What Is Stickiness and Why Is It Important?

What is stickiness?
Stickiness refers to a web site's ability to keep visitors glued to the site and get them to return frequently. Like flypaper, sticky sites will attract and "trap" visitors, enticing them to stay on the site even if it doesn't offer what they were originally looking for. The more appealing a site is to visitors, the more reasons a visitor has to stay and return, the stickier the site is said to be.

Why is stickiness important?
Most visitors to your web site will click away within 30 seconds so you have just one quick moment to grab the user's attention and keep him on your site. The longer a visitor stays on your web site, the greater his opportunity to learn about your products and services, make a purchase, click on ads and patronize advertisers, and (this is the golden goose) begin to develop customer loyalty that will keep the user returning to your site and recommending it to others.

What makes a web site sticky?

• A sticky web site targets the user's immediate need, giving him the info he's looking for in a few brief sentences. That's the hook that keeps him on the site to find out more.
• It communicates the value and benefits of your products and services in an easy to understand manner and allows quick and simple navigation to each feature on your web site.
• It allows the user to participate in your web site, creating a positive dialog that will lead to a solid customer relationship.
• It is expertly designed to take advantage of all the behind the scenes tricks that make a web site user friendly and gourmet fare for search engine bots.

Want to know how to make your web site stickier? Stick around. We'll talk about that in our next blog.

What Is Click Fraud?

Click fraud is an internet crime in which a person, computer program or automated script clicks on an internet ad for the sole purpose of generating a pay-per-click charge with no interest in the ad's subject matter and target link. Some spammers generate hundreds to thousands of dollars in income every month by fraudulently increasing the number of clicks recorded by online ads. Others may click maliciously to drain a competitor's advertising budget. The phenomenon has become so widespread that the government is getting involved, classifying such internet fraud as a felony.

Pay per click (PPC) advertising has many legitimate uses. As a service to customers and a minor revenue generator, web masters include advertisements on their web pages with links to the advertiser's home site. Each time a user clicks the link, a fee is generated which the advertiser pays the web master. Unfortunately, unscrupulous entrepreneurs are abusing the system, turning it into their own personal gold mine. The internet is now flooded with sites that exist for the sole purpose of providing a home base for PPC ads. The sites offer no services or information; they simply direct you to other sites. Each time you click on a link, the web master of the host site earns a fee from the advertiser. Spammers can target these sites, using automated bots or low-cost foreign labor to scan the site repeatedly, increasing site traffic and fees. The fees may be small; but with the high volume, they add up quickly.

Advertiser-paid search advertising is a burgeoning market, expected to grow 25% this year to $3.2 billion. Click rates have also increased to an average payment of 45 cents per click. Abuse has become so widespread that major internet ad providers Google and Yahoo are starting to police their own. Google just sent out pink slips to a large group of owners of low conversion Made for AdSense (MFA) sites, notifying them that their sites will be terminated on June 1, 2007. The effort should create a healthier internet advertising environment on the web, benefiting both users and advertisers.

How Do I Create a User-Friendly Web Site?

How do you create a user-friendly web site that will pull in potential customers? There is no one right way to do it, no hard and fast rules for creating the perfect web site; but there are some tried and true standards that will increase your web site's usability (i.e., user friendliness). (See our May 21, 2007 blog post for an explanation of usability and why it's important.)

In creating a user-friendly web site, your goal should be to create web pages that are self-evident, "so that just by looking at it the average user will know what it is and how to use it," explains usability guru Steve Krug, author of the usability classic, Don't Make Me Think (see the book review in our May 21, 2007 blog post). If it's not possible to be self-evident, your web pages should at least be self-explanatory, requiring as little thought as possible to understand and navigate.

Follow these guidelines from Krug and your web site should have users coming back for more.

• Prioritize. Create a clear visual hierarchy on each page. A user should instantly be able to tell what is most important and what goes together. To indicate prominence, place important items at the top of the page. You can make key items stand out by using big, bold type; distinctive colors or more white space. Group or nest similar objects to make it clear that they belong together.
• Be conventional. Use conventions to your advantage. Conventions are the traditional, usual, conventional way of doing things. Don't waste time trying to reinvent the wheel. If it works, use it. Everyone looks for a table of contents in a colored bar along the left side of a web page. That's the conventional page design, so use it. It will help visitors find site elements faster and use them, which is the goal after all.
• Get organized. Break the page into clearly designed areas to make things easy to find. Most users glance at a page, looking for the one thing they want. Page zones help users zero in on that important information.
• Click it. Make it obvious what is clickable. Clicking should be mindless. Don't frustrate users by getting so arty that they have to guess where to click. Be consistent in the way you use elements on your site and use conventions whenever possible.
• Silence noise. Minimize the noise. It's the old KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid!). If there are too many distracting elements -- exclamation marks, bright colors, invitations to buy, etc. -- competing for attention on your page, none will stand out. If your page is cluttered, the information you want the user to receive will be lost in the background noise. Too much of anything negates its effectiveness.

This isn't everything you need to know about web pages, but it's a good start. Best advice: When you design your web site, think like a web user. Keep it simple and don't make me think!

How Do People Use the Web?

Before you can create a dynamite web site, you have to understand how people use the web. By understanding common web habits, you can increase your web site's usability; that is, its user friendliness. (See our May 21, 2007 blog post for an explanation of usability and why it's important.)

• Catching attention. As disappointing as it is to web designers who spend hours noodling over every line of text and the placement of each element on a web page, the average computer user opens a page, gives it a quick nano-second glance, and moves on. He's clicking through the "channels" faster than your Uncle Ed during the football playoffs! You have only a second or two to answer his question or grab his attention.
• Finding the info. When we're on the web, we don't read pages; we scan them, says Krug. It's faster, more efficient and, by golly, we're good at it. We learned to scan (or skim) for important information during third grade reading group, and we've had a lot of practice since then. Our eye just passes over the web designer's clever dialogue until it snags on a word we're looking for.
• Making choices. Web users don't waste time evaluating information before deciding what to click. Rather than agonizing over choosing the best option, "we choose the first reasonable option, a strategy known as satisficing" (satisfying + sufficing), says Krug. Since there's no penalty for guessing wrong, we just try again. If our click doesn't produce the desired info, we just hit the back button -- it's the most used browser feature.
• Figuring it out. Like the joke that real men don't read directions, well neither do web users. We don't need to understand how the web works as long as we can find a way to get the results we want. We'd prefer to muddle through than spend time reading tedious instructions. In fact, if we get the desired results, we'll continue to do something the long way around rather than learn a faster, more efficient way of doing it. We don't care if it makes sense, as long as it works!

So how do you use this information to create a user-friendly web site that will pull in potential customers? We'll talk about that in our next blog.

What Is Usability and Why Is It Important?

This week we're going to talk about web usability and how to use it to draw potential customers to your web site.

• What is usability? Usability refers to how easy your web site is to use. It also encompasses the principles behind and methods of measuring that ease of use.
  
• Why is usability important? It's simple. If something is hard to use, you don't use it. You click to the next site. If you want potential customers to use your website and keep coming back to it, it has to be easy to use.

According to usability guru Steve Krug, "Don't make me think!" is the first law of usability. Author of the book by the same title (and our office bible), Krug contends that effective web pages are those that are instantly grasped by even the most novice of computer surfers. If your granny can open the site, understand what it's about and navigate around it without calling in your 10-year-0ld, you've built a site that she and thousands of others will return to time and again. It's the old KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid!) principle in action.

In his book Don't Make Me Think, A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, Krug takes a common sense approach to web site design, demystifying and simplifying as he explains both the elements and process of creating a user-friendly site. Using breezy humor and great examples learned in the trenches, Krug holds your attention while driving home the crucial points of effective web site design. Easy to understand diagrams, funny cartoons, full-color screen shots, and before-and-after examples are used to excellent effect to illustrate his points. For those who want more, Krug includes an excellent reading list of recommended books and websites.

Concise and fun to read, you can finish Don't Make Me Think in a couple of hours, but it's a book you'll find yourself pulling off the shelf to consult frequently. If you design, write, program, own or manage web sites, you should keep a copy of the book handy. It's required reading in our office! Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think, A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability is available in quality paperback on Amazon for $26.40 ($14.49 used).

What Makes an Effective Web Site?

It's more difficult than you think to create an effective web site that will grab the viewer's attention and keep him coming back for more. Consider that most web visitors spend only 30 seconds on a page before moving on and 50% will never scroll down. They will only look at what is instantly visible when the page opens on their screen.

"Users spend 30 seconds reviewing a home page, said Jakob Nielsen, a leading web site consultant and author of the book Prioritizing Web Usability in an interview with Eric Taub of the New York Times. "A business must encapsulate what they do in a very few words." (Click the link to read the entire article.)

If your web site doesn't provide essential information right at the top of the home page, users are inclined to keep on clicking. If you make them search through multiple pages for the answers to their questions, you'll lose them -- and they won't be back.

"It's all about the basics," said Baris Cetinok, product management director of Microsoft's Office Live, a free web hosting and design tool site for small businesses. Smart web site design operates on the KISS (keep it simple stupid!) principle, warn usability gurus. It's one case in which less really is more!

What are some of the essential elements of a good web site?

• Good grammar. Poor grammar makes you look stupid.
• Be clear and concise. Gobbledygook will send users clicking for the next site.
• Include a photo of the building with your physical address. Add directions or a cross street reference to make it easier for customers to find you.
• Dark type on a light background is the easiest to read.
• Use thumbnail photos that can be enlarged with a click to increase compatibility with users' computer configurations.
• Eliminate unnecessary design that may increase download time.

Local Internet Ad Sites Provide Cost-Effective Marketing Options

Internet advertising gives you unparalleled value for your advertising dollar. Studies have found that the majority of consumers begin their search for products and services on the internet. Most internet savvy businessmen have heard of Google Ad Words and Yahoo! Local, the industry giants. But there are a significant number of small, local internet advertising services that are starting to muscle in on the big boys. These smaller sites demand serious consideration in your advertising budget. Viewership is growing, particularly on Craigslist and Local.com, which are becoming major players on the local marketing scene.

Consider checking out the following sites to see what they have to offer in your area. Note that not all sites are available in all areas just yet, but keep checking. Newer sites are expanding quickly.

Craigslist: Favored by the young and hip, Craigslist was one of the first local sites on the scene and is available in 300 communities. Using a classified ad format, the site connects buyers and sellers. Postings are usually free.

Local.com: Search for products, services, people, jobs, etc. by location. Basic listings are free or choose pay-per-click options.

Froogle Local by Google: Froogle was developed by Google specifically to search for products online. It's great at steering viewers to brick-and-mortar retailers.

ReachLocal: Site sets up and tracks your online ads, providing detailed reports so you can judge your ad's effectiveness. Prices vary depending on service level.

MyEzClicks by Web.com: Site places your ad on 30 major search engines for a monthly fee. Choose from 3 pay-per-click plans to fit your budget.

YellowPages: Just like the big yellow book the phone company drops on your doorstep, but more complete and up-to-date as it is constantly updated with new listings.

TrueLocal: An alternative to YellowPages. Choose a product or service and city and you get a list with maps. Advertising rates vary.

Sites focusing on arts, entertainment and leisure activities

AskCity by Ask.com: Recently launched, it's a one-stop destination for making entertainment plans. On one screen, you can make reservations, purchase tickets and email plans to friends. Ad prices vary.

CitySearch: Choose your city, then easily find restaurants, spas, shopping, hotels, events, etc. Online tools make it easy to open an advertising account, manage daily results and place ads on Yahoo!, Google and Ask.com. Similar to pay-per-click ads, the site offers two paid plans.

AOL CityGuide: Another entertainment site, CityGuide allows you to target consumers by lifestyle and market.

Why Should I Advertise on the Internet?

Internet advertising drives customers to brick-and-mortar businesses, particularly on the local level. Today, consumers start their search for neighborhood goods and services online. Advertising online provides you with an instant and a much larger audience than yesterday's traditional advertising.

"This hot trend is growing rapidly and shows no signs of letting up," writes Kristin Edelhauser on Entrepreneur.com "In fact, according to a report by Borrell Associates, local online advertising is expected to grow by 31% this year, hitting $7.7 billion. The report also predicts local paid search will skyrocket by 86% this year, up to $1.8 billion. Local e-mail marketing will experience growth of about 54%, reaching $233 million."

It's time to jump on the bandwagon. Traditional advertising just doesn't give you the same return on your advertising dollar that it used to. Newspaper sales are at historic lows. Your radio ad will go unheard if potential customers aren't tuned to the right station at the right time. Low television viewer numbers during the current sweeps period have network executives in a panic about future ad revenues.

The beauty of advertising on the internet is that ads are tied to searches for specific goods or services in a specific location. When someone searches for "dentist + my hometown," ads for local dentists in his area pop up. Fully 20% to 30% of purchases made at local retail establishments started with an online search, according to a recent study by ROI Research Inc. -- and that number is rising daily.

Next time we'll review a number of effective internet ad sites. We'll also talk about some of the new local sites that are starting to muscle in on advertising giants Google and Yahoo.

Is There an Advantage in Linking My Web Site to Others?

A solid way to build site traffic -- and potential customers -- is by linking to other websites and having them link back to yours.

• By offering articles or content FROM other sites on your website, you expand the information available to your readers without spending the time to create the content yourself. You broaden your site as a resource to your readers and increase your appearance as a knowledgeable and connected player in the field.
  
• By offering articles and content TO other sites, you can expand your reader base by linking your articles back to your site. You expand your potential customer base as readers on these other sites are directed back to your site. You also expand your reputation as an expert in the field when your advice and opinions begin to appear on multiple sites.

To maximize the effectiveness of linking, when you provide a document to another website, within the document always provide several links back to your site as well as a link to your online contact form. Add the links as hyperlinks within your Word document, enabling the hyperlinks when you finalize the PDF version.

To protect your intellectual property and prevent potential copyright problems, make it clear to the posting site that you own the content and are licensing its use to them. Make certain they understand that you retain ownership and the right to use the content on your website and possibly others. Including a copyright notice at the end of each article you write is an effective way to do this. The following wording is fairly standard: "Copyright 2007 Peter Parker with permission to Daily Planet."

What Can I Do to Maximize Search Engine Placement?

You've agonized over the creation of your web site, spent time and money to get it up and running, but it just isn't generating the traffic you expected. Traffic goes hand in hand with search engine awareness. If your site constantly attracts the attention of search engines, they will pull up your site when a potential customer initiates a search. So the question is: What can you do to keep your web site in the search engines' cross hairs?

Well, if you're tech savvy, you can do a lot of technical stuff or have your web master do it for you and we can explore that in another post. But there are a number of important things you can do right away that can be accomplished fairly easily, in a short amount of time, and at a reasonable cost.

• Keep the content fresh. At least once a month, change the content of your site's home page. Every change excites the search engines, causing them to scream across the internet, "Quick, come look! There's something new!" You don't have to make sweeping changes. Even a small change will cause the search engines to hyperventilate. You can use PHP or RSS news feeds to automatically generate new headlines. You can create a frequently changed box that links to a monthly newsletter or tip of the week. Frequent changes keep your site content fresh and keep both search engines and customers coming back for more.
• Beef up keyword density. Check your site content for key word density. The more keywords used, the more attractive your site is to the search engines and the higher your overall placement when they produce search results. Search engines are voracious feeders and their favorite treat is keywords. The more you feed them, the more they like you, and the higher up on their list they place you when someone initiates a search.
• Start blogging. Blogging is one of the cheapest, easiest ways to create fresh content for search engines. Sites that blog enjoy 20% to 35% more traffic than those that don't. You can have a more casual conversation with your customers through a blog. It's a great mechanism for introducing new products and services, sharing information and tips, providing product reviews and comparisons, and fielding customer questions and comments without re-doing your entire web site. To maintain search engine and reader interest, make sure you blog a minimum of three times a week and that you space your blogs about a day or two apart. It's OK to blog more often, but less than that and the search engines, fickle lot that they are, lose interest and drop your ranking.
• Link it up. Link comments on web pages to additional information on other pages. Link your site to others and allow other sites to link to yours. Don't overdo it. You don't want the whole page to be a snake-like mass of writhing underlines. The purpose it to make navigating around your site to find information easier for your customers. Reciprocal links to other sites also entice new customers to visit your site.
• Map it. Perform a weekly or monthly site map. Site maps feed the search engines, allowing them to crawl each page, updating search information. Get on a regular schedule with Google, Yahoo or one of the other big search engines to maximize your exposure.

What's in a Name? Understanding Web Marketing Lingo

If you're new to web marketing, you've already discovered that it has it's own lingo. Some of the terms may be confusing and leave you "stumbling in the dark," without a clue what is meant. Like all specialties, web marketing has its own language and unique definitions. Here's a quick primer to help you get started. In coming blogs, we'll go into greater detail to help you understand how these elements work and interact in the context of web marketing.

• Blog: Short for web log, a blog is a like a personal journal or log (think Star Trek, as in Captain's log) on the internet. In the business community, blogs have become a fast-growing medium for the communication of information, products and services to potential customers. Blogs are a relatively easy and inexpensive way to keep your site current in the search engines.
• Search Engine: A program that searches documents for specific keywords, returning a list of documents where they are found. Search Engine is also used to describe systems (like Alta Vista and Excite) that enable users to search for documents on the internet.
• Bookmark or Favorites: A quick way to store frequently visited websites, clicking the bookmark or favorites button allows you to store the link to a site on your browser for instant access. You want customers to bookmark your site so they can return easily.
• RSS: An acronym for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication, RSS refers to the de facto standard for the syndication or sharing of web content between different web sites. RSS is primarily used on news sites and blogs.
• XML: Short for Extensible Markup Language, XML is a special language used in web documents to organize and tag elements of a document. (A tag is a formatting command inserted into a document.)
• Web Page: A document on the world wide web. Each document is identified by a unique URL (Uniform Resource Locator), like an address on the internet.
• Domain Name: A unique name identifying and tied to your internet address. Domain names can be registered, usually for an annual fee, to ensure your sole use of the name on the internet.
• IP: Short for Internet Protocol, it's like a postal system. It allows you to address an item and drop it in the system (i.e., the internet) for delivery or retrieval.
• Web Host: A business that provides server space, file maintenance and other services, enabling you to publish your web page on the internet.
• Browser: A software application that locates and displays web pages. Two popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
• eCommerce: Electric commerce is business conducted over the internet.
• Page View: A web page viewed by one visitor. Advertisers use the number of page views a site receives to determine how and where to advertise.
• Hit: (1) The retrieval of any item from a web server, also called a page hit. For example, when you open a web page that contains 2 graphics, you've made 3 hits, one for the page itself and one for each graphic. Hits are not as accurate a measure of site traffic as page views. (2) The matching of a piece of data to search criteria. For example, when you search for a topic on the internet, each site pulled up is called a hit.
• Unique Visitor: In tracking web site traffic, it refers to a person who visits the site more than once in a specified period of time.
• Lead Generation: A marketing term referring to the creation or generation of prospective customers through various activities targeted to generate sales.
• SKU: A Stock Keeping Unit (pronounced skew) is an identifier used by merchants to track products and services.

Why Take My Business to the Internet?

The internet has leveled the business playing field. Yesterday, small mom and pop stores slowly faded from the scene, squeezed out by the big boys. They just couldn't compete in price, choice or volume. Today, even a small entrepreneur can develop a worldwide audience through the internet. With a computer and internet access you can develop and operate a thriving business out of your home. If you've already developed a brick and mortar business, the internet can open up exciting new markets, introduce you to new customers, increase sales, make it easier to court new suppliers and vendors, streamline ordering and shipping, and save you money while growing your business -- and profits.

Growth in ecommerce is a little more challenging today with new companies flooding the internet daily. But it's still a bargain compared to traditional sales and marketing techniques. With a little savvy help from Parker Web Marketing, you can develop a dynamic web presence that will reach a broader customer base than you could ever reach with traditional methods. Think of the number of sales calls you'd have to make or print advertising dollars you'd have to spend to reach the number of people you can reach with one click of a mouse on the internet.

The internet is the fastest way to get your name out there, to let the public know who you are and what you can do for them. It's a great way to let customers know about new goods and services, company initiatives, special offers and discounts, new employees or job openings. Today, taking your business to the internet through web sites, web ads, blogs, etc. is the fastest way to bring customers to your door. Give the crack team at Parker Web Marketing a call. We can have you up and running and enjoying all the advantages of the internet in no time.

Why Should I Monitor My Web Site Traffic?

Monitoring your web site traffic is an inexpensive and effective marketing tool. Web site statistics tell you who's tuning in, what they're accessing, how long they're staying, and whether they're coming back. Web site monitoring tools quantify this information, analyze it and present it in an understandable format. You can use these statistics to fine tune your web site to home in on your target audience, improve your site content, capture your audience's attention, direct site flow to key products and services, and much more.

Most web hosts provide some type of statistical analysis free with your account. At Parker Web Marketing we provide the popular AW Stats with each account and Google Analytics with marketing accounts. Both are among the most used web analysis tools on the market and popular with customers because you don't have to have a degree in statistical analysis to understand them. Both tools generate monthly reports that are easily understood and highly useful.

What can web stats tell you? They track all kinds of interesting information, such as:

• The number of unique (i.e., individual) visitors to your site.
• The length of time spent on your site during each visit.
• The number of pages viewed per visit.
• The length of time spent on each page.
• Which day of the week generates the most traffic.
• Which hours of the day generate the most traffic.
• Which search terms are being used to access your site.
• How many visitors bookmark your site in their Favorites folder for easy return.
• Which search engine robots visit your site and how often.
• How many of your visitors use RSS/XML feed technology.
• They can even find errors on your site.

What kind of conclusions can you draw? When visitors stay longer or bookmark your site, it shows that they are finding the site interesting, improving your stickiness factor. If search engine robots visit your site often,the search engine spiders are reporting new changes in pages, keeping the search engines updated. If a significant number of your visitors are using up-to-date RSS/XML feed technology, you're drawing a more sophisticated, tech savvy audience. You'll find web stats provide you with a wealth of information that can be used to increase your web site's value as a marketing tool.

How can I learn more? If you're new to web marketing you may want to sign up for our free one-hour seminars, Exploring Your Internet Marketing Options. New seminar sessions begin Friday, May 11, 2007, at our Matthews, North Carolina office; just click the link or visit the Parker Web Marketing web site to register. We created our New Business Seminar Series to educate small businessmen about the wealth of web marketing options available and help them determine which might work best in their business.

Got Blog?

Businessweek Magazine has challenged the business world to blog. In fact, it is doing more than just challenging businesses, it is saying that if you are not soon blogging, you are going to be left behind.

EXCERPTS ARE FROM BUSINESSWEEK...

Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they're going to shake up just about every business -- including yours. It doesn't matter whether you're shipping paper clips, pork bellies, or videos of Britney in a bikini, blogs are a phenomenon that you cannot ignore, postpone, or delegate. Given the changes barreling down upon us, blogs are not a business elective. They're a prerequisite. (And yes, that goes for us, too.)

A prerequisite? Isn't that what people said about websites and email? Well, in fact it is! And just look around you. How many businesses do you know that do not have a website or email? One? Two? The same will be true of business blogs. And we have experienced bloggers to help you get your business blogging up and running.

Here is how the Businessweek article describes the difference between traditional websites and blogs:

...it's not the growth of the same Web, but an entirely new one. It's wrapped up far more in people's day-to-day lives. It's connected to time. The way he describes it, the Web we've come to know is mostly a collection of documents. A library. These documents don't change much...

Blogs are different. They evolve with every posting, each one tied to a moment. So if a company can track millions of blogs simultaneously, it gets a heat map of what a growing part of the world is thinking about, minute by minute. E-mail has carried on billions of conversations over the past decade. But those exchanges were private. Most blogs are open to the world. As the bloggers read each other, comment, and link from one page to the next, they create a global conversation. Picture the blog world as the biggest coffeehouse on Earth.

And yet, there are things that a traditional website, or a rich media website can do for your business that blogs cannot do so well. That is why we suggest a combination website/blog -- the website housing your important information that does not need to change much, say, with the blog keeping the web presence current, fresh, transparent, communicative, and cool...not to mention the fact that the blog will serve as a quicker way to network and get the word out.

"I'm amazed people don't get it yet," says Jeff Weiner, Yahoo's senior vice-president who heads up search. "Never in the history of market research has there been a tool like this."

"Never in the history of market research has there been a tool like this." And this comes from the higher ups at Yahoo, no shrinking violet. And it is true. Blogging can serve as a way to determine the needs and trends of the market, unlike anything before it.

The BusinessWeek article, from 2005, goes on to talk about other important advances such as Podcasting & Audioblogging, Videoblogging or Vlogging, and CEO blogs...which, along with basic blogging, are transforming the business world, and doing it fast...while adding depth to a flat world. The last two years have seen an explosive growth in these areas, particularly in podcasting and videos.

At Parker Web, we recognize these trends and have been planning for months on how to best address the challenges associated with each technology while being cost-effective in the delivery and maintenance. Our small business clients can benefit from many of the techniques used in blogging, podcasting and video production, but must do so within a reasonable budget that can show returns.

Some Next Steps:

1. Consider your business and the amount of knowledge you may have as a company. Sharing this information can help build your position as a knowledge leader in your particular industry. What are your most frequently asked questions?
2. Look for others in your industry and see how they are addressing the nagging questions for which your services or products provide answers. Can you do it better? More directly?
3. In consideration of the above, would video or audio or simply regular writing benefit your marketing approach?

A blog (as well as podcasts and videos) require a dedication to effort and should not be undertaken without a champion to see it through for at least a year. We certainly went through this growing pain here until we devised a format that would allow us to easily keep a blog maintained.

Welcome to the Parker Web Marketing Blog!

Welcome to the Parker Web Marketing blog. Like many of our clients, we're a small business with big plans! I began building web sites in 1996 while still a student at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. With the help of an amazingly talented and incredibly hard-working and creative staff of internet specialists, I've been able to take Parker Web Marketing from a small entrepreneurial enterprise to an award-winning web design firm in just a few years. We have big plans for the future and continue to grow throughout the Carolinas.

In our blog we'll focus on small businesses. We'll share with you some of the techniques and strategies that we've used to successfully grow our own business in the hope that you will find them valuable in growing yours. Our goal is to help other small businessmen and women learn to harness the amazing advertising and marketing potential of the internet to grow their businesses successfully.

We look forward to keeping you interested, entertained and informed while we show you how to put the internet to work for you. Starting Thursday, we'll be covering interesting topics three times a week, so check back frequently to see what's new. Some of the topics we plan to address in the coming weeks include:

• lead generation
• web presence
• eCommerce
• internet marketing
• support and maintenance

We'll keep you abreast of the latest industry events and developments. Don't be shy about commenting -- you can even do so anonymously. We encourage your comments and invite your questions. Our professional team will make every effort to answer them promptly and effectively. We're looking forward to sharing a dialog with you through our blog. Can't wait to get started! See you Thursday!

Darryl Parker

Parker Web Marketing
Matthews, North Carolina