Quality web design can mean the difference between success and failure for your online business efforts. Whether your business is primarily “brick-and-mortar” or completely “click-and-order” (or somewhere in between), there are a number of ways that effective web design can help make your operation more profitable. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep these factors in mind before you launch a new website or revamp one that already exists.

One way quality web design can make your online venture more profitable is by making your website more visible to search engine spiders. There are a number of ways this can be accomplished by optimizing your site “behind the scenes.” One way is to incorporate targeted keywords into your title, “meta” and “alt” tags. Another is to develop an intra-site linking strategy which makes it easier for search engine spiders to find and index all of your web pages. When done correctly, effective search engine optimization techniques such as these can lead to more and more free (organic) web traffic coming to your site over time. This, in turn, creates more opportunities for you to convert those first-time visitors into satisfied repeat customers.

Another important aspect of effective web design is how well it appeals to and engages human visitors. The reason for this is quite simple: for a business to exist at all, it must have a steady supply of new and repeat customers. Therefore, your website must be designed in a way that grabs your prospects’ attention and holds onto it long enough for them to take action. After all, what is the point of having a website if the vast majority of your potential customers hit the back button within the first few seconds of landing on it?  It is really hard to make a sale to a prospect who has already left!

Good website design can also improve your bottom line by helping your site appeal to a wider audience. This can be accomplished by offering a value-added, content-rich layout enhanced by strong aesthetic appeal and intuitive navigation. The goal is to create a visually rich and welcoming destination that is easy to use and understand. As with other types of design, a simple and consistent approach is often best. For example, you may want to select only 2 or 3 complementary colors and use them consistently throughout your entire site. Same goes for font choices, formatting and text size. Using a limited number of options repeatedly is much more appealing than a random hodge-podge of choices that don’t follow any pattern. Without question, these and other bad design choices can be distracting – and can result in lost sales opportunities.

Remember, the key to effective web design – and a profitable online venture - is to stay focused on providing the type of products, services or information your potential customers are seeking. Keeping these basic principles in mind can help maximize the profitability of your own online business efforts.

By now you’ve probably heard about the Yahoo/Bing Search Engine deal.  So what’s that mean for Joe User?

Basically, it all boils down to the fact you’ll need to start paying more attention to Bing.  Google still dominates the market and will for some time.  However, Bing is gaining traction with this deal and could gobble up some search market share over the coming months.

That said, I’m recommending to clients that they don’t make an abrupt strategy decisions just yet but instead address the merger with a measured approach.

From an organic search engine optimization standpoint, I am keeping a closer eye on their Bing search rankings and making some site changes that will specifically help their Bing placements.

Most of our clients use Google exclusively for pay-per-click marketing for reasons explained in my earlier post, Pay-per-click Marketing – Where to put your money?  However, I am considering splitting some PPC campaigns between Google AdWords and Bing on an experimental basis.  I’ve read some anecdotal evidence where others have had better success with Bing than Google.  I’m curious if it will translate for our client base.

In summary, pay attention to Bing but don’t go change everything just yet.

P.s.  SEOmoz published a great blog post, Top 10 Things the Microsoft/Yahoo! Deal Changes for SEO, that explains the implications of this merger more in depth (and perhaps more eloquently) than I have. 

Unless you are living under a rock you’ve probably heard about Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing.   

There’s a lot of buzz about it for several reasons.  First, it’s a Microsoft product and anything with the name Microsoft affixed to it gets a lot of press.  Second, there’s been a lot of gamesmanship between the big three (Google, Yahoo and Microsoft) ever since Microsoft tried to buy Yahoo.  Third, Microsoft has spent a kazillion dollars on marketing for Bing. 

So what does the introduction of Bing mean for your search engine optimization efforts?  Is it a game changer? Should you revamp your strategy on the account of Bing? 

The simple answer is: not yet.  According to Reuters/StatCounter, Bing did make gains in search engine popularity in June.  However, it’s still way behind Google.  Assuming the surge in popularity of Bing is related to having a great product and not the marketing blitz (which is a whole other conversation), it’s still going to take a really long time for Bing to overtake Google at the current pace. 

I just reviewed our June inSITE reports for our search engine optimization clients.  Without crunching hard numbers, traffic to our clients’ sites referred from Google looked about the same.  Additionally, Bing remained in third place among search engine referral traffic.   

However, for the WRIS site Bing was ahead of Yahoo (but still behind Google).  I have no idea what that means.  Perhaps, people looking for web design or SEO services are more apt to try Bing?  Whatever the reason, I found it interesting.  I’m looking forward to next month’s data to see if the results stay the same or change. 

So in conclusion, don’t change your search engine optimization strategy just yet.  But definitely keep an eye on Bing.

WRIS client Factivity was featured in the Cleveland Plain Dealer discussing their lean manufacturing software and how it can assist companies to be more efficient during bad economic times.

...

Manufacturers will have to be able to gear up quickly or lose out. Now -- while customers are still scarce -- is when these businesses should be fine-tuning their operations to prepare for the recovery.

"They'll need as much efficiency as they can muster to be competitive," said Susan Helper, a manufacturing expert and professor at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School.
 
Readying to meet future demand when business is slow is no easy task. But Helper and others say manufacturing companies that started preparing for the future as soon as the downturn arrived last year will have a huge advantage.

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Factivity Inc. in Beachwood sells computerized scheduling systems to help factories coordinate machines, supplies and workers for jiffy shifts in production and efficient operation. The goal is quicker manufacturing, freedom from excess inventory, smarter use of tools and personnel and improved quality -- just what some factories need for the turnaround.

But John Leiber, Factivity's president, has found that with money tight, few companies are shelling out for new software and the touch-screen stations that run it. Just what manufacturers need -- a way to get ready for when the economy roars again -- seems out of reach to many of Factivity's potential customers for now.

Factivity is no stranger to being in the news.  They were featured in USA Today last month– not for their shop floor control software but for their love of dogs!

… among CEOs, company presidents, chairmen and founders that percentage jumps to 66, according to an unscientific USA TODAY survey. Seventy-five of 114 who responded to a USA TODAY query own at least one dog

…"Never trust a person that does not hug his or her dog … too cold and not caring," says John Leibert, president of technology company Factivity and owner of a 5-year-old wheaten terrier named Scooter.

Factivity uses WRIS for their web hosting, search engine optimization, and pay-per-click marketing needs.