We were lucky to be chosen by AllStar Promotions to redesign their web site.  We took their business concept and previous web site and enhanced the site with PHP programming and a new graphic layout.  Not only does AllStar Promotions boast a Web 2.0 presence, but it can be updated by AllStar in-house.

Please visit AllStarPromotions.us by clicking here.

AllStar after their redesign

AllStar before their redesign

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Vampire Killers Screensaver

You need to define the market or audience you want to address, and you need to assess whether that market is already being addressed.

Assessing the market for your Web site idea is something of a Goldilocks decision:

* Some markets are too small

* Some markets are too big

* Some markets are just right

Obviously, you want that “just right” market, but how do you identify it?

Keyword Research

The main tool is keyword research.  Keyword research will tell you two crucial things about the wide world of the Web:

1.  What are people looking for?

2.  What are people finding?

You need to discover what people are looking for on the Internet that is relevant to your great idea.  Sure, you think it’s a great idea, but does anybody else?  Is there a need for it?  Is anybody really looking for whatever it is you intend to offer?  Good keyword research can tell you what they’re looking for, and what specific terms they are using in their searching.

Once you know what Web surfers are looking for, you need to know what they are finding.  The point here is that you need to know how much competition you will be facing.

There are two main things you can do when faced with competition:

1.  Out-market the competition.

2.  Avoid the competition by choosing a different market (or, preferably, a specialized slice of the market).

Keyword research won’t help you much on that first option.  Competing in a saturated market will require money, time, and luck.  Lots and lots of all three.  (Good luck.)

Most of us are richer in great ideas than in greenbacks, so the second option is the only way to go.

Keyword research will help you with this, too.  And it will identify both the market and the competition in one operation.

Specialize to Avoid Competition

Let’s take a particular example.  Suppose you are an expert on tuataras.

(Don’t know what a tuatara is?  It doesn’t matter.  It’s just an example of a subject somebody might be interested in.  I intentionally chose a term with ridiculously low search engine value, so that this article will not “hijack” too much traffic.  Apologies to all those seeking information about tuataras.   (a) No, I didn’t make it up, and (b) if you actually are interested in creating a Web site about tuataras, here’s a little free keyword research.)

Preliminary keyword research indicates that there are about 150 searches per month for terms that include the word “tuatara.”  (That’s not good, but let’s go with this example.)  Further research shows that there are well over 400,000 Web pages out there that have something to do with tuataras.  This means that the keyword “tuatara” by itself is not of much value.  There is some interest in it on the part of Web surfers, but that interest is being adequately met by nearly half a million Web pages.  The “keyword effectiveness index” (KEI *) for the word “tuatara” is an abysmal 0.03 (as of the date of this writing).

(*  Side note.  “KEI,” a numerical value based on popularity and competitiveness of a search term, is the subject of many articles all by itself.  Virtually all keyword research tools will report the KEI of each term.)

But what’s that on the list?  The term “diagram of tuatara” was searched 18 times this month, and there is only one page on the entire Web that matches.  This term has a KEI of 169 (as of the date of this writing) which is very good, and by far the highest KEI of any term having to do with tuataras.

So, this can be your specialty.  If you can build the greatest Web site in the world relating to diagrams of tuataras, you can compete with that other Web page for all 18 of those users.  You can study the competing pages (or page) to make sure that you have the very best tuatara diagram page out there, and that you keep it that way.

I hope you get the idea:  Use keyword research to determine whether there really is an interest out there for the Web site you envision, and use it to identify specialized areas of interest that are not overly competitive.  And for most areas of interest, you will find more than one search term with a KEI of greater than 100 that you can use to choose your specialty.

When you Must Generalize

But what if you were the poor unfortunate whose passion and expertise really are in a subject like tuataras, for which there is effectively no interest on the Web?  You’re not going to generate enough revenue to pay your domain hosting fees from 18 visitors per month.

In effect, a situation like this is telling you that your original great idea wasn’t so great.  But rather than just give up, you can continue your research to find related ideas that might work better.

What you need to do is to generalize a bit.  Instead of tuataras, do a little keyword research on “reptiles.”  (Yes, a tuatara is a reptile.)  Here you may find that there is plenty of interest, relevant search terms that are used many thousands of times each month, and you can narrow in again on specialties that are less competitive.  Maybe you will find high KEI on search terms related to captive breeding of endangered reptiles, and you can build your Web site around that.

It’s not exactly the great idea you started with, but it’s close enough to keep your enthusiasm going, and there is a market that you can serve.

Next Steps

Now, take a deep breath, and consider carefully all the powerful things you can do with the results of your keyword research.  This will set the direction for how your original great idea for a Web site will become a genuinely successful Web site.  This keyword research will give you:

* Ideas for an effective domain name.

* Ideas for effective titles for your Web pages.

* Ideas for effective descriptions of your Web pages.

* Ideas for content of your Web pages, to help you focus your expertise onto the particular specialty you have identified.

* Ideas for articles you can write and publish to help drive traffic to your Web site.

* Keywords you can use in a “Pay Per Click” (PPC) campaign.

Look what happened!  Your original great idea has become a whole flock of ideas, just waiting for you to act on them.

All of those things are the subjects of other articles.

The important thing to remember from this article is this:  Before you act on your great idea for a Web site, do some research to determine whether other people will think it’s a great idea, and refine your idea into something that you can turn into a successful Web site.

Sell and buy your stuff free in Santa Fe Springs.

Please visit WestCoastSpaControls.com

West Coast Spa Controls

Just like other things on the internet, web traffic also comes in various levels of quality. Web site traffic can be defined as low, medium or high quality. High quality web site traffic is most useful to webmasters because it contains individuals who are very interested in the content, products and services of the site. Guaranteeing their satisfaction will result to a bigger network and repeat transactions. Medium quality won’t help you much and forget about low quality content. Even though you may have a large amount of low quality content, it will not be as useful to your site.

Especially if you are still starting out, you have to focus on building rapport and establishing trust with your potential customers. You can anchor on online businesses that are already credible in the field. Make sure these are the ones who belong in the same niche. Do not hesitate to ask questions as there are several who will be willing to give you tips and resources to gain stability.

To get high value web site traffic, you also need high quality content and advertising. This is critical.

There are plenty of service providers online who can help make your content highly relevant to searches. Visitors need to feel that they have acquired the information they needed when visiting your site. Highly targeted advertising aims to funnel only visitors who are guaranteed to keep returning to your site and make successful transactions.

Small and medium-size businesses now have a chance of competing with big players online through web content publishing. Almost 90% of internet surfers rely on search engines to find their way through the Web.

Improving the content of your web site will make it more visible, so you can also expect the quality of visitors entering to get better. Content is king in search engine optimization. You also need to update the site regularly with high quality text that is usually targeted during searches.

Putting top quality content in your site makes it easier to be found by search engine spiders and human beings. Write professional copies that passes on your message related to your line of business to customers to gain leverage and reputation. The copy should inform and persuade the viewer to keep coming to your site for great and reliable content. Always look for ways to improve the overall appearance and relevance of the site to get high quality web site traffic.

Fullerton, CA news and updates ]]> http://www.nyxwebdesign.com/?feed=rss2&p=54 0 http://www.nyxwebdesign.com/?p=79 http://www.nyxwebdesign.com/?p=79#comments Sun, 28 Sep 2008 07:54:58 +0000 admin http://www.nyxwebdesign.com/?p=79 Timothy Martin Salon honored us with their trust by hiring us to redesign their web site and create a customized MySpace layout. Both the site and the layout feature the Salon’s photographs from various fashion shows. With a new location in Uptown Whittier and a brand new web presence, Timothy Martin Salon is a leading salon in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Visit Timothy Martin Salon
View their MySpace site and layout

Web site:

Timothy Martin Salon

MySpace layout:

MySpace Layout

http://www.naturesoundsonline.us

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