Dwight M. Scott

Websites: Foundation to a Successful Business

Dwight M. Scott, Columbus, Ohio's Trusted Web Expert — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:20:41 +0000

With the constant urge of society wanting information and resources quick and at their fingertips, you have to keep up. There is no better way to ensure you are in your target market’s face other than a website.

Practically, everything is handles via the web. Which makes obtaining a web presence for your company is crucial. I would almost recommend getting a website as soon, if not before you federally register your business. It is TOO important to a business’ success not to have one.

There are a couple things to consider before getting a website. Just some of the things I would consider are:

Put aside a marketing/advertising budget
Will my budget be enough for my web project?
Can my web project be broken down into phases?
Researching local web firms
What you want your website to do?
Will you be selling items? Do you need an eCommerce solution?
Will your company’s website be strictly informational?
What functionality does your website need?
How do my competitor’s website look?
Does my competitor’s website function adequately?

Websites are the best way to advertise and market your business. With the right Web Consultant, Developer, and Designer your business will reach a new level of growth. However, once you get your website live, be sure to frequently update your website. Users and search engines LOVE new and fresh content.

Choosing The Perfect Domain Name

Dwight M. Scott, Columbus, Ohio's Trusted Web Expert — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:41:25 +0000

Choosing a domain name can be more crucial than what it seems. There is a lot more to consider now rather just buying a domain that is the name of your company. Find a alternative domain that emphasizes your niche.

Chances are that you will be speaking a great deal of your company name, so your audience will already know to go to yourcompanyname.com. Instead choose yourniche.com; increasing your maketing efforts. So, for instance if you were a roofing company based in Columbus, Ohio specializing in residential roofing, you might choose something like www.columbusresidentialroofing.com.

By you choosing an alternative domain name will help leverage your company and increase your search engine rankings. I know you are probably wondering, “How do I make sure my users see the same site without building the same site twice?” Aske your web consultant about JavaScript redirects or domain name forwarding.

This will help your company a lot in terms of SEO. Not to mention this a very inexpensive. The average domain costs $8-$10 per year and can be hosted with your same hosting company. To find if a domain name is available visit www.1and1.com or www.godaddy.com. These two sites make it easy to find a domain that is available. I would not recommend GoDaddy as a hosting choice though!

Stop Wasting Time!

Dwight M. Scott, Columbus, Ohio's Trusted Web Expert — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:49:35 +0000

Essentially in the business world time is money. A question that is often asked is; “How do I turn time into money?” There are a few different ways. The first way would to be organizing your day. If you go in to the office knowing what you have to do there is a greater chance you will get it done in a more timely manner.

Preventing useless meetings is another way to save time. I know we all want to sound busy and say we have meetings to attend but in all actuality this is killing your revenue. The only time you should attend a meeting is when picking up a check or receiving a commitment from your prospective client.

Taking these couple of tips into effect wil allow you to budget your time better and allow you to turn that once wasted time into more productive doings. Which will hopefully bring your more leads, sells, and revenue. So stop wasting time and get more productive with your day.

I will post more about saving time in future posts.

Achieving Website Greatness

Dwight M. Scott, Columbus, Ohio's Trusted Web Expert — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:31:59 +0000

I have ran across a few companies that want to make their website do more for them but do not have the resources to do so. I always give the same reply, “it doesn’t always take what you may think in order to achieve your company’s goals.” The web is packed full of useful and helpful information that will leverage your website.

One of my favorite tools to use is Google Analytics. This tool will allow you to track the stats of your website. With this analysis you and your web expert can devise of a plan that fits your needs and budget. Therefore, allowing you to find the market that is appropriate for your company. Ultimately gaining awareness which brings leads that brings new clients.

Another way to ensure your website is achieving greatness is by placing your domain name on as many free online web directories as possible. This technique will give you more impressions on the web which will allow search engines to find you and/or your company easier. This may take some researching on to which directory to place your website on and will it be beneficial for you. However, this is a wonderful guerilla marketing technique, that will cost you absolutely nothing but your time. Not to mention you will be able to apply this technique at your leisure.

Create a LinkedIn profile - This is another superb way to get noticed and gain valuable contacts for you and your company. LinkedIn is one of the largest FREE professional social networks. Do not just create a profile and not be active. Answer questions, ask questions and invite others to join your professional network. Take a peek at my LinkedIn profile. While you are there send me an invite and I’ll be sure to accept!

Get The Most From Your Website

Dwight M. Scott, Columbus, Ohio's Trusted Web Expert — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:48:23 +0000

Now days websites are used for all sorts of different purposes. However, when it comes to a company profile on a website you want to make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck. When obtaining a website if you do not have one already, be sure to be descriptive of the services that you offer and you market your services towards the right audience. Ensuring that your market gets a understanding of what exactly you do is vital.

Another important aspect of your website if functionality and usability. Take your website to the next step by eliminating a commonly faced problem by your users. It may be something as simple as a contact form. I know of many instances of information that is too hard to find or contact information is not present. Saving users the time of opening their email client because your website has a mail contact form on your site just increased your usability and functionality of your website. Save your users the time and show you care by making their experience on your website more pleasant and worthwhile.

Keeping your content fresh and up to date will bring users and clients back to your site. Be sure to take advantage of a news or announcement system that you can implement on your site, even if it is manually updated. The landing or home page should be filled with the latest and freshest content with happenings, events, and/or promotions within the company. Static websites are becoming outdated. The web is evolving do not be left behind!