Recently, Jason Aplin, our VP of Strategy forwarded a great article on his daily socialmediatoday.com about the current discussion that many agencies (like mine) have with potential and current clients about Web 2.0 features and what the return on investment will be for their business, if any at all. Aptly titled, I’m F*cking Sick Of The “ROI Of Web 2.0″ Debate, it points to examples of the current success of e-commerce and social media that may have been doubted by the “naysayers” - those who prefer to sit on the sidelines while others take chances and reap rewards.

I would say on average, we meet with 1-2 different prospective clients a week that really don’t understand the value of social media and how it can affect their business because social media and the Web doesn’t apply to them. When we discuss Web 2.0 and Social Media, we are mainly referring to the elements of community and interactivity (i.e, blogging, commenting, etc..). As a Company, we go to great lengths to to educate our clients on the importance of Web 2.0, not only for site “stickiness” and creating repeat and long-term business, but for the additional search engine optimization value to their Web site gained by this functionality with the proper content. Many times, they just don’t see the potential “return” or really just don’t understand how it will work for them.

Case and point. This weekend I am minding my own business watching my son play Crash Bandacoot on my Ipod Touch. I decided to check my email and lo and behold, a friend request waiting for acceptance in my Facebook account. My rule on Facebook is that I generally don’t accept “friend requests” from people I don’t know as it is a personal account and I use to keep up with long time friends and family and to post pictures of me and my son. Of course I have my Web site listed for all my friends to see and to maybe spark some interest in my business. However, as a personal account, I never expect to really get any business from my listing.

It turns out that it was the owner of a popular wetsuit company (to remain unnamed for now) who found me, said he liked my Web site, and wanted to discuss plans for his 2009 campaign. SOCIAL MEDIA and Jacob Tyler WIN!! Now, will we become the Agency of Record of this currently unnamed wetsuit company? We don’t know, but we will certainly do our best to achieve that goal and create a win win for both of us. The point is though, without Web 2.0, Jacob Tyler, or Les Kollegian, for that matter may have never been found and we would chalk it up to a missed opportunity. If this company becomes a client, it’s possible that the time and money I spend on developing and marketing our own company may now have been paid for ten-fold.

When developing Web sites in 2009 and beyond, please take into consideration that what you put into it is literally what you will get out of it. Of course, Web campaigns and marketing will need to consist of much more than social media and Web 2.0 to be successful, however it doesn’t matter if you’re a plumber or a doctor, you MUST be the expert in your field and enable your customers or clients the ability to instantly communicate with you and others to start the conversation and build long-term relationships.

By Les Kollegian, Creative Director

I would say on average, we meet with two-three potential new clients a week. The range of businesses can be from start-ups to fortune 500 companies. Frankly, there are benefits to both types of businesses. For start-ups, it is the ability to create a brand and message from the ground up. We love that work! To an artist, it’s truly a blank canvas that we can attack with any medium. As well, it’s the ability to create a partnership. I always tell our new clients that we have a vested interest in building their business. If they make money, they will keep us working and in return, give money back to us. Let’s be honest… I LOVE what I do but I am not in this for my health. I want to build my business just like everyone else so one day I can relax and not work ALL THE TIME.

When we meet with larger companies or established businesses that are looking for a new look, web design or brand strategy, it’s a different job. We have to work with what current brand equity they have and in most cases, make suggestions for changes that will enhance the brand and create new perceptions without a radical change in overall design.

Okay…so let me get to my point. I know you’re waiting. Everyone who walks through our front door comes in for a reason. They were either referred to us by another business that had a project completed successfully by Jacob Tyler OR they found us on Google due to our stellar search engine optimization and like our portfolio. The bottom line is they believe we do great work and we can help them. However, it never ceases to amaze me how many of the executives and entrepreneurs I meet want an award winning campaign as quickly as possible (i.e., tomorrow) on an exceptionally tight budget. It doesn’t work like that. Both start-up businesses and large companies are culprits of this practice. Thus I always tell them… Fast, Good, Cheap: Pick Two. I am not trying to be arrogant when I say this and I ask them to turn it around as if I was their client. For example, if my client was a doctor and I needed surgery to save my life ASAP, would I ask him for a discount? Okay…that may be a little extraordinary of an example, but let’s make it easier to understand. If I ask someone for a service like installing new countertops and appliances in my kitchen that I need in time for an event that requires extra work and overtime, why would I get a discount? It’s my house so of course it has to be an excellent job and I am requesting that it be done fast, so it would be pushing the envelope to ask for it cheap… right?

I’ll sum this up as I think I am starting to babble and vent a little too much here. Here goes:

If your job needs to be done quickly and in a fashion that will impress whoever will be viewing the result, it will not be inexpensive (or cheap). We love to work quickly and create award winning projects, that’s for sure but we can’t give discounts in this situation.

If your job needs to be done inexpensively and very fast, there is a good chance it will not be as good as you may want as we won’t be able to put the research and resources into it to make it as successful as possible. Frankly, we only do this for “quick and dirty” projects to show proof of concept.

If your job needs to be an award winner on a tight budget, it’s not going to get done fast. Oh, we’ll get it done and it will be great, but we’ll have to do it on OUR time since our resources may be going to other projects with different priorities.

No project is too big or too small for our firm. We take on every task as if it was our most important project. When you work with us, think of how you would charge YOUR clients or customers and how you would want to be treated during any transaction.

By Les Kollegian, Creative Director

While traveling to visit my East Coast clients in early 2008, I was staying with my ex-brother-in-law (yeah, we still hang out) who mentioned a start-up called College Magazine that may need some design help. My first response was… “College Magazine? There HAS to be a publication already out there of the over 3,000 current magazines named College!” Well, I was wrong. There wasn’t. I was in shock at the thought of such a great idea that hadn’t already been in the works. I mean…I was sure there were publications geared toward College students, but with such a strong market and being the most sought after (18-24 year olds), I was surprised that a name that simple wasn’t already taken.

Intrigued, I asked to be introduced to the founder to see how I could potentially help the fledgling publication. I called Amanda Nachman, the 23 year old, fresh out-of-school graduate who dedicated herself to making her dream of creating this magazine a reality. We met at a local coffee shop, A.K.A. her office, in Arlington, VA where she sat with her designer as they worked on the second issue. The first issue, released about a month earlier had a distribution of 5,000 copies at the University of Maryland, my Alma mater. The publication looked really good, especially under the circumstances… basically students creating it from scratch. As well, she was under $1,000 in the red for her first issue. Amanda got national and local advertisers, volunteer designers, copywriters and editors, and created a team of people that she engaged and enlisted to her cause… very impressive for someone with minimal business experience. Even more impressive, Amanda was creating the magazine in her spare time. She had a full-time job and worked on the book after hours. Amanda convinced me that she was on a mission to create the best College based content magazine on the market and expand nationally. I loved it!

I asked what kind of help she needed with the magazine. The response I got was usual from what I hear for most start-ups that I personally speak to. Design, marketing, and most importantly money! As a business owner, one of the biggest challenges is hiring good people, particularly with a strong work ethic. Amanda’s “gung ho” attitude and commitment to developing the magazine and building a company was refreshing. We immediately began discussing how I could help take over the creative direction of the magazine and Web site. As well, we discussed a potential partnership to fund the magazine development and decrease the time to expand distribution, both in the quantity of printed books, as well as location and additional schools.
Well…to make a blog story short (maybe too late), it was a match made in heaven. Our 3rd issue was just released to 5 schools in Maryland and DC… a total of 20,000 magazines. We have launched the beta version of the Web site and expect a full launch within the next 30 days. We are moving as quickly as possible to expand on the East coast and hopefully to the West coast soon thereafter. This is an exciting time and needless to say, I am thrilled to be a part owner in this venture.

For those of you reading this who are college students and for those who know college students, please spread the word and check out the site. We are always looking for contributors for articles, photography, editing, and more. For all information, check out the site at http://www.collegemagazine.com. You can also download a PDF copy of the 1st three issues of the magazine there.

Lastly, let me know what you think. The more feedback we get, the better. We are striving to make the site a great guide and community for college students.

It started out to be a great day. I had planned to take Jacob to his first circus. I bought the seats down front, went to the pre-show so he could see the animals and acts up close, bought him is $12 bag of cotton candy (insane!) and we were ready to have a great time. The pre-show ended, the lights dimmed, and we went to our seats.

The show started and mayhem began. There were clowns, animals, motorcycles, lights and entertainers running all over the stage floor… which the size of a hockey rink. I was pretty entertained and Jacob seemed to be as well (since he had his cotton candy). There were so many acts to watch and they all had interesting talents. About 30 minutes into the show Jacob started to ask when we could leave. 5 minutes later, he asked again. 3 minutes later, he asked again. 1 minute later, again and again. I wondered why he wasn’t really enjoying the show and really couldn’t keep his eyes on the different entertainment. Then it dawned on me that what I had been discussing with myself (in my head) is the same reason that Jacob wasn’t really enjoying the show. There was WAY too much going on at once. The circus had NO focal point. Neither of us could really enjoy a specific act because we were too busy looking around to make sure we weren’t missing anything else.

The lack of focal point at the circus is the same issue we have in graphic design. Campaigns without a focal point lack interest and confuse viewers. This is the same thing I tell beginning graphic designers, as well as many of my clients that want to clutter up there page with information and text. Information overload on paper is just as bad as visual overload at the circus. We don’t know where to focus and rather than trying to work it out, we lose interest and move on. To follow my own advice here, I’m going to end this anecdote. Bottom line though…my advice to the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey is to drop it from a three ring circus to maybe just one ring.

In the simplest way possible, SEM and SEO are tools which website creators, especially those who are promoting and selling a certain service or product, use in order to gain a lot of exposure and better ranking for their website. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, the simplicity ends there.

To make it a tad bit complex, SEM and SEO are not the same. As suggested by the names, SEM, or Search Engine Marketing, deals more with how a website is marketed to gain exposure in the different search engines available on the internet, while SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, deals with how the web creators develop and re-develop the content, quality and structure of their entire websites so that whenever an internet user types in a particular word in the search tab, their websites have a better chance of appearing on the first few search engine results pages (SERPS).

Now, to make it even more complex, although the functions of SEM and SEO seem different, they are more effective when used together. Since the main function of SEM is to gain more exposure for a website, the more common means for attraction are online advertisements, blogs, internet articles, partner and sponsored websites, and anything that can catch the eye of the internet user. SEM also makes use of PPC (pay-per-click) and paid inclusion to further push a website’s visibility. Lastly, it is also an important process in SEM to submit the name and URL of a website to different search engines and web directories if only to inform them of the website’s existence. All this is carried out to ensure the popularity of a website.

So how does SEO come together with SEM? Well, despite having all the advertisements provided by SEM, it is truly the SEO that allows the internet user to easily and conveniently find what he is looking for. Since the function of SEO is to gain a better ranking in the SERPS, the web creator has to constantly optimize his website in order to cater to the needs of the internet user and to make it easier for spiders or web crawlers to judge whether the website’s content is relevant to the word/s being searched. Optimization is not a simple and easy task. It involves having to restructure the website regularly (by editing the html code and meta tags, changing content, reorganizing the site map, developing an easier navigational structure, etc.) so as to adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the internet user. Still, when done properly, not only does SEO help a website become more useful and therefore, more often visited by the internet user, it also helps gain more exposure since it increases the website’s chances of gaining a better rank in the SERPS.

Both SEM and SEO success rely heavily on the words or context which Internet users type in whenever they search for something on the internet. Take PPC under SEM, for example. PPC is an ad that is triggered by a particular word or context used by an internet user. Once a particular word or context is searched, a corresponding PPC ad for a website comes out. SEO works in the same way. The web creator inputs a particular Meta tag (or keyword) in his html that he believes many internet users will use when searching for information, information which the web creator’s website may contain.

Although all of these processes involving SEM and SEO are tedious and time-consuming, it all boils down to knowing and serving the target audience. A web creator must be discerning enough to know what the internet users need and want, and at the same time he must have the real passion to inform and provide the internet users with the right service and product.

The never ending quest for web sites to rank higher and higher in search engine results pages has resulted in a corresponding development of entire careers that support this goal. For a number of years now, search engine marketing has been a viable career option for many thousands of people all over the world. In spite of its popularity however, there are many people who still do not know what search engine marketing is all about. Even those who have been doing it for many years may still not know all the techniques that make for highly effective search engine marketing.

If you are interested in starting a career in search engine marketing, or if you are already in the business and are looking for ways to increase and improve your current capabilities, there are a few things that you should keep in mind. The following tips will not only improve your web site’s presence in the various search engine results pages, they will also help make your web sites achieve a level of credibility that is so important in this age of bogus web sites that focus too much on search engine optimization at the expense of content. These are precisely the types of web pages will ultimately turn away the audiences that you are trying to draw in.

The most important thing that you should do is to make sure that your web sites conform to any standard requirements. Of all the millions of users on the Internet today, not everyone uses the same browser or even the same operating systems on their computers. Remember that search engine marketing is all about pulling in your audience and if your website cannot be viewed, that could be a potentially huge segment of your market that you are missing out on. The Internet audiences of today can be a very unforgiving lot, and if you cannot deliver the content that they seek when they need it, they will most likely just turn elsewhere. Make sure that every single image or block of text on your web site is viewable over a wide range of browsers and computer operating systems. The only way to do this is of course by testing them extensively before you place them online.

Stick to proven ethical techniques in your goal of attaining high search engine results page rankings. While utilizing methods such as link farms and keyword spamming will possibly get you favorable rankings at the outset, these techniques are frowned upon by search engines and your web sites will likely be booted off eventually. When you use traditional methods to get high search engine rankings, it may take much longer before you can see appreciable results-perhaps weeks or even months-but using them will give you the advantage of increasing your credibility and help give your web sites a reputation as a reliable authority in that particular field.

All the same, while traditional and time proven methods are the best way to go, you should also strive to keep updated on new techniques that keep your search engine marketing efforts current and competitive.

Spend a lot of time working on your copy. This aspect cannot be emphasized enough. Copy of course translates directly into content and that is after all what you are here to provide. For your particular target audience, make sure that you provide a number of different articles, all of them informative and relevant. Avoid resorting to fluff or content that relies heavily on keywords without offering much actual substance. A good rule of thumb is to have at least one 200 world article on each of your web site’s pages. This will give the various search engine spiders enough content to index.

It is important to choose a theme for your web site and stick to it. This means that every aspect of your web site should support the theme that you have chosen and reflect that theme adequately. This goes for elements such as your logo, your site design and even such things as color, which you may not have thought to focus on at all. Of course content is a key as we have already mentioned earlier, and the liberal use of effective and relevant keywords will go a long way in contributing to your web sites effectiveness.

Finally, the other side of the coin to your search engine marketing career is your client. At certain points in your career, you have to stop focusing on sales and acquiring new clients and instead keep your current client’s success in mind. Do everything you can possibly do in your power to help ensure the success of your clients and you just may end up building some long term business relationships in what will hopefully be a personally and financially rewarding search engine marketing career.

In terms of commerce, San Diego is a city that is one of the most diverse and active in the U.S., this in spite of it being located in a country with some of the largest business centers in the world. It is particularly strong in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and there are many large companies of each type in the city.

As you can imagine, the competition between these companies is positively fierce. In order to remain competitive, there is a growing need to come up with new and more effective avenues of marketing, in addition to the more traditional methods of print, radio and television ads.

While these advertising methods have worked well in the past, the fast changing times necessitate a more modern and far reaching approach. More and more, the industry is seeing marketing approaches that focus heavily on Internet marketing, and advertising budgets have been adjusted to reflect this emerging trend. Clearly, what is needed is for San Diego based companies to create marketing plans that allow their websites to be easily found and accessed by all their potential customers.

Taking as an example the two industries we previously mentioned-biotechnology and pharmaceuticals-a quick search on any of the major Internet search engines will call up thousands upon thousands of pages or “hits”. This only serves to emphasize the important role that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can play in the growth of San Diego businesses.

In order to best utilize SEO in the service of your company, it may be useful to know how exactly it works. Quite simply, search engine spiders trawl through the thousands of web sites in order to find out what the specific purpose of each individual web site is, and upon determining that, these spiders add them to the search engine’s index. The search engines then choose the web sites with the most relevant and trustworthy content to add to their search engine results pages or SERPs.

This is the now widely recognizable listing that shows up when a user types a particular keyword phrase in the search engine’s “search” box. Web site owners who wish to draw in a healthy amount of traffic should make sure that their sites not only have a good amount of relevant keywords and keyword phrases, they must also know how to use them in the most effective and efficient way possible. One of the ways that they can do these things is by becoming thoroughly acquainted with the finer points of SEO.

Of course running a business is often a full time endeavor, and the various day to day tasks that such a position entails means there is very little-if any-time left for anything else. This is where SEO consultants come in. By hiring a suitably qualified consultant, owners of San Diego businesses can reap the benefits that SEO can impart to their companies without having to bother with the details themselves. A good consultant can help make sure that your business’s web site effectively utilizes important phrases and thereby make your web site’s purpose clear to search engines. The end result is that your web sites are more likely to receive favorable rankings in SERPs.

But that is only one half of the equation. Effective SEO also helps your business’s web site establish a “good relationship” with all the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN. You will find out early on that trust is everything as far as these search engines are concerned, and building a reputation for relevance and good content will help your business immeasurably.

One of the primary means by which search engines establish a trust rating for your business’s web site is by keeping track of how it is perceived by other web sites. Search engine “bots” or specialized web site programs naturally have a more difficult time deciphering the quality of any particular web site, including your own.

Because of this, human input is still one of the most useful means by which spiders gauge a web site’s content, the idea being that if any actual human user links to your business’s web site, he or she must feel that it is worth linking to. With this in mind, SEO works on creating a link building strategy that will help your website gain the trust of hopefully all the major search engines.

A reputable company will have a team of highly experienced and thoroughly knowledgeable SEO professionals, along with all of the resources that will help your web site achieve the high search engine rankings that you need. Because it is important to use only ethical methods in the pursuit of these goals, a good company will closely conform to the guidelines that have been set by most major search engines.

A website thrives and indeed survives on the number of hits it receives from its target audience. This may sound pretty obvious but it is amazing how many new web sites seem to disregard this basic tenet, more often than not to their own detriment.

While the creation and subsequent presence of effective links within your website is a crucial factor in ensuring that your website is well optimized for search engines, it is still only one factor and you should take the time to explore other means by which you can achieve a successful search engine optimization (SEO) campaign.

This article will be focusing primarily on Link development but you would do well to be aware of the other factors of successful SEO such as the Text component, which involves the use of various words and phrases that your target audience will most likely types into search queries and the Popularity component which has to do with the number and quality of links pointing to a Web site.

One of the most important things to keep in mind and one that eludes most first-time web developers is that high-quality link development takes a considerable amount of time. There is simply no way to get around this fact and many web developers who resort to the use of spidering software as opposed to actual human efforts are bound to experience less than satisfactory results.

Link farms have as of recent times already garnered an unsavory reputation but for those who are new at this it bears repeating that you should avoid these at all costs. In almost all cases, a text link that you purchase from a link farm will have absolutely no value and therefore have no use for you. Be wary of sites that feature several links that obviously have nothing to do with each other and are irrelevant to that particular site’s theme and general content. This is not a hard and fast rule however, as there are many reputable sites that host a large number of links. Take your time to determine which ones can actually be of value to you.

Relevance is of course of primary importance and to this end you should make sure that any links that you host on your site are relevant to your content and general theme. You can help ensure this by targeting most of your link purchases to sites that have the same subject matter as yours. This will result in a better link profile that will eventually translate into more publicity for your site and higher visibility in search engine results.

One of the easiest considerations to miss when you are in the midst of a link buying frenzy is whether the domain name that you are buying the link from is actually still operational. Many domains that are in fact expired still show up in Google so you may unwittingly fall for one of them. Check the status of the domains in question yourself and if they are expired it may be best to avoid them and save yourself the money; they probably will not be of any use to you.

Probably? Yes, because in some cases, even if the domain has expired it could still be of some use to you if it has good backlinks. Whether a site is good or not is largely dependent on the quality as well as quantity of its backlinks. Both active and expired domains can have a favorable backlink profile so do not automatically discount a domain just because it has expired.

You should of course always check your links for page ranking and make sure it is the current page ranking and not a fake one. http://www.digpagerank.com/ is a good site to check your current page ranking.

One of the most important factors that can affect the quality of a backlink is the number of outbound links. Generally speaking, a good quality backlink will have as few outbound links as possible. The total number of outbound links on a page will also have an impact on the value of a particular page.

You should also consider the possibility of buying links as a means of increasing traffic to your site as opposed to buying links for the purpose of increasing page ranking. This could potentially provide more direct benefits and even profits for you.

Some other things to keep in mind: contextual links are supposedly seen by Google as being more natural and therefore will prioritize these over other links. .gov or .edu links are not treated as special in any way by Google so consider carefully the benefits of hosting such links. Look for a site that has similar keywords to yours for a better ranking in Google search engine results page. Finally, it would be best to avoid purchasing a site wide text link if all the other outbound links on that site have nothing to do with the site in question.

AJAX incorporates several technologies to work. These are XHTML and CSS for a standards-based presentation; Document Object Model for dynamic display and interaction; XML and XSLT for data interchange and manipulation; XMLHttpRequest for asynchronous data retrieval; and JavaScript to bind everything together.

Since AJAX allows for asynchronous action, loading of new small amounts of data does not interfere with normal page loading. AJAX allows for a more responsive web experience as it allows your web page to exchange small amounts of data with the server as you view the page.

With AJAX, your actions send a JavaScript request which trigger an action - usually a data retrieval request - which is answered by the web page in the form of a XML response. The web page changes accordingly; without having to reload the entire page.

In a classic web application model, user actions trigger an HTTP request back to the web server. The server processes the request and answers the request by loading an appropriate HTML page back to the user.

With AJAX, you don’t have to wait for your server to reload the page according to your requests. AJAX allows the page to process your request and make small changes accordingly without having to reload an entire page. AJAX cuts down on waiting time and makes the web experience more dynamic.

When one loads a webpage that utilizes AJAX, the browser also loads an AJAX engine which renders the interface that the user sees and communicates with the server at the same time. The user can interact with the application asynchronously; every action you make generates a JavaScript request, which triggers a response from the AJAX engine.

Since AJAX is capable of asynchronous action, the user’s interaction with the web page does not stall. You are not left staring at a blank browser window while the server processes you request.

The asynchronous element of AJAX is provided by XMLHttpRequest. This technology allows browsers to make data requests without having to reload the page. This eliminates the need for page refreshing.

Web pages are usually loosely coupled. The data they display are not bound to data sources and must first be set out in proper order in a HTML format before they can be presented in a browser window. This means that, in the traditional format, a web page needs to be re-loaded every time you need to view different data sets. With XMLHttpRequest a programmer can by-pass this requirement.

AJAX web pages load quickly since the payload coming down is smaller in size and the rest of the layout does not have to be redrawn when you request a page update. As such the bandwidth usage and requirements for a page utilizing AJAX are minimized.

Another benefit of AJAX is that the use of this platform means that programmers have to clearly separate the methods and formats used for the aspects of information delivery.

Programmers using AJAX can adopt or adapt whatever techniques work for them but the must adopt separation of raw data or content to be delivered; format or structure of the webpage; style elements of the webpage; and functionality of the webpage.

As AJAX is a new application, it is still evolving and as such is vulnerable to some glitches, usually with reference to its interactions with some web applications.

An AJAX created page does not register in a web browser’s history. As such, triggering the back function might not bring back the desired result. Programmers have tried to use invisible IFRAMEs to invoke changes that populate the history used by a browser’s back button, but not every web page has these yet.

It is also difficult to bookmark a page using AJAX. However, a solution to this would be the use of a URL fragment identifier. Many browsers allow JavaScript to update the fragment identifier of a URL dynamically and as such the user changes made to a page using an AJAX application can be maintained.

If you want to use an AJAX application in your website, you have to take into consideration network latency. Network latency is the interval between the user’s request and the server’s response. Some factors can increase the network latency of a webpage and cause delays in the interface of the web application. If the user is unaware of AJAX properties it may result in them assuming that there is something wrong with the page.

Also, when a web page is rendered or changed by a request, there is a brief moment of re-adjustment when the content changes. This too can cause confusion for the viewer. The use of visual clues or warnings to make the user aware of the background activity inherent to an AJAX application is recommended.

While AJAX relies on JavaScript for it’s dynamic interactions; JavaScript can cause its share of problems. JavaScript can be implemented differently by different browsers and as such there may be compatibility issues. If the browser being used by the user is incompatible to JavaScript portions of the website can be distorted or just rendered unreadable.

Search engines as a rule do not execute the JavaScript code needed for AJAX functionality. Websites that use AJAX to load data must provide equivalent Sitemaps data at a public, linked URL that search engines can read.

AJAX can also pose a problem with web analytic systems. Analytics systems which allow for the tracking of events other than a simple page view, such as the click of a button or link, are the ones most likely to be able to accommodate a site which heavily utilizes Ajax.

By Les Kollegian, Creative Director

Tips Small Business Owners Can Use to Lower Costs and Maximize Visibility

If you are a small-to medium-sized business, you’re probably hoping to get your business on everyone’s radar with traditional marketing techniques. But what if you lack the funds of a Fortune 500 marketing budget? You’re already marketing your company on the Web and through print collateral like business cards and direct mail postcards. Now, how do you create a brochure with the “wow factor” of your larger competitors? A brochure that makes your customers sit up and take
notice? Here are seven secrets you can leverage to your company’s advantage:

1. People don’t read. Get your point across…FAST!
Okay. So I know you are reading this now, but that’s because I got your attention with a catchy headline. If I give too much information in the text, I will lose your interest. You will stop reading long before my “call to action,” requesting you learn more about me online. Now I’ve lost the opportunity to convert you to a new customer. People are low on time. Deliver your point with minimal text. And keeping it minimal also saves you the money of having to print more pages.

2. Effective design is important.
Remember that old saying, “Kids, don’t try this at home!”? Well, it also applies to you. If your business is not a graphic design firm, do NOT try to design your own brochure. Graphic design professionals are aware of how specific markets react to certain layouts, based on psychographic and demographic research. Effective design is what gets reader attention, keeps it, and most importantly keeps your brochure out of the trash.

3. Odd-sized pieces grab attention.
The 8.5″x11″ tri-fold is essentially worthless. Yes, it’s inexpensive to make and print. But is it an effective way to get your prospective clients attention? No. We all get way too many brochures in the mail and they get lost in the shuffle. An odd-sized brochure differentiates your business from the rest at first glance. If you are not going to mail them, I have had much success with square brochures, usually 6″x 6″. If considering a direct mail campaign with a brochure, make sure you keep postal regulations in mind. It should be wider than it is tall. 4.5″x11.5″ is a great size to stand out from the pack.

4. Sometimes, 4-color is actually cheaper.
Before digital printing was available and offset was a must, we used to design with minimum ink colors to save money running through the press. The more ink, the more the cost. Today there are plenty of printing companies that do 4-color work by “gang” running them with other projects. This means that your brochure is being run on the same large sheet as other brochures, folders, etc. Bottom line…who cares? At the end of the day, you save money by sharing the paper. A company I have successfully used to print inexpensive brochures and other collateral is http://www.zooprinting.com.

5. Thicker IS better.
Ever get a flimsy business card and just think how cheap it feels? How does it make you feel about the company distributing it? The same goes for your brochure. When you receive something with
substance, it feels more important. You’re more likely to keep it or take it more seriously.

6. Don’t waste paper…Low runs can still be cost effective.
Many of my customers want to print large runs because they save money on a per-piece price. While this is true, it doesn’t matter if you end up throwing away unused brochures. Usually it is best to create a low run and get feedback from your prospective clients. Once you feel the brochure is effective and will stand the test of time, now it’s time to do a larger run.

7. Use stock photography…There’s no need for that expensive photo shoot.

Okay…some people may say that stock photos are over-used and that they are not as effective as a photo shoot. This may be true. However, photo shoots can be extremely expensive and unnecessary unless you need to show a specific product. There are now stock photo sites where new images are being uploaded by semi-professional and professional photographers daily. High-res images can be purchased for under $10 on sites like http://www.istockphoto.com and
http://www.dreamstime.com.