Sarasota Business Network

We spoke with the owner of SEO Aware, Melissa Fach, and asked four questions we thought Sarasota businesses may be interested in.

Everyone needs a website. Are they are created equal?

No. A very big NO! To have a website today you need to be concerned with the coding of the site because search engines can’t read bad coding well. To have a good website you need the following, to start:

• Clean code
• A conversion plan for the overall site and each page of the website
• An SEO strategy for the overall site and each page
• Fantastic, optimized copy for each page
• A user-friendly site
• The right functionality for your business and your client’s needs
• A way to engage the visitor and perhaps obtain data on them
• A branding strategy and the right marketing strategies in place

You build a lot of sites in Wordpress. Why is that? Isn’t Wordpress for blogging?

Wordpress was previously used as blogging software only, but has grown in a massive way and has become a great content management system that gives businesses a lot of control. Wordpress allows businesses to edit their pages, add pages, add photos & videos and also allows them to blog easily. If a Wordpress site is built correctly the code is very clean and sites can be completely custom…our site is a great example of that.

We recommend that people work with someone that has a lot of experience building Wordpress sites and has experience making Wordpress sites work. It doesn’t take much to break the benefits of Wordpress and inexperienced people often do that.

What mistakes do you see business making in regards to websites and online marketing?

Well, I could answer this for days, but I will try to give you some quick answers.

As far as websites are concerned I see businesses trying to go as cheap as possible. They want to spend as little as possible and end up with a site the search engines won’t index well and they often do not have the functionality needed for their target markets. The look of these cheap sites don’t really create trust either; if your site looks cheap it often looks like your business doesn’t have the money for a nice site.

A website is the best possible advertising option a  business can have. If done right clients/customers can find a business from their computer, TV or phone and everyone is searching one way or another today. Businesses can use their website to promote each service or product they provide and get indexed well for each page. Business owners can use a website or blog to educate their clients by providing tips and answering common questions.

As far as online marketing I see many, many businesses failing to understand what is needed to have an effective marketing plan. They have done no research, they have not considered target markets, they haven’t researched strategies for target marketing and they jump into social media, PPC, video marketing and email marketing with no plan in place.

To be effective with online marketing

• you need to research
• you need to consider all variables in regards to target marketing
• you need to take your target marketing data and create a plan to reach each market
• you need to carefully consider which online marketing and social media options you will use
• you need to have a way to properly and effectively market all of your strategies and reach your audience
• you need a way to measure what is working and what isn’t
• you need to revamp, test and revamp again until you get the results you want and need

Lastly, we saw on your site that you offer monthly consulting, what is that?

We offer monthly consulting packages for businesses because they often need someone to seek valid advice from on a consistent basis. We can help them with SEO each month or social media. We can help them review their analytics info and help them determine what is working and what isn’t. We give an objective opinion…we can help them with different monthly sales or event. By offering monthly consulting our clients get to know that they always have someone that is objective to talk with and get help from. We tell them the truth because we want their business to grow.

You can find Melissa Fach and SEO Aware at SEOAware.com.  Their blog offers great tips and info for businesses. You can find SEOAware on Twitter.

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SEO Aware, a national SEO and Internet Marketing consulting company based in Sarasota, offered a discount code on their blog today for the upcoming Blue Glass Ft. Lauderdale, Florida conference in November.

With their coupon code you can save 15% on the conference. The information is on their SEO Blog.

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301 Kwikie offers the top 8 reasons you should use a local print shop.

• Time- When you order online it could take a week or two. Local print shops could get it done in a day or two.
• Quality- You can feel the paper quality so often when business cards, brochures, menus etc. arrive businesses are embarrassed by the quality. The come show us the problem and we make a better product, but the business has had to pay twice.
• Precision- The file people send is often not printed the way you think it will be. 301 Kwikie’s graphic designers take the time to make sure it looks right. We have seen things printed backwards or designs cropped. We have seen post cards and brochures that can’t be used because the contact info would be covered by the postage. With a local company you can look at proofs and ensure everything will be right.
• Educated Graphic Designers- We have heard from our clients that they called and complained about their graphics being distorted after it was sent and been told that the company doesn’t really have educated graphic designers, but employees that are shown how to use the software often used by qualified graphic designers.
• Mistakes- We see mistakes often. Clients will send in a file and have a typo. When we see mistakes we correct them for clients because we actually proofread before we print. There is nothing worse than getting 500 business cards in the mail with a typo and you can’t get your money back because it was your mistake.
• You can talk to someone- Often with online print companies you submit your file in a form and fill in comments, but you can’t talk to anyone. Clients have told us they have called after seeing mistake or called to ask a question and can’t get a human on the phone.
• Spend Money Once, Times are Tough- The economy is rough for every business and saving money is a priority. You don’t want to waste money. With our companny you can come in and tell us what you need or call us and ensure your get the quality you are paying for.
• Support Your Local Economy- By using local companies you are helping stabilize the local economy. Sarasota really needs this.
• Save on Shipping! - At times shipping can cost more than the cost of the prinitng!

301 Kwikie offers a wide-range of color printing, digital printing and graphic design services.

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