I’ve worked with enough marketing departments and created enough websites that I realize how important it is to have knowledge of these methods. SEO and SEM have become buzzwords that companies (both legitimate and fraudulent) use to lure individuals in with the promise of cheap guaranteed web traffic. As a lot of things with marketing your business it requires a lot of work and there’s no silver bullet.

Search Engine Optimization is the process of increasing the volume of traffic to your website by organic search results. By organic we mean this the traffic you get when someone types in a keyword into a search engine like Google and your business appears in the results. This type of success in search results is ideal because it is the result of automatic indexing by search engines and is free. Free is good and free marketing is even better. This is not always easy to achieve and there are a lot of factors to take into account when you want to increase your page rank. Unfortunately you can’t just flip a switch and have your business fall under the first page, it’s hard work and there’s a lot of competition to do the very same thing.

Chief among the factors to consider is having a well coded, semantically correct website with relevant content that search engines can index. Having your website built correctly and the code laid out in a way that search engines prefer goes a long way to your first step on the road to SEO. Having other websites link to your site can also increase your page rank. There are also things you can do wrong that can negatively affect your ranking and even get you delisted. This is known as “Black Hat SEO” and it includes things like hiding text by coloring it the same as the background.

Let’s get back to content. Content is huge. If you aren’t providing relevant information to your business then your business will have that much more trouble getting indexed. Search engines LOVE freshly updated information, that’s one of the reasons blogs have gotten so popular. Not only is it a fantastic way to connect with your audience but having constantly updated relevant information is GOLD for search engines.

Now let’s move on to Search Engine Marketing. This is the process by which you pay for your presence online. There are a couple different methods to do this. One is called Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising, these are the text ads you see on search result pages usually off to the left or right of the search results. You set a budget and you get charged only when someone clicks your ad. These require consistent monitoring and upkeep to make sure you are getting the most of them but can be very beneficial to your online presence. Paid Inclusion is also a method to increase your page results and involved paying a fee to be included in search engine indexes. Paid inclusion is provided by most search engine companies, the most notable exception being Google.

So there’s some basic information for you to mull over. It’s a lot to know and there’s plenty of information that I haven’t even begun to touch upon but it’s good for any small business owner to know more. Search Engine Marketing can be a daunting and exhausting task but the benefits are worth it. Your website is the lifeblood of your business, it’s crucial that your prospective and current clients be able to find you. Go ahead and shoot me a message if you want to know more.

Consumers have seemingly endless information at their fingertips these days but are your customers finding you when they need to? PowerBand Graphics knows the hard work that small businesses have to put in to obtain and maintain clientele. Just because your business is small doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be connected with the latest technology and have the absolute best cutting edge designs to represent you.

This is the service PowerBand Graphics provides. Drop us a line to see what kind of services we can provide for you.

The reasons for creating your own business are as varied as the business themselves but one thing seems to remain the same: Knowing that you can do something better or more efficiently than anyone else and wanting to make your mark. It’s that kind of entrepreneurial spirit that makes Nebraska and our country great.

When you do make your mark, you want it to be memorable. That’s where your identity comes in. Your logo, company name, colors and even your choice in font represents you. This adds a whole new set of questions you need to ask yourself. How do you want to be perceived by perspective customers? Your identity should convey your company’s values and personality. It’s more than just a random graphic with your name. It should be memorable, descriptive of what you do and immediately recognizable. Your logo is the first indicator that people have of what kind of business you are.

Here’s some examples of clever, well thought out logo designs. A professionally built identity can make all the difference in the world when it comes to standing out from your competition. No amount of clip art or software can compete with a completely unique and professionally created design. Something that you as a client have been closely involved with creating. It’s a crucial part of creating a business, make sure you have something that represents you as well as you do. Take it seriously!

It’s easy to think, “okay, I set up a website in ‘99, I’m good, right?” I disagree. Trends come and go for design just like they do for fashion and automobiles. It may be functional, but do you really just want to get by with the minimum?

Websites are the face for your business. As consumers grow and evolve, you want your brand to as well! You don’t want to be perceived as stuck in decades old technology and design when your business isn’t. Even if it’s minor updates a good rule of thumb is to really review your website every three years. Decide what works and what needs improvement. Does your brand and website represent more today than it did when you last designed your site? Are your competitors ahead of you when it comes to style?

Online capabilities are so different than ten years ago. Back then we were hampered by programming limitations, browser compatibility and download speed. Now there are so many options to create interactivity with your clients. Design of websites doesn’t have to be limited to just few images. With more people than ever having broadband you have a much larger chance to really showcase what your business can do.
Take a look, you might be ready to evolve and not know it!

Strictly Business is a direct mailed news and marketing magazine.  A publication containing vital Lincoln and Omaha business information, it’s mailed into the hands of nearly every CEO, business owner and key executive in the city.  Not only does the magazine reach business owners and managers, but it also reaches secretaries, lower-level management and other employees within the office.  These readers are not only businesspeople, they are also the city’s biggest consumers.

Look for the November issue of it where you’ll not only see our cover but an ad inside for PowerBand Graphics as well!

Strictly Business Magazine November Issue.