First off, what is a top-level domain (TLD) or generic top-level domain (gTLD)? These are website suffixes such as .com, .net, .org. These top-level domains are managed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which is run by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). We are all familiar with the few suffixes we see every day, but there are hundreds more out there, and new suffixes being applied for all the time.
When you are searching for a domain for your business or blog, you will want to use your company name and/or most relevant key terms in your domain name. But what if your ideal name has already been registered with the .com suffix? Will choosing a .net or .guru TLD hinder you within Google’s search results?
Eureka! Since the upsurge and continued enhancement of content management systems like Joomla! and WordPress, individuals and businesses are now more than ever in a position to create and maintain their own websites. This is great news for small and medium size business owners who can gain access to the important tools of the online marketplace to enhance their business without the need for specialized coders or programmers. But hold onto your chair for just a minute before you decide to jump in without the assistance of a web design company! Maintaining your own website is often a lot more complicated and time consuming than most people initially assume.
Let’s face it, in this day and age, in order for your business to have a successful online presence you must be engaged in multiple social media channels. But managing all of your social media accounts for your business can be daunting as well as time consuming. Who has time to log into Facebook, Twitter, Google +, LinkedIn, etc. multiple times a day to interact and engage with your followers while creating posts for all of these accounts? You can’t be online 24/7!
Before you start pulling hair out or pull all-nighters, enter the world of social media dashboards.
Google has recently announced significant changes to its search algorithm for the ranking of mobile search results. This change will take effect on April 21, 2015. Whether your website has certain mobile friendly elements will now hold more weight in Google’s search engine algorithm. How much will mobile rankings be impacted?
During a March 2015 Search Marketing Expo in Munich Google said that this 4/21/15 change will be bigger than the Panda and Penguin updates (1). As the number of people using mobile devices to access the internet continues to grow, this update is designed to help users discover more mobile-friendly content.
As a business owner, keeping your website investment and online data safe is a top priority. However, this can sometimes prove to be a difficult task. One does not have to look too far in order to see examples of devastating security breaches (eg. the Heartbleed bug, Target credit card data leak). In fact, according to the online security firm Sophos Labs1, approximately 30,000 new websites per day are identified as distributing spam or malicious code. Most of these are small business websites that have been hacked and turned into malware distribution zombies. But fear not as there are some basic steps all website owners can take in order to keep their site and online data safe and help prevent becoming a hacking statistic.
For most businesses having a smooth running website that performs well in search engines is imperative. A well running website not only helps current customers find you but will generate new business and often sets the first impression a potential client will get of your business. Your business website is a directory, information resource, advertising department and sales team wrapped up in one and is available to current and prospective customers 24/7/365. Here are 5 simple things you can do to keep your all-important website running smoothly.
As a business and website owner you are most likely inundated with companies trying to sell SEO (search engine optimization) services via email and telemarketing. In this post we dissect the two sets of users who are trying to find your business online and summarize the importance of SEO for each case, helping you decide what is right for your business website.
There are two distinct sets of user groups who use search engines like Google to find out more about you and your business. As a business owner it’s important that your website places well in Google for searches performed by both user groups in order to retain current clients and to capture new business leads and sales.
We humans spend a lot of time contemplating the purpose of all kinds of things but, as a business owner contemplating a new or redesigned website, the purpose of your website is the first and most important decision you can make.
Research shows that users are easily frustrated when they can’t quickly figure out how to complete task or find information on a website. While many elements go into making a website work, it all must begin with a Purpose. If the purpose of your website is unclear in your mind it will be unclear to your designer and ultimately unclear to your customer.
