• write clean, efficient code (following W3C standards)
• incorporate your most important keywords into your page titles and text
• aim for 300-700 words of text per page
• update content on a frequent basis
• include concise, descriptive text on image alt tags
• use Flash and other multimedia as a garnish, not the main dish
• avoid tricks and gimmicks that can get your site penalized by Google

The above strategies are those I practice on behalf of clients when developing web sites. There is also the strategy of cultivating incoming links, which is typically more of an ongoing process carried out by the site owner. Entire books could be (and have been) written about incoming links, which are said to account for about a third of your site’s search engine rank.

Developing social media profiles (Facebook and Twitter especially) and starting a blog on your own site are highly recommended, although these tasks can be overwhelming for busy entrepreneurs. Consider outsourcing this task to a copywriter or social media specialist.

The video below is a clip of Matt Cutts, Google engineer, describing effective methods for gaining incoming links:

Google provides a Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide which is an easy, informative read. Their guide underscores an important point; while site development should be done with search engines in mind, ultimately people view websites and decide whether or not to buy your product, visit again, or recommend your site to others. SEO techniques and web standards are important  goals, but shouldn’t get in the way of effectively communicating your message.

Many developers will decline this type of work, or simply propose building a new site from scratch. They don’t want to “fix someone else’s mistakes” on a site that may have been poorly planned from the outset. However I find that these problem-solving jobs can be a nice break from larger, more complex projects, and can fill in small chunks of time I have between other work and meetings. The clients have often been quoted expensive re-designs instead of a low-cost fix, and are thrilled when their problem can be quickly and inexpensively resolved instead. I find these very satisfied clients to be a good source for future projects and referrals.

My most recent Website Rescue client has a blog on which the text and pictures were no longer displaying properly. She had been told by two other developers that the problem would take hours of research and programming to correct, and that it would be better to just start over from scratch and create a new blog. She did not want to lose all her existing content, or pay the cost of a new site development. Upon viewing her site I recognized that the link to her stylesheet must be broken or missing. The fix was to download the site’s configuration file, correct the filename pointing to the stylesheet, and re-upload the file to her site.

Another recent client had their site go down when their hosting provider abruptly closed their business. The client had no backup and the former provider could not be reached. It was a simple 8-page site but other developers had advised starting over with a completely new site at a cost of $800 or more. I checked Google’s cache and found that all the original content was still available. I downloaded the text and images and restored the client’s site to a new web host. I also provided them a backup on a CD in case they were to ever have trouble again.

I describe more examples of Website Rescue projects here. My minimum fee for Website Rescue is $150, for up to 2 hours of service. Most problems I’ve seen can be resolved within this timeframe, and the fee represents far lower expense than starting over and creating a new site.

I approached Ramsey Group in March to suggest that they upgrade their site to a more current aesthetic, and install WordPress so they could make their own updates. We agreed that the objective was to enhance a visitor’s overall experience, make products and categories easier to browse, and to place more content on the homepage in order to increase search engine ranking.

I am proud to report that it has truly paid off. Their site has always received a substantial amount of traffic, which has picked up slightly, but the bigger change has been time on site. This is a measurement of how long, on average, visitors spend on the site before moving on to somewhere else on the internet. Prior to the re-design, average time on site was just over 2 minutes. Immediately after the re-design, this score doubled to nearly 5 minutes and has held steady for several months.

Another metric which has improved since the re-design is the bounce rate. The bounce rate is a measurement of how many visitors to the site view a single page and then leave the site without viewing any more pages. There is no ideal bounce rate, as many different factors can affect it, but lower is better, and anywhere between 40%-60% is considered fairly typical. Ramsey Group’s bounce rate started out over 60% and is now in the mid-40′s.

Finally, Ramsey Group went from deep in Google’s results to 1st or 2nd page placement for more than 10 significant keyword phrases.

The picture we see with these metrics is that Ramsey Group’s site visitors are now much more engaged with the web site than they were before. When they land on the site, their attention is drawn in and they explore the information there. This is why you have a web site in the first place, so make sure it isn’t merely “good enough.”

BEFORE	AFTER

This is the before:

	BEFORE
Fortunately, there is a fantastic plug-in for WordPress called WPTouch, that takes a site’s content and optimizes it for mobile device viewing. It can be customized to match your site’s themes. What I really like is how it simplifies your site’s menu and page content to give lightning-fast loading times.Here are the “after” screenshots, showing the homepage and a menu of links:
I include mobile optimization as an optional feature on complete site designs (see pricing page). I also offer it as a standalone service for existing WordPress sites, for $150. This includes installing the plug-in, customizing the background, text, and link colors to coordinate with your existing site, setting up the menu links, and configuring other settings as needed.Tip: You can get screenshots from your iPhone like these, by holding down the Home and Power buttons simultaneously. You’ll see the screen flash, and the image will be saved to your Photos app. Great for sending your high scores to your friends!

There are a lot of gimmick-y things people may do to try to get these links, a lot of which are mostly a waste of time. In Matt’s video he describes about 11 different effective strategies, but his examples are very technical. I wanted to offer some real life examples that my clients and friends can do themselves.

Matt’s last example near the very end of his video, is to give something away on your website. I love this one — it can be pretty easy to do for many businesses. For my friend Kelley Hughes, owner of Bounce Around (a party rental company), I recommended providing some free party invitations on her website. These are downloadable pdf files that visitors print themselves, so there is no cost to Kelley other than a couple hours of design time. This creates a nice perk for her customers, but the real goal is for mommy bloggers and parenting forum chatters to spread the word and link to her site. This is a long-term strategy — results won’t be seen overnight, but it will pay off over time.

All sites developed by WNC Digital include custom design, reliable support, best practices in search engine optimization, installation of Google Analytics, links to your social media pages, a search box, and an obsessive attention to every detail.

Additionally, you may wish to add many popular features such as:

• a blog section
• newsletter sign-up (I recommend the free service MailChimp)
• calendar of upcoming events
• a customized contact form
• enhanced mobile format (a customized design for enhancing the user experience on smaller devices such as a phone or tablet)
• audio/video content
• member registration
• custom copywriting to boost your search engine ranking

What makes WNC Digital different?

1. Attention to Details
• SEO Coaching: I will ensure that your site follows Google quality guidelines for titles, descriptions, and headings that help rather than hurt you. I will know, and tell you, when a slightly different phrasing of your site title or a page header will work better for you in search engine ranking.
• Optimizing Images: All images used on your site will be sized for their intended use and optimized for fast loading. This doesn’t merely make things snappier for your site visitors — Google ranks quicker-loading sites higher than slower-loading ones. A difference of less than a second can push you higher or lower than your competitors, even though you may never even perceive a difference when you view the site.
• Page Caching: I install a tool on your site that stores a “flat” copy of each page on the web server. What that means in plain English is that your site will load 4-6 times faster than it would otherwise. Again, this really helps you rank better in search engines.
• Commitment to Your Success: I have learned something new or surprising or useful from every client I have worked with. I am fascinated by seeing where people’s passions have led them, and I respect the trust you place in me to help you succeed. I care about what you are hoping to accomplish with your web site and will work with your goals in mind.
2. Training and Experience
• BA in Journalism specializing in Web/Multimedia from UNC-Chapel Hill
• Former Software Quality Analyst at Acctvantage
• Former Webmaster at AB-Tech
• Former Multimedia Developer for Elon University
3. Investment in Professional Tools
• My primary computer for production is an Apple running the latest operating system; for testing purposes I also maintain a PC desktop, laptop, and netbook computer, and various smaller mobile devices.
• The most recent version of Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.)
• A developer’s license for the Genesis Framework for WordPress, and many other popular plug-ins, means I have access to customizations and support that “free” software typically lacks. 

You may be over-paying for your annual or monthly services, or held hostage to a maintenance contract for a web site you can’t update yourself.

You may know you need a new web site, but aren’t sure where to go for truly professional expertise. Most of these expensive problems can be solved pretty easily. I can empower you to take back control of your web site, and you won’t have to become an IT expert yourself to do it.

Maintenance & Updates

Case study: The client Tick Tock Clocks had an e-commerce web site that an outside developer had installed and configured. The site’s shopping cart was built on an obscure, non-intuitive application with no manual or online help. The developer was no longer available. The site owner did not know how to update product descriptions or prices, or add new products. She was wary of other designers/developers who presented a costly overhaul of the entire site as the only solution. My role in this project was to log in to the system, figure out the process for updating products/pages, make the immediate changes the client needed, and write clear instructions for the owner to be able to make future changes on her own.

Total cost: $300
Savings to Client: $3,000-$5,000 (cost of a new turnkey e-commerce site)

Site Blocked by Google / Firefox

Case study: The client Arden Orthopedics found that their site was being blocked by Google and Firefox due to “suspicious” content. A script on their site had indeed been hacked with a malicious line of code (linking to a malware site). I installed Google’s Webmaster Tools utility which identified the file that had been hacked. I uploaded a sanitized copy of the file and submitted a request for Google to re-evaluate the site. The site was live again without the warning/block within 48 hours.

Total cost: $150

Domain Name Transfers

Case study: The client Acme Equipment had accumulated dozens of versions of the company’s name as domain names over many years. As domain registration prices came down, Acme was paying far more than competitive rates in order to retain ownership of the names. However, transfer of domain names to a low-cost provider is a multi-step and confusing process. I assisted Acme by initiating and project-managing the transfers, communicating with the old and new registrars, tracking every name and its stage in the transfer process until completion.

Total cost: $375
Savings to Client: $1200 annually

Hosting Transfers

Case study: Hamrick Plumbing had been paying $60 per month for hosting and maintenance for 8 years. During that time many web hosts have come on the scene offering cheaper hosting. The owner of Hamrick Plumbing didn’t know how to get started moving his web site to a more economical option. I recommended a more competitive hosting company and managed the transfer process.

Total cost: $300
Savings to Client: $660 annually

Google-approved, white-hat search engine optimization techniques will boost your site up the rankings to drive increased traffic and business.

Without using any gimmicks or tricks that can backfire on you (Google is smart!), I will use time-tested and reliable techniques to improve your site’s standing in the search engines.

This package is offered at a discount for new site designs (see pricing page).  As a stand-alone service the fee is $500.

So what exactly is SEO Boost?

If I told you all my secrets, you wouldn’t need to hire me, would you? Just kidding! The truth is, there isn’t really a secret to effective SEO. There is something of an art to it, though, which comes with practice.

To understand what you will get from my SEO Boost service, you need to understand how your site’s rank in search engines is determined. There are a few factors:

1. The quality, quantity, and originality of your content
• Quality: Your content is written in a natural flow of complete sentences, not random strings of keywords or filler.
• Quantity: A page should contain about 300 – 700 words of text; not much less, and not too much more.
• Originality: Your content should be unique, not copied from other sources.
2. Your Page Rank
• This is a measurement of how “popular” your site is, as calculated by how many other sites link to you; the catch is, the other sites need to rank well themselves for their inbound links to help you. Reciprocal linking, buying links, and other gimmicks for getting links are worthless at best, and potentially harmful. Google penalizes and even bans sites that show obvious signs of link manipulating.
3. Other Factors
• Site Loading Time: All other factors being more or less equal, a page that loads faster will rank higher.
• Longevity: A newly-registered domain will rank a little lower, at least for the first 6-12 months, than a competitor site that’s been around for years, all other factors being equal. You can’t do much about this but wait it out; however, you can be optimizing your content, streamlining your site’s loading time, and developing inbound links during that time.

Out of all these factors, optimizing your text content and your site’s loading time are the ones that are the most in your control. I call this the low-hanging fruit. You can see a profound difference very quickly. This is what I focus on when providing you with SEO Boost:

I will work with you to determine 3-5 realistic keyword phrases you want to rank highly for. What do I mean by realistic? For example, if you are a dentist, the single keyword dentist is not a realistic keyword to aim to rank highly for. And your potential clients are not likely to search just for the word dentist. But they might search for hendersonville nc dentist or perhaps hendersonville cosmetic dentist. Those are keyword phrases that are both realistic and likely to help you gain traffic.

Once we have established your top keyword phrases, I will develop 300 – 500 words of copy for your homepage that incorporate your keywords in a natural flow. This is where the art — and professional tools and expertise — come into play. Repeating your keywords too many times can backfire. Use them too little and you won’t benefit. The ideal frequency (called “keyword density”) is between about 3-5%. I use software that calculates your keyword density as a I type, and I edit as necessary to keep you in the sweet spot.

Second, I edit your site title to make sure your keywords are used within the first 72 characters (Google ignores the rest). I edit your site description so that your keywords are used within the first 165 characters, while also providing a meaningful description of your site — this description is what Google displays in its search listings, and helps a potential visitor decide whether or not to click through to your site.

Third, I evaluate your homepage’s loading time and address any factors which may be slowing it down — un-optimized images that are slow to load, unnecessary code, etc.

Finally, I provide you with recommendations for long-term strategies to gain inbound links authentically, such as using social media, promotions, blogging, and so forth. My suggestions are tailored to your business and what is feasible for you.

I can help you to add new text or images, or install WordPress updates. Or, if your site has been hacked or you have lost content and don’t have a back-up, I can help with that too. I also offer a WordPress Maintenance Plan that can provide peace of mind that security, backups, and updates are taking place while you run your business.

Ready for help? Just get in touch.

Joomla is a powerful content management system which can be a good choice for many business web sites, if the site owner has the time available (or staff) to really learn the program. In my experience however, many entrepreneurs are busy running their business. The Joomla interface is overwhelming and it is confusing for a new user to make even minor updates. I don’t recommend Joomla to the majority of clients who come to me for full web site development. But if you have an existing Joomla site, I can help in one of two ways:

• Update your site at your request — as needed, or on a scheduled basis for a contracted number of hours per week or month.
• Convert your site to a WordPress site — you can keep the design that you already have, but logging in to do your own updates will be FAR easier. I provide hands-on training as well as a printed manual and video tutorials.

Ready for help? Just get in touch.