WORDS BY THE POUND: BOYCOTT CONTENT SPAM

Content Spam 2.0:

What This Means to SEO

Weird email requests lately.

One guy wanted a bid on 1,000 articles – all about apartments. I doubt there are 1,000 things you could even say about apartments, much less write 1,000 articles on the subject. And if tasked with such an assignment, any self-respecting copywriter would gouge out her eyes with a spork after a day or two. Tops.

Another request wanted a price for a weekly newsletter on work-at-home jobs. Didn’t care what I wrote as long as it contained this list of 25 long-tail keywords. This isn’t writing. It’s a jigsaw puzzle and all the pieces are gray.

The move to content-driven sites, and the endless need for green content, has been good for word grinders who can crank it out by the pound. But there’s something in the ether-sphere. A change in the digital wind.

Elance.com: Lots for Cheap

I’ve been getting writing assignments through Elance for a little more than four years. And in that time there’s been a rather dramatic shift in what buyers in the writing and translation category want.

“500 articles on pig farming. Willing to go as high as $1 per article.”

“200-page ebook download on FOREX strategies – Budget > $500”

“30 press releases; various technical topics – Budget > $250”

Occasionally, buyers are actually more concerned with quality than quantity but those buyers are a shrinking pool. And this despite Elance’s behind-the-scenes efforts to improve the quality of its job posters.

Still, those cr@pfests of work get bids – out sourced to word factories where text by the kilo is produced by (1) machines (virtually unreadable) or (2) non-native English speakers who get paid in canned goods (humorously unreadable). A client sent one of these outsourced pieces for review and in it was the following quote: “American corporations are up to the business of the monkey.”

I read that 10 times before my wife figured out that the writer (or machine) had interpreted “monkey business” as “business of the monkey.” So, the sentence, when reconstructed would read: “American corporations are up to monkey business” and even that totally sucks.

Content Spam 1.0

Sure, this kind of junk has been around for years and there have been bottom feeders on Elance since the site started operations. So, admittedly, the use of content spam has been around since search engines (1994).

But early content spam was simplistic. Cram the words sex and porn into every keyword tag and you’d show up. Keyword dense gibberish (“Can you give me a 40% keyword density across the site?”) could be ground out like hash (and not the good kind).

But now, because search engine algorithms have gotten more sophisticated, content spam has taken on a new look.

Content Spam 2.0

The days of stuffing “blue pill” in between real text are over (except for that guy in the Philippines, and I’ll get you, you bastard!). Today, search engines want solid, informational content – something of substance, of use to the search engine user. The problem for copywriters is simple. Search engines know informational content. But they don’t know good content from a steaming pile of verbs and nouns.

This limitation has led to a huge number of posts on Elance and other freelance sites for words by the pound. Quality doesn’t get any extra credit. It’s sheer volume and plenty of it.

The Impact on SEO

This content spam 2.0 is used by site owners and SEOs to create sign posts that point back to the mother site – the center of the marketing bull’s eye. So the content ends up on blogs, on content syndication sites, on content-based sites, on sub-domains – it’s like putting up posters on construction site walls in New York City.

And though SEO has always involved creating identifiable targets for bots and eyeballs, this off-site aspect of SEO seems to be growing in importance. Why else would some guy want 1,000 pages on apartments? He’s going to place that content spam every place he can – or you are.

Based on the number of requests for content spam posted on Elance and showing up in my inbox, I suggest that SEO is going to employ a great deal more off-site activity in the future.

Anybody know anything about apartments?


webwordslinger.com

DIE, KEYWORDS! DIE!

photo courtesy of MrBobDobolina 

The Agonizingly Slow Death 

of Keyword Density:

What Worked Yesterday Won’t Work Today

If you’re about to launch a new website, there’s something you should know right now. Search engine marketing – in fact the entire online marketplace – is evolving so quickly that the marketing strategy you developed yesterday is out of date.

Keywords Are Born

Prior to the mid-90s, we were all stumbling around the web. There was no map. No address book. So, if you wanted to buy an elephant online the only way you’d find one is if the local elephant franchise posted their URL (universal resource locator, your web address) in a flyer or newspaper ad.

Then, the folks at Yahoo (not much more than a good idea back then) came up with the idea of a search engine – a small piece of programming, comprised primarily of a simple mathematical formula called an algorithm, that would assess web sites and sort them into categories (the search engine taxonomy) so that, if you typed in ‘elephant,’ you got links to various elephant retailers. Cool. It was like the sun came up in Webville, or at least we had a flashlight!

Keyword Abuse

That primitive search engine relied, primarily, on reading letter strings. And the more a particular letter string was repeated on the web page, the easier it was to index the web site back at search engine headquarters.

Well, it didn’t take site owners long to discover the inner workings of Yahoo’s search engine and the Dark Ages of search engine marketing descended upon the virtual landscape.

Keywords were scattered all over a site – along with keywords that had nothing to do with the site’s subject. So, lots of site owners started adding keywords like “sex” and “porn” to their site text – even if the text was invisible to the human eye. (White text against a white background is invisible to humans but search engines can read it just fine.) The site could be selling dietary supplements but the owner (or search engine optimizer) could add a bunch of other words to the site text. No problem.

And what the search engine user saw amounted to keyword babble. Just a bunch of keywords (letter strings) designed to fool search engines, not to help site visitors.

Other abuses followed as technology marched on until we entered the era in which we now function online – an era of SEOs trying to anticipate what Yahoo, Google and Inktomi programmers are hatching and those programmers trying to stay one step ahead of keyword abuse and subterfuge. Why? The purpose of the search engine is to deliver relevant results to the user. If site owners undermine the process through the use of keyword abuse, the relevance of search engines diminishes.

Other forms of keyword abuse included (and still include) keyword stuffing – stuffing the HTML keyword tag with every word in your kid’s dictionary. At one time, these keyword tags were given significant weight by search engines. Today, they’re considered much less important because of the on-going practice of keyword stuffing.

Then, finally, we come to keyword density – a loathsome concept to copywriters, search engine programmers and web site visitors. Simply put, keyword density is simply the number of times a keyword or set of keywords appears in a body of text. Example:

The Ski Hut carries the latest in skis, ski gear and ski wear. Snow skis from around the world, along with ski boots, ski poles, ski goggles and ski outerwear line the aisles at The Ski Hut where, if it has to do with skiing, we sell it.

Can anyone guess what the Ski Hut sells? Hands please? That’s right, they sell skis and, in this example, the keyword density is about 22%, i.e. out of the 48 words in the example, 11 mention skis, skiing and other ski word keywords. Unfortunately, with a keyword density of 22% the text isn’t much more that a continuous letter string of ski ski ski.

The Evolution of the Search Engine

Yahoo’s algorithm builders gradually developed increasingly sophisticated search engine algorithms to thwart keyword abuse, adding numerous other criteria to assess the nature and quality of each spidered site. And, when Google came along with an even more sophisticated algorithm the flood gates opened and the search engine wars began. Yahoo, Google and Inktomi (used by MSN and many other search engines), along with My Simon, Ask Jeeves (now just plain Ask.com) and a bunch of other search engines, big and small, all went at search engine building a little differently.

Some, like My Simon and Ask Jeeves, focused on retail sites. Type in wristwatches and the SE would delivered sites and pictures of wristwatches. (That picture thing is making a comeback, btw.) Other search engines, like Google, focused on sheer size, spidering and indexing literally billions and billions and billions of web pages so no matter what a user enters as a key word or phrase, something will show up.

Keywords Now

Yes, they’re still marginally relevant. HTML code still allows for a keyword tag and spiders still count up letter strings so, yes, selecting keywords that count is a critical part of the optimization process.

But keywords ain’t what they used to be. Fact is, contemporary search engine algorithms are designed to detect keyword stuffing and abusive keyword density so their users don’t have to plow through page after page of repetitive, nonsensical keyword garbage. So, choose your keywords carefully. They still count.

As far as keyword density is concerned, cut it out! Different search engine marketing professionals will tell you a 5% keyword density (5 keywords per 100 words of site text) is still acceptable but the majority of SEOs recommend a keyword density of 2% to 3% to keep search engine spiders from slamming a site for abuse.

The Agonizing Slow Death of Keywords

There are still site owners, and even SEO experts, who believe that keywords are the end all to be all. Soooo not true.

Keywords are great for delivering organic traffic to a site – organic traffic being the links on the left side of Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). These are sites that the programmed-to-be-impartial search engine has determined will be relevant to the user. Organic SERP traffic is rock solid. It’s a good thing. But think about your own search engine habits.

How often do you look beyond the first or second page of Yahoo’s SERPs. Occasionally? And how often do you search for a site on page 145 of Google’s SERPs? Never. SERPs are sorted by relevance to the user’s query (keywords) so anything on page 145 is going to have much less relevance than links that appear on page one of Google’s SERPs.

And, bottom line? The chances of you creating a page one SERP site are pretty remote (though don’t give up. It happens everyday).

Today, search engine algorithms are much more sophisticated, looking for fresh, informational content, non-reciprocal inbound links, interactivity between site and visitor and other criteria, again giving some, but not much, weight to keywords that appear in the HTML keyword tag, or how many times you can stuff the word ‘kumquat’ into the text of your kumquat site.

And, it’s only a matter of time before site-owner-selected keywords will finally fade away altogether. Search engine spiders will assess and sort each site according to growingly sophisticated and expansive criteria.

It’s only a matter of time and that time can’t come soon enough. Kumquat.

Webwordslinger.com    

LOCALIZED SEARCH: ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BUSINESS FROM MOZAMBIQUE?

YOUR NEXT BUYER IS RIGHT HERE.

YOUR NEXT BUYER

Local Site SEO/SEM:

Think Small. Win BIG.

Of course GE has a huge website and Microsoft’s digital space is the size of a couple of football fields – everything from download patches to sales to rights-free clip art. A web site, for any well-known business, is a must. So is a HUGE web presence. That’s why these global conglomerates have SEO professionals on staff. It’s also why these sites rank so highly on Google. They’re enormous and optimized to the nth degree.

But what about your little boutique on Main Street, Anytown, USA. Or your car dealership out on Route 81? Can you compete with the big guys and if so, how? Here’s a quick primer on SEO for local businesses looking for traffic within a 40 mile radius of the business’ brick-and-mortar storefront or office building.

You don’t need a big budget and you don’t have to be an SEO to rank highly on local searches. But you do have to design your site for local search and optimize the site skin for the highest conversion ratios. So, here’s how to put your little hometown business on the web map – and actually drive traffic.

Google Webmaster

Google Webmaster Central is a treasure trove of Google-based tools designed to provide data and tips on improving your site’s page rank (PR) on Google’s search engine results pages or SERPs.

Google provides tools to improve local site traffic with its Keyword Generator, its Diagnostics that identify problems encountered during the last Googlebot visit – everything from an old home page still on your server to broken links. If bots have a problem, you have a problem.

This site also provides analytics: what does your site look like to a Googlebot (remember bots never see the site skin, just the HTML code under the site), there’s a Site Status Wizard to determine how many pages of your site are actually indexed in Google’s database of over 100 billion web pages. Google Analytics provides a breakdown of visitor traffic – who, what where, when and sometimes even why – all in one place.

Google Gadgets

Free stuff and especially useful for two purposes: (1) site stickiness and (2) local search. These doo-dads and gizmos keep visitors coming back and customers walking through your front doors. So what can you get from the Google Gadget goodie bag? Local weather, calendars and local time, all perfect for local search for local businesses. These Google gadgets enhance the visitor’s perception that you really are local and that’s a very good thing.

Google Gadgets also includes an online to-do list function. Ideal for local search. TO DO: go to dry cleaners – your dry cleaners. You can also pick up complete mapping functions – another must have for site localization. How do people get to your outlet?

Google’s To-Do List

Using Google maps, you can provide written directions and even a printable map. And all of these features are free when you open a Google account – which you should do ASAP.

“Hey, we’re right at the intersection of Maple and Main!”

Local SEO

You don’t want business 400 miles away from your shop. You want people who live in your area to stop by to make a purchase (unless you want to go global and get into drop shipping, which is another topic altogether). Adding gadgets like maps and local weather help convert visitors and lower your cost-per-acquisition (CPA) by delivering highly-qualified local buyers – web users who have located your store or office through a local search.

To improve the likelihood of being found locally, here are some tips to ensure that Googlebots and other crawlers get it right. Oh, and btw, if you don’t think this is critical to the long-term success of your business, check out these stats:

Seven out of 10 web users employ local search, aka 70% of potential prospects!

68% of surfers call the telephone number provided by a local business to ask questions about product availability, directions, questions when “Some assembly required” and so on. People like searching globally but they love buying locally. It’s so much more personal.

One-half of search engine users add a geographic modifier to their query words, aka, certified public account dallas texas. It’s easy to understand why. There are some things (like a tax audit) that you want to deal with face-to-face so you call a local CPA – or at least 50% of web users do.

So, in no particular order of effectiveness (do them all) here are some suggestions for upping local traffic through local search:

• Add the name of your community to HTML tags – keyword tag, title tag, description tag and other HTML code. Remember, this is what spiders spider – not the site skin – so SEO is all about optimizing your code, NOT the site skin. However, you should also add local contact information on the site itself. This text synchs up with tag content, adding validity to the site’s code. (No funny stuff goin’ on.)

• Make your URL visible within the local community. If your business advertises in the local newspaper, make sure the site URL is prominently displayed. Think of your web site as an opportunity to tell local buyers why they should by locally and, more germane, why they should buy from you.

• List your business with Google Maps. When visitors access mapping from Google, Google Earth or MapQuest, your little business shows up as a push-pin online and in a printable format.

• Develop a list of long-tail keywords that would be used by local search engine users. If you go with the top-used keywords, you’ll get buried in Google’s SERPs. How well will “Bonnie’s Art Supplies” stand out against Dick Blick and the hundreds of other mega-crafts stores that sell art supplies? Bonnie will be lucky if her site ever sees the light of day using the most popular keywords.

• Instead, create a list of long-tail keywords – keyword phrases that locals would use, e.g., restaurants boothbay harbor maine or tourist information boothbay harbor maine. This narrows the number of search engine users who actually employ these long-tails, but moves your site to page one of the SERPs when a user does employ one of your localized, long-tail keywords. Make sure these keywords are topic-city specific.

• In your site text (which will be part of the site’s code and, therefore, spidered) use words that describe your service region. Words like “near,” “around,” and “vicinity of” can be used to expand or contract your service area.

• Some SEO experts claim that people don’t search by zip code. I do. And it doesn’t hurt to have your zip in your body text a bunch of times.

• When creating long-tail, region-specific keywords, spell out the name of the state and avoid abbreviations, e.g. Boothbay Harbor Maine, not Boothbay Harbor ME.

• Link to other businesses maintaining websites within your service community. This includes community sites, tourism sites and local business directory sites. Also, privately-owned sites specifically targeted at a local community are popping up like weeds. They provide local news, weather, some local reporting and links to local businesses – hey, like yours!

• Post informational content on local blogs. Many communities maintain blogs – places where people can sell an old couch or ask for volunteers for the upcoming May Fest. These “local spots” are fast turning into the web log-on page – the place to get the local news and download a coupon for a free pizza when you buy eight. (Good deal.)

• Don’t fool with Google. You can try multi-listing under different names when you register with Google Maps, but if you get caught employing this gray-hat tactic, your site can be sanctioned – sent to the back of the line – or banned altogether.

Local search is here to stay and more and more web users are employing the local search options now offered by the big search engines. Locals don’t want their eyes tested by someone 3,000 miles away. They want your eyeglass emporium. The want to make an appointment by telephone, print out a map to your specs store, and they want the personalized service they only get locally.

Optimize your site for local search and the local community. Who knows? If you supply enough good, local information, your home page may become the log-on for hundreds, even thousands of local prospects.

And you know that’s going to be good for business.

Localized search delivers powerful results in a short time - and it's growing more popular every day. Drop me a line. Your next customer is right down the street. No, really.

Webwordslinger.com

BOOST YOUR SITE'S CONVERSION RATIO: IT AIN'T BRAIN SURGERY!

IF THEY AIN'T BUYING, WHY MAKE IT HARDER?

SIX STUMBLING BLOCKS TO AVOID - LIKE NOW.

Six Stumbling Blocks to Making That Sale:

Why Make It Harder to Sell?

What if you went to your favorite clothing boutique and discovered the door was locked? A note on the door states “Please enter your access code to enter.” Access code? Never mind, I’ll just go across the street to buy a new tie.

In the real-world retail sector, merchandising is a science. Makers of your favorite breakfast cereal fight for shelf position at the supermarket. They all want the eye-level shelf because that’s where most shoppers look first. The boxes of cereal on the top and bottom shelves don’t move as fast because of shelf placement.

And how about those displays of soda and hot dog buns you see at the end of each supermarket aisle. This is prime selling floor real estate and food makers pay the store for these prized locations. Same with all the gum, candy and other “impulse” items by the checkout. Those products are there because people waiting to get checked out buy them on impulse. “Oh, I deserve a treat,” so a Mr. Goodbar gets tossed into the shopping cart along with this week’s fabulous edition of The National Enquirer. The buying activities of store shoppers are studied, critiqued, focus-grouped-to-death, analyzed, utilized and ultimately, the entire store is arranged to generate more sales.

Well, the same principles apply to website design. The design of your website can make it easier or harder for a visitor to make a purchase. Here are six stumbling blocks you can remove from your site today to see your conversion ratios improve in a matter of days. Really.

1. Eliminate the member log-in from the home page. You see this a lot and you wonder what the site designer was thinking. When most visitors see a log-in box, they know they’re giving up their email addresses to gain access to the goodies on your site. And they expect the back sell – the sell that takes place once a visitor opts in.

But it makes no sense to place the opt in log-in on the home page because visitors don’t even know what their opting for yet. Instead, use the home page to entice the visitor deeper into the site. Show visitors that by opting in they get a valuable service or good information – free. In other words, prove the worthiness of site information before making the pitch for an opt-in.

2. Provide good information free. And plenty of it. Articles, stories, pictures of products in use embedded in informational content lends credibility to you, the site and the product.

Often times, buyers don’t know what they don’t know. They’re trying to learn as they window shop and you’re going to teach them by providing good informational content about product pros and cons. You want the buyer to purchase the right product. It saves time, money and the hassles of returns so teach and sell on your site. It’s a potent combination. And it works, too.

3. Make it easy to find the right item. There are two ways to do this. Use both.

There’s a web design dictum: The fewer the number of clicks the more sales. Absolutely true. The easier it is to make a purchase the more purchases will be made so making it easy to find a specific item, or to browse items, is essential.

Most sites use a “Products” link off the navigation bar, which works fine if you only sell a few items. This drill down screen can also be used as a product category directory with links taking the visitor to a specific product ‘section’ of the site. This is especially useful for companies that market diverse inventory.

However, even this drill-down design requires some discretionary thought on the part of the site visitor, and if seems like a hassle, a lot of visitors will get tired of endless clicks and move on to a simpler site.

The second option – and frankly a must-have in this era of site interactivity – is a ‘Site Search’ feature. By far the fastest way to find a specific item by name, by make, model number or any number of other search criteria. A ‘site search’ feature contributes to the reason most web shoppers shop online – convenience.

Everything – everything – about your site should point to ease of use, accessibility, functionality and moving the visitor through the purchase cycle without so much as a blip.

4. Add shopping cart convenience. Even if you sell a limited number of items, offer visitors the opportunity to place items in their digital shopping carts – even if it’s one item.

The shopping cart should allow the visitor to:

• Review items purchased.
• Change quantities.
• Delete items.
• See the total cost of items in the cart.
• See the shipping and handling costs for the items in the cart.

Also, throughout the purchase cycle, reassure the buyer by providing prompts on each page. A perfect example: a link to the “Check-Out” on every page – prominently displayed. Easy, easy, easy. Shoppers want convenience and reassurance that “they’re doing it right.”

5. Check out your checkout. Remember that number of clicks axiom from above? This is doubly true during the checkout sequence. Simplify the process for first-time buyers by limiting the number of pages (clicks) required to “get outta here.”

Simultaneously, provide reassurances that the buyer is doing it right. If a piece of information hasn’t been entered properly, return to the form page and tell the visitor what needs changing. Don’t make them figure out what they did incorrectly. Tell them so they can fix it and get outta here.

Provide a final review page of all order information as entered by the buyer. Even the most seasoned web buyer sits at the monitor reviewing everything – name, address, credit card number, quantities and so on. It’s so much easier to get it right the first time than to hassle with returns or unfulfilled orders because of some confusion.

Finally, there needs to be some trust building going on during the checkout sequence. Knowledgeable buyers look for security logos from companies like VeriSign. They also look at the address box of their browser to make sure there’s an ‘s’ in ‘https’ indicating a secure site. Provide buyers with assurances that all is secure just before they click the ‘Submit Order’ button.

6. Deliver an immediate order confirmation. As part of the checkout sequence, buyers provided an email address. Once the buyer has made the purchase an auto-responder should be generated describing all details of the purchase, including tracking information. This assures buyers, cuts down on customer care calls and enables quick resolution of any customer complaint. (Good customer care is a basic building block of any retail business, online or in the real world.)

It’s simple, or at least it should be. The first time buyers are gently guided through the purchase cycle, reassured at every stage and in control, and regulars should have the convenience of providing all information required for a one-click checkout. Ship it here. You’ve got my credit card. I’ve got other things to do. Convenience. That’s what today’s web buyers want.

Think of it this way: a confused customer is a gone customer.

Yeah, I know, it sounds like a lot of gibberish until YOU get down to business. If you have a web biz or you're planning to launch one( who isn't), sweat the details. Call me and let's solve problems before they become problems.

Later,

webwordslinger.com

Seven Tips For Selling To The Rich

Seven Tips to Reach the Rich:

Marketing to the Luxury Consumer

There was a time when the world wide web was NOT the place to sell $100,000 diamonds or fine works of art. It was a place to shop for books, a few music downloads and maybe buy some electronics gear. The luxury consumers, the ones with the resources to buy at Tiffany’s without so much as a second thought, weren’t going to buy their diamond tennis bracelets at higgenbottomsjewelrywarehouse.com where the motto is: “If we don’t say ‘howdy’ your purchase is free.” That type of hometown marketing doesn’t work with those for whom money is no object.

And isn’t that the perfect customer? For all of us?

The Nouveau Nouveau Riche

There’s a new species of luxury buyer. This isn’t old Harvard or Yale money. This is wealth created by the class nerd who developed a software company that he sold for $500 million when he was 25 years old! (Who’s laughing now?) This new demographic is usually a professional, well-educated, two incomes, money in the bank and discretionary income at his or her disposal.

Reaching this market segment requires an understanding of the motives that drive these individuals to purchase – especially to purchase on line. From you.

Prestige and Indulgence

These deep pockets buyers are usually driven by the fashionistas – the media segment that tells us what’s hot (just ask Paris) and what’s not. They’re shopping, not just for a winter coat, but a signature statement – a statement that’s made by wearing designer clothes, for example.

You can buy a warm winter coat at LL Beans for less than $100 but where’s the prestige in that? Instead, this market segment looks for the designer label. The coat won’t keep them any warmer but it does exude prestige and indulgence – because of that designer label.

To reach this market segment, brands must be created and presented in a luxurious manner. Brand names count, whether it’s clothes, appliances or automobiles (especially automobiles).

It’s Not About the Money – Most of the Time

Most of us look for sales, squirrel away money in our IRAs and worry whenever the stock market hiccups. Not so with those who enjoy true financial freedom. When you’ve got millions, a market blip isn’t worth fretting over. So, the natural appeal to site owners to emphasize low prices – a natural selling point for the run-of-the-mill consumer (me) – doesn’t carry any weight with the luxury buyer. In fact, it works against the sale.

There’s a promotion concept called ‘velvet rope marketing’ – marketing designed to appeal especially to the well-to-do. We all recognize the turquoise Tiffany’s box and there’s no such thing as an entry level Jaguar. They’re all pricey.

However, today’s luxury, online buyer is just as likely to visit the Target website as the Tiffany site. It makes sense. These buyers may still look for sales on name-brand cookware at Target because cookware doesn’t have as much power to make a strong, personal statement as a $1,000 Gucci hand bag.

So how do you create a site that appeals to this new breed of online buyer? Here are some suggestions.

How To Convert the Luxury Consumer

1. Perception is reality to this demographic. Consider the coat example above. The LL Bean coat is made well and will last forever. However, the perception is that LL Bean sells to the masses, which they do. And I love my Bean parka.

Create the perception of elegance with a well designed home page and stylish product pages. Create a site free of AdWords and affiliate links. That is NOT what velvet rope marketing is about. Instead, think elegance, distinction and pampering.

2. Speak the language of the buyer. In this case, your buyers know fashion, they know prestige and they recognize the importance of making an independent statement. So, despite the fact that many of these buyers will only purchase brand names, they’ll mix and match brands to create their own, unique signature look. So, no men’s suit buyer is going to go 100% Hugo Boss or Ralph Lauren. That would indicate that the buyer is a slave to fashion.

3. So, build a site that let’s the luxury consumer mix and match from different product pages to see how the whole ensemble works. It’s these kinds of useful, upscale features the new, luxury consumer appreciates. It shows you understand them, their needs and drives and your site is designed to accommodate those needs and drives.

4. Offer special services. Buying services, for example, indicate a velvet rope level of customer care. Buyers provide birthdays and other important dates, provide the gift recipient’s profile, likes and dislikes and you take care of the rest. You, or your professional buyer, picks out the item, elegantly gift wraps it and makes sure it’s delivered on time to the right person.

This ‘concierge’ service can extend in other directions. Using a customer’s previous buying history, you can make gift suggestions for certain people for whom the buyer has previously purchased. Subtle but very effective.

5. Provide a toll-free number and make sure your customer service staff is well rehearsed with complete scripts to manage any contingency. Your phone staff should be courteous, alert and – this may hurt a little – they should also be given the training and authority to make decisions.

The upscale customer doesn’t want to hassle while the client care rep gets approval from a supervisor (who may or may not be available at the moment). This affluent buyer wants answers and resolutions to his or her problems. A well-trained and trusted staff can deliver this level of service routinely. (BTW, client care reps should be U.S.-based and available 24/7.)

6. Hit the mark every time. Track orders, ensure prompt shipment, include an easy ‘return kit,’ including pre-printed return label so all the buyer has to do is affix the return label to the shipping box over the mailing label. Simple and that’s what affluent buyers are looking for.

7. Provide lots of site space for product images. Clothes should be photographed using a model so the buyer can see the outfit or piece of clothing on a human, not floating in front of negative space. Don’t skimp on product pictures. They should be properly lit and shot, which means if you don’t know one end of a fill light from another, hire a pro to snap product pictures for upload.

This is a newly-defined demographic – one driven by the media with TV shows about Hollywood glam and glitz and who’s showing in NYC this week.

Know your brands. Know the motivations of this status-conscious buyer, provide the personalized service these buyers expect in the brick-and-mortar shops they frequent (too bad you can’t offer them a latte while they try on the latest from Europe) and create a site that has the look and feel of fashion chic and online professionalism.

Remember, it is absolutely NOT about the money so play down cost and play up style, distinctiveness and the message broadcast to the rest of the world by the products you sell.

I have arrived.

Having touble hitting your demongraphic sweet spot? Drop me a line and let's target your marketing with laser precision.

Webwordslinger.com

The Four Axioms of Website Success

The Four Axioms of Site Success

You can scroll though this blog and find lots of good information on improving site performance, how to monetize a site six ways from Sunday and other topics that focus on the micro things webmasters can do to realize online success.

But what about the larger picture. The macros of site success? The web is a marketplace and, as such, it operates on the basic principles of market economics. Now, not to get all academic on you, the macro-dynamics employed by real-world and online businesses differ. The local boutique, catering to local clientele, uses local print and broadcast marketing channels.

A web-based business employs different promotional tactics based on the unique characteristics of this global, digital bazaar – the web. In the real world, business owners work to build their reputations and to keep their names before prospects on a daily basis. One New England furniture dealer (who shall remain nameless) has his own production staff – shooter, cutter, actress, etc – and releases a new, more-annoying-than-the-last advert daily. And it works! The guy’s got like a dozen stores now.

Retail success online is based on a different set of conventions simply due to the nature of the media and market. Online businesses may focus their efforts locally, regionally or worldwide. Can’t say that about “Woody’s Hardware Store” on main street.

So let’s pull back and take the broad view – see the forest from the trees. Just what are the keys to site success. There are four of them.

Site Connectivity

Not true in the real world, but online connecting up within your retail sphere is a must for long-term success. But not just any connectivity. The connectivity should be denser in the immediate marketplace.

Example: You own a site that sells racing bikes. That puts you in the realm of bicycles. Make your first connections with sites that help visitors learn more about racing bikes. Hook up with sites that sell after-purchase products – helmets, compression pants and those colorful, albeit clownish, outfits serious riders are compelled to wear.

Think of your site as the focus. The closer the topicality, the more links. The closer a site is in your marketing space, the more links. These links come first.

Then, over time (60-90 days) extend your universe and your reach by adding links that are somewhat related to your site but not spot on. Using our racing bike site, connect up with a physical fitness site, a nutrition site, a bike safety site and other satellites further out from the focus of your site.

The Closer the Connection to Your Site The More Relevant the Link

The closer the connection to your site’s products or services, the greater the interconnectivity – the more value to you in driving traffic from other sites and from sites that are somewhat removed but still related to the products you sell.

Axiom I: Connect first with sites closest to your products or services.

Make yourself a part of the web community within your sector. Then, expand your connections to include less related sites.

Here’s How

Research, research, research.

1. Google sites that don’t directly compete in your space but that would compliment the search of a site visitor. You can often use the “Contact Us” to reach the site owner directly. Hey, maybe he’s working out of his spare room, too!

2. Create a symbiotic network like the one pictured above. Keep relevant sites close. How?

• exchange links
• post to each other’s blog
• write articles for each other’s sites
• develop shared promotions (buy a bike, get your helmet free)
• work as a partnership and expand the network when possible

3. With sites further removed from the subject of your site, go with good affiliate programs to develop additional revenues. Word of caution: read the fine print of each affiliate agreement you enter. Go with the ones that pay you simply for the referral – the click through.

Axiom II: Expansion

The wider you cast your digital net the more visitors will be drawn to your site. So, you need to expand your profile on the web.

Here’s How

1. Blog related sites. This provides a link back to your site, and if you write provocatively, readers from distant sites will link to your site to learn more about your interesting views on the disappearing honey bee, or whatever your expertise.

2. Syndicate content. Use these three sites: www.helium.com, www.ezine.com, and go articles at www.goarticles.com. Write a piece related to your site, your experience, opinions, advice whatever. Check for spelling and grammar. (Yes, they still count!). Then upload your article to these sites where they’ll be picked up by other sites who will link back to your site. Man, your site’s link popularity is just growing and growing.

3. Broadcast via RSS. Get your thoughts out there via remote site syndication. If you have something worth saying, your piece will get picked up and delivered to dozens (hundreds, even) of sites. Just let RSS aggregators know you’re there.

4. Once again, create affiliate programs. The best place to start your affiliate education is at Commission Junction located at www.cj.com.

Axiom III: A Unique Positioning Statement (UPS)

And for our friends in the UK, Australia and other countries, a UPS is the same as what you call a USP – a unique selling proposition. Same diff.

Two college roomies come up with the idea for a website where people can upload video clips (an America’s Funniest Videos online and on demand). They call it YouTube and it’s changed everything from the outcome of political races (remember that Mukaka misstep) to the way rock bands find an audience. Got an idea like that? That’s definitely a UPS, which explains why Google bought YouTube for $1.8 billion.

Here’s How

1. Scope out the competition to see what they’re doing, what they’re charging. Looking for a stealth tool? Check out www.spyfu.com/ for a behind-the curtain look at your competitions’ keywords, product prices, menu of services, give-aways and come-ons. Learn from competitors – especially the ones that have seen site success.

2. Create the hook. If you can’t beat them on prices, you’d better consider value added benefits – unlimited replacements, 24/7 tech support, money-back guarantee – put all of these together – then keep going because all of this is standard issue on the web. So, to stand out you have to offer better.

Better service, better information, a better return policy – what makes your site stand out from the thousands of other similar sites. If you can define a truly UPS, you may be the next YouTube, or at least be able to quit your day job.

Axiom IV Constancy

What the heck is constancy?

The web is a fluid, almost a liquid entity, spreading, expanding, thinning in spots. The W3 is in a constant state of flux with new technologies, integration with other media (cell phones, PDAs, GPS, etc.) and a population in the billions! 6,000 new sites launch every day and some of them will eat your lunch ‘cause they do it better.

There are site owners still looking for the passive click-through income of their links farms, but if you’re serious about growing a real, online business, constancy is critical.

Here’s How

1. Constantly update your site with new content. Daily if possible. Blogs and forums are great for free, user-generated content. Keep your site looking fresh.

2. Constantly add new and better interactive features: CSS, live feeds, RSS feeds, a blog, the sale du jour, and so on. This keeps visitors coming back to a truly dynamic site.

3. Keep navigation constant for easier movement through the site. If the navigation is always in the left column starting on the home page, it’s in the left column on every page to prevent visitor confusion.

4. Constantly visit webmaster blogs and websites to keep up with the latest from the professional POV – and these are the folks who are designing websites today with lots of animation, vid-clips, real-time news and all of the other things that visitors are coming to expect. Stay ahead of the curve by constantly staying updated.

5. Constancy in client care. Fast and reliable. ‘Nuff said.

6. Constancy in marketing. This is critical to branding. Use the same logo throughout, the same tag line “…where smart shoppers shop smart”, the same type face – it gives the site a unified presentation rather than a cut-and-paste job.

In the macro-market of the world wide web, indeed, it is the little things that matter. Your site must be optimized for search engines and humans. There’s a whole playbook of SEO dos and don’ts, most of which you’ve memorized and have in place on your well optimized site.

But step back for a moment to take in the bigger picture – the macro-trends in web commerce, the technology that moves forward daily, the new science of SEM – search engine marketing.

This is all new stuff. And without a fundamental understanding of web biz success, you ain't going to make it.

New to the web world of search engine optimization and e-commerce? No sweat. Visit Webwordslinger.com and get in touch. I specialize in start-ups and stretching those limited budgets in lots of different ways.

Webwordslinger.com

Still Using Shared Hosting? Time To Move Up To A Dedicated Server?

Dedicated Hosting Services:

Maybe It's Time

Chances are, if you’re like most website owners, you started with a shared hosting program with a web host. In this case, you rent a given amount of disk space and share use of resources, like bandwidth and CPU access, with other shared hosting account holders. In the case of shared hosting, a web host can cram over 1,000 sites on a single box (server). If some of your neighbors are bandwidth hogs, it could mean longer download times and slower response times from your site when interacting with customers.

And customers aren’t a patient bunch. In this day of DSL and cable modems, web users want speed. They expect it, and if you aren’t delivering content fast, some site visitors are going to grow tired of watching that blue line slowly crawl to the right. They’ll click off and go somewhere else to purchase products or services.

Dedicated Servers

Just as the name states. Dedicated service consists of one box, one business. This provides unlimited access to all the server’s assets. No competition for CPU access. When you subscribe to a dedicated hosting program you rent the whole server.

In addition, the host provides an operating system (usually Linux, Windows or some variant), ecommerce software bundles that include site building software, a secure checkout, a database and other site enhancement tools, like blog modules that you can plug in with a couple of clicks on the administrator’s console and, if the host is good, you’ll also get access to 24/7 tech support on a toll-free line. Lesser-quality hosts (that still may charge high monthly hosting fees) provide email-only access to tech support. You, the webmaster, prepare a trouble ticket that’s emailed to tech support (somewhere on this planet, but that’s an assumption) and wait for a response and a fix. When your server is down, your business is down. How long can you afford to be offline?

Who Needs Dedicated Hosting?

Not everyone. That’s why shared hosting is the best option for start-ups. The hosting costs are low, usually less than $7.00 a month, and until your business concept and execution have been proven, don’t spend extra for dedicated hosting services. It’s like driving a thumbtack with a sledgehammer. Overkill.

However, if your site has been up for a while, it’s no doubt changed with the times, with a menu of new features and increased interactivity with visitors. For example, a blog takes up disk space and bandwidth as you and your site community interact. RSS feeds, a fully-customizable content management system and other front store and behind-the curtain features all take up disk space.

And, if you’ve enjoyed retail success online, chances are your product offerings have expanded over time. You’ve added pages to your site, pushing your shared hosting space to the max. Well, a good host will sell you disk space a la carte (by the gigabyte). That’s one way to expand. Or you can take the plunge and sign on for a dedicated server.

Multiple Sites

For many site owners, once they get “the bug” and see that there’s money to be made on the W3, building additional websites takes on greater appeal. If the site owner is clearing $500 a month with one site, 10 sites should deliver a $5,000 return each month. At least in theory.

If you manage multiple sites, all of which are deep in features (you manage 12 blogs, for instance), it’s time to move to a dedicated server. You can run a number of different domains from one server, expanding your web presence. In fact, if you plan on building more than one website (and why not, it doesn’t cost any more each month), a dedicated server is a must. A simple administrator console will quickly provide access to site data and activity from many different sites.

Site Functionality

Some sites contain 20 or 30 pages of static text and a simple opt-in form. However, for enterprise-grade businesses and web retailers, a dedicated server is a must-have. Many business sites contain hundreds of pages and are employed for a variety of purposes such as email and other inter-department communications.

Remember, you can customize your dedicated server any way you want to best suit your business needs. So, you’ll get much more functionality from a dedicated server – especially important when you’re running a virtual office with employees spread out across the globe, or a company with several brick-and-mortar outlets all delivering data simultaneously.

Data Security

If your database is loaded with sensitive, personal information like customers’ names, addresses and credit card numbers, you’ve taken on the responsibility of keeping that data secure from hackers.

Using a dedicated server, you can install your own security software and hardware – multiple layers of security on top of the security the web host provides as part of its service to you.

Managed or Unmanaged Hosting?

Dedicated hosting is offered in two formats: managed and unmanaged.

With unmanaged, dedicated hosting you’re responsible for the whole shebang. So, you and your team are responsible for everything – from the installation of your customized database to the creation of customer service responders. You do it all.

The advantage of unmanaged dedicated hosting is cost savings. Since the web host doesn’t do any hand holding (except for routine trouble-shooting) you’ll pay less for an unmanaged, dedicated server. However, either you’ll have to study up on site construction and connectivity to an ever-growing web, or pay some design guru to build the site to meet your company’s needs.

Also, with unmanaged hosting you’re responsible for your server security. It’s your anti-virus software, your hard-wired firewall, your everything.

Managed dedicated hosting puts you in partnership with the web host. You work with the host techs to come up with business solutions. If you’re employing your dedicated server in a variety of ways, services have to be synced up. Storage space has to be configured and managed so inter-office emails remain secure in transit. Hackers love dedicated servers because they know that these online businesses house hacker gold – personal information and lots of it.

Managed dedicated hosting also delivers managed database services for the most popular database platforms, i.e. Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft, etc. With managed services, you’ll also receive customized, configured security that syncs up with the box’s server-side software.

Managed dedicated hosting is also necessary to create multiple, “virtual servers” for different business functions that may or may not include interaction with clients and customers. Working in tandem with the host’s on-site team of networking professionals, you’ll create the superstructure of your online business – communications, data collection and collation, accounts management, inventory management and all of the other functions of a busy and growing company.

Shopping for a Dedicated Web Host

If you opt for unmanaged dedicated hosting, you will save money. However, you should compare disk space allotted, CPU speed and other apples-to-apples comparisons to get the most for your hosting costs. It’s a simple calculation of: features + cost = value.

However, if you envision an expanding business that relies more and more on the web and the Internet ( they’re two different things) to conduct daily operations, you will pay more for managed service but the price you pay for that extra attention will deliver a site that functions as you envision.

Before you sign an agreement with any web host, contact the business solutions professionals on staff. Discuss your current needs and needs going forward and get a feel for how the team adapts to your thinking.

As in any business, including the web hosting business, the client or customer is always right. So look for input from professionals and follow good advice when you get it, but make sure the managed services team at a prospective host is prepared to solve your online business needs – from site migration to multi-purpose server apps – to your specifications.

Once you find the right team, with the right attitude and the understanding that their success is dependent on your site’s ability to meet all of your business objectives, you’re not just getting a dedicated server, you’re getting experience and peace of mind that your site will be right, right out of the gate.

Time to mirgarte your growing e-biz to a dedicated server? Drop me an e-mail and let's link up. It just may be time to take that next big step as you grow your e-business to greater and greater profitability.

Why Sell Yourself? Let Your Customers Do It For You!

User Reviews:

Let Your Buyers Sell Your Products

Mom always said don’t accept candy from strangers, but what about advice? How reliable is it? Well, when it comes to product reviews, advice from previous buyers helps a lot – assuming the product (and services you provide) live up to expectations.

Amazon has been encouraging reviews from buyers for years and it’s apparently been working fine for them – even if the product is trashed, which it often is. But, consider what Amazon gets. Happier buyers (even if they grumble, they aren’t grumbling about Amazon, they’re trashing the product), fewer returns from buyers warned off one product over another, invaluable marketing data straight from buyers who bought the product and, the cherry on top – it’s user generated content, meaning it doesn’t cost anything to produce. That’s a big plus.

Stats and Facts

Site owners eat stats and facts for breakfast. We want that empirical proof that numbers provide so here are a few to catch your attention from the nice folks over at emarketer.com

Question: Do you use customer reviews before making a purchase?

Always: 22%

Most of the time: 43%

Some of the time: 24%

Occasionally: 9%

Never: 2%

Get that? 65% of online buyers use consumer-generated reviews in making a buying decision. That should get you to sit up and take notice. It’s some pretty powerful evidence that consumer reviews are useful in (1) making the right sale and (2) identifying products the buyer doesn’t want. Either way, as a site owner, you’re ahead – ahead on sales motivated by user reviews and ahead with fewer returns from dissatisfied consumers who bought a different product or brand based on customer reviews. Either way, you win.

How many reviews do you read before making a purchase?

Just 1% relied on a single review. It took two or three reviews for 28% of buyers to make a decision, four to seven reviews for 46% of buyers to make a buying decisions and eight to 15 reviews to convince exceedingly cautious buyers to make a purchase.

The number of reviews required to make a purchase is correlated to the price of the item. A buyer will purchase a $49 off-brand MP3 player after reading a single review but it’ll probably take five to 10 positive reviews to convince that same buyer to purchase his or her next car. The cost factor plays a big role.

Now, how do user reviews stack up against other promotional efforts. Quite well, according to emarketer. In fact, user reviews influence the buying decisions of a whopping 64% of online shoppers. That’s two-thirds of all buyers – all buying based on the reviews of previous buyers.

Compare that to other promos:

• Special offers and coupons: 61%

• Product and price comparison tools: 59%

• Consumer testimonials: 49% (these testimonials have lost any credibility since many are fabrications of some copywriter’s not-so-vivid imagination)

• Product videos: 44% (usually demonstrating the benefits of the product)

• RSS alerts: 39%

• Blogs and forums: 39%

• Questionnaires: 29%

Web Research

More and more web users turn to product reviews to find the perfect fit – but not all reviews are given equal credence. User reviews are believed by 55% of comparison shoppers. And, when skimming through consumer reviews, it’s easy to tell the psychopathic malcontent from the thoughtful reviewer who’s actually trying to help.

Comparison charts are another useful sales tool. 21% of online window shoppers use these list-formatted tools to compare apples to apples, features to features. This format is a terrific means of delivering a lot of useful information in a simple-to-evaluate format.

Expert reviews – the kind you often see in specialty periodicals – carry less weight than reviews written by actual buyers of a product. Why? The consumer-reviewer doesn’t have an axe to grind, making the opinion more reliable. A review by a professional may have an ulterior motive behind it – like the product manufacturer is a big advertiser, or the review is a cut-and-paste job from the manufacturer’s promotional literature.

The reason customer reviews work is they have validity. “I bought it and I love it,” when unsolicited, is as good as a recommendation from a friend. Same with “I bought it and it blew out every circuit in my house.” Now that’s a product you shy away from.

The Ethics of User Reviews

As a site owner, you have god-like powers. Post anything. It’s your site. But what about the ethicacy of user reviews? How do you handle this kind of input?

Consider the site owner who writes his or her own buyer reviews to move more junk out the door. After a while, this tactic is going to come back and bite you in your assets as more and more dissatisfied buyers return products, taking up more of your time and costing money.

And how do you handle the disgruntled buyer who slams one of your best selling products? Is it unethical to remove negative product posts? You bet it is. An occasional slam increases the credibility of all of those positive reviews. If every review sings the praises of the product, well, the reviews become less credible.

Also, if you receive numerous slams on a product or brand, consider dropping the item. Let the buyers tell you what they want – then give it to them.

The tools you use to promote products are often expensive and time consuming to create. A Google AdWords campaign can bust the bank in six months – and you have to write the little blocks of text.

User-generated product reviews have credibility and the nut jobs are easy to spot and ignore. So, give your buyers a place to tell you and other site visitors what they think about their purchases.

Then, watch sales increase as “friend” recommends to “friend.” It’s powerful promotion and, even better, it’s free.

Need some advice on converting those site visitors to buyers. It ain't brain surgery. In fact, it's pretty basic stuff so drop me a line or give me a call and let's let buyers give you the data we need to reach profitability.

Webwordslinger.com

The Disappearing Web Biz: Presto! Your Site Disappears Overnight.

ALL THAT HARD WORK GONE

WHEN YOUR WEB HOST PULLS THE PLUG

How’s this for a nightmare scenario:

You take the plunge, register a domain and begin your on-line business. You work hard and you’re finally starting to see a profit. Then one day, you log on and your site has disappeared! What happened? What happened to all of your hard work? It could be as simple as a clerical error or technical glitch, or it could be that you’ve registered your domain with a low-ball registrar. Think it can’t happen to you? One of the leading web hosts and domain registrars recently removed a client website for an on-line security agency from one of its server. Gone. The website (and the business) had been deleted.

And if it happens to you what have you lost? Much more than just your website. You also lose access to your site’s databases – databases filled with invaluable customer information. You also lose inbound links, critical to higher page rank. Even worse, you disappear from search engines altogether. You can see how this nightmare can go on to the point where you’ve lost it all – and who knows where your web host is. Maybe he graduated from high school.

There are lots of horror stories about deleted domains – websites that have been zapped simply because the owners forgot to pay the annual domain registration fee, for instance. If you’re the forgetful type, you don’t want to work with a host that deletes your livelihood over a $4.95 charge – but it’s happened.

What are the domain registrar’s responsibilities?

There is some law and order on the W3. A consortium called ICANN oversees the relationships between web hosts and site owners. You can access the agency’s rules and regs on-line to see what your “legal” options are when you encounter a problem with your web host. Any reliable hosting company is going to adhere to ICANN guidelines. Look for some kind of sign that a potential web host is ICANN-savvy.

Next, before you sign up for an expensive, long-term subscription for hosting services, read the TOS – the Terms of Service. And not just the big text, either. Before you sign up with any web host, read the entire TOS – even the finest of fine print. Know how a given host deals with deleted accounts and what steps the hosting company takes to provide access to databases and other critical information if your domain is deleted, and what steps it takes to rectify the problem if technically feasible. All of this will be laid out in the TOS. Read it very, very carefully.

However, if you’re reaching for a copy of your host’s TOS, chances are you already have a problem and you’re looking for the host’s contractually-binding responsibilities. So, even if you’ve been zapped contrary to ICANN guidelines or even the TOS of your web host, there’s not much you can do about it. It would cost much more to litigate and even then, getting payment is going to be difficult if not impossible. (And don’t think the unscrupulous web hosts don’t know this. They count on it!)

It all comes down to the way web hosts treat their clients and fulfill the legal requirements of a client subscription. Some web hosts operate out of a spare bedroom (or even a closet) and just don’t have the time to oversee simple, administrative chores like automatic domain renewal for their clients. If you’re working with an unreliable or uninvolved hosting company, you may get deleted, along with an auto-responder in your inbox.

On the other hand, working with an engaged web host – one that provides the tools you need to build a site to success – eliminates a lot of uncertainty and sleepless nights. It’s all about the quality of the hosting services you receive.

The quality of hosting

How do you know your site won’t be vaporized overnight without so much as a heads up from your hosting company? Fly-by-night web hosts disappear all of the time, taking with them their subscribers’ money and all of that hard work. It’s a fact, not all web hosts provide the same level of service, or the range of services, that better web hosts do. That’s why it pays to shop around.

As you’re comparison shopping look for signs of reliability. Does the host’s site look good? Is the text professionally written or is it just some kid working out of his dorm room hosting a few hundred clients on a shared server? It doesn’t take much to call yourself a web host. A small investment in server hardware, administration software and the ability to take credit card payments are about all you need to call yourself a web host company.

However, it takes much more to call yourself a good web host. Think of your web host as a silent but critical partner in your on-line endeavor because, in fact, that’s just what a web host is. Why? Because if you lose access to the world wide web, you lose access to your customers or clients and you aren’t making any sales during downtime. So you want reliability – even if it costs a few bucks more each year.

What are the “signs” of quality web hosting?

Does the host offer an automatic renewal service? If it does, it’s a sign that the host is involved in the success of its clients.

Does the site display any logos – the ICANN logo, the on-line Better Business Bureau or some other affiliation that instills confidence? Look. Ask.

Are the TOS clear, simple and straight up? It’s in the best interests of a quality hosting company that clients not have any misunderstandings before buying hosting services.

Does the host offer 24/7, US-based tech support? If your site has suddenly disappeared you want to talk to someone who can fix the problem – now!

You also want to look for a host that’s been around for a while. Now, this is no guarantee that your site won’t be deleted for some infraction (or for no reason at all). The nightmare scenario described above involved a huge domain registrar with a long-time, web presence.

Is the web host involved in the success of its clients? The good ones are because it’s easier to keep a client than find a new one so quality web hosts build their client bases by delivering quality services, near-perfect uptime, tools and applications required to build and launch a website and grow it to profitability. The more freebies a web host offers the better. That’s a great measurement of how the web host sees its responsibility in your partnership.

So, scour the blogs, read the reviews and visit each potential web host’s site for a thorough evaluation. Read the TOS agreement from top to bottom so you understand just what you’re getting and for how long. Finally, look for a web host that wants to partner with you for mutual success.

Websites will still disappear and the horror stories will continue to make the rounds on the web. But if you go with a hosting company that delivers, has a track record and a commitment to your site’s success, the likelihood that your site will be deleted are greatly diminished.

Need some help finding the right web host for your new e-biz. Piece of cake. Call or click webwordslinger.com and let's get started in the fastest growing marketplace in the history of marketplaces.

Later,

Webwordslinger.com