How can you enhance the “experience” the visitor will have at your website?

1.       Appealing colors and images.

2.       Verbiage that lets them know they are in the “right” place.

3.       Audio, music, video, testimonials or quotes.

What is it that will make them call or email you today?

1.       Your phone number and email in a larger font and very visible on every page.

2.       Good copy – what you say and how you say it is imperative to visitors taking action. Note: Reverse type text (light text on a dark background) is the most difficult to read online.

3.       Easy navigation and simple calls to action. Too many places to click or too many graphics is a real turn-off to visitors. Less is more!

I invite you to “experience” a few sites we’ve designed using the WordPress platform:

Tilde Furniture – www.tildefurniture.com

Check out this brand new site we designed for Stephen Kohlbeck. It’s crisp, clean, easy to navigate and the site design reflects the simple elegance of the furniture. For green, eco-friendly, luxurious furniture – this is the plac

Better Health & Wellness -  www.bettterhealthwellness.com

The colors and images in this site are inviting and relaxing. You can already imagine how you are going to feel once you walk thru the doors. There’s a call to action to sign up for the newsletter. The phone number and email are very visible. Make an appointment today for massage, reflexology, acupuncture or an ion footbath.  Aaaaaahhh!

Fun Productions -  www.funproductions.com

The bright colors and images just scream FUN in this site redesign! The phone numbers are large and visible up top. Calls to action are: Request a quote, sign up for newsletter and over on the left nav – Tell Us What We’re Doing Right.  (I love that last one). Notice this site has 3 forms of navigation since it’s pretty large. The images are clickable to the different areas and the navigation on the left also gets you right where you want to go. Additionally, we’ve added bottom navigation to get you back from some of the longer inside pages. Their social media and YouTube icons are in the upper right. The experience here is fun, fun, fun! Call them for your next team-building event or corporate party.  Let the FUN begin!

What if a Website is Illegal, Unethical or Posts Bad Things About Me?

In the 11 years we’ve been in business, this question has come up only a handful of times. I hope it never happens to you or someone you know, but if it does, here are some guidelines. I recommend calling and speaking to someone directly to get the fastest response.

1. Contact Google – they are pretty quick to address your concerns:

Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
Phone: +1 650-253-0000
Fax: +1 650-253-000

2. Contact the Hosting Company – they will often take the site down. Go to NetCraft to find out who is hosting the website: Type the domain name in the search box on the left to see the hosting/contact details.

3. Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices. To file a complaint, visit the FTC, call 1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to the following address:

Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
Washington, D.C. 20580

4. You may also consider filing a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). 

5. If your complaint is against a company in a country other than the United States, you can file it at EConsumer

We work well with a variety of professionals throughout any given day. Whether they are Domain Registrars, Hosting, SEO, Pay Per Click, Adwords, Marketing, Public Relations, Printers, Web Companies, Programmers, Virtual or Administrative Assistants and more. I was appalled when I phoned a web company to fix a scripting error on their client’s site for us. (We’re doing some updates on that client’s site). I was told they couldn’t take my request over the phone, I would need to email it to support@ – what the heck? I received an automated email response assigning a case # and saying if it took longer than 72 hours a rep would call me. Well, that didn’t happen, so I emailed again, a new case # was assigned and again no response. I then emailed the person I spoke with initially on the phone. To make a long story short – my request was totally ignored and to this date, the problem still exists on their site. How do they sleep at night?

Another company, which also will remain nameless never answers their phone. Their policy is for you to leave a message and someone will call you back. Well, my client or myself have yet to receive a return call or even an email acknowledgement. I really wonder how these companies stay in business!

Then there is the Virtual Assistant who doesn’t have a clue about web design or coding – yet claims such knowledge on her own website. The coding on the site she worked on is now a real bird’s nest and our client is paying the price. How can someone claim to be an expert in something when they are not? That is not being conscientious.

One of the big characteristics I look for in people who work with me is “conscientiousness”.  Do they respond promptly to my phone calls or emails? Do they follow through? Are they responsible and reliable or do they disappear for days/weeks at a time? Skills can be learned or taught. I’m more interested in hands-on experience than a degree from a tech school or web design certificate. I think that being conscientious is something built in to your character – it’s not something you can download. I am proud to say that everyone at The Web Muse & Co. has this quality along with many more!  Come to think of it, I really enjoy working with clients who are conscientious too. It’s a win-win.

Among the many things that make our company different – being conscientious is one of the big ones. We follow-through, we do what we say we’ll do and we’ll tell you if we don’t know how to do something. Being honest and straightforward are also two qualities that are mentioned when clients refer us to others. We are paid for our advice/opinions/research and clients know that we will be direct. We will not just say, “Oh that’s a great idea when we think there’s a better approach.” We want only the very best for you and your business.

2.  Know where your website is hosted. This is sometimes different than where the domain is registered. It can be the same place if you’ve registered your domain at the same place you host the site. Find out if they have an 800 number to call 24/7 if your site is down or has been hacked.

3.  Know the passwords for each email address associated with your website.

Contact your web company today if you do not have the above three things and make sure you keep this information in a safe place.

Collaboration – This is something The Web Muse & Co. does every day. We are in communications with Printers, Public Relations Firms, Marketing Companies, Virtual Assistants, Graphic Designers, Search Engine Optimization, Pay-Per-Click, Social Media experts and many more. These are all people we “collaborate” with – meaning that we work on a project together. We refer business back and forth. Think about all the different people you interact with on a daily basis and make a list of those types of businesses.

Connection – One can spend time on or offline with networking and making new connections. What’s even better is when someone you know “connects” you or introduces you to someone new. I call this a “warm connection”. It’s wonderful to get phone calls or emails saying, “Anita, I’d like to introduce you to Victoria. She is an amazing woman who specializes in 4-color printing of brochures and business cards. I think you’ll find her pricing very competitive with the online vendors. Here is her contact information, etc.” I immediately thank the person who introduced us, next I contact Victoria to setup and in-person meeting or a phone call. I go into the meeting with one agenda – what I can do or provide for her. Not what she can provide to me. I offer to connect her with my clients who are looking for these services, give her new resources or links to sites, put her information in my next Muse News and introduce her to some businesses for collaboration. Do you see how this works? It’s a win/win/win!

Connections can also start out to be personal, based on a hobby or interest and turn into business. For example, I recently connected 3 women I personally know who love horses. One is involved with a beautiful horse ranch, the other does equine gestalt therapy plus speaking and the 3^rd is a graphic designer who loves to ride. Because this was a “warm connection” from someone they knew (me) – they immediately contacted each other and I can’t wait to see what transpires from their interaction. Exciting!

I want to help you with a connection today. Here’s how to participate:

1. Send me an email with a type of connection or collaboration you are looking for. This would look something like this: I am looking for a Social Media Expert who has experience working with Commercial Landscapers. Or Do you know a publisher that I may connect with about my upcoming book about Dream Interpretation? Or I need a connection in the Los Angeles area to help me with my speaking skills. You get the idea. It is not – I need a connection to buy my latest book. Or My target audience is anyone who dreams, etc.
2. Include a blurb about your area of expertise, services, products, contact info, etc.

I will get busy and start reaching out to my local and global network to make the connection. Sound like fun? Let’s start connecting and collaborating with some new dynamic people today!

Now that doesn’t mean that nothing adverse has happened. We’ve certainly had a most unsettling year that has caused concern in all parts of the world. What the quote means to me is that I’ll make the best of what happens. I’ll learn from mistakes and get through the hard times. I also like the phrase, “Learn and Move On”. Having a positive attitude and outlook on life is the way I choose to live. It sure beats getting caught up in negativity, drama and worry.

You can make things happen! If you believe and focus all your intentions on what you want to happen – it will happen. It may not be in the time frame YOU want (like right now!) but it will happen. Whatever your thoughts and dreams and goals are – continue to believe. Doubtful thoughts and negativity will delay the process.

At the end of each year, I write down the lessons I’ve learned. This helps me remember what has happened and prepare for the year ahead. I like to do this rather than making New Year’s resolutions.  I also review my Life List (things I want to do sometime in my life). It feels good to reflect, review and look forward to exciting things in the year ahead. “It’s All Good!”

With this I close and wish you ALL GOOD THINGS in the coming year.

As a website owner, let’s use the retail store analogy – you invest money in the building of the website or the retail storefront. Next, you open your doors for business or your website goes “live”. The thinking is that once the website is built, the search engines should find you immediately and the cash register will start ringing. Is this realistic? Why are online expectations so drastically unrealistic from offline expectations?

Many website owners have budgeted no time or money for online advertising or marketing yet expect dollars to come flooding in. I get dozens of emails every day with desperate pleas like, “Can you fix my website?” “What’s wrong with my website?” Or my personal favorite, “I can’t spend any more money on my website.”

If you want excellent results from your website then it’s a smart idea to invest some time and money into the marketing of the site. Here are three budgets and scenarios to consider.

Piggybank of Money – You have more time than money and can afford to wait for results. Focus on your website usability and how to attract your ideal clients. Research keyword phrases, start reciprocal linking ,cross-marketing efforts and actively engage in social media. Educate yourself by taking some seminars or teleclasses. Take immediate action on what you learn.

Stash of Money – You want immediate results and have a pretty good budget. Optimize your site to the max so the search engines and your target audience will find you. Consider a pay-per-click campaign. Invest in Google Ad Words. Enhance your offline marketing strategies to compliment your online strategies.

Buckets of Money – You want maximum results and have no budget limitations. You know what conversion rates are worth and will strategically test and measure results. Implement everything outlined in the previous two budgets plus Google Sponsor Spots. Invest in more than one pay-per-click program. Pay for listings in relevant industry, geographic and target market specific directories. Hire a Public Relations and SEO firm that will maximize your on and offline efforts.

In any of the above scenarios it’s a good idea to keep reinvesting some time and money into ongoing website efforts. When you find something that works, keep doing it and take it to the next level. For example, if you find that you’re getting lots of traffic from industry-specific directories, contact them and see how you can do more business with them. Maybe you got several clients from a website that you’re linked with. Contact that website owner and thank them, then suggest more ways you can promote each other’s business.  And finally, talk with your competitors. Are your online goals and expectations realistic? Ask your competitors how they are doing, what is working and what they’ve found to be their most effective online marketing strategy.

It’s pretty easy and user-friendly. Since I already use Gmail – I installed the Google app so a mini calendar shows up on the left sidebar below my labels. The Quick Add feature allows you to type in something like: 3pm 7/19 Meeting with Client Name, location, phone.  It can be typed in any order that makes sense to you. Then Google Calendar automatically places it on that date with a default of 1 hour. If I type in the time frame like 3-5 pm then it blocks out that time on the calendar. I put everything on one calendar – both business and personal. There is the option of creating several calendars though and that may make sense for your activities.

After I entered all my meetings, phone conferences, social events and other appointments I posted all the birthdays and anniversaries I want to remember. Here’s how I did that:

Click on Create Event

What: Mary Williams BD
When: I typed 10/9 then clicked the box that says All Day
Repeat: this is a dropdown box, so I chose every year
Ends: This automatically says Never
Then I clicked SAVE

The birthdays show up at the top of that particular day and don’t interfere with appointments that I enter throughout the day. It took about 15 seconds to enter each event.

Anytime I got stuck on something I clicked on Help and found the answer right away. I like being able to access my calendar when traveling. I started using “Tasks” however, as a company we really like HiTask for scheduling projects, timeframes, completed tasks, etc.

What’s your favorite method for organizing online?

2. Listen to me. Can you hear me now? Are they really listening to what you want/need? OR immediately writing out a prescription like a bad doctor based upon what they think you need. If it is the latter – run-Forest-run.

3. Experience. How many years of experience does this person have? How will this benefit you?

4. Resources. How many resources does this person utilize? If they work only with one program or have one resource and derive all information/facts from that one source – probably not in your best interest to hire someone with such limited resources.

5. Speak to me. Do they speak your language? If they are speaking in technical terms you don’t understand ask them for the plain English version. If you still don’t understand and they aren’t patient with explanations – keep looking.

6. Questions. Are they asking you the right questions? What is the goal of your website? Who is your target audience? How we will reach that audience online and offline?

7. Follow Through. How long does it take the person to return your phone calls or emails? This is a strong indication of what it will be like to work with this person. A good businessperson will respond in 24 hours or less.

8. Get it in Writing. Will you have a written agreement outlining the scope of work and pricing details? It’s important to get it in writing so both parties are clear on the expectations, time frame and other details.

9. Stories. Ask them to tell you success stories of working with different clients/companies. Who is their favorite client and why? Have they had any situations where clients have been unhappy? How did they handle those situations?

10. References. Call at least two or three people that they have worked with or are currently working with. Check the Clients, Portfolio or FAQ pages at their website. Ask three important questions when speaking with their references:

a. Would you tell me what type of experience you’ve had working with _______?
b. Have there been any surprises while working with ________?
c. As an XYZ company is there anything in particular you’d recommend I be mindful of before hiring a web professional?

Ask lots of questions. Go with your gut. Your own personal feeling about working with the person is going to matter more than anything else. Also remember that web professionals will be interviewing you at the same time to see if you’re a good fit for them. It’s a good idea to talk with at least three businesses to see who best fits your needs, timeframe and budget.

Finding a good web professional and establishing a long-lasting relationship with them will benefit your business. You will have peace of mind knowing that your website is being taken care of while you concentrate on doing what you do best.