Vintage VA Services<title>» Quick Website Tips http://www.vintage-va.com Social Media Made Simple Mon, 10 Jan 2011 20:35:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Quick Website Tips: Anchor Text for Links http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/11/quick-website-tips-anchor-text-for-links/ http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/11/quick-website-tips-anchor-text-for-links/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:15:59 +0000 Devon Zimny http://www.vintage-va.com/blog/?p=216 Believe it or not, the text you use to link to other pages on your site matters for SEO.  Search engines pay close attention to links, and the text used for them.  When linking to other pages, really consider the words you use.  You want to choose words that relate to the page you are linking too, and using your keywords is even better!  So, for example, “click here” is not a very effective text for your link!  A much better choice is to use “internet marketing services” for an internet marketing professional or “toddler girl’s dresses” for a children’s clothing store.  You want to be sure, as always, that the wording makes sense in context.  You may need to re-word or re-arrange a sentence or two to make sure it reads smoothly.  But, just this simple change can help to better optimize your site for search engines.  Now, go through your website and see if you can choose more specific text for your links.

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]]> http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/11/quick-website-tips-anchor-text-for-links/feed/ 0 Quick Website Tips: Share Button http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-share-button/ http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-share-button/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:04:16 +0000 Devon Zimny http://www.vintage-va.com/blog/?p=194 This tip applies to your blog website.  Please add some form of share button to your blog.  You want your readers to be able to share your post easily on Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, and the list goes on!  By adding a Share This or Re-Tweet button to your blog, you do your readers and yourself a great service!  You save them time, while also allowing your information to spread faster.  If you want your content to spread, make it easy!  There are various plugins for WordPress that will add a way to share posts to your blog (I use Sociable).  Or just Google “share button” and you will find many options.  You are working hard to provide great content, now make it easy  for readers to share it.

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]]> http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-share-button/feed/ 0 Quick Website Tips: K.I.S.S. http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-k-i-s-s/ http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-k-i-s-s/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:49:16 +0000 Devon Zimny http://www.vintage-va.com/blog/?p=178 Keep It Simple Stupid – I think I learned this is seventh grade.  But, it still applies to so many areas of my life and business!  And it applies to websites as well.  I like a simple, easy to follow, easy to read website.  When I land on a page with a ton of ads, flashing pictures, and Google Adsense all over the place, I am immediately turned off and usually leave.  It is so distracting!  The bottom line is when I am searching for information, I want to find it quickly.  I do not want to have to navigate through a mess before I find the information I was searching for.  It is amazing to me how many websites still are crowded and, well messy.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying ads are bad – just consider how they are placed on your site.  Make sure it is easy for a visitor to get the information they are seeking.  Take a look at your website from a visitors point of view and ask yourself is it simple and easy to follow?  Is the content ready and available?  If the answer is no, then work on getting there.  Work on keeping the design simple, and letting the content shine.  Keep it simple.

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]]> http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-k-i-s-s/feed/ 0 Quick Website Tips: Page Titles http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-page-titles/ http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-page-titles/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:59:12 +0000 Devon Zimny http://www.vintage-va.com/blog/?p=163 Each page of your website has a title, and this is what shows in the tab at the top of your web browser.  For each page of your website, you should have a different title. The title should be specific to what is on that page, and use the keyword(s) for that webpage.  For example, say you have an online baby clothing store.  You have your product categorized by girl, boy, or neutral, and then by shirts, pants, dresses, and size.  You would want the webpage that features the 3-6 month girls dresses to be named appropriately. Maybe “3-6 month Baby Girl Dresses” or something similar.  Keep the length to around 65 characters.  Making a little extra time to specifically, and correctly name each of the pages within your website will help to improve the search engine optimization for your site.  Take a look at your site.  Are the pages properly named?  If not, talk to your web designer (the how to actually do this involves meta tags and should be saved for another post) and get them updated!

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]]> http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-page-titles/feed/ 0 Quick Website Tips: Proofread! http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-proofread/ http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-proofread/#comments Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:54:40 +0000 Devon Zimny http://www.vintage-va.com/blog/?p=154 It is easy to make simple spelling and grammatical errors on your website.  You are so involved with the design and writing the copy, that you can overlook small errors.  Once you have your website up, or a new page completed, step away.  Give it a day, and then go back and look at your site with fresh eyes.  Take the time to read through each page, even read the page out loud, so you can catch any errors.  It is a simple process, but many overlook the importance of proofreading your website.  You want your website to represent your company in a professional manner, and having spelling and grammatical mistakes takes away from that.  If you have a hard time catching these errors, ask a friend or family member to proofread it for you, or hire a professional.  This one simple step can really improve the appearance of your website and your company.

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]]> http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/10/quick-website-tips-proofread/feed/ 0 Quick Website Tips: Keeping Your Website Current http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/09/quick-website-tips-keeping-your-website-current/ http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/09/quick-website-tips-keeping-your-website-current/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:20:39 +0000 Devon Zimny http://www.vintage-va.com/blog/?p=145 When is the last time you updated your website?  Did you create your site (or have it created) and haven’t looked at it since?  Take some time to look at your website from a visitors point of view.  You want your site to be up to date and current.  Your website is a representation of your company, and often is the first impression your customer gets.  I land on websites all the time that seem so old and outdated.  My immediate reaction, no matter what the content, is that the information is also outdated.  With the resources available to make website maintenance simple, there is no excuse for neglecting your site.  Take your website seriously and make it a priority to keep it as current as possible.

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]]> http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/09/quick-website-tips-keeping-your-website-current/feed/ 0 Quick Website Tips: Email Newsletter Sign-Up http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/09/quick-website-tips-email-newsletter-sign-up/ http://www.vintage-va.com/2009/09/quick-website-tips-email-newsletter-sign-up/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:12:47 +0000 Devon Zimny http://www.vintage-va.com/blog/?p=136 Recently, while doing research for an online competitive analysis, I found many email newsletter sign-up boxes virtually hidden on the page.  Many were placed below the fold, so you have to scroll down to see it, or in a tiny box at the top or bottom of the page (one page had the sign-up all the way at the bottom, next to the copyright information).  Now, the goal of having an email newsletter is for people to read it, right?  You want to be able to keep in touch with your target audience, and continue communication through your newsletter.  In order for someone to sign up for your newsletter, they have to know it exists.  Therefore, your sign-up box on your website should be very visible and right up front.  Any visitor to your website should immediately know you have a newsletter and be able to easily subscribe.  Take a look at your website – where is your sign-up box placed?  Is it easy to find?  If not, then the time is now to make it visible!

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