AGIS | Web Development & Marketing Blog

Is it Worth it?

That is a question you may ask yourself everyday, perhaps even multiple times a day.

…is it worth doing this load of laundry now, knowing the kids’ practice clothes will be in the clothes hamper in four hours?

 …is it worth washing the car even though there is rain in the forecast tomorrow?

 …is it worth going to the gym this morning when the entire house needs cleaned and exercise will be obtained via vacuuming and scrubbing floors?

 Okay, maybe these are just the neurotic questions I tend to ask myself as I’m always looking for ways to be more efficient in time management, but you get the point! Does point 1 outweigh point 2? Does it make sense to do A, when you know what lies ahead with B?

In any business, one needs to ask questions and assess information to make good, solid decisions, especially in these volatile economic times. Most decisions directly affect bottom line, and that is where the question of “is it worth it” comes into play. Maybe the questions above aren’t the best to illustrate an “is it worth it” question from a financial standpoint (although with gas so high, daily exercise through cleaning house or jogging the neighborhood may outweigh driving 14 miles roundtrip to the gym and back). Every dollar matters today, and every decision made in business should be viewed from a financial standpoint.

 Take the situation of one of our clients. In the manufacturing sector, they and their peers, including other manufacturers, vendors, OEM’s, etc. participate in several trade shows per year. Trade shows are the perfect venue to display new goods/services, meet and greet customers, clients and prospective customers and clients, hold strategic planning meetings with vendors and distributors and generally speaking, “be seen”!

 But at what “cost” is it worth it to be seen these days?

 I’ve approximated the amounts below for a client’s participation in a recent trade show:

•  Booth space at expo hall: $33,000
• Exhibit company – prep, shipping, set-up/dismantle: $15,000
• Hotel for eight employees (3 nights/each): $5,400
• R/T airfare for eight: $6,000
• Meals, cab/bus fair, other incidentals: $5,000
• Meetings/meals for customers: $8,600
• New shirts for staff: $1,700
• Marketing firm work (i.e. advertising/press; coordination of all hotel, meetings, space, exhibit; correspondence with all staff, sales representatives, hotel staff, banquet managers, etc.): $8,000
• Other miscellaneous (i.e. shipping charges, special signage/printing, etc.): $3,000

 Total: $85,700

 Wow – a lot of ca-ching for three days of exposure! Think about the kinds of things a business could do to gain similar exposure with almost $90,000? That kind of money buys a lot of print advertising in trade journals and magazines. It would also buy a company a lot of air time on regional radio stations. A new website with all the bells and whistles, plus a mobile website for smartphone using customers? There is a good chance $90,000 would cover it! How about engaging the company in a new internet marketing plan, including SEO, PPC and a social media plan to go with? With $90,000 they’d be off to a great start!

 Now this article isn’t to knock trade shows as there is a lot of marketing benefit from gathering with peers, competitors and customers who are all like-minded in their business goals and who can share ideas, thoughts and product innovations. Instead, the point of this blog is to pose the question as you ponder business decisions for 2012…

 Is it Worth It?!

Call the internet marketing experts at AGIS for information and a quote (and yes…we do trade shows, too!)

We often get questions asking, why does a website need SEO Optimizing? Your site looks great, reads well, so everything must be fine, right? Not necessarily. It is hard to describe a Search Engine process that involves an algorithm that must be mind boggling and for the most part is a secret. Plus, beyond the basic Keyword Search the process involves Quality Rankings for the site based on traffic and links from other quality sites and so on, that can determine your position.

The first thing I try to tell a customer is imagine taking all the words and phrases in your copy or links from your home page (the most important page to a Search Engine), jumble them all around, then reading  this mish- mash, can you determine what your site is about? Also, if you throw out all the generic words that could apply to most things or most any site, is there anything left?

How does SEO Optimizing help with this aspect of your site? SEO Optimizing starts by adding or improving your; Head Tags, Links, Titles, Descriptions and Copy.

Take the example above. Let’s assume after SEO Optimizing your copy is either good or with some minor tweaking has been improved. You should now have at least some descriptive Keywords and Phrases that help explain what your site is about. SEO Optimizing of your copy has likely increased the density of important words of phrases, so highlight those in your mind.

With your Meta Descriptions added or improved, you can now highlight, or highlight more, those words or phrases that are also in the Description. Same goes for the Title. Now, highlight further anything that is a Link or with a List Tag and strongly increase anything included in a Head Tag.

Throw out the words with no highlighting and rank the rest based on the weight of the highlighting. What you have left is simple example of what a Search Engine will take away from your site. Chances are if you do this before SEO Optimizing and then after you will see a vast improvement in your rankings for Keywords and Phrases important to you, from seemingly minor adjustments.

As luck would have it for you, AG Information Systems has a wide variety of plans from Basic to Advanced. Check out AG Information Systems‘ SEO page and request more information. With so many sites dependent on Search Engines for 75% or more of their traffic, can you really afford to let your competitors rank above you?

The following 5 quick checks will help you know if your website is helping you promote your company.

First – Check to see what the first thing is that jumps out on your Home page. Make sure that what ever your visitors see is engaging and is a “hook”  to learn more.

Second – Can you tell visually or a quick read what the website is about? Too many words, images or distractions will confuse the user. It is imperative that you provide a clear path to what you are offering.

Third- Does your website provide the important information above the fold of the website. Make sure that what sets you appart from your competition is above the fold. What does “above the fold mean”? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Above_the_fold

Fourth – How quickly can the visitor find your services or products? If it is difficult to access your key services or products and how they can benefit the visitor they will loose interest. Remember you only have seconds per page to engage the visitor.

Fifth – Are you asking the visitor to take an action, for example; request a quote, download literature, sign up for a seminar, watch a video, sign up for an e-newsletter, purchase a featured product….what ever the “call to action” is make sure it is a simple form. Maybe you only ask for their email address for future marketing opportunities.

This review should only take 10-15 minutes to answer these questions. If you really want feedback ask your employees or someone who has never been to your site before to respond to these few questions.

Good luck and stay tuned for the second post next week.

Ya know it’s great to run SEO rankings to help identify weaknesses in potential client sites to help sell Search Engine Optimization services. Why not provide Usability Testing to help sell a potential client on the weaknesses of their website.

Here is an inexpensive solution to usability testing that just might help you win that next opportunity

http://www.usertesting.com/index.aspx

Give it a try

Corey Mahoney

VP AGIS

A Web site’s design makes that all-important, first impression on its visitors. This look and feel, along with ease-of-use and fresh content, are major factors in generating repeat visits to your Web site. All site designs, whether new or a redesign, should start with these important criteria in mind.

Things To Consider When Building/Redesigning Pages:

• Compress images and minimize use of flashy multimedia for faster-loading pages.
• Organize site with clean navigation; minimize clicking so as to not “lose” users.
• Build site for browser compatibility.
• Use legible fonts on simple backgrounds.
• Balance use of images and whitespace.
• Avoid broken links.

Other Development Considerations

Sometimes a site requires the use of other functionality such as a content management system or integrated database. RIA’s (Rich Internet Applications) and Rich Media (i.e. animation, sound, or video) can also help your site be successful in presenting information. Although initial uses of rich media were mostly created as “Flash Intros”, and no longer rank as desirable, it can fulfill divergent business needs when utilized properly. Some examples of when to utilize Rich Media include:

• Demonstrations & Presentations
• Embedded Video & Web Movies
• Presentations & Trade Shows (CD/DVD)
• Streaming Audio & Video
• eLearning and Training Applications