June 16th, 2011 
mjlefort I have decided to start over with a new website and blog. Some pages are not finished yet but they should all be up and running in the next couple of days. I promise I will update the blog more often than I used too!
You can send me suggestions and ideas of what you would like to see in the future.
May 9th, 2011 mjlefort These things get repeated over and over again but we can’t reinvent the wheel. Every little thing that you do can make a huge difference at the end. The secret with SEO is that there is no secret!! There is no sure way of marketing your website and what could bring great success to one company or website could do nothing for another. That’s what is so frustrating with SEO: not only the marketing tactics change constantly but there are so many possibilities and to get the perfect “mix” of ingredients to make it work depends on the time and effort you (or someone you hire for this job) will put into it.
It’s a little bit like cooking. You know what you want to create but you never know what is going to happen before you mix all the ingredients together and you let it cook and do its magic.
The first step starts with your website. If it has not been built with the following items in mind, you should go through your website and modify or add these things all throughout and should be implemented for each page separately (do not put the same keywords, titles or content on every page). Each page should focus on a different thing or subject.
The title tag and the META tags for description and keywords should all include the most important keywords and search phrases that people would search for, for your kind of business, and each page targeting a specific product or service that you offer. If you want to target a specific geographical area, don’t forget to include all the names and terms related to that area.
For the title tag, keep it short but straight to the point
For the description tag, be specific on what you offer. This description is what people see when doing a search in Google or any other search engine so make it appealing while using as many important keywords as possible.
For the keyword tag, write all the specific keywords related to that page only. Each page should have a single core term associated with it. You can add variations of that core term in the keyword tag and all throughout the page. Another great way to target your audience is to use the terminology that is specific for your area of business or expertise that people would recognize.
It is always good to ask yourself: “What are my target customers searching for, what questions are they asking, what would attract them to my business?” and so on. The more questions you can answer, the most targeted keywords you will find. Then decide on which page the keywords should be, then add all specific keywords you found all throughout these pages
It is also a good idea to add heading tags (H1) for paragraphs and titles and strong and bold tags on the keyword phrases consistently throughout the text. Google gives some importance to these tags as relevant content in your pages, so use it wisely. Your pages must contain fresh content and enough of it (you should have a minimum of 400 to 450 words per page). Google bases its rankings on how interesting and unique your content is so spend a little more time to write something that comes from you and not something you copied from another website (it is illegal anyway, it is a copyright infringement, unless you get the approval of the original writer. This could actually get your website banned if the search engine thinks that you are just a copy of an existing website (duplication websites are not good). When you add links, include the http:// before the domain name and make sure that all links are working (or your rankings could suffer from it).
Images can now bring a lot of traffic to your website since search engines started providing image searches. If you use the following tricks for every image on your website, you could increase your traffic dramatically:
When you name your images, make sure you only use keywords and be as detailed as possible
Example:
not good: 12345.jpg
great: black-and-white-shitzu.jpg
If somebody searches for a black and white shitzu, there is a good chance that your image will show up in the search and if they click on the image it brings them to your website.
Then use the ALT attributes to add keywords to that image (ex: My black and white shitzu)
There is also other content you can add to your pages (like videos, maps, etc) that you can add keywords or specifications to. Don’t forget to use all the opportunities that you have to add keywords and content to your pages to attract more traffic to your website. The golden rule here is to have a variety of very targeted words and phrases for each page (do not use the same keyword a million time or it will not work!) If you overdo it, it could do the opposite result and actually affect your rankings. It is also not a good idea to try to cheat by using “farm pages”, shortcuts or spam optimization as it could get your website banned for good.
Other great ways that can bring you some results is to add a sitemap that you will submit to the search engines, and install a web analytics program (like Google Analytics) to monitor traffic and see what is really going on between your website and your visitors. This can really help you with your SEO, as it shows what keywords people used, what pages they visited, how long they were on each page and an unlimited amount of great information you can use to better your SEO tactics.
If you see that one page doesn’t get visited or if people don’t stay on it for more than 5-10 seconds, you would know that you should definitely modify its content or completely remove it. If it doesn’t bring any positive result, it shouldn’t be there.
Then make sure that you update your content and that you have something attractive that will make people want to come back to your website.
Next post, I will go a little deeper into SEO.
April 17th, 2011 mjlefort File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a way that allows the transfer of files from one computer to another, generally with an FTP application (some programs also provide this kind of “service” – for example iweb on a mac sends everything you create directly on your server without having to install a separate FTP program) with the click of a button.
A regular FTP program will allow you to upload or download (send or receive) any type of file to (or from) your web server or hosting provider. The best FTP programs let you drag and drop files, and it is now possible to upload or download single files, multiple files or entire folders all at the same time (make sure you check for the features offered while comparing FTP programs, as these can really make a difference and save you a lot of time and frustration).
The first step you must take after choosing and installing your new FTP program, in order to be able to use it, is to set up your server information. You always need (at least) the following information:
- Host name/server: The IP address or domain name (it can but it doesn’t always include your domain name as is)
For example, it could be 123.456.789.01 or ftp.yourname.com
- a user name
- a password
You usually get this information from your hosting company (whoever takes care of the server where your website is parked).
Once you filled out all the info, click on connect (or test connection). If you entered the right information, you get connected right away. If one of the information you entered is invalid, you will get an error message and the program will tell you that it can’t connect to the server. Verify the information or contact your hosting service provider.
Once you get connected, you usually see three main windows. The left window usually shows the files on your computer. The right window shows the files on the server where your website should be. And the bottom window usually shows all the FTP activity going on in the program (the files being transferred, the status of the files, if they are paused, if they failed to transfer, etc).
If you grab a file from your computer (the left panel) and you drop it to the server (right panel), the files from your computer will replace what was on the server (if it has the same name). If it didn’t exist, it will just be added. WARNING! These changes are live and can’t be undone. Once a file has been replaced, you can’t get an older version of it back, so make sure before you even start sending files from one side to the other that you make a backup of both sides (from your computer and the server, preferably on an external media, like a cd or external drive) to make sure that if something goes wrong you can always send a previous copy of the files. And that way it always protects you and makes sure that if something happens (your computer dies, your web designer runs away with all your files, or whatever else) that you will always have a copy of your website in a working order.
As soon as you send your files to the server, you will see the changes online right away. Visit your website after every changes you make to be sure that everything you have uploaded is displayed correctly on the internet. You should also test it on different platforms (mac and windows, firefox, explorer,…)
The next time you open the FTP program, you will not have to redo all these steps. The FTP program saves this information so that you can quickly connect to the server with the click of a button. And that’s it!
To get more detailed information, read the help document provided with your FTP program (usually the last tab at the top).
You can now share your website with the world!!
Next subject will be: Basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) you can do yourself.
March 12th, 2011 mjlefort Now you have this great website but you don’t know what to do with it? The next step is hosting.
The example I have used for many years with my customers (and really easy to understand) is to imagine that your website is a car and hosting would be the parking. You need a web hosting service to “park” your website so that it can be visible on the internet. These companies offer “space” on a server (a dedicated “computer” running services to serve the needs of programs running on other computers).
Hosting prices start at a very low price. Godaddy’s hosting services have a great promotion at $1.99 a month. Click here to check it out. I have personally moved all my websites with GoDaddy and I have been pretty satisfied so far with their great hosting services and easy to use interface. They also have hosting packages with WordPress, you don’t even have to install it! Make sure that you choose a package that includes everything that your website needs for it to work. If you only have a static website with no extras (just pages with text, images and basic stuff) you should be ok with the most basic package. If you have a shopping cart or a database, you need to check that these extras are set-up on the server (for example Mysql database, shopping cart and credit card processing,…) and included in your package or your website will not work.
The people who created your website know what is required on the server, and if they are professional, they will help you with the transition to a server and even help you find the right package or company for your website (if you are not hosting with them or if they don’t offer that service). If you created the website yourself, you know what is included in your website design and you just need to find a package that will offer the functionality that you need.
Just make sure that you read the hosting contract or agreement before signing up for any kind of service because, while some have no long-term contract or set-up fees, some of them can force you to sign up for a year at a time. Also watch out for the hidden fees…
If you need to put your website on the server yourself, you will need an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program to transfer the files to the server. There are some free ones on the internet, and the other ones are usually free for 30 days so that you can try them. It gives you time to upload your website and make sure that it works before the free trial expires. If you plan on making a bunch of changes to your website, you should definitely invest in a good one (they are still pretty cheap, around $40) but make sure that you compare the features (speed of transfer, multiple file transfers, pause-resume,…) to make sure you get a good deal.
March 6th, 2011 mjlefort You have a good domain name. Now is the time to find a good web design firm to create your online presence.There are many reasons to have a website and knowing exactly what you want to achieve with your website before you try to find a company to create it is imperative. The whole website creation should focus on the goals that you have for it.
Here are a few reasons you could want a website:
Knowing all those details first will make it a lot easier to create the hierarchy of your website. Even if it is possible to add stuff after, it is always easier to build everything (or create a space for it) right from the start so that you don’t have to modify the look of your website after it is done. Write down your ideas. Even things that you maybe think are not important could help the designers throughout the process.
Once you have that, start contacting web design firms and don’t be shy to ask a lot of questions. If a firm doesn’t seem to be receptive to your questions or if they try to silence you or say that they will just take care of everything, be careful. A company that really value your satisfaction with go out of its way to answer your questions and make sure that your are part of the creation process (unless you clearly state that you don’t want to participate in the development of your website). You should have the following list of questions with you when you meet a company for the first time:
This is a good base to start, and you can add all the other questions that come to your mind. Just watch for the reaction the people from that firm will have when they see you have a list. Like I said, if they roll their eyes when you say you have a list of questions, it’s not a good sign!
Don’t choose a company too quickly. Take the time to meet with a few different ones to compare what would be the best deal FOR YOU. It’s not because it is cheaper at one place that you will have the best deal there. Sometimes it is worth paying a little bit more and be sure that there will not be a bunch of other fees later on. Then, once you decide on a company, just make sure that they put in writing everything they will do for you and what it will cost in details.
If they require a deposit, make sure you know what their policies are regarding refunds or in case you want to change things from the original plan…The deposit is usually 50% of the total price and not refundable, to make sure you will not change your mind after they started working on your website. Also make sure that they follow the deadlines. It is normal if it takes a bit longer than expected, a couple of weeks maybe, but it shouldn’t be over a month.
Your website is now finished, the next step is hosting
March 5th, 2011 mjlefort Having a website can become a real nightmare for someone who has no knowledge of how it works, what it is worth, the time it should take, etc. Many web design companies out there charge excessive amounts of money and abuse their customers because these poor customers have no clue what to ask for, what is happening in the background, what kind of result they should expect. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against web designer. I have been one myself for the past 12 years. But because of that, I know what I am talking about. And I have had many customers running to me asking for help, telling me that they got ripped by some unethical firm because they didn’t know anything apart the fact that they wanted a website.
I think what differentiated me with these companies was the fact that I was explaining the process and answering any questions that the customer had right from the start and all along the process. I am a very honest person and I know for a fact that I have been charging a lot less than I could have charged if I compare to other web design firms, but i have built trust and respect along the years, which in my mind is worth a lot more in the long run. A reputation is very hard to build and when you treat your customers right they are the best advertisement that you could ever have. In a business world where competition is so tough, the only thing that can really make a difference and why people choose a company over another one, is what that company gives extra, the customer service, the effort to always please them, etc.
So I decided to start this series of articles to explain every step required to have a website just like when I was explaining that to my own customers, from the very beginning starting with buying a domain name to after its completion and how to market it once it is online. I will explain it in the most basic and easy way possible targeting people that have no knowledge at all or very limited about websites and computers. For the most advanced people, I will create another series about more in depth subjects, and I welcome all great ideas or questions you may have related to web design, servers, marketing of your website, web strategies, domain names and more for future articles.
1st crucial decision: buying a domain name
Before even thinking about what your website will look like, you have to choose a domain name. Do not overlook the importance of this step, because it can make or break your business. One of the most important thing to keep in mind while choosing a domain name is to choose a short one easy to remember that includes the most important keyword(s) that people would search for in the type of business you are offering. Use a dash (-) instead of an underscore (_) if you have a longer name, as some search engines grab your keywords differently depending which way you choose to write it (my-name-is.com will show up as my-name-is, but if you choose my_name_is.com, it will show up as mynameis). Also, do not make the mistake of using a free e-mail address for your website (hotmail, gmail, yahoo, etc) as it really looks bad for a company’s reputation. You can’t be seen as a serious company that can be trusted if you can’t even buy a domain name and do things properly.
Easy steps to choose your domain name
First, write down all the keywords that are linked to your area of business
For this example, let’s say I am a company that offers online security. My keywords could be: online security, web security, security scan, online protection, online privacy and so on…You can also use some online services to find keywords (like Google keyword search or just do a search for keyword generator).
Then write down everything that you think people would write down in a search engine to find your company
Ex: how can I protect my website, website scanning, online security company,…There are some services that can tell you which keywords people search for the most by categories. (you can check Google Trends)
Compare the two lists
Compare your two lists of keywords. You will see what words get repeated the most often. Choose the five most important ones and then try to create domain names from those five words. Choose a couple of different ones in case your first choice is already taken.
Buy your domain name
There are many companies out there that are selling domain names. I have to say that my favorite one is GoDaddy. I have been using it for many years. The process is very simple: you search for the domain name that you want to buy and if it is available you can follow easy steps and it is yours! If it is not available, it usually suggests other domains close to the name you requested or you can try another one on your list.
Congratulations! You now have a domain name.