The Two Web Guys Radio for February 5, 2007

"The Show About Creating Your Website"

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SHOW NOTES

Eric and Paul review the three primary ways you can create a website for your business:

1.	Hiring a webmaster to develop your website
2.	Do it yourself using an online website builder service or WYSIWYG software
3.	Use industry specific services i.e. the Client Generator for massage therapists

There are pros and cons to each approach. Paul outlines the four criteria (the four pillars of website success) that you can use when evaluating each of these options.

We pull a letter from the mailbag as one listener wants to know how to put audio on your site using a little player like we do for our shows. We’ll give you a source for players like this and will tell you about and even easier way to get website audio up on your site.

If you have any questions regarding Internet marketing, please Contact Us and send them in. We’ll visit our "Mail Bag" and answer as many of your questions as possible on upcoming shows. Also feel free to send any comments or suggestions about the show. Or simply click the "Comments" link below to post your comments about this broadcast right here on this page. We’d love to hear from you.

If you don’t already receive show notices, be sure to sign up for TheTwoWebGuys newsletter and find out when the next show hits the airwaves.

Paul & Eric
The Two Web Guys

Websites Mentioned:

HereToHelpYou Website Builder:	This unique do-it-yourself website builder will be released soon. Get on the notification list now and receive a free trial when it’s launched.
The Client Generator:	This service, designed for massage professionals, allows you to have a website that would likely cost $5,000 to develop for a small monthly subscription fee.
Websites That Work by Techspertise.com:	Paul’s web development firm can help you create a successful online presence. Techspertise.com prides itself on creating Websites that work!
Wimpy Streaming Media Tools:	Here is our recommended software for playing audio and video on your website.
Audio Generator:	Using online services like this recommended service is the easiest way to get audio on your website - even if you are technically challenged.

Techniques Discussed:
Determining Keyword Density:
The search engines determine what your site is about by looking at the words on your page. If you are a florist in Miami, people will likely search for you by using a term or keyword like "Miami florist". So you’ll want to make sure that the term "Miami florist" appears throughout your webpage. You want to use that keyword (or keyword phrase) frequently, but not too much.

As a general guideline, the keyword density should be no more than 7%. This means that the keyword "Miami florist" should make up less than 7% of the total words on the page. To calculate whether you meet this guideline, count up the number of times you use the keyword on the page. Divide that number by the total number of words on the page and multiply by 100 to get your keyword density number.

Here’s the formula:
# of instances of your keyword ÷ total #of words on page x 100 = keyword density

If the number is well below 7%, then add more instances of the term to your web page. If you are over 7% then find ways to use similar or related terms like flowers, bouquets, arrangements, etc.

The Two Web Guys Radio for July 24, 2006

"The Show About The Power Of The Web"

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SHOW NOTES

The development of the Web as a powerful marketing tool has happened so quickly that most small business owners have no idea of the incredible impact a Web presence can have on their businesses.

In this show Paul and Eric look through recent statistics on Internet usage. If the numbers don’t make you sit up and take notice, then call 911 because you just may be dead.

We’ll show you how you can use a simple (and free) research tool to determine exactly how many people are looking for your type of product or service each month on the Web. And without a doubt, the numbers will shock you. If you don’t have a Website to effectively reach these searchers, then you are incurring a massive lost opportunity cost.

In our mailbag segment, we answer the question, "Where do I start?" Our answer may surprise you because it doesn’t even involve a computer.

If you have any questions regarding Internet marketing, please send them in to our mailbag[AT]thetwowebguys[DOT]com or fill out the form on our Contact Page. We’ll visit our "Mail Bag" and answer as many of your questions as possible on upcoming shows.

Also feel free to send any comments or suggestions about the show. Or simply click the "Comments" link below to post your comments about this broadcast right here on this page. We’d love to hear from you.

If you don’t already receive show notices, be sure to sign up for TheTwoWebGuys.com Newsletter so that you can be the first one to catch the next show.

Paul & Eric
The Two Web Guys

Websites Mentioned:

Keyword Research Tool

HereToHelpYou Website Builder:	This unique do-it-yourself Website builder will be released soon. Get on the notification list now and receive a free trial when it’s launched.
The Client Generator:	This service, designed for massage professionals, is an inexpensive way of getting a Website that ranks high in the search engines.
Websites That Work by Techspertise.com:	Paul’s web development firm can help you create a successful online presence. Techspertise.com prides itself on creating Websites that work!
Keyword Research Tool:	This is a free tool that will help you estimate the number of people looking for your product or service each month. See our techniques section below for details.

Techniques Discussed:
Determining the number of searches done for your product or service each year:
To see how many people are looking for your type of business online, try using this tool. The results will surely surprise you.

Visit this Keyword Research Tool and type in a term that people would typically use to find out about your product or service. For example, Toronto massage, Detroit dentist, organic skin care, or Chinese restaurant Chicago.

You need to put yourself in the searcher’s mind to find the appropriate terms. For example, you may "lend money", but more searchers are going to look to "borrow money". You may need to look up other alternative terms as well, for example, Toronto massage therapist, Detroit dental, organic cosmetics, or Chinese food Chicago.

The number that you’ll see beside your term represents searches for that term for the previous month in the Yahoo network. Yahoo is responsible for roughly 20% of Internet searches, so multiply that number by 5 to get the approximate number of searches done on all search engines last month. Then multiply that number by 12 to get the estimated total number of searches done for that term over the past year.

For example, when I type in "Toronto massage" I can see there were 3,095 searches in May 2006. I’ll multiply that by five to find out that there were about 15,475 searches made for the term in all search engines in May 2006. If I multiply that number of monthly searches by 12, I find out that there are about 185,700 searches done for that term each year.

Now determine the potential sales from having an effective Website:
Have some fun playing with those numbers to determine what your potential sales can be from a well designed Website. Let me give you an example. What if I had an effective massage Website that was ranked in the search engines. Even if only a measly 1% of people searching for the term "Toronto massage" landed on my site, I’d still have 1,857 visitors.

Now these visitors are highly interested in what I’m offering or else they wouldn’t have wasted time visiting my site. So let’s estimate low and say that only 5% would actually book an appointment. That means I could have 93 new customers coming through my door over the next year. And since those customers will spend about $500 each on massage over multiple visits, I will make $47,000 from those new customers.

Or you can look at it the other way around. If you didn’t have an effective Website, you would have lost $47,000 in potential sales over the past year. That’s a huge loss. But don’t cry. Start thinking about creating an effective Website and take some action now to make that a reality.

How to determine the keyword density of a single Web page:
First add up the amount of kewords on your page, then add up the total amount of words on your page, and put them into the following equation:

Keywords ÷ Total Words = X
X x 100 = Keyword Density Percentage

If your small business website isn’t getting the traffic you want, then it’s time to work at developing backlinks to your site. A backlink, also called an incoming or inbound link, is a link to your website from another site. Getting backlinks may be one of the most important factors in getting people to visit your site.

These links will generate traffic to your site in two ways…

1. Direct Traffic
The first way is through direct traffic. A person sees your link while they’re visiting another site. It peaks their interest and they click your link to visit your site. If you work on getting your site listed on other Websites, you could generate a substantial amount of traffic to your site, maybe up to 10% to 20% if done right.

To generate direct traffic like this a number of factors are involved:

1)	Your link must be found on a lot of other Websites. Not just one or two, but dozens or even hundreds. This is a numbers game to a certain extent.
2)	Your link should be found on Websites that are relevant to your business. If you are a local butcher, a link to your site is not likely to generate much interest if it’s located on a Website related to used cars. However, a link in a community directory, on another local merchant’s site or on a Website about meat is much more likely to result in visitors to your site.
3)	Your link should be placed on pages that people actually see. Having a link is one thing, but if it’s on a page that no one ever visits, it’s really of little use in generating direct traffic.
4)	Your link must grab people’s attention. It’s not enough that someone sees your link; they must feel compelled to click on it. No click, no visitor. To grab attention, don’t just hyperlink your domain name, i.e. www.xyzmeatshop.com or your company name, i.e. XYZ Meat Shop. Instead, give the viewer a reason to click. For example, a link like this, Toronto butcher reveals five tips for perfect BBQ ribs, would likely get people clicking to your site. It incites their curiosity and gives them a clear benefit for visiting your site.

2. Increased Search Engine Traffic
The second way incoming links create traffic is by boosting the ranking of your Website in the search engines. This may be indirect, but it’s probably more important than direct traffic from links.

The quantity and quality of inbound links are a very important factor that search engines use in determining how to rank your small business Website. The reasoning is quite simple: If lots of websites are referring their visitors to you, then you must be an important site and you deserve to be found by searchers.

For this strategy to be even most effective, the links to your site should contain keywords that people would typically use to find your site. Continuing with our example, links containing the keywords Toronto butchers, Toronto butcher shop, Toronto meat shop, etc. (like the BBQ ribs link above) would be most useful in assisting the search engines to determine the relevance of your site.

Again, the reason for this is relatively obvious. When text like Toronto butcher is used to link to your site, it’s a very strong indication to the search engines that your site is a Toronto butcher site. So if someone types those words in a search box, then your site is the obvious choice to place at the top of the search engine results.

Although you will want to take every opportunity to increase the number of backlinks to your site, the quality of those incoming links is equally important. It’s important not just to have lots of links, but to have those links on Websites that are related to your business or industry. For example, a massage therapist would want links to their Website to appear on massage Websites, health Websites, as well as local community Websites.

How Do You Get Backlinks?

There are numerous ways to get incoming links to your small business Website and some are more involved than others.

The easiest way to get backlinks is to submit your website to industry directories and local community directories. Many directories are free, although you may find some important directories require an annual fee for listing.

To find these directories, go to any search engine and type in the keyword associated with your business, for example, "massage therapist", and the term "add url", "submit site", "add link", "submit url", or "suggest site". This should bring up a variety of submission pages for sites related to your industry. Do the same using your city name as the keyword to find local directories.

If there are sites that are particularly important in your industry without a directory, contact the Webmaster directly and request a link to your site.

Publishing articles online and distributing press releases through online press services are other useful strategies for generating incoming links and we’ll look at both of these in a future radio show and article.

The process of developing backlinks is important and should be an ongoing part of your marketing efforts. You’ll see increased traffic to your site and more customers directly through an increased presence on related sites and indirectly through improved ranking of your site in the search engines.

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About the authors
Paul Rochford and Eric Brown are The Two Web Guys and are dedicated to helping small businesses get more customers through the power of the Internet. Listen to their weekly radio show, learn more about their services and sign up for more FREE tips like this one. Visit http://www.thetwowebguys.com.

NOTE: You’re welcome to reprint this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered, including the ‘about the authors’ info at the end with an active link to http://www.thetwowebguys.com.

The Two Web Guys Radio for June 28, 2006

"The Show About The Five Website Writing Sins"

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SHOW NOTES

In this broadcast Paul interviews writing expert, Elizabeth Cockle of EC Writing. She discusses five website writing sins which are:

1.	Using long blocks of text
2.	Using wide blocks of text
3.	Not creating visual interest on your Web pages
4.	Putting too much text on a single page
5.	Not proofreading

Through the interview Elizabeth provides some simple and practical tips for doing it right.

Also in this show, we pull a letter from the mailbag which has us critiquing a Website. Follow along as we discuss how the site can be transformed into a marketing powerhouse.

If you have any questions regarding Internet marketing, please send them in to our mailbag[AT]thetwowebguys[DOT]com or fill out the form on our Contact Page.

We’ll visit our "Mail Bag" and answer as many of your questions as possible on upcoming shows. Also feel free to send any comments or suggestions about the show. Or simply click the "Comments" link below to post your comments about this broadcast right here on this page. We’d love to hear from you.

Paul & Eric
The Two Web Guys

Websites Mentioned::

The Client Generator:	This service designed for massage professionals is an example of an effective lead generation site.
EC Writing:	Elizabeth Cockle’s Website. A professional copy writer and our guest on today’s show.
PayPal:	A simple online transaction gateway. We used this Website when referring to a simple method of selling gift certificates on your Website.

Techniques Discussed:
Open up links on your links page in a new window.
<a href="http://www.domain.com" target="_blank">Link Text</a>

The Two Web Guys Radio for May 22, 2006

"The Show About Website Concepts"

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SHOW NOTES

In this broadcast you’ll find out about six distinct website concepts that you’ll need to know as you develop your website. Each of these site concepts plays a specific role and has a particular purpose in helping you turn your website visitors into customers.

The six website concepts that we’ll discuss on this call include:

1.	Brochure Websites
2.	Sales Websites (also called mini-sites)
3.	Theme-Based Websites (also referred to as concept sites or content sites)
4.	e-Commerce Websites
5.	Lead Generation Websites (and squeeze page sites)
6.	Fancy Pants Websites (you?ll have to listen in to find out exactly what this is)

We’ll finish this show by outlining the elements that you must include in your website regardless what concept you use in creating your site.

If you have any questions regarding Internet marketing, please send them in to our mailbag[AT]thetwowebguys[DOT]com or fill out the form on our Contact Page.

We’ll visit our "Mail Bag" and answer as many of your questions as possible on upcoming shows. Also feel free to send any comments or suggestions about the show. Or simply click the "Comments" link below to post your comments about this broadcast right here on this page. We’d love to hear from you.

Paul & Eric
The Two Web Guys

Websites Mentioned on this Call::

The Client Generator:	This service designed for massage professionals is an example of an effective lead generation site.
WikiPedia:	Need a definition? WikiPedia’s got it.
EC Writing:	A professional copy writer and our guest on the next show.