Let’s highlight some of these blog promotion ideas in no particular order.

1. Help the search engines find your blog.  Write consistently about interesting topics that you know something about. Listen to your clients and address the interests, questions, and concerns they’ve expressed to you. Suffice it to say that good, focused website and blog content, along with frequent blog postings and reader interaction, will help you get ranked higher on Google and other search engines.
2. Submit your blog posts to one or more blog search engines.  There are many services that monitor blog posts and changes. When you update a blog, you’ll need to tell these services that you’ve just submitted new content. This is done automatically when your blog is hosted on WordPress technology – assuming you turned that feature on in the WordPress settings. You can also use Technorati—this is one of the best known blog search engines and it monitors blogs from all over the world.  Just go to Technorati.com and claim your blog—it’s easy to use and it’s free.
3. Announce your blog posts on your social media business pages. Use Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn as ways to get the word out about your new blog post. You already have networks of people interested in you, your company, your products, and your services – take advantage of that by announcing your new posts.
4. Comment on other industry blogs. Submitting comments on other blogs helps you get outside your networks and gain exposure within your industry. Find other reputable blogs in your field and contribute substantive well-written comments and perspectives.

Blogging takes commitment and simply putting your material out there, hoping someone sees it, isn’t enough these days.  With at little promotional effort, you can expand your readership (and influence) exponentially!

Note:   To claim your blog on Technorati, first fill out the form you’ll find on your profile page. Then, check back on the progress and find your Verification Code. It’ll look something like this:  V2HXVRWZ72D3 Once you have your verification code, you’ll need to embed that code into a post (like I just did above).You’ll need to tell Technorati you’ve done this – so click the button “Verify Claim Token”.

• Have a clear business vision
• Identify your objectives
• Know your target audience

The next challenge in website development is to define your style.

Show your human side

Don’t be afraid to demonstrate your passion and originality and to present your personal and business vision. Who makes a bigger impression—someone who comes across as stoically competent or someone who is passionately engaged? Obviously, there is a line you shouldn’t cross on the spectrum between personal and professional but most people don’t even get CLOSE to that threshold, and THAT’S a lost opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competitors.

Keep it simple

With webpage layouts, the goal is to present a comfortable mix of images, white space, and text. Don’t overwhelm your viewers with dense pages and lots of moving parts. For example, you should think twice about intermixing audio and “busy” imaging. When both happen simultaneously, neither one makes an impact. Don’t get me wrong, an audio clip on a website CAN be great—I just recommend presenting it on a relatively simple page and/or setting it up with something like “Click Here to Hear our Story” so visitors can listen on THEIR terms.

Link it with your marketing strategy and brand

This last point often goes by the wayside. Everything on your website—the graphics, audio, written content, even subliminal impressions, should support your brand and your marketing strategy in terms of target audience and message. I’ve come across too many websites that have succumbed to “mission creep” and lose message continuity.

Websites are a critical marketing tool. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them do not make a good first impression and the user quickly moves on. Blue Zenith can make your website the exception.

On December 12 WordPress 3.3 – named Sonny – was released. It’s got some major improvements – especially in the media interface. They’ve implemented a drag/drop media upload. Makes it so much easier to upload media files to your wordpress site.

Check out the official release of WordPress 2.2 “Sonny”.

I’ve upgraded it now on a few of my client sites with little or no problems. The only issue I found was the lightbox feature of the portfolio galleries no longer worked. But, with a little research and finagling, I finally found the Shadow Box plugin solved all my problems.

Here’s the download for the WordPress Plugin – Shadowbox JS/.

WordPress App for Android 2.0

Another huge release is the WordPress app for Android 2.0.  Why is this a huge release you ask? Well imagine, an improved mobile blogging experience. The app makes it easier to interface with the WordPress dashboard on the go. As if you needed another reason to choose WordPress for your blog and website.

Here’s more information and a link to the download for the WordPress App for Android 2.0.

Define and commit to your business vision

Whether it’s in writing or not, I’m sure you have a clear vision about your business. How will you fill a need better than anyone else? What is your niche? How and to whom will you reach out with your marketing? How will you, your company or your product change the world?! Think big and then make sure your website supports and matches this lofty vision.

Define the objectives for your website

Your website should align with your marketing in the broadest sense. Marketing is all about creating visibility, enhancing credibility and showcasing ability. A professional website can overtly and subliminally accomplish all of these. Also, remember that your social media presence should seamlessly lead to your website and specific pages on your website. Maybe someday Facebook will replace websites, maybe not. But we’re not there yet. The website is still the place for the most substantive messaging about an organization.

Know your Target Audience

While you have your marketing hat on, think creatively about your target audience. Define the groups by demographics (age, gender, income level, etc.), level of hipness, IQ, or whatever. Once you’re focused on your ideal customers, put yourself in their shoes as you create the website’s look, feel, content and maneuverability. If you can’t get inside their heads, run the beta site past someone who can in order to make sure it resonates. After all, lawyers don’t want to see cartoon characters and teens don’t want to read about your Mission Statement!

Happy December holidays from Blue Zenith Web Designs. Rest up—I have a feeling 2012 is going to be incredible!

But how do you make a website viewer feel at home? In large part, it’s a function of the visual and design.

For one thing, it literally puts a face on the company. Remember the late Victor Kiam (“I liked the shaver so much I bought the company”), former President & CEO of Remington Products? In the heyday of that ad campaign, you couldn’t see the name Remington without hearing his voice and that tagline in your head. Remington wasn’t a corporation, it was a non-descript businessman with a slightly nasal tone! Make sure readers know you’re not a soul-less corporation and that they’re connecting with real people. Include pictures and images reflecting the company, owner, employees and customers.

Then, of course, there is the subtle use of color, fonts and layout. Your website shouldn’t look home- made but you don’t want to come across as a Manhattan investment bank either. The happy medium is a professional-looking site that is pleasing to the eye (and brain) in terms of layout and flow. Part of this is a comfortable balance of written and visual messages. An imbalance between these two will be jarring to the subconscious and will prevent the personal connection.

So, this Thanksgiving, as you enjoy the warmth and company of family and friends, take a second to process what makes those connections so powerful. When you get back to the office on the 31st, call us while the afterglow is fresh in your mind. THAT’S the look and feel you need for your website and THAT’S what we can design for you!

Happy Thanksgiving from Blue Zenith Web Design!

When you are contemplating your layout, consider that the current trend is more casual than in year’s past. People want content that is concise and in laymen’s terms. No fancy terminology that doesn’t resonate with someone who isn’t in familiar with that field or business. There are still some industries that will use the formal verbiage due to their function. For instance, a law office, finance and doctor’s offices will be using the more formal terminology when others will opt for the casual language.

The days of having menu bars only at the top and simpler layouts have now gone to the cleaner look and more white space. You want to encourage your visitors to scan the entire site. If they get to the home page and it’s not engaging, they could leave without going any further. You want to match the tone and mood of your competitors, friendly, belonging and a feeling of being connected. These are ideas that help me think ahead when looking for trends.

1. Look at the popular websites visited often. These are the websites that have been integrated into our culture (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn).  Keep an eye on their ever-changing look to gauge what people are familiar with.
2. Keep an eye on television commercials,  magazine art to watch the use of color and font interplay.
3. Trends are more than just looks. I try to find the feeling invoked by the advertisement, images, words. This is the true path of the trend. Bold. Whimsical.  These are just two words that describe some of the current trending that I see.
4. Look for things that could be considered disruptive. Not everything translates into good web design.  Know the difference between eye-catching and a nuisance.
5. Distinguish between the long-term trends versus the current fad.

To maintain the casual stance for your website here are a few tips:

1. Use concise, grammatically correct conversational terminology
2. Use real life verbiage
3. Avoid using industry jargon
4. Provide information that isn’t stating the obvious

To make sure that your website doesn’t become obsolete:

1.  Use mouse-over  tool tips for context controls.  Provide that extra help when needed.
2.  Show interactivity on your screen. This can be as simple as images coming into focus when you hover over them. Encourage your visitors to explore!
3. Don’t be clunky with your functionality. Design your web pages with your visitors in mind, keeping the process as easy as possible for them – not the developer!
4. Include the human element in your images. Your visitors can spot a stock image a mile away. Provide that personal touch by using real photos versus stock images.
5. Remember the saying, “Too many cooks spoil the broth”. The author of your content should be writing as a representative of the group, and should not be the entire group throwing in their two cents.  Your message will be more concise and cohesive with one or just a few authors.
6. Always add quick links to your social media elements
7. In the About Us section, try to make it personal  by using real photos and bios.

With a few of these tips, your website will remain engaging, interactive and easy to understand. And isn’t that the whole point?  Getting your visitors to engage with your website and your business.

“Content Is King!”

We’ve all heard the saying. We know it means growing and building your online knowledge base gets you better results over time. It also means you must contribute to your blog on a regular basis, focusing your content on how you want to be found. Hiring someone to improve your SEO is always an option. There are many qualified professionals that specialize in this field. But, if you’re looking to improve your SEO with no budget, you can do a few simple things to improve the effectiveness of your blog. Getting started is the first step.  Here are a few tips to get you going.

Be Consistent

Remember – all your work takes time.  It takes time to establish yourself and your credibility.  It takes time to build a community of followers that are searching for and connect with your message.  And it takes time to move up in the search engine rankings to be in a prime spot on the search engine results page.  To do so, you must be consistently writing and focusing your content on what people are looking for.

Be Relevant

Being relevant is by far the most important thing you need to remember.  Write about things that people are looking for. And write about it in a way that is readable and interesting. Find blogs that you find interesting and subscribe to them. Browse to see which articles get the most response and follow the conversation. By taking some time to research what you would want to read, and what you wouldn’t want to read, you’ll be ahead of the game knowing how to set the tone on your own blog. Keep in mind that this is something that should be ongoing. To stay relevant, you must know what people are talking about in your industry, how it’s being said, and how you can set yourself apart within that conversation. There’s always room to learn from others.

With so many websites competing to be found, your website should be a reflection of your business.  So what does it say when your website has some simple glaring problems?  You’ve just given your competitors a gift by giving your visitors an excuse to leave your site.  Getting in front of your potential customers, presenting your business professionally, and hopefully getting them to become a client – this is everyone’s ultimate goal.

Here is a short list of easy things to look out for, that people have come to expect of a website.

Clear and Easy Navigation.

How easy is it for your visitors to find your information on your website?  When a visitor comes to your website for the very first time, can they find their way to the various parts of your website that can answer their possible questions? This is how you need to critically look at your pages. Your navigation should be easy to find, located on your page within the boundaries of convention. Your links should use words your visitors would use. Resist the urge to name your links something unusual just to stand out.  Your content and images should give you that edge.  And remember, the Home link should be accessible from all pages!  If the trail goes deeper than two or three levels, consider using “breadcrumbs” somewhere in the upper left hand side of the page to help your visitors know where they’ve come from.

Clear, Clean Designs and Images.

White space tends to give a web page a feeling of openness.  We’re bombarded by so many images and colors when we surf the internet, that our eyes tend to rest upon the cleanness of white space.  Use it to your advantage.  Break up text into short paragraphs. Keep your images and designs clean and simple.  Images should be surrounded by white space so they stand out.

Check for Broken Links.

There is nothing more unprofessional than broken links.  Over time, outside links can change, and even the links within your own website can change.  Periodically test them on your site – and make sure they’re fixed as soon as a broken link is found.

Fast loading pages.

No one likes to wait even a few seconds for a web page to load. If your page isn’t available in the short span of time that represents our patience, then your website may as well not be there.  It’s already competitive enough out there on the World Wide Web – don’t give your competitor the leg up by slowing down your load page times.   This is such a simple thing to do, and can mean the difference between getting your website in front of a potential customer or not!

Browser Compatibility.

Microsoft IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari – these are just some of the web browsers that people use to surf the internet.  Your web site should be tested using various versions of IE (6.0 and up), along with Firefox, Chrome and Safari.  If you’ve done your job right, then all will display as expected for the majority of your visitors.  Make sure your message is as professional looking as possible, by testing your layout in as many browsers as possible.  Remember, it’s all about your visitors’ experience.

With all these themes available to choose from, how do you go about choosing the best theme to serve as your business blog?  Well, the short answer is find one that can be customized to fit your specific needs.

The first step is to analyze what you want in your blog. Each business has its own vision as to what it will take to build credibility and expertise in your industry.  Dream big and know what you want to say and how you are going to say it. WordPress has an amazing range of tools available to you. Take advantage of them.

Once you know what you want your blog to do, find a theme that fits. Premium themes are a great way to add some generic features at a small cost.  Once you have a basic theme to start with, then the fun begins! Craft your own theme. All themes can be customized and tweaked, if you know how. Your theme must be unique that matches your website and extends your marketing brand.

WordPress is a powerful tool for your business. It’s by far one of the easiest content management systems out there. Utilize it to create a truly custom design and visitor experience by connecting a premium theme with your customized needs.

One thing that Blue Zenith specializes in is making sure that your self-hosted WordPress blog is a customized fit for your business and your brand, and an effective tool for your business.

Pop culture

It’s more than just an aside note. It influences everything in marketing. Marketing has become an experience – the look must immediately capture our imagination; music plays to our emotions, colors accent the experience and add to the overall feeling we get. We’re bombarded by marketing images and have become quite a savvy public that know what we like and what we don’t like. Overexposure is a common complaint but through that excessive noise, we’ve come to better define what is good and what is not.

Simple, Adventurous, Fun

Marketing is continually pushing those limits of what to expect – using new bands to add depth to the images. When I look back at the TV commercial’s I’ve actually paid attention to, it’s always those that add new music to enhance the experience: Vampire Weekend, and The Black Keys stand out in my mind as to the music that has captured my attention. They have sounds that give me different sense – Vampire Weekend evokes community, being surrounded by friends, and laid-back fun. Whereas the Black Keys gives me a sense of strong character, as if there’s an exciting adventure ahead and I’m ready to go. Amazon Kindle has found different artists with a similar sound. Marcus Ashley, Annie Little and Bibio all used in different commercials, each has a whimsical sound that evokes a sense of simple times in our lives.

And the images are bright, vivid, adding a playfulness that screams I’m optimistic for the future. These are the commercial’s I’ve paid attention to.

Websites have taken on a new look over time. Marketing websites have big, bold banners with colors that grab your attention. Navigation is becoming more intuitive – we’re finding if it isn’t, you’re left out in the cold, with your visitors not able to properly navigate to find your message.

Social media has given us a sense of community. Looking over their websites, I see a very common theme. Display information in a way that is easily understood and digested. Simple colors, simple graphics don’t distract from the message.

Design is morphing as we find what works and what doesn’t.

It appears that we’ve come to a time where “Less is More”. I heard this statement describing the Golden Globe Awards. America is coming to understand priorities, and what is important to our future, and to our happiness. It’s become part of our consciousness. Less is more, meaning we’re more appreciative of what we have and are secure in who we are. The future may be undecided, but we’re ready to go and exceed all expectations.

All this screams for web design to reflect what’s going on in the world around us. Simple design has always been the rage, expect it to continue in the next year: clean color that reflects your organization, simple layout that allows your visitors to experience your products and services, with color added to play on our emotions. Simple graphics and images add depth to the experience. Typography, or playing with the character fonts, give a sense of style and add flair simply without going overboard, building it into how the message is delivered.

This is what I see happening in web design in 2011. It’s going to be a good year – I’m optimistic about it. And web design will reflect that.