Many of you have probably heard the term ‘search engine optimization’ or ‘SEO’. This term relates to how well your web site is optimized for the search engines. So often clients comment on where their web site is ranking on Google, or ask why their site isn’t showing up. So many considerations factor into getting your site well ranked. It takes specialized commitment to optimize your site to perform well, but first and foremost, web site content is required. If you expect to be found for a product or service you provide, you must have valuable content in your web site that is relevant.

Think about what you have to offer. Think about how your potential customers might search for your product or services. Does your content reflect the keywords they will be searching? If you do searches, are the results qualified results, or would you revise your search because the results are to generic or unrelated? How would your customer refine their search? Does your web sites content match the search? If it doesn’t you need to get your web site content up to date. This is the first step in being better optimized.

Over the next few weeks I will share other information on creating a well optimized site.

On Aug 29, 2009 I attended the AC/DC concert at GM Place in Vancouver. I couldn’t help but think of how the band used the “Red Horns” to create overall brand recognition.

Facts…

• sold out crowd of 60,000 fans
• for approx $22 you could buy a set of flashing devil horns with “AC/ DC” printed on them

AC/DC resurrected an item from the bands’ past that was originally successful and have made it successful again today. The essence of the horns drafted their “brand DNA” by using a visual symbol and colour scheme. Consider this concept for your business. It is so simple: find an item that resonates with people (in this case not so much the horns on their own but paired with the effect they had in taking the fan back to years past), create that connection for the fan in turn creates brand recognition.

For more info, check out this story by Mike Ross in a Special to Sun Media on Aug. 27, 2009

Our first issue of Lynchpin went out overnight and we had a winner within minutes. Yes, the correct answer, as so many of you reported, was Campbell’s Soup! Congratulations to Holly Cameron-Davies for getting the answer in so quickly. She wins a $20 Starbucks card

We hope you all enjoyed the first issue and look forward to our November issue. Anyone who missed out, can check out the October issue at http://www.lynchpin.ca/news/ . Be sure to get signed up in time for next month using the sign up tool on the right.

How often have you needed assistance to explain an issue about your web site that you can see, or describe to your designer a change you might want with a design, but it just isn’t working when you try to tell them over the phone. You do your best to describe it, but you know your facing a challenge.

Remember the saying “a picture is worth 1,000 words”? Well here is a tool that can help you make your point: Jing (http://www.jingproject.com/download/ ). Jing is a tool that resides on your desktop. It allows you to capture your screen and add notes and arrows, and then either save the file locally or copy it and paste it to an email quickly.

Jing (http://www.jingproject.com/download/) is a Great Communication Tool and its FREE. It even allows you to record what you do on your screen while you narrate!

If you want to make a point and its easiest to present it in a visual manner, consider using Jing (available for both Windows and MAC OS).

All localities have opportunities for their business members. The Chamber of Commerce, Business Associations, Board of Trades and Business Improvement Associations can all be an asset to your business. These organizations can provide various discounts in insurance, fleet services, credit card rates, and member to member discounts, but in addition they can help your business brand become recognized. This is not a result you gain upon sign up. This is something gained over time through contribution and participation within the group. Here are some tips to help you get the most of your membership and grow your brand recognition;

The last point is very important. Make sure people can learn about you online. Linking from the organization to your web site adds strength to your search engine rankings. Joining a local business association and contributing on a long term, regular basis will increase your level of recognition in the community and with fellow business members and ultimately assist you in growing your business. Business in our local community of Delta, BC have a number of business organizations available. Delta Chamber of Commerce, Ladner Business Association, Tsawwassen Business Association and the Tsawwassen Business Improvement Association are all organizations developed to assist local businesses and contribute to the community. You might want to check them out if you’re not already a member.

Promotional stickers make great branding tools that can become an effective marketing tool for your business. In many of cases, stickers can be placed in creative places that may have never been considered ad space before, and its sure to get the attention of potential clients.

Consider what types of items you can place a sticker on? Items that relate to your business or that you use in your business. When I provide printed materials to my clients, I like to place my company sticker on the box containing the materials, or on the back of the sign I design. This serves as a reminder of where it came from, which is helpful when it’s time to re-order, and it also builds my brand.

Stickers can be used on the front of standard 9×12 folders to save on the costs of creating custom print folders. Used on the doors and windows to promote association and membership affiliations or quickly identify your services to customers are other values we find in sticker use. What about on the floor of your retail space? Footprints for guidance to something important or your logo if it was an interesting symbol? Consider, for instance, the mouthwash company that placed stickers on the ceiling above dentists chairs. Not only effective but memorable!

Stickers can be customized to fit the nature of your promotion and can be made as large or as small as you need. With endless options, you can find the exact sticker that will work for branding your company.

You may have heard – we’re about to launch the first edition of our Lynchpin News delivered right to your email. By Oct 27, 2009 we will have our initial subscribers in place and we hope that includes you. You can subscribe through the signup on the right.

Stay tuned…….inaugural issue coming October 2009.

We hope you enjoy our tidbits of info in this blog. If you’d like to hear about anything particular please let us know.

Often we see clients using their local ISP email address instead of an email address that matches their domain name. In doing this, the client loses a valuable opportunity to brand their business and their web site. Using an email of “yourname@yourdomain.com” will catch the attention of many recipients and remind them of your web site name. Always take advantage of opportunities to send people to your web site. Using your domain within your email is one very simple way to be recognized.

When creating a logo for your business, its very important to have it created in a format known as ‘vector’. A vector based graphic is best described in terms of lines and shapes, not a series of dots.

When a logo is created using software such as MS Word, MS Publisher, Paint and Photoshop, the format is not vector based and this undoubtedly will create headaches over time. Done correctly, a logo should be drawn using a program such as Adobe Illustrator to draw the image. Once created in this format your logo will be scalable to any size and will always represent itself in high resolution. Your logo will look great on a billboard or on a web site. You will be able to use the logo across multiple mediums, in a variety of sizes and formats.

Having your artwork created in the correct format will provide you with valuable intellectual property. It is an investment worth initiating. Not only will it be more legible but it will represent your company in the most professional manner.

Creating your logo in Vector Format means you’ve done things the right way and it will easily provide a return on your investment as your business grows and prospers.

On many occasions, clients need to send large files. Photos, graphics, word documents, pdf’s, etc., both zipped and unzipped. NetClimber Web Design recommends the use of a free online service called YouSendIt.com. YouSendIt offers both Lite and Pro versions which suit most users, as well as business and corporate level services.

Benefits of using YouSendIt include;

Plenty of size – Send files up to 100 MB with a 1 GB monthly download limit.

Spread the word – Allow up to 100 downloads of every file.

Address book – Keep track of your friends’ and family’s email addresses in one handy location.

Files remain available for 7 days – Give your recipients a week to download the files you’ve sent.

Determining when a file is too large to send by regular email depends on a number of circumstances. The outgoing mail server, the recipients incoming server, the internet connection, the email format, and much more. Online services such as YouSendIt work very well and take the worry out of the unknown. There are a number of services similar to YouSendIt available. Here’s a report on About.com by Heinz Tschabitscher naming what they consider the Top 9 Large File Sending Services online http://email.about.com/od/sendbigfilesviaemail/tp/send_big_files.htm.

If you are interested in using YouSendIt.com and need some assistance in understanding how to use this service, contact Diane Askin at NetClimber Web Design Inc. and she will forward a brief video lesson on how to use this great tool.