Ignite Your Site

Website Usability

2009-10-06T08:46:00.007-04:00

Well it's been a little while, but we're still here I promise. This week we're at SMX East 2009 in NYC. So far the event has been great, and the sessions very informative. One of the sessions we attended was about website usability I thought it would be good to touch on this point.

Website Usability
Everyone knows that a website is only good if the user can actually use it the way it was intended. What people don't always know is how to figure out whether the site is usable or not. When it comes down to it there are really two models for measuring the usability of a website. 1) is a reactive approach 2) is a proactive approach.

Reactive Usability
Now some might thing this term sounds somewhat negative. However, reactive usability is a great thing and is based on real world information. Reactive Usability is using data from tools such as Google Analytics, Urchin, Email Blasts etc to learn what is working and what isn't. Based on this data you then go and make changes or updates to your website/email campaign or other online media. Reactive usability testing and updating is probably the most widely used method (in my opinion).

Proactive Usability
This type of testing is as the name suggests, something that is planned to test the usability of your site or online media. You might do A/B testing, multivarient testing, discussion groups or user surveys. These tests allow you to plan what it is you want to be testing and get data specific to either confirm or reject a certain hypothesis. This type of testing is a bit more time consuming, but can give you extremely valuable data about a given variable.

What You Should Be Doing
At the end of the day, you need to take into account your users and constantly be testing and reviewing your data to ensure your online medium is working the way it should. Any testing is better than no testing was the big takeaway here.

Remember: Your website only works if your users say it does

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Should every website be SEO'd (search engine optimized)?

2009-07-18T09:46:00.003-04:00

Just recently I was reading a post on SEOMoz, "Naivete & Misconceptions Still Prevalent Attitudes Towards SEO", and I commented about whether every website should really be optimized for the search engines. It may sound like an odd question coming from a company that helps companies optimize and build optimized websites, but it's one that we feel is important.

Are there websites that just shouldn't be optimized?
I think the answer for this is very simple - YES. Let me explain that a little. When it comes to business websites, for the most part they should be built well and optimized to gain the most exposure possible. However, what about the "business" websites that are really just fronts for other things.

One of the best examples I can think of would be affiliate marketing websites. Now I realize this is a large industry, but are these sites really helping anyone? An affiliate website by its nature is really just a middle man. Sure, it can be lucrative for the person(s) running it, but does it provide value to the website searcher? I would venture to guess that most if not all don't provide anymore value then if the visitor was brought to the source from the start.

So do white hat SEO's have an obligation to stop optimizing these sites?
I think we do. If we are calling ourselves White Hat SEO's and truly believe that the content that should be at the top of the search engines should be relevant and quality, then affiliate sites should be dropped to the bottom of the list. Other than creating some income for the middle man, I don't see how these types of sites provide value to people searching the web.

I believe that part of the reason the SEO industry has a bad reputation in the eyes of many is because we seem to be OK with optimizing any website. Just like lawyers have a bad wrap for defending even the most lowly people, SEO's are often too eager to get a project rather than stand by their principals.

Don't the search engines have a part in this also?
Now, it may seem like I'm being overly harsh on SEO's, and I know that there are many SEO's who do have very high standards and don't take these projects. For those that stand by their principles I commend you. For those that don't really care, I think the search engines should start playing a larger role in keeping these types of sites from ranking well. The search engines seem to be smart enough now to determine if a site is an affiliate marketer or not, so why are they still allowing them to rank well (sometimes better then the source)?

Remember: What you do speaks much louder then what you say.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Planning and budgeting for a website...

2009-06-23T20:00:00.006-04:00

As a web development company we are asked the same questions many times over about websites. However, there is one thing that always comes up and that is "how much does it cost?". It's probably one of the easiest to answer, and hardest for clients to comprehend! Everyone wants an exact answer, even before they've put much thought into what kind of website they want. So this post is intended to help people get a more accurate answer based on their website project.

Planning out your website
You may not think that there is very much to plan, but you'd be wrong. Building your website is probably one of the most important things you'll do for your business, outside of closing a sale. A website today is no longer a luxury it's a must have. Without a website, you are like a car salesman with no cars to sell. So planning your website is more important then it has ever been.

The first step is to decide what it is that you want your website to accomplish. Are you looking for a website that is purely informational, or one that sells products, or rather one that is more of a sell sheet of your company that gets visitors to contact you? Once you have this figured out, things start to lay themselves out a little more.

If you are creating a website that sells products online, you now know that you have to think about what type of shopping experience you want your customers to have. What extras you think would add to their shopping experience like email a friend, or save to favorites, etc. Each type of website will get you thinking about things that you should have in yours. A good thing to do is look at what other websites are doing and "borrow" ideas from them. Hey, if it's working for another site why not have it on yours? Don't go crazy with extras, but be sure you really think and plan out what your site will have and do.

This plan doesn't need to be an exact step by step process of how the website will function. Rather, this should be more of a bulleted list of things you would like to have on the site. You can break it out into Must Have Pages, Must Have Features and Would be Nice Pages and Would be Nice Features.

Budgeting for your website
The next thing to do after you've really thought about and planned out your ideas about the website, is to setup a budget. Figure out what it is that you can realistically afford to pay for your new website. Obviously the more you have the more robust your website will be able to be. That doesn't mean that a less expensive site won't be effective, it just means that it may not do as much as another site.

When you are budgeting, remember that a website is meant to be your 24 hour a day, 7 day a week sales person. It is always out there for people to view and contact you from. So with that in mind, would you pay a sales person $500 for the year? It's not that you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a website, but $2,000-$8,000 for a good website should not sound unreasonable. The more features and pages you want, the more money you should expect to budget.

The final step in planning and budgeting
Once you've made your plan, and figured out your budget it's time to get some quotes. This is important because now that you have a good idea of your plan, and how much you can afford you can feel more confident in receiving practical quotes from vendors. Don't be afraid to let them know up front that you have X amount in your budget for the website, and you'd like them to give you options based on leaving out certain things from your plan to play with the pricing. So for example they might come back to you and say for your plan as noted it would be $X, but if you left A and B out until a later phase, it would be $X. Then it's time to pick your vendor and build your website!

Remember: The more prepared you are, the more realistic the quotes will be and the more likely the end product will match your desires.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Is traditional SEO worth it anymore?

2009-06-12T17:42:00.002-04:00

I'm currently in the process of reading a book about Google Adwords entitled "Winning Results with Google Adwords" by Andrew Goodman. One of the things that came up in the start of the book was whether SEO, the traditional one site method, is worth the investment.

Is SEO worth the money?
Now I'd be inclined to say yes, but I'm going to hesitate there. SEO has become such a large industry that it would be hard to give a sweeping answer either way. When speaking of SEO there are the traditional on site methods such as keyword optimization, copy optimization, title tags, etc. Then there are the off site factors like link building and social media generation.

As the book notes, some if not all of the practices of traditional SEO could really fall under good usability. These are things that you would want to do regardless of whether the search engines existed or not. Having a good title tag that describes your page is just smart no matter what effect it has, and the same goes for page content and calls to action.

So what part of SEO is worth the money?
There definitely is value in "SEO" which should probably be referred to as SEM or search engine marketing, or website marketing to be more precise. Building good quality content and distributing it to note worthy blogs is a great resource for driving traffic to your website and hopefully boosting sales. The same can be said for twittering or having a facebook page. These are all resources that without some know-how can be a little overwhelming to tackle.

Then what is the answer, is SEO worth it?
I think we need to stop thinking of SEO as "being #1 on the search engines". We need to start looking at SEO as a form of marketing, just as it was meant to be. Sure going through the site is a good idea to make sure it's up to par, but if you are paying a company a monthly budget to "maintain your SEO" you are wasting your money (that is unless they are maintaining your PPC campaign, doing link building, twittering, etc). But if all they are doing is generating a report that shows you where you are ranking and "tweaking" your site accordingly, please stop the contract you are getting very little if anything in return.

Your monthly payments should be going towards services that you can track and monitor and can see what type of ROI your are getting. Link building for example can be directly tracked and monitored with a variety of tools. Your SEO/SEM expert can show you what they've done and how that has impacted your traffic and hopefully sales.

Remember: You get what you pay for, and if you are paying for "maintenance" you might want to figure out what is being maintained.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

We're back!

2009-06-07T08:52:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the time away from the blog folks. We had a large project in-house that was taking up a lot of time amongst the entire staff, and unfortunately the blog entries suffered because of it. However, we're happy to say that starting this week we're back to the normal schedule and plan to have regular blog posts out each week.

We're also working on some updates for the website portfolio so we can show you some of the work we've been doing.

Thanks again for your patience and understanding during the past month or so, and we look forward to providng you with some thought provoking, informative blog posts and also look forward to your comments.

Thanks,
Ignite Media

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

What's in an email address?

2009-04-17T08:35:00.002-04:00

This may sound like an odd topic, but I think it's an important one to discuss. Email is one of the most common and most used forms of communication today. So the question that comes up is, why would you not want to show your brand through your email address? Some of you have just read that and probably don't understand what that means. That's what I hope to make clear in this post.

Your email address says a lot about you:
Most of us have seen an email address that really stands out, or one that just doesn't make any sense. We also tend to remember people's email addresses just as we used to remember people's phone numbers (you know before cell phones made that habit die off!!). So why would you not want to make sure your website address is part of your email address?

Here's an example, I can have any email address that I want for this new company that I'm going to work for. The choices I've narrowed down to are myname@aol.com or myname@acmecorp.com. A bit more info before you make your decision. The company name is Acme Corporation, and the website address is www.acmecorp.com. Have you figured out where I'm going with this now?

Why would you ever choose @aol, or @hotmail, or @gmail if you have the option of having something @yourcompanywebsite? Branding is more then just having a logo, a slogan and a website. Branding is carried through everything and although it may seem unimportant, your email address looks a lot more professional and legitimate if it matches the rest of your branding.

Should I never use those other email services?
Absolutely not. Those other services are great for personal use. I have a gmail account, and I love it, but I don't use it for my business email address (I may use it to collect my business email, but my email address for work is myname@ignite-media.com). Keeping your personal emails separate from your work emails is something I strongly believe in, and keeps clients/customers/vendors, etc from having your personal email address and your friends/family from having your work email address.

How do I get an email address that's the same as my website?
As long as you own the domain name (ie: acmecorp.com) you can have email at that domain. So you can create email addresses for anything@acmecorp.com. Your web hosting company should be able to set this up for you, and/or walk you through how you would go about setting it up yourself.

Remember: An email address is more then just an email address, it's another part of your branding strategy!

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Building Your Website - It's Like Building a House!

2009-04-10T14:26:00.009-04:00

OK, so you are never going to go out and purchase a truck load of lumber for your website, but you'd be surprised how many similarities there really are. This post is a way of showing how involved, what seems like a simple website, can really be. Too often we hear "oh I could do that", and "if I had the time I'd just build it myself". Although we love to hear this (insert sarcasm here), we want to be sure you fully understand what is involved in building a good website.

The research and planning, that's right we call it that too!

Before you go to your architect to start your blueprints, you usually sit down and think about what you want to build, where and what your budget is. With a website, you also need to start with this stage. This includes, but is not limited to, market research, competitor research, keyword analysis and research, and budgeting.

The blueprint, or as we call it the site map:

That's right a good website has a plan, just like a house. You wouldn't build a house without a plan would you? So why would you consider building a website without a plan? The site map ensures that your website has all the pages, functions, and structure that it needs to be effective. It takes into account the keyword research and budgeting that you worked out in the first phase. There will be revisions, adjustments and compromises made and the final site map will be the guideline for the development of the website.

Building the foundation - setting up the template/CSS files:

To ensure your house is sound and stable you have to be sure to build a foundation that can support the current and possible expansion of your house. A website needs to be built on a foundation the same way. Ensuring that the template and/or CSS file is well structured and allows for easy expansion is important. Chances are your website will grow and you don't want to have to completely rebuild when that time comes.

The framework - the design and pages:

Now that a stable foundation is setup, the rest of the site can now be built. The design and the pages can be constructed atop that foundation. Just like with a house, you can take the cheap, fast and easy way and slap the walls and doors up quickly and without much thought. However, the better choice is to ensure the design and pages are constructed as effectively as possible. Ensuring each page is search engine friendly and user friendly from the beginning will save a lot of hassle down the road.

Finishing Touches:

Making sure you put all the finishing touches on your house will ensure it looks and feels like a complete product. A website may not have hardware to hang, or molding to finish, but reviewing the site to ensure calls to action are in the right place, the copy is optimized and everything works as designed is integral to having an effective website.

Ongoing Maintenance:

Just because you've built it doesn't mean it's done. That's right just like with your house, your website will require ongoing updates, maintenance and enhancements. Keeping your site fresh will ensure that the site is working as hard for you as you did in putting it together.

Remember: You probably can do it yourself, but would you trust the plumber to fix your car?

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Why would I hire a consultant?

2009-03-25T07:54:00.004-04:00

Many companies that we've worked with have utilized a consultant to help them with their current project (ie: website, optimization, marketing campaign, etc.). So why would you need a consultant if you have hired a firm to do the project? Doesn't having multiple groups of people on one project make for more confusion? Not if you hire the right consultant.

So why hire a consultant?
Well, a good consultant will make your life as a business owner a little easier. They will do the due diligence that you may not have time to do. They will have the knowledge that you may not have on a particular subject. They will be like an extension of your company that can help make your vision a reality.

Are all consultants the same?
No, all consultants are definitely not the same. Typically a consultant will specialize in a particular field/area. For example you might find one consultant is experienced in the IT side of things, while another consultant specializes in business software to streamline processes. They know how things work in that field, and can help create a plan of action and/or find vendors to implement those plans.

Make sure all parties know who makes the final decision.
Over the years we have worked with several companies that have hired consultants at the same time. The situations that worked well were the ones where both companies were told what the situation was and who has final say. Both parties also respect the other party and take into consideration their thoughts and ideas.

The times that consulting didn't work, was when the consultant or the firm were in there to run their own agenda. They feel that the other party is the competition and that they are in constant threat of being kicked off the project. The project ultimately ends in failure (even if it was fully completed).

Remember: Bringing in the experts can help make the end product that much better.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Does your marketing message POP?

2009-03-13T10:33:00.003-04:00

It's not enough to just say "we're the best", or "your leading supplier" anymore. Sure those statements make you seem like the authority but what company isn't saying that? You need to make your message bold, and different. You want people to say "oh that's clever" or "cool, you've got my attention".

How do I make my marketing message POP?
It's time to start thinking a little outside the box. Think of the most unique thing about your company, product, service etc. Now take that a start to think of ways in which you could slightly embellish that. We're not talking about totally exaggerating, but a slight expansion of the facts is fine. For example if you sell green products and the most unique thing is that you sell them from a solar powered house, why not use "Buy from a the first solar powered store, and be truly green!". OK, so you aren't really sure if you are the first, but who else is going to know? You don't necessarily have to be the first person to do something, you just have to be the first person to say you are doing it.

Should I concentrate on just one marketing message?
At first I would say start with one and target the market that fits that message. Once you have your feet wet and have a better idea of how to make a more powerful message then you can create one for each target market or segment. So if you are selling green products you might target one message at the residential user, while targeting another message at the janitorial industry.

Do I have to hire a marketing team to figure out the right marketing message?
NO! I know this may sound odd coming from a company that does online marketing, but in the economy we are in I think it's important to save where you can. Marketing messages are nothing more then brain storming and good ideas. Gather some or all of your staff and setup a brainstorming session. Explain what the goal is, who the target market is and then start writing down every idea (even the ones that might seem silly) that comes up. Usually a large white-board works so people can start seeing the ideas and spinning off new ideas based on what they see.

Remember: Marketing isn't about being the best, it's more about being the most clever!

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Just because you own the business, does that mean you should run it?

2009-03-02T08:42:00.002-05:00

I often think to myself, why are there so many businesses that just can't seem to grow? What makes some businesses successful and what makes others simply fail, or stay stagnant? Then it hit me, maybe it's not the business (at least not all the time), maybe its how the business is run, or who the business is run by.

"It was my idea, shouldn't I be the one to run it?"
Not necessarily, is probably the easiest answer to this questions. Sure, you thought of the idea and without you the business may never have formed, but that doesn't necessarily mean you are the best person to be running it. Lets say for a minute that your background is in graphic design. You have perfected your art, and are very well respected in your field. You've decided that it's time to branch out on your own and start your own company, offering some unique services. As a graphic artist, do you think you have the mindset for the business side of things? Are you going to be OK with hours of number crunching, proposal writing, business calls, and everything else that comes with the non-creative side of doing business? Probably not.

It's OK to admit your "weaknesses"!
Understanding what your strengths and weaknesses are, is the first step in building a good structure for your business. If you don't have the business mind, then maybe you need to think about bringing on someone who does. You aren't giving up control of your company, you are making your company stronger. Now you can continue to concentrate on the creative side of the business, and can rest assured the business side of your business is being handled.

Just because you aren't handling all aspects of the business yourself, doesn't mean it's any less your business. It just means you have enough understanding of what will make your business more successful for the long haul. You may end up bringing in even more people to help out with things like book-keeping, human resources, etc. Just take a minute and think about large organizations. The CEO probably doesn't know even half of what goes on in the company on a day to day basis, but he gets overview reports to make sure things are moving in the right direction and relies on lower level management to enforce the rest. There's no reason you can't do what you do best, while leaving the business stuff to the business people and having them update you regularly. It's control, without having to control every little thing.

Delegating helps expansion
Once you've figured out how to successfully delegate responsibilities you can more easily figure out ways to expand and grow your company. With delegation you've allowed yourself the availability to explore things that may not have been possible if you were wearing all the hats. You may it some road blocks, and some managers who didn't see your vision, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't delegate it just means you need to better screen your next candidate. Nothings perfect, but knowing one person can't do it all will make your life a lot easier and hopefully more successful.

Remember: Just because you don't run it, doesn't mean you don't control it.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Do you really know your clients?

2009-02-23T11:00:00.006-05:00

It may sound like kind of an odd question, but think about it. Do you really know your customer? Do you know what they need, how they need it and how often? Do you know who they deal with, who their competition is, how much their profit margin is, etc? Without the answers to most, if not all of these questions and others how can you really provide a "service" to your client?

Get to know your customer - no really get to know them:
Most people think that getting to know their customer means knowing their name when they call, and what their favorite baseball team is (or insert any sport). Sure, this is a start, but you need to take the person out of the equation and think about the company as a whole. Just knowing Joe/Mary the sales person and what they like won't give you long term investment in that company.

You need to do your research, ask the tough questions and understand what it is you can do for your client in order to really provide them with a solution and not just another product or service. Lets face it, you aren't the only one they can go to and if Acme Corp down the street starts selling for less then you what stops them from going? If you've proven your worth and given them a solution, the thought won't even cross their mind to move away.

But I don't have the time to do the research!
Do you have the time to find a new client when they go away? Do you have the time to invest on competing with other quotes when they start shopping around? You need to make the time and invest into your clients, just as they are investing in you. If you personally don't have the time, then get one of your best employees, or hire a person you know can take on the task and inform you. Sure it may cost you a little, but in the long run you'll be able to sit down with the president of that company and tell them "they can't offer what I can, and I'm not just talking about my products and services".

It's not just about price - despite what you might think!
Even with online shopping so easy and competition becoming tighter and tighter, service, quality and attention to detail are important. Think about the last time you had a nice experience with a company and really felt like they paid attention to you. You probably told a few people about it and were somewhat surprised and pleased with the experience. So why not give that to your clients, and make sure you understand their needs and wants. That could mean the difference between competing with the competition and out performing the competition.

Remember: Quantity is only as good as the quality that's being produced

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Avoid Poor Contact List Managment

2009-02-16T09:14:00.005-05:00

Have you ever received an email or postcard and thought to yourself. "why would I be getting this"? It's something that I've noticed more and more of lately and felt it was something worth addressing. Email list/contact list management is extremely important, especially when doing any type of mass emailing or mailing.

Grouping your contacts:
It's extremely important when you are running a business that you group your contact lists. Make sure that your customers are in one list, your vendors in another, and your family and friends in yet another. You don't want to be sending sales emails to vendors and funny jokes to customers. The best and probably easiest way to do this is to group your contacts by well defined roles such as customers, vendors, friends, wholesale, etc.

Segmenting your groups:
Now that you have your groups you'll want to look at those groups to see if they can be further segmented. For example if you have a group called customers you may need to further define those customers by type. Lets say you are a sporting goods store you may segment them into indoor, outdoor, male sports, female sports, water, hiking, biking, etc. It's not that people can't be in more then one group but you don't want people in groups they aren't interested in.

Why go through the hassle?
Why not? By grouping and segmenting your contacts you are giving yourself a better chance of matching your emailing/mailing message to the correct person. Now that you have the right message in front of the right person you stand a better chance of converting that person into a repeat customer. Think about it, if you are really into fishing and you get an email talking about the 50% off sale for all fishing gear aren't you at least somewhat interested in what they are offering? I would be. Now think about the opposite, if you get an email about swimming gear and you don't like to swim, that message is completely lost on you.

Won't it take forever to group my contacts?
It may not be a 5 minute process, but after you have the initial grouping done moving forward should be fairly painless. You can also utilize mass emailing programs that allow your visitors to select what information (group) they want to receive.

It's about good customer relations:
Grouping and segmenting your contacts is another way of making sure you are serving your customers in the best possible way. You aren't hassling them with information that doesn't make sense to them, and you make them feel like you really understand their interests.

Remember: It's about providing relevant information to customers, not bombarding them with offers they'll never use.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Is FREE now a four letter word?

2009-02-09T15:21:00.006-05:00

Have all of the uses of the word FREE started to make it sound more and more like a four letter word? Have we been bombarded with so many offers that this once alluring word is now a warning sign? Wary buyers are now more than ever skeptical of even the most honest deal and unfortunately one word has become the victim. So what do you do about this and how do you still give away something for "free" without using the word?

Let people see the value in "FREE"!
Since you can't just market your item as free, you need to give it some form of value. So for example instead of writing a headline such as "Free widget with the purchase of another", try something like "Get more value with the purchase of your next widget". So now it's not that you are getting something for nothing, you are getting more for your money. With a simple change of language, you have made people think differently about your "FREE" item.

It comes down to a matter of semantics. People have been programmed to think that anything "FREE" must be cheap and worthless. You have to let them see the light, by rethinking your approach, even if it's just a simple altering of language.

What if it's just one item I'm giving away?
OK, so you only have the one item and you are giving it away for free to a certain number of people or to a certain demographic. How do you combat the negative "FREE" connotation? You can try demonstrating it and leaving "samples" for people to take. Remember, just because it doesn't say free doesn't mean people don't understand what you mean. Sample is a word that has become almost a synonym for free; use it to your advantage.

Put time and money into your free item/service:
If you want people to feel that the item/service that you are giving away for free is valuable, you have to make it look like you took the time to give it value. You know when something was done on a whim and when something was taken seriously and had a lot of thought and effort put into it. Just because you aren't making immediate money doesn't mean you shouldn't spend a little to make things "pop".

Remember: Choose your words wisely and you can get people to think about something in a whole new way.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Simply Business On the Web - Part 3

2009-02-05T07:52:00.006-05:00

Here are a few more tips from the Simply Business series. The idea behind this series is to help you realize that even the small things matter, and sometimes we overlook the things that seem like everyone just knew.

Discounts are not just a sales tactic:
Discounts are great and can come in a variety of different formats. You can offer coupons, referral savings, buy-one-get-one, purchase amount discounts and so much more. A discount is more then just a way of increasing sales though, it's also a way of retaining customers. Lets take for example that customer who just bought from you. They could have bought from anyone, but they decided to buy from your store for a reason. So why not give them another reason to come back next time? Put a 10% discount card in their package, or send them a free gift and put a note in there saying "thank you for your purchase, we appreciate you choosing us, and look forward to serving you in the future". With that simple gesture you most likely have made a customer for life (or at least a long time to come), and it cost you very little in the grand scheme of things.

Employees are just as important as customers and sales:
Too many times employers take their employees for granted. Many employees feel under valued and over worked. Typically when employees start to feel this way they also start to become less productive and more annoyed with their job, which reflects on their interactions with clients and co-workers. Now you may be thinking that you run an online store and no-one notices, but you'd be surprised how much "attitude" can carry through over the phone or in an email. Treating your employees with the respect and appreciation they deserve is important. After all, if they weren't there doing their job who would be?

You do not know everything and that's a good thing:
Many business owners think that they know it all, and have seen everything the business world has to throw at them. Guess what, you don't know it all and you certainly haven't seen everything, but that's not a bad thing. Being able to realize that you don't know everything opens you up to a world of possibilities and understanding that there are things out there that you haven't seen keeps your business agile. Think of any sports team that starts to get comfortable with winning. They think they are going to win all the time, and can't be beat; "they've seen it all". Then it happens, the underdog who's lost every other game they've played comes into town and wins, beating the undefeated team. The team that keeps on their toes and realizes they can lose will be open to new tactics and the possibility that something new might be thrown at them.

Remember: You can learn just as much if not more from your failures as you can from your successes. The key is to make sure you implement what you've learned and don't repeat it.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization
Website Packages Now Available!

Website Packages Now Available!

2009-01-30T14:05:00.002-05:00

Are you on a budget and can't seem to find a development firm that will give you a great website and keep it within a certain budget? Well Ignite Media realizes the tough times we are all living in and has put together some budget conscious website packages. We have everything from a starter package up to a fully integrated ecommerce package.

What do I get with my website package?
Depending on package you choose you can get a basic 5 page website with a custom design or a 20 page ecommerce website with a custom design. The key here is CUSTOM DESIGN. That's right, we're not making you choose from a set of templates that we through your logo into. No, we're designing and building a website that carries your company colors, look, and feel throughout.

How many website packages do you have?
There are three different standard website packages to choose from and three different ecommerce packages to choose from. We've done our best to put together packages that are both budget friendly and accommodating to the various sizes and needs of all our potential clients.

Do I have to choose a package with Ignite now?
Absolutely not. Our website packages are meant for those people who know exactly what they want and what they are willing to spend for it. If you are looking for a custom solution that doesn't fit within any of our solutions, we'd be more then happy to discuss your project more in depth to give you a custom proposal based on your needs. We don't believe in a one solution fits all approach, which is the reason for the variety of packages as well as our custom solutions.

How do I get started?
Simply go to our website packages page on the Ignite Media site and choose which direction is best for you - Standard Websites or eCommerce Websites. Once you decide you'll be provided with a variety of packages each of which has more information available by clicking on learn more within each box.

Remember: Just because the economy is rough it doesn't mean there is not a solution out there for you.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

What is your website worth?

2009-01-27T08:07:00.004-05:00

Almost daily the question is asked of us "how much do you charge for a website?". To which our answer is always "it depends on what you want". After a few minutes of us explaining how it all depends, the potential client usually understands that just throwing a number out there won't be of much use to them and we need to be more specific on the scope of the project before we can say "your website will be...". However, lately I've been wondering if the question that they should be asking is "what would a website be worth to me?".

What would a website be worth to you?
Rather then thinking about the cost that you have to pay for your website, perhaps you should be thinking about what your website will do for you once it is built. For instance if you build a website and within the first year that website brings in $20,000 of new business, then isn't your website worth $20,000 at least? So the price quote you got for $5000 is only a quarter of what your website is worth. If you had an employee that brought in 4 times what you paid them would they be worth the cost? I certainly would think so, and I'd probably even give that person a raise.

How do I know my website will be worth anything?
You don't know for sure what your website will or will not bring in, but chances are if you skimp on the development costs the return will be less. Think of your website like a house, if you do an addition and you use the cheapest material and cheapest labor chances are you won't be very happy with the end result and people who come see the house probably won't be very impressed. You also won't get as much when you go to sell the house because the inspector will notice the imperfections. A website is no different. You have visitors coming to your "house" (website) everyday and if your developer didn't understand usability then you'll have some very disappointed visitors, which could result in lost/unseen business.

So do I go with the most expensive developer every time?
Absolutely not. What you do need to do is make sure you are comparing apples to apples. The page counts, what platforms they are programming on, what you are and are not getting with your contract, etc. You also want to be sure you see samples of previous work and call a few of the portfolio clients they have. Don't ask for a referral you can call because they will always give you the best client they have. Call any one of the samples in their portfolio and get the raw reaction from the client.

So what is a good price?
It all depends on what you are getting and what you expect to get. $5000 might be cheap if you are getting a lot for it and feel confident your site will be built to convert visitors into leads/clients. $5000 might be expensive if you don't have the confidence in your developer. Knowing what you are getting is key and working with a company you feel comfortable with and can freely express how you feel about certain things, and answers all your questions is very important.

Remember: A websites value is based on what it does for the business, not on how much it cost to build.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Simply Business on the Web – Part 2

2009-01-19T10:50:00.001-05:00

The often overlooked parts of business via the internet

As promised, here are a few more simply business tips/suggestions that can make the difference between a successful online presence and one that’s just there.

Online or Offline, it’s about building relationships.
Whether you have a business that is solely online or is half off and half online, you need to concentrate on building relationships. Those relationships should be with everyone from your visitors, customers, vendors, etc. Anyone that you have regular contact with is someone that can be beneficial to you. Take for example your vendors. If you get to know them, treat them like you would your employees and let them know you value the business relationship you may find that you start getting better deals, faster delivery of goods, etc. This can also be true with your existing clients or potential clients. Making them feel like you really understand their needs will let them feel more comfortable doing business with you and allow them to feel confident in referring other people to you.

An online store (ecommerce) doesn’t run itself.
Many people think that as soon as their online store is setup, the money just starts flowing in and they never have to do anything. Unfortunately it’s not that simple. An online store takes just as much time and dedication to maintain and grow as a brick and mortar store does. Some people might even suggest that it takes more time. With an online store you have to make sure inventory is correct, prices are adjusted, messages are updated based on store conditions, etc. The more time and thought you put into your store, the better chance that your store will be successful.

Requiring people to login is like having an open house but keeping the door locked!
There are times when a login is necessary, but many times website owners just don’t know when that time is. If you have sensitive information that you need to share with a select group of people, or you have different levels of pricing based on whether the client is wholesale or not then it makes sense. Ecommerce stores also make sense (after they’ve placed an order, or added things to a cart) to have login so people can check their order history, delivery status, etc. On the other hand, a login screen just to capture your visitor’s information is a poor tactic. People expect to get information on the web without having to give-up their identity. By making people register/login to your site just to get general information you are in effect telling them “come here to get good info” and then shutting the door in their face. They’ll hit that back button and be off to your competitor’s site where the information is available without any hassle.

More simply business to come. If you have any to share please feel free to list them in the comments below.

Remember: Do to your site, what you’d want to experience on others.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Simply Business on the Web – Part 1

2009-01-12T09:08:00.002-05:00

The often overlooked parts of business via the internet
There are thousands if not millions of books, articles, reports and more out there about business and all the tips, tricks and pitfalls. There is even information about business on the web and how to “become a master of the internet” through your website. For the most part the books, articles and information that are out there are useful in some way to someone. But what about the simple stuff? What about the things that people just assume you know, and skip over to avoid “wasting space”, or time writing it out? What about the things that just happen in the “real-world” but need to be thought about when conducting business online? Hopefully the following will help those who need a reminder of the “simple” side of business, specifically on the web.

Your site is for your visitors, not for you!
How many times have you heard yourself saying, “I think this should be here”, or “I like this information there” or “I like the website the way it is, let’s keep it”. Where did the “I” come from in all of these sentences? Are you the one looking at your site on a daily basis? Are you the one looking to your website for your product information? Are you the one ordering your products/services from your website? Probably not, so why are you making the decisions about what happens? I mean ultimately it is your decision, but shouldn’t there be a basis behind that decision? Remember, that your visitors will ultimately determine what works and what doesn’t, so listen to them by looking at your website analytics, asking those clients that you speak with about what they do and don’t like, etc. Then based on that information you can make an informed decision that takes the “I” out of it.

An email isn’t just a note, it’s a contact/lead:
Have you ever pushed aside an email because you didn’t have time and ultimately never got back to it? Would you do that to a potential client if they were standing in front of you? I would hope not, and the same should be true for your emails. I realize you can’t answer every single email as soon as it comes in, but you can schedule time to answer them. Set aside an hour or two each day (even if it means coming in early or leaving late or doing it during lunch) to respond to all the client emails that came in. You never know which one of those could be your next big order. If your goal is to increase business, then every missed opportunity means another day until that goal is reached.

The quote isn’t the end of the line:
So you sent out that quote to the potential new business lead. Now what? Have you set a plan to follow up with them? You have to remember that the person you are sending the quote to has a job also, and just because you sent the quote doesn’t mean they will read it right away. By setting up a reminder or schedule to follow up, you are in effect reminding your client that they have the quote and should let you know if they are interested.

We hope you got something out of this as there will be more simple business to come, so please check back soon.

Remember: It’s not that it’s hard it just takes discipline

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Set Goals for Your Website...

2009-01-05T08:35:00.002-05:00

Everyday we set goals for all kinds of things regarding our business. We set sales goals, production goals, employee goals, management goals, etc. The one place that people seem to leave out is their website. Why not set a goal for your website? It's known as the 24/7 salesman after all.

What type of goal would I set for a website?
It could be anything really. Perhaps your site is an ecommerce site, then a financial goal might be appropriate. For example by March 1 of 2009 you want the site to generate 1000 orders (or more if you are a larger company with more traffic). If your site is more informational and less sales oriented then set a conversion goal. For example by March 1 of 2009 you want to get 50 new sales leads (conversions).

Setting goals for your website makes it even more a part of your everyday business. It makes you realize that you have to treat your website like you would any other employee. If it's under performing things need to be adjusted. If it's just not working out it gets fired and a new one replaces it. The best part is, if it's working well you don't need to give it a bonus or increase it's salary, you just make sure you keep paying attention to it.

How do I set these goals for my website?
The best place to start is in the past. What did your website do for you last year or last month? Figure out as much statistical information about the past performance of your website as you can and set goals from there. Remember to be realistic about it though. If your website only brought in 5 sales leads last month, setting a goal for 25 leads might be a bit of a stretch. It would be much better to set the goal at 8 or 10 for this month and if you go over it's just an added perk.

The point of these goals is not to set the bar so high it's unreachable, but rather to hit your goals as often as possible. You also don't want to set the bar too low, then it just becomes something to check off each time. Each of these smaller goals should lead to a much larger end of the year or quarter goal as well. By setting the smaller goals you then won't feel overwhelmed by putting one very large goal on the board that just seems daunting to hit.

When should I start my goals?
Yesterday! OK, so that's not possible, but you should start planning and setting your goals as soon as possible. The longer you wait the harder it is going to be to reach your goals. Remember, don't try to tackle everything at once either. Start with one part of your site, or one area of your business and only after you've reached a few of those goals start going after other areas.

Remember: Your website is like an employee, some work and some don't, don't hold on to the dead weight.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Happy Holidays To Everyone

2008-12-22T16:19:00.004-05:00

Ignite Media would like to say thank you for a great 2008 and wishes each and everyone a very Happy Holiday season and a prosperous new year.

In the new year we expect to continue building out our website to provide our visitors with as much detailed information as possible. Also, keep an eye out for new offerings for everyone from the smallest to the largest website owner.

Thanks again, and see you in '09!

The Ignite Media Team,
Ignite Your Site

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

A picture is worth 1000 words; Or is it?

2008-12-01T10:32:00.006-05:00

The saying goes that "a picture is worth a 1000 words", but is that really the case? Do pictures really give everyone and everything the understanding that you are trying to convey? Or are we betting on the fact that we understand the image, than everyone else must? Lets take a minute to discuss how images can sometimes be less effective then some properly used words.

What the search engines see, isn't what you do...
When you look at a website you see text and images arranged in some fashion so as to look appealing. There is a header, a logo, some navigation links a paragraph and maybe a photo along with contact information at the bottom.

What the search engines see on the other hand is code and text. That picture that is taking up your entire site, they don't even know what is just that it looks something like this to them '< src = "images/image.jpg">' - not exactly the pretty picture you were seeing right? The search engines see numbers, symbols and letters which makes up the display that you as the user sees on the front end. So although images are good when used in the right places, they can be harming your ability to be seen by the search engines.

It's not always as apparent as you might think...
Another common mistake that people make is using representative images in place of something more direct. Take for example the bulls eye that is often used in marketing when you are trying to convey that "we hit the mark". Sure most people might get that one, but what if they don't? Is it really worth the cute image to sacrifice a few people understanding the message?

Everything has a time and a place - images included...
Images are great for logos, product shots, demonstrations, etc. I'm not so sure that images are great for relaying an important marketing message, unless used in conjunction with words/phrases. Don't just put the picture of a black sheep among white ones, put a message on it that says "Ever want to stand out from the crowd?". Now they are associating the meaning with the message.

Remember: You can never be too straight forward when it comes to marketing.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Black Friday, Cyber Monday - It's that time of year again!

2008-11-24T13:03:00.003-05:00

With the economy slowing to a crawl, and businesses desperately looking to increase profits, the holiday season is now upon us. The unofficial start to the holiday shopping season is black Friday and for some retailers it couldn't come any quicker.

What does this all mean for my business?
It's time to start dishing out the deals. Whether you are a small mom and pop shop or a fortune 500, this is the time to offer deals to your customers. They are expecting it and will demand it in some cases. So why not make everyone happy and come up with a great deal for the holidays? Or better yet come up with a limited time offer for this coming weekend?

What better way to attract interest then making something available for a short period of time? The urge to have something before it is gone, is usually enough to fill a store, or at the very least have people talking about it.

How do I get the word out?
Email blasts and banners on your website are probably two of the easiest and fastest ways to notify people. Email blasts work great for getting your existing customers back to the store, and banner ads will ensure that any new visitors are aware of the great deals as well.

If you don't have a large following yet you can always pay to advertise. The quickest way to get going is usually pay-per-click through Google Adwords or any of the other PPC companies. It's relatively quick and easy to have some ads setup and running within a few hours. This is great for the last minute planner who needs to get the word out quick.

But what do I have to offer?
What don't you have to offer. Whether it's a product or a service that your company provides you have deals that can be made. Lets say you are a chimney cleaning business, why not offer 1 free cleaning with the scheduling of a regular cleaning by December 1st? If you have products you can always offer buy 1 and get one half off, or free or whatever works best for your business model.

Free shipping is always a great way to give your customers a little treat. Many times shipping is what people look at as a deciding factor in where they will purchase their items. So why not take that factor and make it void, offering free shipping might drive more traffic then you originally thought.

Remember: It's not about the quantity, but rather the quality of the discount!

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

A Question A Day - Will Bring Visitors?

2008-11-20T07:58:00.004-05:00

How many times have you gone to a search engine and typed in a question? I know I do it all the time. The search engines have almost become like a "customer service representative" for the internet. You type your question and they come back with a list of places that might work for you. So why not use this to your advantage on your own website?

Become the answer they are looking for:
Why not create pages based around different questions. For example if you own a website that sells clothes for children and in your brick-and-mortar store you hear the question "What does 2T and 3T really mean in terms of size", why not create a page explaining the T system of sizing? You've now answered not only your existing customers questions but you have the chance of being found by people who may never have heard of you before.

What if I can't think of the questions:
Without a doubt there are questions in your industry, it's just a matter of finding the most valuable ones to be answered. There are new tools being offered by some companies such as WordTracker that allow you to see some of the questions people have typed into the search engines. This is extremely helpful because these questions were actually asked on a search engine, not something made-up, or guessed at. Take a few of these and there you go, some new content to add to the site.

Do I just add the pages, where do they go?
The best place to put these pages would be in a support area of your site. Even if you have to create one and it looks small at first, over time it will grow. One section could be commonly asked questions, another could be white paper downloads on your products, etc. Creating a section like this on your site is giving your visitors a resource to keep coming back to and to tell other people about. They don't have to buy anything to browse it and feel like they are getting the world.

Remember: Sometimes it's about answering the question before providing the need.

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Local SEO - Targeting Your Neighborhood

2008-11-03T13:07:00.004-05:00

Many companies think that SEO is only for the large corporations that have offices and customers nation and world wide. This however, is not the case. SEO is for every company and/or website, it's just a matter of how you go about optimizing your site.

Home Grown SEO
Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website for local phrases. So if you have a website that deals with plumbing for your local area and some of the surrounding areas, local SEO is perfect for you. You aren't going to travel to California for a plumbing job (unless the client was picking up all the costs!), so you want to target people in your area.'

The best and most effective way to target local searchers would be to use your town, city, state names throughout the site. So instead of just saying Plumbing Services, you might change that to Reno Plumbing Services, or perhaps, Reno Nevada Plumbing Services.

Don't forget the phone number and zip code
Another way to get people to your site based on local searches is to be sure you have your phone number listed on your site in text. Many times people who are looking for local businesses online will search with the area code as a prefix or suffix to the search (ie: plumbing services + 203). This goes for zip codes as well.

Just think about the different ways in which you signify a local business and chances are you will have another way to optimize your website for local searches.

Remember: When writing copy for your website, or building out the template be sure you have your local phrases worked in, without being annoying about it!

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization

Website Usability - Is Your Site Making the Grade?

2008-10-30T08:42:00.006-04:00

A website is about more than just displaying your product or service information. A website is an experience that directly relates to your business and reputation. Last post we spoke about your home page and how important it is to make a great first impression. This post we expand on that and explain how that impression needs to extend beyond home page.

Navigation is key
Navigation is the most important part of a website. It is how your visitors get from one place to another. Think of your navigation as your street map or directions from old aunt sally! How annoyed are you when those directions or that map aren't easy to read or to follow? I know I get steaming mad when I'm told to make a right, only to realize they meant to say left.

So why put your visitors through that same type of turmoil? Your navigation needs to be visible and easy to follow. You shouldn't mix in company links with product and service links, and you shouldn't have more than 2 sets of navigation if possible (ie: Top Bar Nav, and Side Bar Nav). Many times people think if they give people 20 different navigation options they will be able to more easily find the page, but what you wind up doing is confusing the visitor into wondering if all of the links go to the same or different places.

Page Content and Page Structure
After you have successfully navigated your visitors to the correct page, the structure and content on those pages is just as important as how they got there. How you order the content in a page can directly relate to the number of conversions you make. For example if you have site where you sell roller blades and you get to a product page for a particular pair of blades, a visitor should be shown an image, short description, price, colors, etc and a buy now button. If instead they are shown paragraphs and paragraphs of information, and the very last thing on the page is the buy-now, you can bet that your conversion ratio is going to be pretty low.

Content as mentioned above is also very important. With that roller blade website example from above, the overview should be brief but highlight the key reasons that pair of blades is the right choice. For those visitors that might be more interested in the in-depth information you provide that but either further down on the page, or on a "more-details" page/tab. With this approach you are giving all your visitors what they want.

Clear conversion method
You've now effectively navigated your visitors to the correct spot and have the content and the structure of each page just right. What's next? Well what are you hoping your visitor will do? Do you want them to email you, send you a request for quote form, purchase an item, or pick up the phone and call you? Before you can decide on which conversion method to use, you have to answer that question; visitors aren't mind readers and without a clear way to finalize their process they may just hit the back button and be gone forever.

Once you've made the decision of how you want to have your visitors contact you, its time to implement it. You want to remember while you are configuring your site for the final conversion, you need to make it clear and easy for your visitors. Put the 800# large on the page if you want them to call you; make a nice "email us now" button that stands out if email is what you prefer; ensure your "buy-now" button is prominent on the page if purchasing is your method. Just keep in mind, if it is confusing for you, how do you expect your visitors to figure it out?

Remember: Usability is about your visitors, if you make it easy they will come!

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Ignite MediaLLC, Ignite Your Site™
http://www.ignite-media.com/
Website Design & Development eCommerce Development Search Engine Optimization