Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web

Don't let Flash happen to your web design - Google can't read it.

Last week I got a call from Fantasia Floral Design, a local florist on the upper east side of New York City. They were interested in the article I wrote on the Google Enhanced Business Listing. Before calling the business I performed a quick assessment of their website. What I found was a critical and all too common problem.

Their website was made entirely in Flash, a web programing language that is intended for displaying motion graphics and videos on a website but never intended for use in attracting search engines or powering entire websites. Google and other search engines read text but not the content of Flash or video files.

Given that local search is now the number one tool people use to find local products and services this presents a major problem.

The solution is to have a new website design made using modern web design and local search engine optimization methods. Today, an integrated design that combines best practices in web design, usability and SEO are available in the general marketplace at affordable prices (for example we offer a starter package that includes your WordPress install, setup, design theme, local SEO, training, web hosting, and training for under a thousand bucks).

There are some additional benefits to updating your website. If your old Flash content is still compelling and relevant there’s a good chance it can be incorporated into your new web design like as I’ve done with Fantasia Floral’s Flash movie below.

A website built on a modern platform will open up other features and benefits that make it easier to market your business online, such as easy integration with social media like Twitter and Facebook. Modern website platforms like WordPress like we use here at LOCAL Na8ion make it easy for business owners without technical knowhow to update their own website, freeing them from the costs of hiring a web designer every time something in their business changes.

There’s always a balancing act when creating a web design that’s attractive to people and search engines. The site must look good and function well while providing users with clear navigation – all while being fully accessible to Google and other search engines. The benefit of this integrated web design is better organic search engine rankings, a lasting effect that keeps paying you back as long as you’re in business. That’s what good web design and marketing are all about – better results.

Are you using WordPress for your small business website and trying to improve your search engine rankings? If so, read on.

I’ve been working recently on a website design for a new client WestchesterInternetMarketing.com in Westchester New York. If you’re in their area and need help with local internet marketing, please look them up.

Westchester Internet Marketing turned me on to a great WordPress plugin to boost your search engine results and I wanted to pay-it-forward by letting you in on their tip.

I’m excited about this plugin because it will save me time in helping clients with their Local SEO and it will also help you, even if you don’t know much about SEO or achieving better search engine rankings.

It’s called SEO Automatic and it’s made by Scott Hendison over at Search Commander. As a web designer and marketer who specializes in WordPress I can say with confidence that Scott’s claims for the plugin are bang on.

“If you “already know SEO”, this tool shows you everything you can possibly think of, saving you untold time and energy depending on your skill and efficiency level.

If you don’t “already know SEO”, then I’ll not only show you “what’s wrong?” with a given URL, but I’ll give you and your team all of the necessary details needed to do things “right for SEO”.

Download the SEO Automatic Core Tweaks plugin here.

Julian Seery Gude, ed LOCALNa8ion.com

QuickTime, iPhone or iPod Download.

We could all use less distractions when we’re writing updates for our small business web site. After all, the more frequently we write content and publish it on our websites, the better our local search engine rankings will be.

Today, there are tools called full screen editors, writing tools that are specifically designed to remove distractions like email and instant messenger notifications from your computer. I use and recommend programs like WriteRoom for the Mac and WriteMonkey for Windows.

What many people don’t realize is that there is a similar full browser window text editor right inside WordPress that will help you focus on your writing.

This episode of Local Knowledge contains an educational screencast that shows you two workflows for using these full screen editors in your writing and publishing on WordPress 2.7.

The first method pairs up a dedicated full screen editor like WriteRoom with WordPress. The second method lets you do ALL your work right within WordPress. Both methods work, you decide which is best for you.

Remember, local search marketing is free and any tools and tricks we can use to make it easier for us to market our business are powerful tools. You know the saying ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff….It’s all small stuff!’ Modifying your workflow using these methods may seem like a small thing (and it is) but it’s chock full of positive results.

Julian Seery Gude
Local Knowledge | Local Internet Marketing for Small Business
ed, LocalNa8ion.com | Where you are is where it’s at