored or excluded this page from their index. Why? Well, it is really my fault. Most of it was copied (although cited) verbatim from the original post.
The point is DO NOT COPY TEXT FROM OTHER websites. It will not be indexed and may hurt your rankings.
I am going to lick my wounds, edit the post, and pray that Google forgives me.
What Others Are Saying (7)
Promote your web venture
YouTech.me, created by serial web entrepreneurs for web entrepreneurs, know how difficult it is to simultaneously create, operate and market a new web venture.
That is why they have created Youtech.me, which offers an avenue to showcase your new application to the tech world.
They are going to be scouring the internet looking for new and old web based applications that they fancy to write reviews of these applications, which will include notes on design, functionality and ease of use among others.
But you can grease the wheel, so don’t be shy and navigate to their contact form and fill out all sections, including a 3-4 sentence comprehensive description of your application that you wish for them to include in a blog post about you.
Yes! They are eager to write a review of your site!
Things just got fun again!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
How to Get on TechCrunch.com
Found this fantastic information from Guy Kawasaki’s “How to Change the World” blog.
Ever wondered how you can get on techcrunch.com? Techcrunch is one of the most visited blogs about technology, particularly web-based start-ups available. Landing a writeup on your product or company can send hundreds of thousands of visitors your way and has been responsible for launching the careers and dynasties of many web based businesses. So how do you get on?
Well according to editor Michael (Mike) Arrington it seems pretty simple.
Getting To Pitch
There are two conventional ways to pitch to Techcrunch.com (pitch to have your company or website written about):
1. Easiest way is to send a pitch to (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). According to Arrington approximately 30 pitches per day come in through this email.
2. Keep great company. The second most popular, and the most effective way to get on to techcrunch.com is through a venture capital company or a tech celebrity that can vouch for you. Much like the mafia Techcrunch.com will only speak to you if you’re known - or know someone that. Approximately 10 pitches come to techcrunch.com through “known” sources or VC’s.
Unconventional (not recommended): It’s been rumored for years that Mike has a recurring nightmare about Dolphins. So, it has been suggested that you can wait outside Mike’s Atherton California residence dressed as a Bottlenose and bully him into listening to your pitch.
Pitching it Right
Mike and his team have seen a lot. At over 40 pitches a day, they have to wade through a lot of messy web apps. “We combine one’s love of cats with Google maps…” really? The truth is a great pitch is less about how polished you are (your fingers can be shaking as you type), and more about how solid your company and idea is.
Some key suggestions the article and Mike mention in his presentation is something you should have learned in your sophomore English class, stay away from cliche’s and hit him quick! No “revolutionary, web 2.0, social”... if you can help it of course. And, don’t use two words when one will do.
Check out the full article or watch the video below:
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Better than GOOGLE?
As seen on Fox News:
SAN FRANCISCO — Anna Patterson’s [Ex-Google executive] last Internet search engine was so impressive that industry leader Google Inc. bought the technology in 2004 to upgrade its own system.
She believes her latest invention is even more valuable — only this time it’s not for sale.
Patterson instead intends to upstage Google, which she quit in 2006 to develop a more comprehensive and efficient way to scour the Internet.
The end result is Cuil, pronounced “cool.” Backed by $33 million in venture capital, the search engine plans to begin processing requests for the first time Monday.
See rest of story here.
What Others Are Saying (2)
Atilus: Invest
ARE YOU A WINNER?
Welcome to Atilus, SUCCESS Magazine subscribers.
We call upon you to look deeply into how you are investing your money in your company.
As you know, much like you have been investing in your personal financial future to cultivate a business, one must actively invest in its future, as well.
Too often it is easy too easy to choose conventional marketing efforts because they are available and a number of professionals are fully capable of producing some return on your investment.
But in these times of economical turbulence, you must start looking into far more effective and cost efficient methods to market your company.
5.6 Billion Search Engine searches are ran each month, while 95% of those searches are done for local products, services, and resources by interested consumers.
But only 5% of all advertising online is spent on locally targeted advertising.
It’s a small circle, but this is where the winners hangout.
Are you a part of that 5% who is capturing 95% of Search Engine queries?
Contact an Atilus representative for consultation on how you can begin investing in the future of your company.
Related Articles Links:
Others:
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Business IS relationships.
I spoke to an old friend of mine over the weekend to discuss what has been accomplished since we last spoke. It was a pleasantly nostalgic conversation that usually ends in some sort of friendly, competitive salutation, in which we become motivated even more based on the others level of success.
But more than an increased drive to better myself as a business man, is my new found thirst for building better relationships with my clients. I’ve always known, but I realized even more how important that friend’s relationship is to my business.
He not only offers insight, inspiration, and criticism, but he also holds the mirror up to enable me to see what he sees. That mirror shows me my faults, but more importantly shows me a confirmed sense of accomplishment.
As a consultant, I am quick to point out problems and offer viable, cost effective solutions to help maximize ROI in advertising employments, but perhaps I could begin throwing in a cheer or two.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
The Internet Eclipses TV, Radio - For Good Reason
Thanks to Joe Baz and digg.com found this tidbit.
For companies doing Internet marketing and measuring the results, the matter is clear:
Websites [are the] most effective lead generation tool
No matter what business you are in, no matter what geographic region you target, no matter what demographic, there are no more excuses, the most effective way to get business is online.
What Others Are Saying (1)
Comcast BUYS business; doesn’t earn it.
SO why is Comcast still a national leader in cellular and telecommunication services despite the lack of favor shared for their customer service by a growing number of their consumers?
Even in consumer reports Comcast ranks fourth from last among leading internet service providers (ISP), third from last among nationally branded television service providers, fourth from last in long distance telecommunication services, and SECOND FROM LAST in overall national scores!
And yet these are the profit results from Quarter 1 2008:
The LA Times reported that in the fourth quarter of 2007, Comcast said it signed up 613,000 digital video subscribers and added a net 508,000 digital phone customers along with 488,000 high speed Internet subscribers.
SO again, why is Comcast still a national service providing leader if they fail to meet the needs of the consumer, particularly in customer service?
Marketing.
Comcast has “moved to a more aggressive marketing plan,” Comcast chief operating officer Steve Burke said, with new double- and single-play offers, increasing marketing spending in the quarter about 20% year over year. (Multi Channel News)
They are buying their way to the top.
But how long until the internet, with the help of social media tools and applications, builds momentum giving the consumer a louder, clearer more powerful voice that can neither be stifled nor ignored?
How long until media conglomerates and other big businesses will have to begin spending more on damage control and less on buying their consumers?
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Fort Myers Hosting
We’re right here in Fort Myers at:
7578 Laurel Valley Rd.
Fort Myers, FL 33967
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let us build one for your business that will.
If you are looking for an experienced, Fort Myers web design company that will exceed your businesses expecations please contact us at: (239) 362-1271 or by using the above form.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Write to Fight Cancer: The Internet Gives Back
Thank you for stopping by. We are working on the final page for the Internet Gives Back day being held September 5th - 6th, 2008. If you’d like to get involved please contact us using the contact form or by giving us a call at 239 362 1271.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
I Slingpage, do you?
So why do I think this could get big? Well, personally I like the idea that I can be updated on the newest sites, news, or whatever online. It’s kind of like Twitter meets StumbleUpon. Also, I can see all the slings I’ve made or the slings that others have sent me. Slingpage stores my Favorite Slings or my Web Dev Tips Slings in a place where anyone can subscribe.
Two things I don’t like about this application:
1) The fact that only certain slingcasts, subscriptions to pages you may like, are shown from slingpage’s site.
2) I can only invite my friends from other applications like facebook instead of searching for them and adding them to slingpage.
I’m sure that as more people sign up this will change.
Well, I have got to go sling some more pages. If you make slingpage part of your social networking applications, be sure to add me as a friend and sling some good pages my way.
What Others Are Saying (2)
Pay Per Click Marketing - Market Your Local Business
I attended a search engine marketing seminar last week and wanted to share some of the information that was talked about and some of the VERY interesting statistics provided.
SEM Search Engine Marketing, stands for all of the techniques and strategies involved in marketing your website on search engines (google, msn, yahoo, etc.). When you do a search you will see two lists of results, one typically on the left hand site, called the organic results. These are non-paid positions, these are the pages that Google thinks you are looking for. The other set of results, usually on the right as well as sometimes at the very top are the paid or sponsored results, these are ads who have said to Google, “Google when someone searches for XYZ I want my ad for XYZ to appear.”
Search engine optimization is the practice of coming up in the first set of listings (the organic listings). Pay Per Click marketing (PPC) is the practice of placing, and paying for the ads on the right side, or sponsored links section.
Pay Per Click Marketing - As the name implies, pay per click ads only cost money when they are actually clicked on. IE, you are only charged when quality, targeted traffic is sent to your website. This is unlike a magazine, or website banner ad, where typically you will pay for general placement and/or the number of times it is shown.
Interesting Statistics:
70% of users click on organic listings
30% of users click on paid listings, but these are much more well informed consumers who are ready to purchase or buy
5.6 Billion searches are currently done each month
95% of searches are done for local products, services, resources
Only 5% of all advertising online is spent on locally targeted advertising
54% of consumers have completely switched from the yellow pages as their primary resource for finding stuff (businesses, services, etc.) to online
Results from PPC are typically experienced from a campaign that has been firing on all cylinders for 3 6 months.
Wow! Those are some amazing statistics. Unfortunately the sources were not mentioned, but if they are true they shed some tremendous light on the industry and where it is headed. First of all it is very encouraging to hear that the 30% of people who use the sponsored links are looking to purchase. I don’t feel so bad about trying to break some 25% click-through-rate (CTR) barriers. This stat, if accurate, can be used by search engine marketeres as the true barrier of PPC CTRs.
And 95% of searches are done for local goods and services, but only 5% of advertising online is spent on this market. As heavily involved in both these realms, pay per click marketing and local business, this was a no-brainer, but this statistic really drives the point home. It feels that the online market, especially for local business is here for the taking, and with only 5% targeting this audience (and most NOT doing such a great job), competition is low and so are prices.
So in conclusion, whether you use a professional or do-it-yourself, if you are a small business, your audience is online (more than half have completely turned away from the yellow pages), and you should be using search engine marketing (PPC, SEO) to get to that audience.
What Others Are Saying (4)
My .ME domain name is here! Wait, no its not?
Bob Parsons
Founder and CEO
GoDaddy.com
Hmm… do you Bob?
At 11 am EST, Go Daddy domain registrar opened their checking account to receive the low low price of $19.99/yr, so you can be the proud owner of “Web Site Title”.ME.
The flood gates opened, and Go Daddy experienced a tremendous number of domain purchases, but the system experienced unfortunate turbulence resulting in such problems as popular registrations like aweso.me being issued to as many as 9 registrants (as seen on Twitter.com).
Go Daddy has taken immediate action, but is unfortunately only offering those denied the mistakenly duplicate registrations a refund.
It will be interesting to see how much aweso.me auctions for, and how peeved the refunded customers will be.
I will not be purchasing ScottLClark.ME, but certainly you are more than welcome to borrow my name if you would like.
What Others Are Saying (4)
Kevin Costner Killed The Inter-Web
Anyway, one of the top Digg"s of the day was “8 Memorable Movie Misquotes,” one of which quoted my idol KC (my nickname for Kevin Costner). I was reading the list when all of a sudden, BAM, it hit me…
Kevin Costner Killed the Inter-Web!
Most people who have seen, or have heard of the movie Field of Dreams, knows the flick is famous for the line:
If you build it, they will come.
But, unfortunately that’s not entirely true. Many times this seems to be the mantra of many new or potential clients. All I need do is built it, a web presence (a website, a shopping cart, a web application) and they will come - customers, clients, leads, sales, etc. But, unfortunately the quote really went:
If you build it, he will come.
Just one word, but a profound difference. And that’s how the Inter-web works, and life and business works too. If you build your site and adhere to a certain set of guidelines one or two or a few may come, but really, how is anyone supposed to know you’re there, know your products beat competitors or know you have a service that will solve some need?
Marketing!
The web is no different. Rough estimates put nearly 110 Million distinct websites on the Net, with nearly 20 billion pages. What is going to differentiate you, how are your customers going to find you through all of this mess?
So, keep Kevin Costner in mind when building your website (and in your general life too), he is a wise man, but a misquote from a nearly 20 year old movie has led to a lot of unsucessful web ventures.
What Others Are Saying (1)
Web Marketing 101. This way…
But with all the ways to conventionally and unconventionally market your website, which direction is best?
First of all, the success of your website depends on one thing and one thing only- MARKETING.
You have to imagine that your website is the quaint little Mexican restaurant that is sure to satisfy the pallet of all hungry individuals wandering aimlessly for the best of the Mex, but unfortunately you are located on the corner of “Who Knows” and “Nobody’s been there.” In order to attract the hungry, which you are sure to delight, you must make your existence ridiculously obvious.
You see, unfortunately, on the web, you don’t have a store front for people to wander into, or nonchalantly pass by meanwhile storing your business in the “must go back” file in their brain. If you are to capture the attention of the ever growing, perpetually hungry consumer, you must plaster your brand identity, products and services everywhere appropriate. You must purchase that virtual billboard on the side of the internet highway that gives crystal clear directions to the corner of “Who Knows” and “Nobody’s been there”.
This raises two main questions, though: where to market and how to market.
You could place a couple of print ads in a magazine or newspaper, or you could run a radio or tv ad, or you could place an ad where your consumer is, where your web site is, and where the consumer is actively seeking, searching and emotionally ready to purchase what you are offering. Where is this fantasy land that enables consumers to ‘click’ on a textual, audio or visual ads, which will immediately send them to where you are to sell them what they need and want in the very moment necessary for a consumer to engage in a purchase? The internet.
So why place your ads conventionally in a magazine or TV channel and hope that those random, less targeted individuals listen or read intently, take notice, copy down necessary contact information, and make the additional effort to contact you via phone or email? Seems like a long, direction less, cumbersome process that will only lead to sales when every step on the way is followed.
But what kind of advertising online is there?
Here are a couple of effective and cost efficient methods of successful internet marketing:
Pay Per Click Marketing (PPC)- Very simply, pay per click (PPC) is an advertising model used on search engines, advertising networks, and content websites/blogs, where advertisers only pay when a user actually clicks on an ad to visit the advertiser’s website. Advertisers bid on keywords they predict their target market will use as search terms when they are looking for a product or service. When a user types a keyword query matching the advertiser’s keyword list, or views a page with relevant content, the advertiser’s ad may be shown. These ads are called a “Sponsored link” or “sponsored ads” and you may recognize them next to or above the “natural” or organic results on search engine results pages or along side popular blogs and content sites.
PPC has the following benefits:
- PPC advertising reaches only your target market or the world! You pay only when someone clicks and is sent to your website with the presumed intent to do business.
- If someone runs a search engine search query for a particular keywords(s) that means they are looking for a company that offers what you offer.
- Time is a factor, so be there when they need you. Online you are available 24 hours a day every day, and again, when they run a search for your keywords through PPC marketing you will be there when they need you.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)- In the simplest of terms, search engine optimization will enable your website to rank higher than others without having to just pay more. For example, Google has a very thoroughly refined and advance mathematical algorithm that takes into account the age of a website, unique visits to a website, amount of content on the web site and relevancy of that content and so much more. Taking all information in account, Google ranks websites accordingly. There are many ways to ‘optimize’ your website to be more compliant with said algorithm standards.
Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it “ranks”, the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of searches, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
GOOGLE-in’
Google is much more than a search engine. It is the ultimate, most advanced network on this planet. No company can outshine Google at this point. It is without question that Google, along with the internet revolution has made our lives so much easier and has changed the internet for the better. With that being said, when comparing to other search engine resources, Google includes an astronomical variety of programs and new product developments. Most of them are not very familiar to most people. Before I joined this internet marketing team and started exploring the tools associated with SEO, I know I wasn’t aware of Google’s capacity. I have been introduced to a great amount of Google applications and was so impressed that I wanted to become more experimental with Google.com. After playing around with Google.com for several hours, I was so astounded that as a result of this brief research on the corporation, I can shamelessly admit that I have become seriously consumed and overly obsessed with it.
What do you know about Google?
Besides the search engine, I am sure you are all aware of Gmail, Picassa, Google Earth, Google maps, Google Images & Videos, yet there is still so much more. Google’s website is comprised of desktop products (standalone applications and desktop extensions), mobile products (online and downloadable), hardware products, web products (advertising, communication & publishing, development, mapping, search, and statistics), and even more.
“Huh?”
Don’t worry, I will go through a few of these handy applications and will explain some of the “Google Tricks” that I picked up on.
The first Google product that I found interesting was IGoogle. IGoogle is a personal Google webpage designed by Y-O-U, complete with multiple tabs of your interests (ie. Art tab, News tab, Humor tab, Entertainment, etc) as well as the search engine across the top of the page. You can design your Igoogle page so it suits you. You are able to make a personal to-do list, calendar of you personal events, your horoscope, and more that you can design for your homepage. One can create an IGoogle page by visiting to http://www.Igoogle.com.
Google Notebook and Google Docs are also useful apps, but they are entirely different. If you are at a website and come across content that you would like to save for later, Google Notebook allows you to highlight the content, clip it to the e-notebook so it is saved for future use, and finally add comments about the selection. This is very helpful, especially when researching a topic. Google Docs on the other hand is perfect for uploading, editing, and sharing your own documents, presentations, and spreadsheets with others on the web.
Google Sky is a particular function within Google’s mapping designed to view the stars and galaxies. There are several other off-the-wall mapping tools that are attention-grabbing too. To name a few, there is Ride Finder and Google Transit. With Ride Finder, it will show the real-time position of participating shuttle, limousine, and taxi service in 14 US cities. Google Transit makes planning public transportation trips trouble-free.
Goog411- By adding the number 1-800-Goog411 to your mobile’s address book, you can call Google’s 411 Directory for various listings and directions. Also, by adding the number 46645(Google SMS) to your phone, you can text Google to find out all sorts of listings. Google SMS can provide people with local businesses, weather, glossary, sports, movies, flights, weather, translation, stocks, airlines and more. Example: By texting Google with “Weather, 33928”, you will receive the weather forecast for that area.
Google Answers- Have a few questions? Google’s question and answer service allows users to pay researchers to answer your questions.
Google Calculator- Are your math skills a little weak? Well worry no more. Google, The Math Master, has made it incredibly simple for you! Type in any equation into the Google search engine and it will automatically calculate it for you. How neat is that?
Scholar- If you are researching a topic. Google Scholar provides relevant scholarly journal articles on the topic you are investigating. Professors and college students will love this app!
Blogging and Google Reader- Blogging addict, you’re in luck! By joining Google Blogs and Google Reader, you can blog on your own and can also subscribe and stay up to date with all of your favorite blogs. Google Reader is a tab located at the top of your G-Mail account that categorizes and updates your most preferred blogs and blogging sites. With this added application, you can participate daily in blogs and share them with friends!
Google toolbar- If you decide to download the Google toolbar, you will never see a flashy ad or mock computer system alert pop-up again. Phewww!
Google talk- Google Talk is very similar to Skype in that it allows you to IM and call your contacts for free from your computer. It is beneficial for communicating between businesses and for keeping in touch with close friends and relatives.
Real player- I was completely unaware of this tool. If you enjoy downloading music and videos in your spare time, this is ideal for you. This Google gadget allows you to transfer music and videos to your Ipod or MP3 player. Simple as that!
Google’s Business Solutions are extremely helpful for Atilus and we use them consistently throughout the day. We use Google’s Adwords account for SEO and PPC. We also use Google Analytics to monitor the traffic on our clients websites and our own. Google’s other business solutions services are located at www.google.com/services/.
The tools I have listed are only a few selected from Google’s limitless list of entertaining and useful applications. Google even has different kinds of communicating services and social networking memberships within its site. If you are interested in seeing what else Google has to offer, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Google_products or browse around on http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/.
What Others Are Saying (4)
BAD expert advice.
They report, as written by Tina Ferguson of the True You Marketing blog, that there are three ways to eliminate spending too much on too little regarding a new corporate web presence:
- Get to know the technology.
- Know your position in the marketplace.
- Ask to see working clients’ sites.
Now, I will agree with the first because I believe that every consumer should be less trusting and more informed. And knowing “enough to be dangerous” only means you know enough to get skirted with jargon you may not have brushed over. Certainly, having an educated IT professional you trust with you during professional meetings to discuss web development will prove helpful.
However, knowing your position in your marketplace only proves one thing: your position in your market place. Discounts are never in order unless you expect discounted work, but I have never and will never base my pricing or any form of marketing costs on the size or dominance of a company. To think that their are professional companies potentially engaging in this sort of unethical practice is discouraging and unsettling.
As for asking for “working” sites, I agree that it is far more comforting to access a served website with an active web address from your internet connection, but do not for a minute discredit successfully created websites that are off line, for whatever reason. Sometimes clients will take websites down, go out of business, or change a brand with a subsequent site redesign, which will remove the former site from internet accessibility. But since said site is still actively present on an in house server, you can view it in it’s entirety and still experience the site just the same.
If you are looking for a specific or similar design or level of functionality, and the designer wishes to showcase it to you from a site that has been built in-house but removed from the web, should that downgrade the worth of the design or coded application?
I should hope that whoever wrote this article does their due diligence next time before writing such unfounded material.
In response, I believe the best way to avoid paying too much for too little is to ask the company is question for references, portfolio excerpts, a description of the companies management interface, meet the individuals that you will be working with multiple times, and fully understand the company, their process, their work and their pricing structure before solidifying a relationship. And beyond that, make comparisons with the competitors in question.
But again, as I have written several times, web development pricing is not arbitrary but is also not standardized. You will pay much more for the same work with one company than you will another if they are more experienced, creative and properly managed. What will take a freelance designer $10k to create may take a professional firm $50k to create.
It’s logistics and you will get what you pay for. In addition, time line, size of team necessary to create your web application, level of custom coding or design, amount of and type of software, if any, necessary to implement, level of customer service and response turnaround (based on references) and much more should all be taken into account when comparing pricing.
After reading many other blogs by Tina, I found her material to be intelligent, insightful and useful… but the post in question was a definite miss.
What Others Are Saying (2)
Stumble Upon’s Star rating System
After limited research, I have not been able to find significant information regarding the specifics of the system and algorithm used by Stumble Upon to garner a sites’ star rating, which star you are rated at and why, and at what level your site/page is served to participating Stumblers as they Stumble. I am sure that the number of Stumbled page views, subsequent ratings, whether thumbs up or down, play a majority role, but at what level?
More specifically, I have the following questions:
1) How are sites/pages given a star rating? What is that rating based upon? How can a rating be affected positively or negatively?
2) Is there a more refined directory of pages that have been stumbled? For instance, Atilus.com has many Stumbled pages with varying ratings, so where is a list of those pages so that I can actively monitor success?
Thanks.
What Others Are Saying (2)
Seth Godin is sweet!
I often read the ingeniousness that Seth Godin continues to pump out for mainstream consumption, and the post referred to in today’s Marketing Profs e-newsletter is certainly no exception. He hits yet another home run, and I don’t mind giving it props.
As a shining example, read this Marketing profs e-newsletter here and just try not to agree with Seth. I dare you!
If you had or have a cell phone contract with ANY major telecommunications company you will be chanting Seth Godin’s name by the end.
I HAD Sprint PCS and I would rather choke down a basket of salmonella poisoned tomatoes and wash it down with $4.50/gallon gasoline… all based on my customer service (or lack of) experience.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
This ain’t yo Daddy’s PPC, son!
Amidst internal office discussions, as we love to keep the watering hole occupied, Pay Per Click marketing became a topic of discussion- as it often does.
Many things have changed over the years, making PPC internet marketing subsequently far more precise, effective, and cost efficient. However, the unfortunate early pioneers who dared to dabble before its refinement period may have produced a permanent bad taste on their marketing pallets.
I am here to challenge those pioneers to smell a coffee bean and pop a Mentos because it simply doesn’t get any better than PPC!
There may have been a time in which thousands of your dollars were dumped on text ads that were loosely and arbitrarily placed based on erratic, weak, simplistic, easily manipulated and ill thought out algorithms, but Google has since dumped millions of their own into creating arguably the greatest method for todays big and small businesses alike to capture the consuming audience in the emotional buying moment, as quickly as they ask for it by simply running a textual search query. And the arsenal of tools offered by Google and the like to maximize ROI are only growing and getting increasingly more effective.
So put that cigarette out, cap the whiskey, stop feeling sorry for the past, and put on that suit that you once wore to take on the business world at large and get back in the internet marketing game. The game just got fun again.
This ain’t yo Daddy’s PPC anymore, son!
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Alcoa Web Designer
Is your website bringing you business? If not, or if you think it could be better, we can help. Our web designers are the best in the business.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let our web designers build one for your business that will.
For a FREE consultation, call us today or complete the contact form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
GAS $$$$ HIGHER for credit card users?
Gas stations have been advertising one amount per gallon, but charging another… just for using a credit card?
They call it the “cash customer discount”, and I am torn to an opinion. On one hand, I respect that gas prices are increasingly more expensive, and in an attempt to pass savings on to consumers, they are only profiting an average of 2.7 cents a gallon. Also, offering “cash discounts” enables them to bypass expensive credit card transaction fees averaging 2% of sale per transaction, in addition to encouraging customers to come into the store to purchase perishable goods, lottery tickets, etc.
But then the responsible and ethical marketer in me steps in. Bait and switch schemes are never okay. Ever. They are profiting from pure dishonesty and that is intolerable.
Though, by advertising both prices- cash and credit, which they are now being forced to do, this turns the mindset around from screwing credit card users to now offering a sensible, cheaper alternative to those willing to pay cash. And I can sit well with that.
As seen on Yahoo. Produced by ABC News.
What Others Are Saying (3)
5 Ways your business will BEAT the Economy
There is no denying that we are experiencing turbulent economical times. DUH!
That certainly wasn’t breaking news, but I am noticing a tremendous flow of negative energy coming from business men and women who fear the future of their companies, but are failing to notice the more obvious ways to break free from the closing grip of the recession.
I am not a genius when it comes to market analytics, and I don’t claim to have the answers to all of your business related problems. But what I do have are 5 more obvious, but commonly forgotten, tips to remember when riding the wave of this fickle economy, and I suggest reading to the end.
1) DO NOT lower your prices! Lowering your prices are not the answer. It’s not even a good short term answer, and long term it is brand suicide. This will send two messages to the consumer: My products/services may have been grossly over priced until now, and/or my brand is a cheap alternative. And your customers, despite what you may think, are impressionable and disloyal. You begin to send out these signals and post-recession you will still be looked at as the ‘cheap alternative’, and good luck raising your prices again.
2) Offer value added benefits. Instead of lowering prices, why don’t you shock your consumer by offering more than you were for the same price? You may have to be strategic about this approach to avoid letting it get out of control, though. First, begin by thinking of inexpensive ways to add value to your products and/or services. For example, if you are a suit boutique, offer tailoring with the purchase of a suit of a certain value. Or, like we have been doing here at Atilus, offer additional consulting services to ensure a websites success during it’s development with our company. Doing more, or simply going the extra mile, will prove to enhance the value of the product/service purchased, in addition to appealing to your consumer on a new and level. They will appreciate it. But like I said, you may have to be strategic in that you may want to apply certain value, time line, amount, etc restrictions to avoid over use.
3) A la carte is in! Bundle packages for products and services were an excellent way for businesses to sell more to the consumer, and the consumer appreciated the convenience or bulk rated discount. But now, consumers are becoming increasingly more selective about what they purchase. For example, they may really like one company’s hair shampoo but does not favor the same company’s hair conditioner, so as a hair salon why force them to purchase both as a package? Separate them and sell as individuals. They may not buy them both, but now they have the option to buy one instead of none. That still impacts your bottom line. For service industries, as a landscape company you may have been able to sell mowing and hedging as a coupled service, but people are pulling back. They may not need the luxury of a proper hedge, so offer them separately. Again, one is better than none.
4) Advertise! MORE! Yeah, I know. You are stretching to pay the bills, concerned about if your account receivables will get paid, and the last thing you want to do is increase your expenditures. Or is it? The economy is tough, businesses are sleeping, so now is the time for you to actively and aggressively push your product and services to the front. Already advertising? (You are advertising aren’t you?) Then advertise more! Not to mention, advertising outlets are struggling too… I smell favorable negotiations!
5) MOST IMPORTANT!!! Remain positive… Thinking negatively, will produce negative words, which perpetuate negative actions, which only lead to negative results… every time, no exceptions. If you expect the worst; that is precisely what you will receive. Your life, and the life of your business, are directly affected by your choice to be negative or positive. Owning a business is never easy, recession or no recession. But, hey, your a business man, your used to taking risks, right? Enjoy this recession, remain positive, and you will pop out the other side a stronger, wiser, more accomplished business man.
After all, the recession is just a byproduct of negative energy anyway.
What Others Are Saying (2)
Linux Developer found guilty in MURDER of his wife and file system!
Now, some might accuse me of being a bit tabloid or exploitive with this blog post but… come on!
Hans Reiser, well known developer of ReiserFS (well, at least to the tech world), a Linux file system, told authorities yesterday where the body of his wife, Nina Reiser, lays.
It is amazing how a life can turn from creative genius to fallen former star and convicted murderer and almost immediately his life’s’ work falls simultaneously.
As seen on ARS Technica:
You can read the rest of this tragic story here.
What Others Are Saying (1)
Search Engine Rankings
In 2007 our clients brought in $30,000,000 in Internet-driven sales. Let us help you achieve the same results.
With Search Engine Optimization you will see an improvement in your placement as well as traffic to your site.
Your web site should be making you money! Let us optimize your site and develop a strategy that will grow your business.
Please complete the contact form and we will meet with you to discuss how we can help turn your website into a profit making extension of your business.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
5 Website Ranking Gems
Found this very recent search engine optimization article from USA Today care of a terrific Search Engine Watch post. REALLY want to know how to get your website to rank well and perform on the search engines (driving traffic and business). Well it’s simple according to Matt Cutts, Google engineer, the process is simple. Simply follow these five website ranking gems:
1. Spotlight your search term on the page
2. Fill in your “[meta] tags”
3. Get other sites to “link” back to you
4. Create a blog and post often
5. Register for free tools
For more information I highly recommend checking out the original USA Today article.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Naples Web Developers
Your website will be:
Why? Because we have some of the best talent in the business and we offer a host of custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let us build one for your business that will.
If you are looking for an experienced, Naples Web Developers company that will exceed your businesses expecations please contact us at: (239) 362-1271 or by using the above form.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Wallard Web Hosting
We understand the website and business needs of your community.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let us build one for your business that will.
If you are looking for an experienced web design company that will exceed your expecations please contact us at: (239) 362-1271 or complete the form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Townsend Web Hosting
We understand the website and business needs of your community.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let us build one for your business that will.
If you are looking for an experienced web design company that will exceed your expecations please contact us at: (239) 362-1271 or complete the form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Seymour Web Hosting
We understand the website and business needs of your community.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let us build one for your business that will.
If you are looking for an experienced web design company that will exceed your expecations please contact us at: (239) 362-1271 or complete the form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Rockford Web Hosting
We understand the website and business needs of your community.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let us build one for your business that will.
If you are looking for an experienced web design company that will exceed your expecations please contact us at: (239) 362-1271 or complete the form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Maryville Web Hosting
We understand the website and business needs of your community.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let us build one for your business that will.
If you are looking for an experienced web design company that will exceed your expecations please contact us at: (239) 362-1271 or complete the form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Louisville Web Hosting
We understand the website and business needs of your community.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let us build one for your business that will.
If you are looking for an experienced web design company that will exceed your expecations please contact us at: (239) 362-1271 or complete the form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Wallard Web Designer
Is your website bringing you business? If not, or if you think it could be better, we can help. Our web designers are the best in the business.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let our web designers build one for your business that will.
For a FREE consultation, call us today or complete the contact form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Townsend Web Designer
Is your website bringing you business? If not, or if you think it could be better, we can help. Our web designers are the best in the business.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let our web designers build one for your business that will.
For a FREE consultation, call us today or complete the contact form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Seymour Web Designer
Is your website bringing you business? If not, or if you think it could be better, we can help. Our web designers are the best in the business.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let our web designers build one for your business that will.
For a FREE consultation, call us today or complete the contact form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Rockford Web Designer
Is your website bringing you business? If not, or if you think it could be better, we can help. Our web designers are the best in the business.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let our web designers build one for your business that will.
For a FREE consultation, call us today or complete the contact form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Maryville Web Designer
Is your website bringing you business? If not, or if you think it could be better, we can help. Our web designers are the best in the business.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let our web designers build one for your business that will.
For a FREE consultation, call us today or complete the contact form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Louisville Web Designer
Is your website bringing you business? If not, or if you think it could be better, we can help. Our web designers are the best in the business.
We produce websites that are:
We offer a host of affordable templates as well as complete custom solutions that will fit your budget, help grow your business, increase clients and sales, and increase profits.
Your web site should make you money! Let our web designers build one for your business that will.
For a FREE consultation, call us today or complete the contact form above.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Wallard Small Business Marketing
Last year our clients brought in over $30,000,000 in sales from our internet marketing and search engine optimization techniques.
Your web site should be making you money! We can develop a strategy that will. Call us today for a free consultation or complete the contact form.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Townsend Small Business Marketing
Last year our clients brought in over $30,000,000 in sales from our internet marketing and search engine optimization techniques.
Your web site should be making you money! We can develop a strategy that will. Call us today for a free consultation or complete the contact form.
What Others Are Saying (0)
Be the first to comment on this blog! You know you want to.
Tell Us What You Think
Author: Harry Casimir
Tags: Website, Shortcut, Desktop, webpage
Author: Jacob Giesler
Tags: design trends, web design, web 2.0, minimalism
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: twitter, twitter dying, twitter use, twitter use 2010, Thinking about using Twitter for your business
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: linkedin advertising, linkedin advertising review, linkedin advertising first impressions
Author: Jacob Giesler
Tags: homepage content, design
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: gregory court reporting, naples court reporting, fort myers court reporting
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: linkedin advertising, linkedin advertising review, linkedin advertising first impressions
Author: Jacob Giesler
Tags: Internet Explorer, IE9, HTML5, CSS3
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: Does My Website Hosting Matter, website hosting, does my website host matter
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: tips for managing email, managing email better, managing email more efficiently
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: evergladesisle, luxury rv resort in florida, adsource
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: Trent Hamm, Collis Ta’eed, Chris Garrett, Shawn Collins, Chris Pearson, Neil Patel, Aaron Wall
Author: Jacob Giesler
Tags: CSS3, button, browsers
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: quickbooks, quickbooks online, basecamp
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: social media, implementing social media, how much are social media services
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: google, google topeka, google changes name
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: information overload, too much information, too much technology
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: basecamp, 37signals, rework
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: comcast, comcast cable, slow internet connection, slow cable internet
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags:
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags:
Author: Jacob Giesler
Tags: browser fonts, embedded fonts, 3sIFR
Author: Zach K.
Tags: what does a website cost, how much does a website cost, cost of a website, the cost of a website, Web Site Development Costs
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags:
Author: Harry Casimir
Tags:
Author: Harry Casimir
Tags: web directory, web directories, SEO, Search Engine Optimization, Internet Marketing
Author: Jacob Giesler
Tags: image replacement
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: google local search, yelp.com, citysearch
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: web marketing, internet marketing, naples car insurance, naples auto insurance, naples home insurance
Author: Zach Katkin
Tags: harry casimir, lutgert, lutgert college of business, fgcu, fgcu alumni association
Author: Harry Casimir
Tags:
Author: Harry Casimir
Tags: windows 7, microsoft, operating system
Author: Zach K.
Tags: internet, expo, web, tech
Author: Zach K.
Tags: web, tech
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Harry Casimir
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Author: Zach K.
Tags:
Search The Blog
Recent Entries
Archive
Categories
Make $100. refer a friend or business | find out more Non-Profit. get the help you need | apply now
Naples | Bonita Springs | Estero | Fort Myers