Think Again Before Deciding to Build Your Own Website...

Many existing businesses have started offering free web-building tools. Sounds great, right? Such tools enable you to build your website and go online within a short time. Although you might think this is a brilliant service, it isn’t.

You will find that the tools offered by such sites are simple enough to understand and use. However, most of them are not as useful as they promise to be. Some of the tools exclude most of the important aspects related to good website design, such as an artistic approach, sense of aesthetics, and use of SEO keywords and metatags.

Most websites that offer such services are full of ambiguity and lack any focal point or strong message. As you must have observed, colors and fonts are crucial to the fate of a website. A proper combination of colors and artistically selected typestyles and design convey subconscious messages to visitors and prompt them to remain on the site till they have seen it all and more significantly, to return. Some color schemes when used in combination with certain fonts convey the messages of reliability and trust.

Most tools that such sites offer are very generic and part of basic templates, which say nothing about your business. Some sites even put default advertising on your website, which is similar to wearing a tattoo you know nothing about. Another important aspect is the layout. The manner in which all elements within a webpage are put together and function evokes a subconscious response from the visitor. We have all landed upon websites that don’t ‘seem right’, and have therefore abandoned the idea of doing business with them.

Web marketing and conveyance of messages are considered carefully by professional web designers. To-the-point yet unambiguous content and well-coordinated elements on a page attract visitor’s attention. Search Engine Optimization is a crucial factor in turning your web business into a success. This professional touch, that differentiates your website from other sites in terms of search rankings, is a field of expertise for professional website designers.

Let the professionals construct your website. Such designers are generally quite affordable and the product they generate is worth every cent spent on it in terms of value addition to business.

The first impression is always the last impression, and you need to make sure that your client returns to your site after the first visit. A really good impression may even prompt social sharing, and your visitors will tell a friend or two about you. If you are looking for a few personal pages, choose a free blog rather than a website. Unlike blogs, websites require rigorous HTML formatting, which is entirely the professional web designer’s field of expertise. So, think again before you decide and choose a professional designer to build your site, just as you would prefer hiring a contractor rather than taking on the task of building your own home.

What exactly is a landing page?
A landing page, sometimes known as a lead capture page, is a site page that appears in response to clicking on an advertisement or link. The landing page will usually display specific sales content that is a logical extension of the advertisement or link.

Landing pages are often linked to from social media sites such as facebook, twitter, and linked in, or an email campaign or search engine marketing campaigns (such as google Adwords) in order to enhance the effectiveness of the advertisements.

Why Use Landing Pages?
The ultimate objective of all the online marketing activities like PPC campaigns, banner ads, SEO and the like is to bring potential customers to your site. Regardless of the source, once visitors reach your landing page, it has to be effective enough to compel them to take the desired action.

Apart from the content, the design and the overall look of your landing page plays a crucial role in its effectiveness. Good design keeps audience interested and leads them step by step in towards the desired action. It is best to get your landing pages designed by a professional. Here are some useful tips to help you develop the ultimate landing page.  Be sure to contact your local website design firm, to help you launch your landing page and website.

Four Tips for the Ultimate Landing Page:

1. Ensure that your landing page loads quickly. Short loading time is essential to provide a good user experience. Many people prefer to move away from a slow loading page rather than wait for it to open. It is best to get rid of any unnecessary graphics in favor of loading speed. Optimize all graphic elements to bring down your page load time.
   
2. Include all the critical page elements above the fold. Studies indicate that more than 50% of website visitors do not scroll down the landing page. This means, if important information is contained in the lower portion of landing page, which lies below the fold, over half of your visitors are likely to miss it. So it is best to get straight to the point within the upper 300 pixels of your landing page. 
   
3. Keep it simple. Just like our motto says... Keep it simple! A page containing banner and side elements may be ok for a blog, but you need to get rid of all the clutter to design an effective landing page. Use of small paragraphs, bullet points and ample white space is recommended. Effective landing pages are designed with a single clear focus and it is best to avoid any kind of distractions. 
   
4. Match the visual elements and color palette of your page to those in your ads. You need to make sure that the transition from your ad copy to the landing page is smooth. Use of similar imagery, color, and branding assures visitors that they have reached the right page. You can approach your local design firm to help you create such a landing page.

The biggest benefit of internet marketing is that it allows you to market your products or services to the widest range of targeted demographics regardless of their nationality, age, interests or gender... But 'global' marketing may not be the best strategy for your business. Here are a few reasons that may convince you that local online marketing is the best strategy for a small business.

Reasons to adopt local internet marketing strategy:

• Effective targeting is essential to make the most of your marketing efforts. Unless your marketing message reaches your target audience, your efforts are likely to be wasted. For most small businesses, the target audience is usually the locals. By adopting a local internet marketing strategy you are likely to get the maximum return on your investment.
  
• Today internet search is the starting place for a large number of purchase decisions. A great website is essential for successful internet marketing. If you do not have any website designing experience, it is best to take help of a good local website designer, like Crawford Designs, LLC of Gettysburg, PA. Such a designer will be able to help you create a website that targets the locals. 

Targeted traffic that is most likely to convert:

• Locals form the main target audience for small and local businesses. For instance, if you own a restaurant in Adams County / York County, people in your county are your potential customers rather than people in Los Angeles. 
• Focusing on local online marketing will ensure that your website attracts highly targeted local traffic that is very likely to convert. A website designed by an experienced local website designer specifically to attract the locals can give a significant boost to your business. 

Easier marketing and lower costs:

• The best thing about local online marketing is that it is easier. For a number of websites, search is the biggest sources of traffic. In order to attract maximum possible search traffic, optimizing your website to get the top search rank for targeted keywords is essential. It is much easier to rank for less competitive local keywords than for generic words. For instance, it is easier to rank for ‘Adams County Italian Restaurant’, than just ‘Italian Restaurant’. 
• The ease of marketing also makes local marketing less expensive as the overall efforts required for marketing, and SEO are reduced. The benefits of local online marketing are too great to be ignored and local businesses definitely need to consider this strategy.  Contact Crawford Designs, LLC of Gettysburg Today to reach YOUR local Targeted market!
  

Online marketing became the first choice of strategy for business owners, while neglecting the other forms of marketing possibilities. Yet it should be pointed out that offline marketing is indeed a complimentary marketing choice where many business owners can benefit from. This does not necessarily mean to focus on one form of marketing and drop the other one. It simply means online as well as offline marketing should be implemented in coordination to gain the utmost results for your success.

This is particularly true for local business owners in York and Adams County, where they can hire us, "Crawford Designs, LLC" who is a member of their local community that provides professional services by coordinating online and offline marketing strategies.
Besides online strategies, Crawford Designs recommends 10 easy and effective offline marketing ideas for local business owners:

1. Tear-Off Discount Coupon Flyer: Professionally designed discount coupons are effective way of attracting customers. Furthermore, you can have the same campaign on your website or ask prospects to go to your website to get even more discounts.

2. Table At A Local Event: Have samples of your products for your prospects, as well as
professionally prepared product data sheets. It is also a good idea to give catalogs and brochures about your company, products and your services.

3. Post Flyers: You can post flyers at grocery stores, banks, libraries. But to be more effective, you should have your flyers prepared by a professional to make a better impact to attract more prospects.

4. Leave Brochures and Product Catalogs: Make sure everything is prepared according to your marketing strategy; complete with product order forms, contact forms. Ask prospects to go to your professionally prepared website to get more information, and make certain that the
message in your brochures and catalogs are coordinated with your website.

5. Local Radio Advertisement: Run promotions on air. Make sure your website is mentioned and have your website ready for the people who are looking for that promotion that you running.

6. Ask Favorite Shop: Leave your business cards, and make sure your business cards are designed professionally and your logo conveys your business objective correctly to brand yourself.

7. Print Advertisement: People still read - especially local newspapers and magazines. It is important to have someone design your advertising who understands the local people and
knows the most effective way to attract them to your products and services.

8. Phone Book Advertisement: Phone books may sound like phasing out. But if your products and services are related to older generation, they still look in to the phone books to find you. Make sure your ad is designed properly by a professional and it is in the right section.

9. Ask Local Businesses: There are crowded local stores where you can post your flyers or tearoff discount papers to attract prospects. Make sure that your material is designed and printed for this particular purpose by a professional to get the most out of your money.

10. Freebies: Give out quality, well designed promotional material such as bumper stickers, pens. Make sure to have your logo and your tag line clearly visible on them.

It is no secret that professionally planned marketing strategy will work to attract more prospects in your local area and will consequently result in more revenue. In order to have a successful local marketing strategy, you need a local professional who knows and understands your local prospects and familiar with the local business. Crawford Designs LLC, who serves locally to York County & Adams County, and nationally online, provides professional online and offline marketing services, and coordinates both strategies for you to reach your goals and objectives.

You can contact Jill Crawford, CEO Crawford Designs, LLC at 717-855-3184 or visit www.CrawfordDesignsLLC.com.

Facebook is unarguably the biggest player on the social media scene. Having a Facebook fan page is becoming more of a necessity than an option. It is best to take help of an expert, for instance a PA web site design professional, if you are based in Pennsylvania, to develop your Facebook page.

Many businesses prefer to direct traffic to their Facebook fan pages rather than their websites as these pages are greatly interactive. With popular search engines like Google indexing Facebook business pages, their reach has widened manifolds. Apart from over 600 million active Facebook users, anyone looking for your brand on Google can access your Facebook page. But not all Facebook pages are successful in developing a large engaged fan following. Here are some of the characteristics that make Facebook fan pages successful. 

Target the Proper Demographic
It is essential to assess Facebook demographics and its usefulness for your business. If you target businesses, you are likely to have limited success on Facebook. Facebook pages are likely to be most beneficial for brands that target college kids.

But Facebook demographic is constantly changing as college kids segment matures and more people from older age groups join. Your Facebook strategy needs to be developed keeping these changing demographics in mind. 

Offer Value to Target Audience
Your Facebook fan page should offer some value. This is essential to attract fans and to keep them coming back to the page regularly. You can offer exclusive deals and new product updates. Based on your social strategy, you can develop your page as a connection hub or a resource portal for your target audience. 

Organize Activities that Help in Building a Large Community
Organizing contests in which potential customers can take part is a great way to build a large community. It is the best way to offer value, if you do not want to develop your page as a resource portal. Contests with attractive prizes and coupons are effective tools for attracting potential customers to join. 

Integrate All Online Marketing Platforms
Social media as a standalone activity cannot be successful. It has to be integrated with your overall online marketing mix. For example, if you include a link to your Facebook fan page on your website, your website traffic can be directed to your Facebook page. Similarly, you can ask your web site design professional to include links to your website and blog on your Facebook page.