Businesses: Protect Your Online Identity

Nearly everyone relies on the Internet to communicate and search for information, products and services. When businesses want prospective clients to contact them online, they need to make certain their e-mail and website domains promote their brand and not their Internet service provider or anyone else for that matter.

Internet brand identity is essential for all businesses and, once a company's domain name is registered, it should be the property of that business. Considering the need, in today's market, for businesses to be more competitive, set themselves apart and raise their Internet visibility, it is amazing that so many businesses do not even feature their own business name in their e-mail or website addresses.

It's a simple, inexpensive, but necessary fix. When e-mail addresses and website URLs end in yahoo.com, aol.com, sbcglobal.net, earthlink.net or any number of other providers, it does very little for one's own business.

More importantly, if a service provider goes out of business or a business wants to change providers, the e-mail or website address they have been promoting may just disappear. In this difficult economy, most businesses do not have the time or money to re-market their brands if they were to lose their domain name.

While service providers such as AOL, Yahoo, and others will entice you with free hosting, the trade off in loss of identity will cost you in the long run. It is foolish not to have your own domain name and take it with you anywhere you go, when it costs just pennies a day.

With your own domain name, you can have peace of mind, show a level of professionalism, easily market your own brand and, most of all, never lose your Internet or e-mail identity.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. website design firm All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A

How to Get Your Business Online

Most business owners understand that having an online presence is important for success. However, not all business owners have made the leap, and many of those who haven't believe that getting their businesses online involves a lot of work that is beyond their level of expertise.

What many small business owners don't realize, however, is that they don't need a lot of money or expertise to get their business online.

Once you take that first step and get yourself online, there are all kinds of things you can do to promote your business. The important thing is getting online in the first place.

Consider the following tips to get started on your own:

Build a website. Don't worry if you don't have the budget for a fancy website. Simply establish a site that will help potential customers find out about your business, and learn a little more about what you have to offer. Web design firms offer everything from basic packages at affordable prices to more comprehensive packages that will allow for expansion as your business grows.

Set up a business email account. Although you may already have an email account for your business, having an account that uses your domain name will make your business more professional and relevant. Once you have everything up and running, send email marketing messages to customers to inform them of your new website and other business news.

Get the word out. Once you've established your presence, look for online business directories that feature businesses in your area and field, and update your business listing accordingly. Creating pages on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter will also help your efforts.

Getting your business online is actually easier and less costly than you think. In fact, you're likely costing your business more money by not having a website.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. website marketing company All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A

Why is Your Website Failing?

There is nothing that is more disappointing for a small business owner than having a website that fails to deliver results. Maybe visitors are coming to your small business website, but the site is failing to convert visitors into clients and customers.

There are dozens of reasons why a business website fails to deliver, but there are three key factors that come up over and over when business websites fail.

1. Your website does not build trust. Trust drives sales and has a tremendous impact on whether or not a visitor becomes a customer.

Before a visitor responds to a 'call to action,' that visitor needs to trust your company. If the visitor has never heard of your company, but came across your website by searching for your product or service, you must prove your worth through the design and content of your website.

Your business website should be modern and reflect your industry, while still unique and in line with your branding. As for content, show as many press mentions, awards, certifications, affiliations, and testimonials as you can.

2. All of your traffic goes to your home page. Websites do not require visitors to enter through the front door; they allow visitors to go straight to a page that correspond with their interests. If you can achieve this through your small business website, you have a much greater chance of turning visitors into customers.

Consider using links to pages that directly address the product, service or content-specific subject you are marketing. To effectively market your website, segment your traffic into different categories and send those individuals to specific pages.

3. Your call to action fails. Every page of your website should have the objective of moving your visitors a step closer to taking a desired action. To do so effectively, you need a prominent button or link that moves the user along.

Businesses should never rely on the 'contact us' link at the top of their web pages and notes that there should be a call to action visible as soon as the page loads, as well as at the bottom of the page, where many users end up after reading your content.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. web design company All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A

How Businesses Can Use Video to Boost Their Online Presence

As demand for video increases across all platforms, the presence of quality video content on your businesses website is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. According to a recent study 30 percent of all Internet traffic in 2010 involved online video and in 2013, that number is expected to increase to 90 percent.

The audience for video is growing rapidly and businesses need to get on board if they want to have a successful online presence.

If you are looking to develop video content for your company's website, consider the following 8 ways to ensure effectiveness:

' TV doesn't work. Instead of making commercials, businesses need to make content. People are coming to your website to learn more about your business. Provide them with video content that explains what services you offer, how your product works, and the core values of your company.

' Let your customers speak. There is no better salesperson than a happy customer. If a customer has great things to say about your business, have them share their sentiments on your website through a video testimonial.

' Optimize for SEO. The SEO opportunities that come from video content are incredible. If you want to increase your websites traffic, video is the way to do it.

' Share other companies' videos. There is nothing wrong with posting videos not produced by your company. Having a blog as part of your website is a great way to share video content.

' Keep things fresh. If you want to promote interaction, you have to constantly update the content on your website. That includes video.

' Go behind the scenes.
Take people through a day at your office, because customers appreciate seeing what goes on behind the scenes and meeting your team. It's a great way to build trust.

' Make your video content east to share.
Access to the entire social network of your customer is just a click away. Use social share buttons to make it easy for people to post your content to their accounts.

' Have videos on every page. Do not assume that your home page will always be the landing page for your audience. Treat every page like it's the homepage, because when someone lands on your website, if there's a video present, they are more likely to stay.

These are just a few of the ways in which companies can successfully use video to boost their online presence. By hiring a web video expert, you can ensure success through the use of online video.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. web design company All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A

Facebook's New 'Send' Button

Facebook launched its brand new 'send' button recently in an effort to improve the functionality of Groups and replace its classic 'email to a friend' button. Facebook's new 'send' button, not surprisingly, is quite similar, in both look and feel, to the social networking website's incredibly popular 'like' button.

The new button is simple to use. Website visitors can simply click on the button and a pop-up appears, allowing them to send the article or page to friends, groups or to any email address. A message can also be added when you send the page to friends' inboxes or post it to a 'group' wall.

Facebook representatives say that the new 'send' button is designed to make it easier for users to share content with close groups of friends. The good news for small business websites that add a 'send' button is that each 'send' counts toward the total number of 'likes' that a page has.

In fact, 'like' totals are now calculated by adding the number of likes, shares, comments and inbox messages containing a URL.

When it was unveiled last week, more than 50 websites had already launching the 'send' button, including 1-800-Flowers, The Wall Street Journal, Orbitz, THe Huffington Post, People.com and The Washington Post, according to reports.

The 'send' button's code is also now available on Facebook's developer page and, just like the Facebook 'like' button, it only takes a few lines of code to get it up and running.

If previous Facebook implementations are any indication, the 'send' button will become the next 'like' button, which recently celebrated its first birthday. Facebook's 'like' button is installed on more than 10,000 websites every week.

Facebook says that the new 'send' button is designed to be a companion to the popular 'like' button, focused on private sharing.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. Web Design New York All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A

Why Everyone Hates Your Website

There are a number of reasons why your website may not behave the way it should. Quite often, website owners are unaware of the possible issues that could slow the growth of a business website.

Refer to the following list of issues that can hurt a website's chances for success:

' Too Many Google Ads: Monetizing a website is good practice, but covering your pages with Google advertisements is only going to turn customers off.

' Poor Load Time: Customers want answers fast, so a website must load quickly if it is to be successful.

' Poor Graphics: Make sure that the graphics used on your website appeal to your target audience.

' Poor Layout and Poor Navigation: Easy navigation is the key to a successful website. Confusing layouts will turn customers off.

' Too Much SEO: Optimizing your website is important; just don't forget who your target audience is. You are writing content for your visitors first and the search engines second.

' Lack of Contact Info: Having visible contact information on every page of your website is a must if you want to gain user confidence.

' Broken Links: Routinely check your website for broken links. Users hate clicking on links that do not work.

Be sure to go through your small business website with a fine-toothed comb and use this checklist to guide you.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Pinterest
Peter Crisafi (Peter Crisafi dzineit)
dzine it, inc. +1.212.989.0813
26 West 23 Street
New York, NY, 10010 U.S.A
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