You just finish your website, and you are excited to see it “live”. But first you should test if everything on your website works correctly. Remember that the website is your corporate identity on the Internet. Testing your website gives you a chance to fix errors before they destroy your business reputation.

Now, what you should check first? I would start from the basic.

Spell Check and Grammar Errors

Proof read your site … no matter how careful content creator was, you will always find a few misspelled words or grammar errors. If you don’t, be sure that your customers will.

Check Links

Next thing is to check if all your links on all your pages works. You can do it manually if you want, but on larger sites, it can be a tedious task. For large projects, you can use Xenu’s Link checker. The good news is that it’s free and better than most other link checking software.

Forms – E-Mail

We all want feedback from our website visitors, right? To ensure that you will get some, check if forms on your website work as expected. Make a habit to test forms on your website from time to time.

Web site visitors many times enter wrong input in form fields. If you use Java Script to validate form input, check your scripts in IE and Firefox at least. Not all scripts works in all browsers.

Page Titles – Meta Tags

Web developers use different software to create web pages. If your webmaster forget to add Meta tags on your website, in the title will write: Untitled Document.

How can anyone forget to add Meta tags, I am hearing you asking.

Well, search on Google for: Untitled Document and 35.000.000 results will be returned. For the search term Untitled Document 1, there is much less competition. Google return “only” 1.650.000. I guess that you will agree that your company name is better title than “Untitled Document”.

Meta tags are useful (especially title and description) for both, your website visitors and for search engines. So do the check.

Screen Resolution

You are looking at your website on your monitor, and it looks great, right? How will it look on other monitors and other screen resolutions? You website should look acceptable on 800 x 600 and great on 1024 x 768 and higher.

How your website looks in different browsers?

It is easier than you think, so continue reading. One of the things that you should definitely test is how your website looks in different browsers. The reason is: Each browser can display Web pages slightly differently, and you want to make sure your pages look good in the most popular browsers.

I have only one browser installed, how I can do this, I hear you asking. Search on Google for “view your website in different browsers”, and you will find different websites which allow you to preview your website in almost all known browsers. And yes. It’s free.

Usability – Can your website visitors find what they are looking for?

Ask few people to visit your website. Your friends or relatives, doesn’t matter. Ask them what they think about your website. Let me clarify. It is not important did they like the colors or the layout of the site. Important thing here is: Can visitors find what they are looking for on your website within a few clicks?

And the most important: When they look at your home page can they understand what your company is about? How comfortable they feel with your navigation, did they understand the terms that you use on your website? Can they reach your contact page?

…

Zoran Makrevski is founder and CEO of WebGoto.Gr from Thessaloniki, Greece We have over 10 years experience in Web Development. Our database driven websites will help you succeed in your online business. http://web.goto.gr/company.html

Read more articles written by Zoran Makrevski

In the past few weeks I’ve had an influx of new clients and there appears to be a common trend amongst them. Fuelled by the economic downturn people are realising the need to crank up their marketing efforts but they are looking OUTSIDE their businesses for new leads and sales. The truth is that people are leaving bags of untapped revenue on the table. They are not harvesting the opportunities that lay dormant within their current business.

In this article I share my key credit-crunch busting tips for squeezing tons of untapped revenue out of your business even if you’re just starting out: -

1. Ensure Your Marketing Funnel Works

How are you handling new and existing leads? How is your marketing funnel working? Do you have an effective follow up sequence set in place or are people falling through the gaps? This is where you should be spending the majority of your time right now. Follow up is queen in this economy. Ensure that you are cultivating the relationships that you already have. These are the people who already know you, they may have bought from you before so will understand the value of your offerings.

2. Focus on Your Current Client Base

Begin harvesting the relationships that you’ve been cultivating in the past months and years. Acknowledge your community. Let them know that they are important to you. Make them feel special and thank them. Now is a good time to be utilising information marketing techniques. Be mindful of your clients needs and tailor everything you do to helping them fulfil them. Give away lots of meaty information; provide value and assistance that builds trust and confidence. Your clients do still have money to invest, but they need to understand the value of what you offer and be well informed to feel confident about making a purchase.

3. Design Special Pricing, Products and Programs

Begin by identifying the top 20% of your clients and the top 5% and start to create special pricing, products and programs that specifically cater to their needs. Ask your list and past clients what they need. Do a survey. What are they struggling with now? What are their obstacles? Think about ways that you can create both niche products and multiple offers at varying prices points that will fulfil those needs. A one price fits all business model will not work in this economy. Just remember, people STILL need your products and services, their challenges ARE still there. In fact, their situation is probably accentuated by the current economic climate. Be aware that if you don’t fill your clients needs they will look elsewhere. So it’s your job to be creative. Offer multi-level pricing for your services and offer information products at lower price points which act as the lead in to your higher priced products and programs.

4. Increase Customer Value

Don’t focus on getting more new people on your list unless you’re just starting out. Your focus should be on getting those you have to spend more with you. Your list will grow naturally when you’re seen to be doing well and your clients will refer you to others when you help them get results. People are most likely to buy from you when they have just made a purchase. Implement immediate upsells which will increase your customer value. Do your clients know that you offer other products and services? Are you upselling? Identify each customer touch point and ensure that you are upselling new and exciting products and services at each of these points.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EMAIL NEWSLETTER, WEBSITE OR BLOG? Feel free but may I ask that you include the resource box below in full. You are also welcome to use my photo.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Victoria Player works with coaches and small service-based businesses. Want to increase your online visibility, position yourself as an expert and attracting more of your IDEAL clients without the need to sell? Get your FREE audio training program packed full of practical how-to marketing advice for attracting repeat and increased business each and every month, visit http://www.VictoriaPlayer.com

Article Source: http://bb-articles.com

Article marketing is touted as the most effective link building strategy and traffic building tactic in existence. It is and it isn’t depending on how you employ it. There are many different points of view but there are mainly 5 strategies that most experts agree upon and use.

Article directories allow you to include a resource box for every article you submit. Inside this resource box, you include a link to your website. If you submit just one article to 100 article directories and it is approved for publication, you will immediately receive 100 back links to your website. There are thousands of article directories in the World Wide Web which can mean thousands of back links and huge traffic!

Now, if you submit, say, 5 articles to a hundred directories, you may get 500 back links easily! How? Again, by including the link to your website or blog in the Author Box at the end of your articles like I have done below. The best part about this strategy is that quite a number of article directories have high page ranks (PR). We’re talking about PR4, PR5, and on occasion, PR7 websites! Having a link to your own website in a website which has a high page rank would give a significant boost to your search engine standing! This means your site will be noticed by more people.

Here are the top 5 questions that experts get about Article Marketing and the answers to those questions.

1. If I submit the same article to many article directories, will it violate a search engine’s policy against duplicate content?

The simple answer is – No – but see #2 (below) for a loophole. Since we’re dealing with high ranking websites, the search engines will assume that the submitted content is your original work. This is the reason why most article directory editors are pretty confident about the articles they display. The problem that they try to avoid, really, is with regards to the credibility of their services. They don’t want to be known as a repository of junk content, that’s why they have outlawed the posting of PLR (private label rights) articles as well as articles loaded with Affiliate links.

PLR articles are those you buy that were written by someone other than you. These are not a good way to go because the authors are selling the same articles to hundreds of other people. Using PLR articles will create a “duplicate content” problem for you with both the search engines and with the Directory editors.

2. Should I submit articles which I have already posted in my own web pages?

If the article was posted on your website or blog first, the answer is “Yes, absolutely!”. If you submit your articles to directories first, the search engines may assume that where the articles first appeared, in the Article Directory, is the originator of the content. In that case, your articles could be distinguished as “duplicate content”. This could lead to the de-indexing of your articles. It will not, however, get your website de-indexed. The key is, you want your articles to appear on your website or blog first and be indexed first as originating with you. Wait a few days and then submit them to directories.

3. Can I submit as many articles as I want to as many article directories as possible?

Absolutely, that’s what I do and I do it often! This is very much advised as a fast way to build up your link popularity and secure a great page rank for your website or blog. I have only found one directory so far that only allows one submission per day. I have not found any others that have any limits whatsoever.

Bear in mind that search engines are quite wary of any website that suddenly experiences a great increase in the number of its back links. It is advised that when you submit articles to the article directories, wait a few days between each submission. There is one exception to this. When I began submitting articles I had 10 that I submitted on the same day to get established, so to speak. After that I limited my submissions to one a day to each directory.

4. Why are my page views still quite low even after submitting my articles?

If your page views remain at low levels after submitting many articles, ask yourself, or someone you trust, the following:

a) Is the subject of your article interesting enough? Does it cater to a wide audience?

b) Is your title enticing enough to merit a reading of your entire work?

c) Is your article informative enough to merit recommendation to others?

d) Is your article readable enough to give your audience an easy time in digesting the information you are sharing?

I almost always ask my wife or my best friend for their advice on my writing. I have no ego to bruise. I want my articles to be readable and helpful. So ASK! If you get – “No” – to any of these, you have found the factors that contribute to your low page views. Doing some editing to correct the problems you have identified can dramatically increase the number of times your article is viewed and your Author Box link to your site clicked.

I have some articles that were viewed more than 130 times in just a few days through just one Article Directory! Multiply that by about 300 and you can see the impact. Many of the readers clicked my Author Box link and visited my blogs for more Free Resources on a particular topic. I pride myself on providing lots of Free stuff on my blogs and you should too.

Remember, some article directories attract only a few visitors so viewing will also be low. If you are writing on a highly specialized topic, low page views would not be unusual.

The key is, your articles are published and your back link in your Author Box is pointing to your website or blog and that helps your page rank even on a low viewed directory.

5. Can I be sure that my articles will be kept intact by people who would use them in their own websites or eZines?

You can never be sure. This is why you have to run your own check from time to time. Search for unique phrases in your article and click on the results. Determine if the webmaster published your Author Box links. If he did not, you could ask him to include them. If you get no response, contact the article directory editors so that they themselves can act on the matter. Vigilance is the key. It is rare but it does happen.

A positive side of directories is the editors will recognize “duplicate content” when the thief tries to submit your article under their name. The article will be rejected. This leaves them with placing it on their own blog or wesbite and you can find that out by doing the search as described.

Do these 5 things and watch your traffic increase.

Lastly, finding Article Directories to submit to is simple – Google “Article Directories” and you will get a huge list. Or, do what I do. I use software that submits the articles with a few button clicks. This has saved me hours upon hours of tedious hand-submission because the software has over 350 of the best directories built in so you do not have to search for them.

Keep in mind, submitting articles takes work, tons of work when submitting to one directory at a time. Check out various software like I did. The best software does cost a few bucks so do not expect to get off cheap. There is free or low cost software but “you get what you pay for”.

Bottom line is: Articles, written by you, are still the fastest and cheapest (Free!) way to get more traffic and higher search engine rankings.

Become a better writer, today! Jim DeSantis is an Internet Publisher and former TV News Editor. Jim provides more information about writing on his blog, AnswersPlus.info, where you’ll find – “The Writer’s Guide to Internet Marketing” and “Instant Essay” software. Click “Writers’ Guide” and “Essay Creator” in the sidebar. Also available here – http://www.answersplus.info

Article Source: http://bb-articles.com

I was on the phone recently and I told the person just to copy and paste the link I had sent him. He proceeded to tell me that he did not know how to do this and that most people did not.

When I explained that copying and pasting is the mathematical equivalent of 2+2=4 he said, “well all right I’ll Google it then”.  He knows about Google but not how to do the simplest of computer functions.  Good thing they don’t have the TV phone yet because I was shaking my head and rolling my eyes.

Having been born in 1957 I was not raised in a household with a computer (duh).  When I was a child my etch-a–sketch was my laptop.  So unlike my nephew and niece who at birth were given Mac books I had to learn and adapt to computers.

Computers have many functions but for me there greatest function is to be used to market online.   An entire industry has spawned of people working from home and selling goods and services over the internet.  You may ask yourself  “what could I market on the net”?

Well how about an info product?

Do you possess knowledge that others would benefit from?   Look at what a few of the leading info marketing guys like Alex Mandossian, Frank Kern, Armand Moran, to name a few are doing.  They sell millions of dollars in information products per year.

So the question is, why not you?  I’ll bet that the idea of making money from home without the need for physical inventory (or expense) is appealing.  Note that I said “without the need for physical inventory”.  With information products your “inventory” is virtual.

In 2005 I started a company that licensed information products from authors and speakers.  Each time we sold a product the author/speaker earned a royalty.  So what was the cost of my product development?  How about zero.  Then as opposed to shipping CD’s I digitized their product into an electronic file (mp3).   So when a customer made a purchase they instantly received access to the product via the net.

So you have several options to begin your new endeavor.  One is to become an affiliate for someone who has the product and offer all completed.  Usually affiliate programs come with turnkey marketing pieces, landing (also called squeeze page) that has proven conversion numbers, sales letter and on.  Your only task here is to drive traffic to your affiliate site.

Another option is to license existing product and then create your sales system.  There are a number of great info products where the creator simply is not a good marketer.  Here is your opportunity to cash in on their expertise while creating a mutually beneficial relationship.

Then of course your next option is creating your own product.  The benefits of this are many; first of all you own it (duh, again).   This enables you to repurpose the content as you see fit.

Let’s say you have written a book.  Well you can take aspects of the book and create a DVD or CD series; you can create a seminar from its content, perhaps a membership program (online of course), or a coaching/mentor program.   I could keep going but you get the point.  The owner of the content is master of their universe.

Now my question to you is “what if?”  What if there is something I’ve said that sparks your thinking into gear?   If so you’re asking yourself “how do I get started?”   Well grasshopper the answer is simple, start by doing research.  Search the net for info products and see what’s on the market and observe how they are being marketed.  If you decide to create your own product search that topic and see what’s available and how you differ (6 degrees of separation).

Once you have decided on a direction we’ll need to discuss the various marketing methods available to you.  And that my friends will be the subject of my next article.

Till then, let me leave you with this thought from Isaac Newton, “An object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion.”  In other words get your butt in gear and take action.

Steven Seppinni is the co-founder of Seppinni-Magers Omnimedia (SM), an internet marketing and media company. SM client base ranges from NY Times best selling authors, speakers, nutrition companies and real estate developers.

Find out more about Steven Seppinni at http://www.StevenSeppinni.com

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With 250,000 people joining every day, Facebook is fast becoming the HOTTEST ticket in town for online networking. As you may know, attracting and connecting with the RIGHT prospects can be challenging in a crowded marketplace. In this article I share my personal tips and strategies to help you build a successful and lucrative online business network.

Facebook offers an accelerated method for connecting with your target market online. It enables you to network, share ideas, forge joint venture partnerships and also learn from other success minded entrepreneurs from around the globe.
My personal experience of Facebook has been phenomenal.  I have built my network to 470+ business ‘friends’ in less than 2 weeks. I’m getting over 1,000 hits on my website every single day which mean increased sales and my opt-in rate for my e-zine and audio class has tripled… and all of this without having to step away from my desk! Hands up who wants some of that?

To take your first steps towards enhancing your online visibility you must begin by creating a business -centric Facebook profile page. To help you grow your network swiftly I’ve devised some simple fast-track tips to get you started.

1.    Who is Your Target Market?

The first point is to consider who you target market is. Are they potential clients? Are they joint venture partners or friends? It’s important that you consider how you will ‘dress’ your profile page. The features that you add should be tailored to the needs and interests of your specific target market.
Consider what photo you will use? Will your profile be more casual or one that is specifically geared toward a business audience? What type of videos will you use? What applications will you add to your profile page to generate your MWR (most wanted response)? All of these elements must reflect your business image and the requirements of your audience.

2.    Get The Word Out

Begin by inviting your friends, colleagues and any other business associate to your Facebook page. This can be done simply and quickly by importing your contacts list directly from Outlook or your web based email service. Then send a short personalised message inviting people to join you. This will act as an immediate way to get the word out, grow you ‘friend’s list and let people know that you’re on Facebook.

3.    Grow Your Network

The third step is to build a network of people that you have access to at your finger tips. Begin by identifying your ‘dream team.’ Who do you most want to connect with? These are also the people that will serve as a beneficial Circle of Influence. When you’ve compiled your list locate each individual using the search box at the top left hand corner of the page.  Then formulate a quick personalised email introducing yourself and how you know of them and request to be added to their friends list. Simple!

For example, I located a number of marketing guru’s that I admire and have followed for many years. Making that connection with them has opened up the door to a plethora of new connections from like-minded entrepreneurs around the world who now wish to forge strategic alliances and joint venture partnerships with me.

4.    Schedule  Your List Growth

The next step is to work on growing your list on a consistent basis. Schedule some time each day to make a connection with new people. You might start with as little as 10 to 15 minutes every day but my recommendation it to allocate a least 45 minutes to this fantastic lead generation strategy. You will be surprised at just how quickly your contacts will grow and the reward is increased traffic to your website and elevated opt-in rates. As the word gets out people will begin to contact you! Remember I grew my list to 470+ in less than two weeks. So isn’t it time you gave Facebook a try?

Internet Marketing Entrepreneur, Victoria Player, is founder of Victoria Player Coaching. She’s also the author of the FREE weekly publication, Magnetic Marketing Tips. To leverage the power of Internet marketing techniques that enable you to automate, simplify, and rapidly increase your bottom line go to: http://www.VictoriaPlayer.com

Article Source: http://bb-articles.com