Website Design and SEO Blog by Malcom Chakery

Just as your homepage is important to keeping your customer’s interest, equally imperative is having an effective landing page. If your company focuses on marketing, then one of the best ways to build clientele is with a landing page. These pages, sometimes called microsites, are designed to boost the number of site visits and sales through the use of marketing campaigns.

If you are considering a landing page, one of the most important things you can do is to be sure that the landing page is designed with search engine optimization in mind-to do less, will defeat the purpose. Of course, you do not want to fill your landing page with so many keywords that your page is not ranked. However, you do want your landing page to do the following:

Collect leads that will result in sales.

Get to know the visitors so you can follow up and seal the deal.

Help the potential customers understand who you are, what you offer and how you are different form your competitors.

Provide a way (e-mail, phone number, etc.) for guests to contact you should the customer not wish to leave their personal information.

Be sure that it is mobile device-friendly by keeping the navigation simple, URLs under 40 characters, having clearly labeled links and quick-loading interfaces (under 100 kilobytes).

Once you have determined how to best incorporate these objectives, you will want to design your landing page. When deciding the landing page’s look, be sure that it has subheadings that allow the guest to easily see who you are. You may choose to tell a story, include client testimonials, have a picture gallery or any other form of show and tell. In addition, your landing page should aesthetically pleasing with plenty of whitespace and an obvious call to action button.

About the author

Founder and President of Chakery Design, Malcom Chakery has extensive knowledge and experience in the workings of a web based business operations. Possessing great amounts of expertise in regard to marketing, seo, web design and development, Malcom is extremely comfortable handling all details regarding the day-to-day operations as well as the sales and support of his many high profile clients. With a clear plan in place regarding operational procedures, all aspects of web design, seo, and promotional activities are managed and overseen by Malcom before they are completed. As a stickler for detail, Malcom believes in providing greater than expected support, superior customer service, and innovative programs, making sure to go above and beyond customer expectations. To learn more about Malcom and his companies please visit www.chakery.com or www.chakeryseo.com.

Perhaps the most important page of your website is your home page. And, while most of us have heard that you should never judge a book by its cover, when it comes to your website, its “cover” is often what decides whether a guest will stay or leave. Moreover, while you may think your website’s homepage is warm and inviting, your guests may not agree.

If you want to test the usability of your website, ask a friend who has not previously visited your site to do so and then give you their honest feedback. If they love it and find it easy to navigate, then you have done your research and executed a hip homepage. However, if they have more cons than pros, then you have some work to do. If you find yourself in this less than perfect place, here are some changes and considerations to make.

1.       Help guest be aware of what you are offering. If a site guest cannot easily find what it is they are looking for, they will leave. Conversely, if your homepage has too much activity, then you will lose them as well. Remember if you emphasize everything then nothing is important.

2.       Determine what your homepage’s goal is. Do you want to showcase products, introduce yourself to the customer or show off the latest press release? Whatever it is, make that your focal point. Ideally, your goal is to sell your service/product through presenting its qualities in a way that is inviting and clear.

3.       Optimize your homepage by using elements that support your conversion rate. For some sites this may be done with multimedia graphics while another may be better served with text or video. Keep in mind Dr. Tony Alessandro’s rule, “Do unto others as they want done to them.”

Simply put, you want guests to your homepage to have a cover that is inviting and interesting. After all, if they do not stay a while, you won’t have the opportunity to get to know them as clients or customers. Be sure that your homepage draws guests in.

About the author

Founder and President of Chakery Design, Malcom Chakery has extensive knowledge and experience in the workings of a web based business operations. Possessing great amounts of expertise in regard to marketing, seo, web design and development, Malcom is extremely comfortable handling all details regarding the day-to-day operations as well as the sales and support of his many high profile clients. With a clear plan in place regarding operational procedures, all aspects of web design, seo, and promotional activities are managed and overseen by Malcom before they are completed. As a stickler for detail, Malcom believes in providing greater than expected support, superior customer service, and innovative programs, making sure to go above and beyond customer expectations. To learn more about Malcom and his companies please visit www.chakery.com or www.chakeryseo.com.

 Recently a friend shared an experience with me regarding internet use. She had wanted to download tickets for a local event. Unfortunately, the site was not compatible for mobile users, so  she was unable to follow the link that was sent to her for printing the tickets. Happily, she was able to contact the person heading up the event and get her tickets that way, instead.

However, her frustration made me wonder how many sites there are that have not updated to suit the needs of today’s mobile consumer. After all, if you are trying to sell a product or service you don’t want to lose customers simply because your site cannot be navigated on a mobile device.

If you have yet to update your website for the mobile user, consider this. Cisco has predicted that worldwide mobile traffic will increase by 25 times between now and 2015, largely in part to the extensive amount of video consumption on today’s mobile devices. (Website Magazine, April 2011) So, if you have a company that is primarily a web-based business and have yet to make your website mobile-friendly, then you will ultimately loose a large percentage of new customers—and perhaps some of the existing ones.

 In a day where money and budgeting is tighter than it has been decades, this is not the time to decide that upgrades are unnecessary. After all, you want your website to be user –friendly so your sales increase and your site guests can’t wait to come back and visit again. Make sure your website is on the move so your customers will not move on to someone else!

About the author

Founder and President of Chakery Design, Malcom Chakery has extensive knowledge and experience in the workings of a web based business operations. Possessing great amounts of expertise in regard to marketing, seo, web design and development, Malcom is extremely comfortable handling all details regarding the day-to-day operations as well as the sales and support of his many high profile clients. With a clear plan in place regarding operational procedures, all aspects of web design, seo, and promotional activities are managed and overseen by Malcom before they are completed. As a stickler for detail, Malcom believes in providing greater than expected support, superior customer service, and innovative programs, making sure to go above and beyond customer expectations. To learn more about Malcom and his companies please visit www.chakery.com or www.chakeryseo.com.

In their ever-changing effort to make the world’s most popular search engine more useful, the good people at Google are unveiling the new feature today that might seem familiar to a lot of users: a “+1” button that appears next to search results and sponsored ads.

What is the +1 change all about? Similar to Facebook’s “like this,” it’s a chance for searchers to note a result that they find particularly helpful, and to share that opinion with others in their (for now) Gmail network. In other words, when you click on +1, your contacts can see it if they run across the same search result. What’s more, Google plans to start compiling +1’s, possibly for integration into their search algorithm. Eventually, more +1’s will likely mean a more relevant site and better search positioning.

For Google, this is a great move. Not only does it add the possibility that searches will become more efficient, since people can now essentially “vote” on which sites and pages are most helpful, but it also makes the world’s largest search engine more social. Facebook and Twitter already offer similar options, and this is a smart way for Google to join the game. Additionally, it could make ads more valuable, as users can +1 those as well, giving certain marketers better exposure.

Only time will tell how +1 is going to shake out, but it certainly adds a new and interesting dimension to search engine optimization. By bringing users directly into the mix and asking for their opinions in a way that goes beyond simply finding out where they collect and spend their time, Google is essentially furthering their trend of rewarding sites with interesting, relevant content that’s written for people… not search engine spiders.

SEO is changing all the time, and mostly for the better. By giving users another tool to find what they’re actually looking for, what Google is really doing is giving you +1 ways to stand out in the crowd.

Tired of search engine optimization talk and want to start seeing results on Google, Yahoo, and Bing? Contact Chakery Web Design & SEO for a free consultation today!

About the author

Founder and President of Chakery Design, Malcom Chakery has extensive knowledge and experience in the workings of a web based business operations. Possessing great amounts of expertise in regard to marketing, seo, web design and development, Malcom is extremely comfortable handling all details regarding the day-to-day operations as well as the sales and support of his many high profile clients. With a clear plan in place regarding operational procedures, all aspects of web design, seo, and promotional activities are managed and overseen by Malcom before they are completed. As a stickler for detail, Malcom believes in providing greater than expected support, superior customer service, and innovative programs, making sure to go above and beyond customer expectations. To learn more about Malcom and his companies please visit www.chakery.com orwww.chakeryseo.com.

Today, Chakery Design is pleased to announce the introduction of 3D Website Design and Motion Websites. No more bland websites where you point and click your way from homepage to blogs. Now, your website can be the total interactive experience as your products are seen in 3D and site guests can test them out before they buy them.

 The Motion Website works much like playing your Wii. Rather than just clicking the “Next” button to go the following page, now you can hop, skip, run or perhaps surf your way to the next page. You can even design the site so that you can go to the next page by moving hands like you would turn the pages of a book. The possibilities are endless!

The 3D feature allows you to make invitations and newsletter more personable. Site guests don 3D glasses (available at numerous locations) so that rather than getting a printed invitation on the computer, now they can have someone “in person” sharing the information. Do you want your customers to experience how your latest improvement to your skill saw works? Now they can try it out before purchasing without fear of damaging the product.

Basic requirements for the 3D and Motion Website designs are Wii controller and balance board or the Kinect game system and you are ready for a totally interactive experience on the Web. Contact us today for more information on how you can convert your website to a 3D or Motion website!

About the author

Founder and President of Chakery Design, Malcom Chakery has extensive knowledge and experience in the workings of a web based business operations. Possessing great amounts of expertise in regard to marketing, seo, web design and development, Malcom is extremely comfortable handling all details regarding the day-to-day operations as well as the sales and support of his many high profile clients. With a clear plan in place regarding operational procedures, all aspects of web design, seo, and promotional activities are managed and overseen by Malcom before they are completed. As a stickler for detail, Malcom believes in providing greater than expected support, superior customer service, and innovative programs, making sure to go above and beyond customer expectations. To learn more about Malcom and his companies please visit www.chakery.com orwww.chakeryseo.com.

Have you been posting articles on your favorite sites, or writing blog post but have not seen any increases in revenue, site guests or SERPs in the past few weeks? If so, don’t despair. At the end of February, Google changed their algorithm, which affected websites of every type and size. This algorithm, dubbed by many as Farmer, is designed to weed out sites where there is an abundance of duplicate and less than stellar quality content. As a result, many site owners saw a significant downslide in revenue and a lowering in page rank.

When asked, Amit Singhal  of Google, explained that the weeding determinations were made by sending  questionnaires to testers and asking them to rate sites based on questions such as “ Would they be willing to share their credit card ?”, “Did they feel there were more ads than content?” and “Do you feel that this site is authoritative?” Once they had their answers, Google made changes.

These changes mean that website content providers, bloggers and those writing link articles will have to work harder to improve site rank. To fail to do so, will mean one’s site(s) will rank low. If you are one of the 1,000’s who were affected, you may be wondering how to climb back up the page rank ladder. Here are several steps to help you recover:

· Trash any web content that does not add site value.

· Protect what is yours. If you run across content that was unique to your site on  another page, run a WHOIS search to locate the site host is, then firmly request that your material be removed from the site.

· Be creative! While imitation may be the highest form of flattery this not so on the web. Write original articles and blog posts so that your site will stand out from the crowd-not blend in at the bottom of the list.

By making just a few changes in your style, before you know it, you can soon be back where you were before the “Farmer” weeded the Web.

About the author

Selecting a Great Website Design Company
By: Malcom Chakery, Chakery SEO

You may have decided that you’d give designing your company’s website a shot. You may have also learned that designing a website is not easy. It takes a lot of knowledge, a lot of time, and a good sense of design. That’s one reason why so many businesses opt to hire a website design company to create their website for them. But now a days there seems to be a new website design company popping up every few minutes, so how do you know which one you should select?

Look at the Work

First and foremost, look at the body of work that the website design company has done. Like any good artist, a website design company should have a portfolio for you to look at that gives you an idea of what they are capable of doing. Some design companies create websites that all look the same, which are often called “cookie-cutter designs”. These are websites that are created from a certain amount of templates and where the design basically just plugs the information for each client in where it belongs.

If you’re in search of a high quality website, one that won’t look like just any other website online, then you definitely do not want to go with one of those companies. You should instead look for a company who has a portfolio that shows a great amount of change. One that shows that they can design a website for one company that looks completely different from the website for another company they did, and that all of the designs match the businesses that they were created for.

The Right Information

You will also want to hire a website design company who is knowledgeable about all of the latest things going on with the internet. The internet is an ever expanding thing, and you never know when something new is going to pop up and is going to become the next big thing. Often these things, like Facebook and Twitter, can become indispensible marketing tools for your business, which is why it is vital that the website design company that you hire has not only a great knowledge about how to design a website that matches your company, but also that they’re constantly learning and know all about the latest technology and how they can use it to help your business.

Redesigning

You may already have a website. Having the same website for too long, however, is not always a good idea. It can make your site, and therefore your business, look and feel stale. A talented website design company can redesign the website for you so that it’s fresh. It is important, however, to ensure that not only is the website fresh, but that it retains some of the things that your visitors liked from your previous website. When you’re selecting a website design company, you may want to ask if you can see samples of redesigns that they have done, so that you will know, without a doubt, that you are hiring a website design company that can give you everything that you need.

About the author

Let’s talk about Search Engine Optimization for a bit, or SEO. SEO used to be an acronym that no one knew or understood. Now, if you’re in the marketing industry, you know exactly what SEO means. But many businesses still don’t understand how important it is to make sure that your website is SEO friendly. Having your website transformed to be SEO friendly is very important for one big reason: search engines.

How often is a first time visitor to your site going to know your exact address? They may know it if they’re responding to an advertisement or an email, but if they do not have your address in front of them, then they likely won’t know how to find you. For instance, if a person is looking to find an attorney near their hometown of Dallas, Texas, they may go to a search engine and type in something like, “Attorney Dallas”. This simple phrase can pull up so many websites. When your website is SEO friendly, there is a much larger chance that your site is going to wind up at the top of the search engine, allowing you to get a visit from the person and raising your chance of getting more business as well. Now doing a search for a more specific search for something such as “Federal Attorney”, “Internet Attorney”, “Civil Attorney” or “Criminal Attorney” are more specific types of attorneys that will drill down the types of attorneys and will focus more on a more specific type that you may be looking for and will yield better results for an area and be more helpful based on a more targeted area.

About the author

We all know that social networking is one of the hottest Internet trends out there – Facebook alone boasts more than 500 million users, with sites like Twitter and LinkedIn gaining ground fast. In fact, it reminds a lot of us in the web design and online marketing industry of the early days of search engine optimization, when business owners and marketers figured out that, by tweaking some of the elements of their sites, they could attract thousands of targeted web visitors every week.

And so, the question comes up in client meetings:  is social media marketing the new SEO?

The true answer is that it both is and isn’t. It is, in the sense that it’s an exciting new idea that both consumers and businesses are flocking to. Whether your business sells to individuals or Fortune 500 mega-companies, using social media should be a part of your plan for finding them.

It isn’t because search engine optimization and marketing aren’t going anywhere soon. Bear in mind that, popular as social networking sites are, Google alone brings in billions of visitors each day. That’s not changing anytime soon, which is why you need to constantly refine your SEO strategy.

Social media is gaining popularity every day, but don’t expect it to replace what you’re already doing just yet.

About the author

Malcom | Chakery Design | Website Design | SEO | Website Development