Newsletter No. 2 September 2008
- Search Engine Tips
Do you want to improve your position on Google and other search engines?
- Custom site samples
Clients who have opted for their own design and are still able to use the Ideal Gallery content management system (CMS) to update their sites and display & sell online .
- Splash screen option samples
Clients with striking graphics leading to their website content.
- Express Setup examples
More clients who have got up and running in double-quick time.
Custom Sites
Two different sites created with guidance from the photographers.
On Moments are Memories , we were provided with a template by Angela Neale and built the site based on the design she supplied. The GoAway Photos site was developed from scratch by our designers liaising closely with Keith Millar to produce a site that met his requirements to show off his stunning travel photos.
"You have made a confusing process very easy and have really helped me to achieve the look I wanted".
Angela Neale - Moments are Memories
"The site has exceeded my expectations - thanks for your patience during the design! Now comes the hard work of selecting from my 1,000s of photos to use the ones I want!"
Keith Millar - Go Away Photos
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Splash Screen Option
Introduced last month, here are 2 examples of clients using the Splash Screen option for impact on their sites
"I'm really pleased with the product and I also secured a wedding last week partly by being able to direct a customer to the 'work in progress' site"
Adrian Cook - Adrian Cook Wedding Photography
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Express Setup
We continue to find this service provides an ideal way of kick starting your site.
- Have you been meaning to get your site set up for sometime but somehow not got round to it?
- Did you start your site but lose interest or find you didn't have time to get it to an adequate state to release?
- Has a friend or family member promised to create a site for you but done nothing about it?
- Do you like the idea of having the flexibility to update your site but aren't keen on trawling through documentation?
Answer "Yes" to any of the above then Express Setup is for you! Below are 2 more clients who have taken this route.
"Wow what a transformation, you have really brought us into the 21st century. Thanks. "
John Ball - BBPix
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Search Engine Tips
If you build it they will come ...
... if only! It may have worked for Kevin Costner but you may have to work a bit harder to persuade search engines to find you. There is some leg work to do first and its all down to the way search engines "read" your website. That's the art of it. - welcome to the world of website optimisation!
Key phrases
Firstly, discover how people are finding the websites of your competitors by examining the words they are typing in the search engines. There are keyword tools out there for you to do this.
e.g. https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal put these "key phrases" into your site in the main text on your pages.
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Page Title
This is the text that appears in the browser bar -
e.g. on our home page at www.idealgallery.co.uk
This is a key piece of information used by search engines. Use dividers for brand and page titles e.g. "-", "|" and "<>". Some tips for this are :
Length should be no more than 70 characters
- Incorporate key phrases (above)
- Be relevant - don't repeat phrases
- Target longer phrases where appropriate
- Stay consistent across your site
META Tags
Search engines read what's unseen on your page too. These are called META tags and these tell the search engines a description of your page and the key words which users can type in to find the site. Where are you from? The internet covers the world yet you are a wedding photographer in Luton. Exclude the other millions of photographers by letting the user find where YOU are, so when they type in the search engine "wedding photographer in Luton" the results will be narrowed down to, guess what - wedding photographers in Luton. Take advantage of your geographic location and the nature of your service. The higher the importance your key phrases are given on your website, the more emphasis the search engines will place on it being a relevant match in the users enquiry. This is ranking. By giving all the information required by a search engine and allowing to read your website effectively, the higher your site will get ranked. Achieving top ranking is not just for those who can pay for the best websites, or running pay-per-click campaigns, anyone can improve their site ranking on Google.
Relevant Content
Use all the pages on your website to contain different key phrases, geographic locations, descriptions of your services as appropriate. Your whole site is one long key phrase. The search engines give priority to sites with BOTH good META tags and the copy you put on your site, along with META tags your content forms the most crucial part of your site.
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Reciprocal Links
How many people love what you do? Get complimentary (not competitive) business' to link to your site, the search engines give sites far more relevance to those that have similar sites linking to it. This way, you can also take advantage of the success their site is having on the search engines, and vice-versa. It's a win-win game for you and them.
Sell your services
Do you have a call to action on your site? What do potential clients have to do to get the product? How can they get in touch? What is your USP and why should they buy from YOU? Make this information easily accessible from the outset and your site is avoiding the most often made mistake out there. Talk less about yourself and more about what you are selling and once you have the SEO sorted the battle is almost won.
Sell yourself
Finally, talk about yourself - not on your own website but on blogs. The more blogs you post on, the more your website will be blasted out across the internet, and also, "its good to talk", so offering some help to someone in the process is a good bit of self publicity for you anyway. The internet is not just the future of commerce, its right here now. Tell everyone about yourself and through a few clicks, let your products and services be discovered from people in places you only dreamed of. Work at it, don't just put a site up there and sit back for the phone to ring.
Active SEO
The tips above are ways you can improve your online presence using the tools available within the Ideal Gallery content mangement system (CMS). We have produced this article in association with Art Division - specialists in SEO and online email marketing.
Art Division can provide ongoing SEO which will allow you to track the effectiveness of your strategy and refine or improve it so that it continues to meet your requirements. Among their services they can provide
- updates on phrases that are not performng
- detailed monthly statistics on the performance of your SEO campaigns including visits and referrals
- assistance with Blog entries , RSS feeds and forum or newsroom posts
- research into links wth complementary businesses.
- research for other directory listings
For more information about the services offered by Art Division, contact Nelly Berova on 0870 710 7691 or visit their website at www.artdivision.co.uk
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