Webcraft Webmaster Services

This is another area where most businesses miss the boat when it comes to online success. To get a bead on how to successfully employ social networking, the first thing that you have to understand is what it is not designed to do. Just as with blogging, if you simply attempt to create and disseminate ad copy via social networking, you will quickly find yourself isolated in an ever shrinking pond of influence as your audience either ignores or you. While social networks can be used to generate an audience and augment the bottom line, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about doing so. The best approach is to create an environment in which compelling stories, humorous insights and helpful hints about your business are produced and promoted online. The key is that unlike ad copy with is 90% pitch and 10% information, when it comes to social networking, this equation is turned on its head. In fact, the best way to turn a reader into a customer when using social networking is to show...

In past blogs we have talked about how SEO has changed from an injection to a process that factors in everything from your website, to such things as blogging, social networking and even YouTube. In reality, there more than 30 points of relevance that the spiders look for when searching and sorting out the most relevant sites. It is no longer sufficient to pay someone to tweak your keyword density and Meta Tags and expect to wind up on page one. To get the job done, you need to create compelling content on a regular (i.e., weekly) basis. Ignore this fact of online life and you will relegate your website to the backwaters of the major search engines. Embrace this concept and it is not only possible to generate a page 1 result on such search engines as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, but you can potentially generate multiple page 1 results. Gone are the days when seasoned online marketers created an ubersite that was composed of numerous pages that web surfers could be expected to navigate thro...

Speaking of hurrying, a blog post properly optimized can be one of the quickest ways to jump the queue online. For example, a couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post entitled "Get Your Best Customers to Toot Your Horn." The post extolled the virtues of employing video testimonials in order to boost credibility, as well as turning your best customers into your best salespeople. After posting this article on blogger, as well as reprinting it on linktoexpert.com , I googled the title the next day and found that both the original blog, and the repost appeared at the top of page 1. Not bad for a half hour's work. Creating and disseminating compelling blogs is one of the easiest ways to wind up on page one. Why? Because Google is gaga for mixed media, particularly when they own the conduit. By posting your blogs on Blogger, which Google owns and posting your videos on YouTube, which Google owns, not only will you improve your content worthiness, but you will also feed the 800...

How to Write a Press Release Press releases have short and long term results and can bring in great exposure from print magazines and bloggers. If your press release is well written and properly distributed you will see results online within 24-48 hours of the distribution. The release will likely be picked up by news search engines (ie. Google news, yahoo news) and possibly industry bloggers, who monitor press release websites for topic specific press releases. It will take significantly longer to see results from print media (sometimes as long as to 2-6 months). Most press distribution websites also archive press releases, so in general press releases have a long "shelf life". The best way to get "ink" is to write a good press release, but remember the item in the release must be newsworthy. News that is not newsworthy will get little play time. Use the standard inverted pyramid format in the press release. In this format the most important information is listed f...

How to Select a Company or Product Name When building a business there is little more important than selecting an appropriate company or product name. Names can be distinctive, unique or descriptive. The problem with descriptive names is that they are very difficult to legally protect. For example you could call your software "word processing software" or "text editor" but neither are distinguishing or unique. A competitor could enter the market and use the same name funneling your traffic and benefiting from your product reputation. Distinctive names can be trademarked and protected. As a result many developers combine distinctive and descriptive by adding a company or brand name: "Brand Text Editor" or "Brand Word Processing Software". Tips for finding a name that is just right. Brainstorm - Spend time making a list of words. The words might be generic or descriptive. If the words are descriptive use words that elicit a positive image or respon...

How to Select a Company or Product Name When building a business there is little more important than selecting an appropriate company or product name. Names can be distinctive, unique or descriptive. The problem with descriptive names is that they are very difficult to legally protect. For example you could call your software "word processing software" or "text editor" but neither are distinguishing or unique. A competitor could enter the market and use the same name funneling your traffic and benefiting from your product reputation. Distinctive names can be trademarked and protected. As a result many developers combine distinctive and descriptive by adding a company or brand name: "Brand Text Editor" or "Brand Word Processing Software". Tips for finding a name that is just right. Brainstorm - Spend time making a list of words. The words might be generic or descriptive. If the words are descriptive use words that elicit a positive image or respon...

How to Establish a Brand Brand is all about perception, and how others perceive your product or service. You have a brand whether you want it or not. Customers form impressions about products and companies. Strong brand builds customer loyalty and enhances the lifetime value of the customer. With the emergence of numerous communication channels, the power of the consumer has swelled. Online communication either hailing a good experience, or a blog post detailing a bad one, mean that consumers have more power than ever. User generated content and the expansion of communication has affected brand development and loyalty. A user in Australia can post a forum message about a specific product or brand and that message can be read by people in Canada. Consumers realize their voice (i.e. opinion) has power and they use it to share their experiences. Customers want value, customer service and a quality product. Demanding a premium for superior customer service has become more difficult. The ...