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Archive for the ‘Web Design’ Category

5 SEO Tips for Website Redesign

Friday, April 19th, 2013

Are you currently planning or going through a website redesign? As you are probably already aware, there is a lot of thought that must go into a website redesign. From the look and feel to the features and functionality, there are a lot of details that must be considered and managed to make everything go smoothly. Elements of the newly designed website – including the site’s architecture, navigation, content, linking, and calls to action (CTAs) – need to be carefully assessed and tuned to ensure optimal performance with search engines. Here are five tips to help your website redesign yield better results and drive more relevant traffic to your site:

 

Tip #1: Use search-friendly URLs – they should contain relevant keywords and use hyphens as word separators. Having relevant keywords in the URLs helps with SEO and improves the visitor’s experience by keeping the URL short and memorable.

 

Tip #2: Map existing URLs to new URLs – when page names – or any URLs – change you must perform 301 redirects to direct visitors and search engines to the new URL.

 

Tip #3: Update HTML and XML sitemaps – be sure to add (or remove) any URLs in your HTML and XML sitemaps. Keeping your sitemaps up to date is important for both search engines and your visitors.

 

Tip #4: Keyword-rich content – develop SEO-focused copy that is keyword-rich, unique and informative. Include important keyword phrases as high up on the page as possible to help search engines determine the topic/them of the page. Additionally, use alt tags and image descriptions to help search engines index non-textual content.

 

Tip #5: Optimize meta data for main site pages – be sure that title tags are around 60-70 characters and use feature-important keywords. Title tags and meta descriptions should be unique and relevant to the page’s content; and make sure that the descriptions are attractive enough to entice the searcher to click through from a search results page.

The Power of Web-based Project Management

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Spreadsheets can get out of control while commercial software does everything but manage your projects effectively.

A web-based, centralized project management system can help boost your productivity and make your operations more efficient. Managing time effectively within your company will help deliver projects on time, on budget and increase profits.

Many companies are looking for an alternative to spreadsheets and commercial software; especially when it comes to managing projects or jobs. The ability to keep a the pulse of each project is faster and easier with a web application. Converting your existing project management processes onto an online platform isn’t hard; in fact it’s quite easy. Once it’s up and running, all of your team members can access the necessary features of the application, such as entering expense line items, with any web-enabled device such as PC’s, Laptops, iPhones and iPads.

Web Applications have fostered the ability to centralize data so that your customers, suppliers, vendors, employees, and stakeholders can easily access and share important information, instantly, from anywhere in the world. Furthermore, centralized Web Applications have eliminated the hassle of painful software installations, upgrades, and expensive licensing costs associated with traditional software.

Not only is your data centralized with a web-based project management system, but it is accessible by anyone from anywhere with an internet connection and the correct log-in credentials.

In Summary, web-based project management can:

  • Increase productivity and accessibility
  • Manage projects/jobs easier
  • Centralize your data (tasks, expenses, resources, financials, etc)
  • Provide enhanced security through user roles
  • Instantly generate valuable reports
  • Allow your team to communicate with customers
  • And more!

Does your website work?

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

Sure your website is online and running, but does it work?

In our opinion, a website should be doing one of two things (if not both): make you money by generating leads, or save you money by making your operations more efficient. When looking at your website with these two components in mind, is your website working? Our philosophy is to make your website an investment; not an expense.

 

Making you money: Lead generation is the name of the game. Whether you are using Organic SEO to move your website to the first page of search results or whether you are implementing a Pay-Per-Click advertising campaign, the key objective is to attract qualified leads. Once you have the lead, your website needs to be structured in such a way that will help convert the lead into a sale or, at the very least, qualify them further into a hot lead.

In addition, if you have considered implementing a “drip marketing” campaign, it’s important to have a strategy that will build-up your “prospects” database that will enable you to provide education-based marketing techniques such as frequent newsletters, whitepapers, and auto-responders.

 

Saving you money: If you were able to save time by becoming more efficient in your operations, resulting in higher profits and greater savings, would you do it? Many people would, some wouldn’t, but a lot of them don’t know how. If you manage the operations of your business using spreadsheets or off-the-shelf commercial software, we can help you become more efficient by create a web application that is tailor-made for your business. Imagine how nice life would be if you could manage your entire operations online, in a centralized location, and have the ability to instantly track and report on various projects/jobs/tasks.

If you would like to learn more about any of the topics discussed, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We want to make sure that you are well-informed of all of the capabilities a website can bring to your business. Most importantly, we want to make sure that you have a website that works.

Oilfield web apps

Friday, November 18th, 2011

The Oil and Gas industry is rapidly changing to become safer and more productive through the use of technology. Web applications (web apps), in particular, have been gaining momentum in the O&G industry.

If you are an Oil & Gas service company that is looking for an alternative to spreadsheets or commercial software, we want to speak with you. Our custom-built web applications can help your business become more productive and efficient while saving money in the process. Furthermore, as your business changes, your web application can scale to those changes, and can provide a framework that can be accessed by advanced technologies such as a Blackberry or iPhone Apps that can be leveraged by employees/contractors in the field.

Here is a quick list of benefits that a custom web application can bring to your business:

  • Custom-built to suit your unique business processes and systems
  • Effectively manage any aspect of your business
  • Manage invoices and automatically submit to 3rd party solutions such as OpenInvoice
  • Accessible from anywhere with an internet connection
  • Secure
  • Scalable
  • Provide easy database backups
  • Instant reports without human error
  • Excel spreadsheet import
  • Export analytical reports in Excel or PDF format

 

Each web application is unique; your web app may have different features but it will be built to suit your unique processes. This flexibility is a clear advantage over spreadsheets and commercial software. Web applications are specifically built for your business.

Contact us today and let’s discuss how a custom web application will benefit your business, improve your operations, and save you money in the process.

Do you have an online strategy?

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

If searchers can’t find you online they will find your competitors.

Tell me, what is the purpose of your website? Is it purely informational or do you want people to find you on search engines? What keywords are you targeting? Is your website optimized around those keywords? Is your website designed with “calls to action” to convert leads into customers? The list goes on.

The point here is that having a website just isn’t enough. If you want to be on the first page of Google and outsell your competitors, having an online strategy is critical to the success of your overall business plan and marketing efforts.

Give us a call or send us an email to schedule a phone call or face-to-face meeting and we can discuss some strategies that will take your website to the next level.

How to launch a website redesign without hurting search rankings and traffic

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

A lot of companies are choosing to redesign their website without understanding the impact it may have on their search engine visibility. We have seen companies implement a website redesign only to see their hard-earned search engine rank disappear. How would this scenario impact your business? To some it will result in a loss of traffic, but to others it could result in a loss of revenue. The good news is, with proper planning, you can avoid this scenario and position your redesign for success.

Besides the obvious website redesign objectives, such as a new look and feel, new features, etc, it is critical to ensure that your new website is ready for search engines in order to:

  • retain your current online visibility
  • set the stage for even better visibility in the future

 

When your company decides to undertake a website redesign, think of it as a huge opportunity to optimize the website for search engines. Many web design companies out there do not understand the SEO implications of a website redesign; therefore knowing the risks will save you a lot of post-launch headaches. Incorporating SEO into your redesign planning process is critical to achieving success.

The key message here is that if you are planning a website redesign, use it as an opportunity to optimize the new website for search engines, from the beginning! Make sure that the web design company you choose has a time-tested process and knows what they are doing.

If you are thinking about a website redesign and have questions or need help, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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