Top 10 Web Designers  & Web Design Company  blogs have been ranked based on Google Page rank,  Alexa traffic  rank and Technorati authority.  The three sources have been used to  score the Web Designers &  Web Design company blogs from 0 to 10, where 10 is the highest score. The highest aggregate total score for a web designers  blog, therefore, is 30.

Top 10 Web Designers & Web Design Company  Blogs considered: the above list considers Web Designers & Web Design Company blogs that have a high percentage of website design content. The  web design  content might range from latest web development technologies, website designers tips to general best practices and web design forums etc.

Google Pagerank: the actual Google Page Rank was used in the score.

Alexa Traffic Rank: Scores were calculated based on the Alexa Traffic  Rank (i.e., 150k-100k, 100k-50k, 50k and up) and each range was assigned a score  from 1 to 10.

Technorati Authority: Scores  were determined based on Technorati’s Authority rank (i.e., 1-100, 101-200,201-300,301-400,…) and each range was assigned a score  from 1 to 10.

The Top 10 SEO blogs have been ranked based on Google Page rank,  Bloglines subscribers and Technorati authority.  The three sources have been used to  score the SEO blogs from 0 to 10, where 10 is the highest score. The highest aggregate total score for a SEO blog, therefore, is 30.

SEO Blogs considered: the list considers only SEO blogs that have a high percentage of SEO content. The  SEO content might range from SEO strategies, SEO link building, search engine optimization pricing to general best practices and SEO discussion forums etc.

Google Pagerank (0 to 10): the actual Google Page Rank was used in the score.

Bloglines Subscribers (0 to 10): Subscriber ranges were determined (i.e., 1-50, 50-100, 100-150, 150-300) and each range was assigned a number (1 to 10).

Technorati Authority (0 to 10): Ranges were determined based on Technorati’s Authority rank (i.e., 1-100, 101-200,201-300,301-400,…) and each range was assigned a number (1 to 10).

The internet has become the primary media outlet to find, research and buy products and services today.  Media buyers and planners are constantly debating on what is the most effective way to target these audiences with digital advertising that will result in the highest conversions maximizing the return on advertising spend (ROAS) for their advertising clients. A few digital advertising agencies have the opinion that search advertising is the most effective means of  targeting audiences based on consumer intent resulting in conversions while some are of the belief that search engine optimization is the most cost effective sales channel.

However, performance marketing must mix both strategies to achieve desired results. Large and Small businesses should use  a combination of pay per click advertising and search engine optimization to drive conversions across the entire sales funnel.

The long tail

The great recession has compelled large and small businesses to operate within tight budgets and cut costs. Though pay per click ads help increase traffic to the website and have demonstrated a return on investment for most businesses, they have become expensive. One way businesses can get higher returns from PPC ads is by focusing on the long tail and determing user intent.  Long tail keywords cost less as there are fewer competitiors bidding on them and they can also help in determining user intent so the advertiser can reflect it in their dynamic ad copys and landing pages resulting in higher conversions at lower cost per clicks.

Augmenting pay per click with SEO

 Any digital advertising strategy should be augmented with relevant keyword rich website content. This strategy automatically improves the seo ranking of the website. This enables large and small businesses to appear for relevant search terms in the organic search engine results pages thereby increasing the exposure to potential target customers.

Many new age, online advertising agencies recognize the value of this combined approach and offer a combination of search engine optimization and keyword selection services to clients.

All clicks are not customers

All PPC clicks are not the same. Large and small businesses must recognize this fact and keep it in mind when building and managing search marketing campaigns. Digital advertising companies help businesses in building online campaigns by educating them on the different  tactics based on the clients objectives. For example, if an antiques business bids on the phrase that includes the location of the store + ”antiques”  to target local area traffic only, the ad copy can still appear and generate clicks that are related to users looking for antiques information or jobs but are not buyers of antiques products. Digital advertising companies can track the keyword phrases used by majority of the users searching on the antiques related keywords and help identify the buyers based on the keyword  intent so the client can maximize its return on advertising spend. 

Smart businesses look to continuously trim their advertising waste by improving their profit margins by incorporating data to evlove their digital advertising strategies.

The first step to building an internet presence is developing a website. Then, you need to attract customers. Performance marketing services generate qualified traffic to your website with pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization ( SEO ), social media marketing solutions etc.

The internet is a truly global marketplace with over 1 billion prospective customers online. A majority of them use Google to look for information including products and services. Studies indicate that 95% of all searches result in clicks on search results that rank on the first page of Google. SEO services focus on making your website more search-friendly and increasing its seo ranking such that your website appears on the first page for relevant searches.

How does Search Engine Optimization (SEO) work?

Search engines crawl websites and index them based on several different criteria such as keywords, inbound links, etc. The search algorithms determine which websites are the most relevant for the specific search term while ranking the websites. Page ranking criteria varies based on the search engine. A website can have different page ranks on different search engines for the same search terms.

SEO companies work on websites continuously to improve page ranking; following guidelines laid down by experienced search engine marketing (SEM) experts. These best practices improve a website’s visibility in search results. Factors that contribute to make a website more search engine friendly are:

1. keyword rich content
2. effective website design
3. meta tags – title, keywords and description
4. fresh content
5. inbound links
6. navigability and accessibility in website structure

How do SEO services supplement online marketing efforts?

The internet is a constantly evolving media. To keep up, search engines frequently improve underlying algorithms to make search results more relevant to search terms. SEO service providers are always on the lookout for new keywords, emerging technologies, and better search engine optimization pricing models to offer website optimization. SEO services follow these steps to optimize websites:

1. Research the keywords

Finding the best keywords for a website is a complicated job. The popularity of a keyword has to be balanced with its competitiveness. At the same time, too many keywords should not be targeted or the impact of SEO will be diluted. Fortunately, search engines and websites provide keyword suggestion tools. SEO services may also have in-house tools to select the best keywords to optimize a customer’s performance marketing strategy.

2. Optimize the website content

SEO services strategically include keywords in the website content to increase its search engine relevancy. The keywords are used in headings, subheadings and paragraphs while keeping the content readable and compelling.

3. Inbound link building

Search engines favor a website that has many inbound links. It is taken to be proof of your website’s credibility and popularity. SEO services create articles in forums and related business websites, press releases for news websites that link to the customer’s website. They also try to get reputed websites in your business industry link to your website.

4. Monitor effectiveness of keywords and make changes

SEO is an ongoing project. The effectiveness of SEO has to be monitored constantly and content and keywords modified. An online perofrmance marketing strategy is incomplete without SEO. Customers trust organic search results more than paid searches. It is critical to optimize your website constantly to maintain business visibility and expand your customer base.

Millions of prospective customers surf the web daily giving small business an ideal platform for promoting and selling  products and services online. Great website design and content are key elements that determine how successful your website is in converting prospects to real customers.

Here are ten website design tips to help you build your website and increase your chances of success online.

Great copy
First impression is the last impression! Use attractive copy while building your website. It must effectively convey to customers what they can expect from your website and excite them about your products and services.

Effective headline on each page
Assign an intriguing and unique headline to every web page design on your site. Headlines should clearly explain the content that follows on the web page, arouse interest and make visitors want to investigate further.

Attractive website design to sustain interest
Make your website design attractive and appealing to encourage visitors to explore your products and services. A sense of appeal , elegance and mystery sustains visitor interest and ensures repeat visits to your site. The more appealing your website is to visitors, the greater your chances of turning visitors into customers.  

Persuasive language
Content tone, style and chosen copy have a significant impact on visitor perceptions about your website. Positive, persuasive and convincing language can turn even the most skeptical visitors into loyal customers while esoteric, overly exaggerated or dumbed down language can greatly lower your chances of conversion.

Clear and concise subheadings
Subheadings, popularly known as subheads, allow your customers to browse through information quickly and find what they need. Ensure your subheads are clear and concise, facilitate easy scanning of web page content and follow logically from page headlines.

Easy readability
Website content must be easy to read and understand. Avoid the use of overly technical or flowery language and poor color combinations that prevent smooth reading of content. The content should follow a logical sequence on a web page and between web pages for maximum impact.

Compelling offer and discounts
Sales or discount offers on products and services must be very visible on your site. If you do not allow customers to easily find products and services on sale, they will turn their attention to other websites, even if you have the best offers in town.

Get the word of mouth publicity
A great website can convince your customers that your business is the best place to spend their money. Impressed and satisfied visitors can help you find many new customers through free word of mouth publicity and greatly increase your sales and website success.

Add unique content
Use customer logos,  images and testimonials to establish your credibility and quality of service to new visitors. Complements help to capture visitor attention and favorably incline them towards your website, products and services.

Add Shopping cart 
If you plan to sell products or services online, add an e-commerce shopping cart to your website so that consumers can buy your products and services online, without having to step into your retail store front.

Compare website design pricing
Compare website development pricing by reaching out to multiple web designers and shopping your business requirements.

Follows these website design tips to maximize the chances of online success, increase revenues and turn your website into a profitable sales channel. 

E-commerce shopping cart is helping small business recover from the deep recession of 2008-2009, by helping them sell products through e-commerce websites and reduce the overhead costs resulting in extracting healthy profit margins. The crash of 2009 saw almost $44 billion spent on e-commerce shopping carts. And this astonishing figure is still growing at a rapid pace. The success of e-commerce as a business model can be attributed to the efficiency and convenience in buying online.

Increasing number of businesses are launching e-commerce websites as the internet is an ideal sales channel requiring no administrative staff, real estate or sales personnel. E-commerce web hosting services take away the IT overhead by offering pay as you go services for data storage and management while e-commerce shopping cart solutions handle transactions and payments.

E-commerce websites work perfectly in all markets

Most businesses have suffered the consequences of the economic crisis and are running low on funds and resources. It is to the business’ advantage to save on infrastructure and administrative costs. The internet has made the market global and competition is fierce. Businesses are compelled to tighten profit margins to stay in the market. E-commerce websites offer the perfect solution for businesses to increase sales while reducing costs.  E-commerce solutions allows businesses to be flexible where they can alter the offers, product combinations, and advertising strategies on the website at the drop of a hat.  E-commerce hosted solutions help internet businesses take advantage of evolving technology and changing internet models with minimal investment.

Hosted e-commerce solutions offer holistic e-commerce services

E-commerce website design is critical as it is the gateway through which customers can access business products and services. E-commerce companies work with businesses to create a professional website design. Apart from providing online advertising services and designing the structure of the web outlet, e-commerce hosting providers:

1. take over IT and administrative operations
2. deal with warehousing and inventory management
3. offer afforable web design quotes
4. search engine optimization tips
5. search engine optimization pricing

E-commerce companies allow businesses to focus their time, effort and money on the improvement of their goods and services.

Maturing of e-commerce business models

E-commerce businesses have shown remarkable strength in the global economic slowdown. E-commerce websites have supported businesses by ensuring a revenue stream at a time when funds are low and costs are high. Web outlets help save further by taking away IT and administrative overheads.

Customers turn to e-commerce websites looking for competitive rates.  E-commerce outlets are cheaper as they offer more compelling bargains than their retail counterparts do. Customers also save on the time and cost of driving to retail store fronts.

The upward swing in e-commerce shopping during the 2009 slowdown is an indication of the success of e-commerce solutions and their arrival in the market.  At a time when many businesses are bearing the brunt of the credit squeeze, e-commerce businesses are growing at around 15%, a figure that promises to keep going up.

The current times demand a diversified marketing approach that encompasses both traditional and digital advertising techniques. Though traditional media outlets such as television, newspapers and radio are still viable channels, businesses should allocate part of the marketing budget to online advertising. The challenge is striking the right balance between the two – conventional advertising and the more promising internet marketing.

Consumers continue to spend more time online. To keep in step with consumer trends, the marketing mix must also evolve and adapt to it. Business owners and executives should prepare the marketing budget based on their anticipation of the consumer trends over the next year.

Increasing importance of e-commerce in businesses

E-commerce is becoming an important channel for small and large businesses. Sometimes, there is a huge gap between the marketing budget and sales trends. This can happen in businesses that have always relied on traditional media channels and retail stores. These businesses still perceive e-commerce shopping cart solutions as a secondary sales channel rather than mainstream business model.

Many times, the most effective media  is not identified correctly by progressive marketers. The source that generates most revenue is not linked to the advertising media. Though traditional advertising techniques can be used to promote e-commerce websites of businesses, it makes more sense to advertise the site using online marketing including pay per click, search engine optimization, social media marketing etc.

The effectiveness of internet marketing is compelling due to the instant return on investment associated with the marketing spend. Recent surveys show that more than half of the businesses in U.S. are shifting marketing budgets from traditional advertising  to online.

Allocating the budget for digital advertising

The marketing executive should allocate adequate funds in the marketing budget to implement online advertising more aggressively. Before forming the marketing budget, executives should consider these figures:

1. Sales: Compare the sales from traditional and online advertising. From these figures, what can be predicted for the sales trend going into the future?
2. Profits: Compare the profit margin from the marketing mix. Should digital advertising be pushed more than traditional media?
3. Return on investment: Compare the ROI of online versus traditional media outlets. Which of the two will show a higher return on investment (ROI)?

The marketing budget and the recession

The recession has made the marketing budget more accountable. Marketing executives realize the low cost of running advertising campaigns using digital media. Audiences can also be targeted more effectively, as a result of which the conversion rates are better. The recession has played a crucial part in faster adoption of digital advertising by American companies. Contrary to traditional marketing techniques, internet advertising results are more measurable. Marketing executives can justify the costs of advertising with quantifiable results.

Internet advertising has many benefits to justify a larger percentage of the marketing budget than traditional media channels. Though traditional advertising is effective in some cases, online advertising is proving to be a more economical and effective strategy that matches the consumer trend towards digital media.

Pay per click marketing is one of the best performing marketing strategies today. Internet trends are changing at a rapid pace. Digital media is innovating and improvising every day to deliver results, reducing advertising waste – synonymous with traditional media channels such as TV, Radio and Print.

Internet marketing in the late 1990s is child’s play compared to the complexities involved in it today. Advertising agencies should be in sync with changing trends in internet consumption, digital technology and media optimization techniques to guarantee better results. Businesses that hire internet marketing companies should also understand the basic essentials of digital marketing.

What is Cost Per Thousands (cpm)?

In the beginnings of the internet era, internet publishers and advertising companies charged customers on cost-per-thousand impressions also known as CPM. CPM pricing is calculated based on the number of times an advertisement is seen online, irrespective of whether anyone clicks on it or not. CPM pricing is a holdover from traditional advertising and not a very accountable means of measuring the efficacy of the advertisement resulting in 50% or more of your marketing dollars being wasted.

What is Cost Per Click (cpc)?

With digital media, we can now track and measure online advertising. It has made Cost per click (CPC) pricing the most popular alternative to CPM based pricing for advertisers as the advertiser can now pay only when a user clicks on the ad copy and lands on the advertisers website. This has resulted in better efficacy of measuring the advertising spend and tracking the return on investment from it.

What is Cost Per Acquisition (cpa)?

Cost per acquisition (CPA) pricing is based on the number actions that are completed on the advertisers website. Advertisers pay for the user actions that resulted in a conversion such as a sale, registration or a lead form completion. CPA is a suitable option for advertisers that are looking to mitigate the risk by paying for cost of sales. However, cpa pricing is more expensive than buying cpc and cpm based inventory.

In general, internet marketing agencies and media buying organizations are able to buy digital media inventory based on CPC, CPM and CPA pricing, or a combination of the three to best suit the requirements of their clients.

Increasing complexity of pay-per-click marketing

There are many search engine marketing companies in the market, and it is a challenge for any one company to prove itself better than its counterparts. The best pay per click advertising firms keep in step with changing internet trends and optimize based on the changes taking place in the industry. With so many developments taking place on the internet every day, even the most competitive search marketing experts can miss out on a market trend and lose out on an important opportunity.

Qualities to look for in a pay-per-click marketing firm

Pay per click advertising is part of the new digitial media landscape where there is frequent innovation and rapid changes. Delivering performance and effective results in this dynamic industry is a full time job today. For small and mid sized businesses that want to take advantage of this performance based digital marketing and media they need to consider partnering with a pay per click marketing firm that can deliver desired results. An innovative pay per click marketing strategy can help small and mid sized businesses stay ahead of competition by employing the latest techniques in digital media and internet marketing.

Building an e-commerce website doesn’t mean inventing a new business model, hiring new staff, or even spending a lot of money. In fact, with the help of affordable web design and e-commerce solutions, you can add just the right e-commerce website design elements  to attract new customers and convert them into sales.

1. Leverage Website Design and Search Engine Optimization to Attract Customers

Many small businesses rely exclusively on storefront signage or traditional advertising to attract new customers. Yet, a recent study reports that more people look for prospective vendors online instead of through traditional phone directories or printed community guides. A web site design that has been optimized for search engines can help your business attract new customers at the very moment when they’re ready to make a purchase.

Web design companies that focus on online shopping cart solutions and search engine optimization understand how to turn a static website into a vibrant sales channel. Engaging content such as blogging or adding regular videos about your small business keeps your busness website fresh, increasing its seo ranking on major search engines. Injecting more of your personality into your e-commerce website makes your small business more attractive to customers who value personal relationships and local connections.

2. Automate Reservations and Placing Orders With E-Commerce Website

Building an e-commerce website really means giving your customers the ability to get their needs met more quickly, at the moment that they’re ready to buy your products or services. Retail storefronts can use innovative, new inventory management software that interface with e-commerce solutions to check real-time inventory online. Stores that offer online ordering and in-store pickup enjoy a competitive advantage over Internet retailers with delays related to shipping and returns. Retailers offering specialty products can also create a strong revenue stream by shipping orders outside their local areas. In both cases, online credit card processing enables your business to book revenues immediately.

E-commerce isn’t just limited to retail businesses, though. Service businesses have discovered the power of offering self-service reservations and credit card payment processing online. Hair salons, doctors’ offices, and other service providers can use “plug-in” tools to automate the process of scheduling and canceling appointments. Restaurants can offer online reservations and catering orders, and accept credit cards to collect deposits or pre-payments. As more customers discover the convenience of self-service reservations, your front-line staff can spend less time on the phone and more time helping customers.

3. Make Online Customer Service Easy

It’s not enough to simply beef up your online presence without emphasizing your online customer service. An e-commerce web page design that lists a phone number and no e-mail contact is just as effective at courting web-savvy customers as having no website at all. During the website development process, make sure to add a “Contact Us” link to a prominent part of your e-commerce website. On that page, list how you can be contacted, when, and why. Letting customers know that, for instance, you’re able to answer the phone from 8am to 5pm can prevent disappointment. Even better, you can post an e-mail address or a contact form for customers to use, with the assurance that they will receive a reply within 24 hours.

However, to really set yourself apart as a web-savvy business owner, you can market your website using social media marketing that your customers already inhabit. For instance, it’s easy to create a Facebook page for your business that includes contact details and links to your website. Launching a Twitter feed for your company allows you to address customer service issues in real time. A strong web presence appeals to online users that like to spread the word about good customer service.

Making Baby Steps with Web Design and E-Commerce Solutions

It’s an exciting time to move your business online because you don’t have to commit to an expensive web design overhaul. Most of the e-commerce website features that make up this three-part plan can be implemented using subscription-based service that plug into existing websites. Of course, getting help from a web designer can make the process easier for small business owners with limited online experience. The best website designers can help you unify different open source solutions with a consistent look and feel, so web visitors don’t feel like they are being shunted to unfamiliar providers. This hybrid of high-touch customer service and low-cost guerilla marketing is fast becoming a best practice for many successful small businesses.

Web hosting has become a popular and reliable way for small and mid sized businesses to host e-commerce, small business websites, and other web services without taking on the overhead expense of procuring, managing and maintaining servers inhouse. There are many types of web hosting services for customers to choose from based on their requirements, budget allowance, security needs etc.

While most reputable web hosting companies guarantee 99% uptime that is acceptable to individuals and very small businesses, bigger businesses and organizations cannot afford downtimes of even 1%. Therefore, the type of web hosting service is critical for smooth business operations.

The types of web hosting services that exist are free, shared, managed, dedicated, virtual dedicated, collocation, clustered hosting, cloud hosting and grid hosting. The servers can host various types of websites and applications including emails, blogs, videos, files, images, shopping cart  etc.

Obviously, the services offered by free web hosting are very limited and if your small business needs a dynamic web site design or e-commerce solution, you must consider paid hosting services to make sure you eliminate business risk. Most web hosting services provide a site manager that allows you to administer and control the web server, e-mail server, ftp server, and security settings. The account may also include search engine optimization tools, e-commerce services, site developer, database access, media support, development tools, and performance accelerators.

There are a plethora of web hosting service providers that offer a lot of features incuding free template website designs at very cheap  prices. However, cheap prices should not sway your decision in choosing a web hosting partner. Remember, quality and reliabiliy always comes at a price. Small and mid sized businesses must ensure their needs are met by the web hosting company and also evaluate the quality and reliability of the services including customer support to mitigate any business risk.

An increasing number of web applications are now offered based on a SaaS (Software as a service) moel that follow the same web hosting model. Look at the rising popularity of hosted applications such as online CRM, online healthcare applications, financial services, clinical references, health plan benefits and similar products. Web hosting services extend the capabilities and services of small an mid sized businesses, allowing them to grow, improve, and boost bottom lines significantly.