PXTFitness Site Launch

PXTFitness.com is a the home of Personal Excellence Training. Cody Limbaugh runs a tight ship of physical endurance with some of the best gym members I’ve ever experienced. It was a pleasure to work on a dynamic site like Cody’s.

We offered a robust web solution with Wordpress and a plethora of plugins, widgets, and add-ons that are going to make his marketing life much easier.

Here’s to you Cody! See you tomorrow!

Marketing Your Website

‘How can I get people to visit my website?’

I get asked this question, a lot. I’ve compiled a list of various ways you can market a website:

Step 1: Get a Reliable Web Designer

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve met with a client to restructure/re-align their web presence and I see their old site and cringe. Nothing makes me feel better than redoing a train-wreck of a site that is years out of date. Having a professional and reliable web design can the difference between page 1 on Google, and page 1,540. Trust me.

Step 2: Get a Well Designed Website

The customer is always right applies to content, however design should really be kept to the ‘designer’. Having a knockout web layout that is easy to navigate is a big step in the right direction. Let a designer make a mock-up for you and if you like it have them program it. Bam, you have a website.

Step 3: SEO, SEO, and SEO some more.

Basically the best way of getting into Google or any other major search engine is unique content. I cannot stress enough the use of consistent and unique information on your relevant tags. Your web designer will know what I’m talking about.

Step 4: Google Webmaster, Analytics, and Local Business Center

Utilizing the free services offered by Google and other major search engines can help you achieve better search engine rankings. Knowing where your traffic is coming from, who it is, and where they can find you is a major asset to have. Especially when its free.

Step 5: Social Networking

Get your site out there! Using social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIN can help potential customers find your website easier. Spreading your link around the net can help Google index your site quick. I’ll get to that….

Step 6: Back Linking

Right now. Back linking from other credible websites that share your content can help Google find your site faster and index you quicker. This, in turn, will boost your search engine ranking, if Google recognizes your site as a credible source of information, it will place you higher than your competitors.

Conclusion

Now, this is not an end-all-be-all post about how to market your website successfully. However, these are some of the main components that will be necessary for you to gain higher search engine rankings, more visibility to the public, and potentially more business.

Wordpress Blog Designs

Mostly when I’m creating websites for my clients I find that I get caught in the ‘box-rut.’ Meaning I tend not to break boundaries and stay pretty confined to geometric shapes. Here is a list presented by Smashing Magazine for 50 Beautfiul Blog Designs.

Clients Reactions to Alternative Web Design

I’ve tried introducing a few alternative site layouts to my clients but they get a little scare. In today’s economy people are more interested in playing it safe rather than trying to break boundaries. You know, I understand that, I really do. However, the only way I got noticed was by making a site design that really highlights my strengths: web design and illustration. An odd combination, I know.

I’m pretty keen on making stuff that isn’t normal and it is my hope that more clients and prospective clients will want more alternative site layouts. I think in the future we as an internet fairing culture will want designs that push the envelope and try to break the box even more.

New Launch: Amy Selleck Photography

TheAmySite.com has just launched.

We outfitted Amy’s web needs with Wordpress 2.8.2 blog. This way Amy can update her photography blog from her home, work, or even remotely via smart-phone. The Wordpress blog also gives Amy’s fans and clients the ability to comment on her work or contact her directly for her services.

As on-going SEO and plugin development continue, Amy should be getting more conversions from her website. We’re focused and our beginning to hatch our master plan to get Amy to number one for her search demographic. Watch out Portland photographers on Google, Yahoo, and MSN, Amy’s coming and Unleashed has her back.

Feed Your Site

The web has been evolving for sometime now. The implementation of different kids of ‘feeds’ is commonplace. You might have a flickr feed that streams to your website or have your RSS feed linked directly to your site, maybe even twitter streams off site via the Twitter API. Having feeds run through your site allows search engines to see that your page is being updated whenever you update the feed. This is just one of many ways in which a feed from an off site can help your search engine ranking.

Having an off-site feed stacked with relevant content that links back to you and and your organization can pay off huge. For instance, David Mihm has the system down perfect. By having the Google getFeed API, David has managed to stream three important off site feeds directly into his website. In those feeds he writes articles about how to improve search engine optimization and search engine ranking.

The idea behind a feed is to show the world that you have a lot of knowledge about what it is that you do. If I were a baker, my feeds could consist of recipes, ingredients, and foods. By streaming a feed into your site you give your audience more opportunities to not only experience what it is that you have to offer but to become part of your ever growing web of influence.

Now you might ask, isn’t that what I have my blog for?

You are absolutely right. However a few off-site feeds might be able to increase your ranking because major search engines will see that off-site traffic, which is relevant to your business, is linking back to your site. It’s really just that simple.