Archive for the ‘website design’ Category

i’m not talking about promoting your local police organization here. authority marketing is walking the walk. marketing without authority is blowing hot air. so, how do you achieve authority? research. writing. publishing. relevance. credibility. consistency. 1) research — don’t jump to conclusions on efforts…circle the subject, learn something new every day, then proceed; 2) writing — putting words to paper helps to form, anchor and mature  thoughts; 3) publishing — blogging, article marketing and more put your authority to the test by interacting with audiences and forcing you to defend your ideas and knowledge; 4) relevance — much like the factors that google uses to rank websites, make sure what you’re saying and doing has momentum, is in the news, has significant interest, etc; 5) credibility — search for consensus (especially pros who also speak on your subject matter) and pursue third party endorsements (testimonials, panel invites, etc); 6) consistency — stay on subject(s) for a prolonged period of time (establish longevity, focus, commitment, passion, etc), though it’s not necessary to hold the same perspective(s) and opinions (showing a progression in thought is positive in that it communicates consideration, balance, flexibility, humility, maturity, etc).

went live with the basement detective website recently. they are a northern virginia contractor providing basement waterproofing, remodeling, sump pump systems and mold removal. the page ranks highly for a host of local searches in its industry. they are solidly in the mix with businesses that are up to 50 years old.

“the year in pictures” feature is now available for viewing. to receive a guided tour with anecdotes, please call (202) 494-4326 or email eric.s.townsend@gmail.com. i’d be happy to share a few stories as i outline my services offering.

are you or someone you know shopping to have a website developed? i had an interesting chat today with a partner about a proposal that went south. while you can’t win them all, it looks like there were a few simple misunderstandings that may have led the end client to pass. what they don’t know could end up hurting them! 1 — website design doesn’t usually include search engine optimization (seo). the former is creative, the latter is marketing/sales. 2 — search engine friendly doesn’t mean search engine optimized. it means the website is ready for a real investment, which is what what the seo represents. 3 — a one-time seo investment doesn’t keep you at the top of rankings. google “robots” regularly track what your website is doing (or not doing) and your rankings move accordingly. sounds sci-fi but it’s true. 4 — a “no hostages” approach to website design means a client can muck up a project that launched beautifully using the content management tools they were provided. there’s nothing the designer can do about that! look to the screenshot from launch and converse with the designer about concerns.