Outsourcing your web design? Here’s what you need to know

If you haven’t already got a site yet, you have a decision to make: do you try and build it yourself or hire someone to do it for you?

Well, if you’re short on time and long on money, then you might find it more efficient to outsource the job to a web designer. If you choose this option, make sure the designer has a strong grasp of Internet marketing principles.

There are so many designers out there who know how to build a pretty website — but don’t have the first clue how to create a site that actually SELLS.

As…

Your Online Business Tune-Up: The Power of Great Content

If you want to make your website “sticky” — in other words, a site people want to return to again and again — your  focus should be on providing valuable content that your visitors simply can’t find anywhere else.

Visitors might not make a purchase the first time they stop by, or even a few visits down the line, but when they’re ready to spend money on a solution to their problem — or on pretty much anything that interests them — you’ll have positioned yourself as someone they can trust to buy from.

After all, you clearly know your stuff… AND…

Your Online Business Tune-Up: Is Your Website Working For You?

Now that we’ve finished up with the 2009 holiday season — an incredibly busy time for many online businesses — it’s time to make sure your website is ready to serve your visitors and customers effectively in 2010!

We’ve noticed over the years that many e-commerce pros tend to neglect their sites  in favour of product development or new internet marketing strategies… without realizing that they’re putting all that effort to waste if they’re not providing their visitors and customers with a great experience!

Give your website our 5-step website checkup to make sure you’re in top shape for the year ahead:

1.  Does the look of your…

Our Site Review Winners

Thanks to everyone who entered our site review contest. We were so impressed with the level of entries that we chose not one, but THREE winners.

We’ll review these three websites and recommend improvements that will increase their  traffic and bring better conversions. Look for those site reviews in upcoming issues of our Marketing Tips Report newsletter. It’s free and you can sign up for it in the blue box to the right of this post.

The lucky winners are:

Derek Seabrooke of www.electricgenesis.com

Susan Mitchell of www.tinyterriers.com

Bob Hamrin of www.greatdads.org

Congratulations to you all! And, again, thanks to everyone who entered. Watch for more site review contests in…

Google, Yahoo Help You Find Images for Commercial Reuse

If you want a professional-looking, visually attractive blog, be sure to include relevant images in your posts.

… But where can you go to find good images that you won’t have to pay an arm and a leg for?

Well, if you’ve wasted hours checking out all the “free stock photos” sites on the Web — which never seem to have the image you’re looking for — or you’ve explored Flickr for non-rights-reserved images until your eyes are crossing, here’s some great news:

Google and Yahoo have both introduced features that make it easier for you to find images that have been specifically…

On a Budget? 3 Ways to Build Your Business Website Yourself

Is fear preventing you from building your business website? Many people do freeze up at the thought of creating their own site — thinking you need to be a technical genius or the next Picasso. But in the online world, pretty and flashy websites are NOT necessarily the most effective.

Your site’s layout, web copy, and navigation structure has a much bigger impact on your sales. And in the early days of running your online business, you’ll want to retain full control over these elements so you can find the best combination.

So save yourself some time and money, and use one…