Keeping up with the latest innovations in website design and search engine optimization can be difficult, particularly when you’re trying to juggle all of your other company responsibilities with designing or updating your neglected business website. With new software, emerging technologies and constantly evolving SEO algorithms changing the face of web design every day, it can be very frustrating to create and maintain a good company website that keeps pace with the constantly shifting marketing terrain online, but our Naperville web design company, Design and Promote, can suggest three great ways to maximize your SEO while minimizing the costs.

Keep It Simple

 Sometimes the easiest way to compete on the Internet is to be the site that whispers while everyone else is trying to out-shout each other. Naperville web design experts agree that websites with a simple design often come out ahead in search results because they are executed cleanly. A simple layout that’s easy to navigate and a “less is more” color scheme can be very attractive to visitors who already have sensory overload from browsing the ‘Net.

Choose two or three colors for your website, but no more than that. Naperville web design specialists can help you choose colors that are interesting without being overpowering. For variety, you can use different shades or tones of key colors for added impact. With more than three colors, your site might become cluttered looking, which leaves visitors with the impression you’re unprofessional or disorganized. Keep individuals with visual problems in mind as well – a color blind visitor shouldn’t have too much difficulty navigating through your site if a Naperville website design professional has developed a palette with good color values and strong contrast.

A Naperville Design Company That Offers SEO And More

You may be wondering how your Naperville web design could impact your search engine rankings. It’s pretty simple – a sleek, streamlined site loads more quickly. The speed at which a site loads is taken into consideration in most SEO algorithms. A slow site gets a lower ranking. Visitor response to your site is also crucial; if lots of people are visiting but they get too frustrated because your page loads slowly, they will quickly get bored and move on to a more interesting site. Search engines notice when your site isn’t getting any traffic that stays around for a while, and your ratings will drop accordingly. Even the greatest Chicago SEO company won’t do you any good if they give you great content that nobody ever reads because they’ve left in frustration. The best combination is a simple site with interesting content. As a Naperville web design company that’s also an outstanding Chicago SEO company, Design and Promote can give your website everything it needs for improved SEO.

Develop Optimized Landing Pages

Landing pages are the secret weapon of the best Chicago SEO company professionals. These are pages that are each optimized for a particular keyword or keyword phrase targeting individual products or services you provide. Consult with a Chicago SEO company to develop a list of strong keywords and develop a separate page for each one. To ensure plenty of traffic to each one, don’t forget to add keyword rich meta descriptions and title tags. The more landing pages you have, the most traffic you’ll get, and the more user-friendly your website will be. By providing lots of landing pages, you’re ensuring that Internet browsers can quickly go directly to the page that is most relevant to them, making it more likely that they will stay and make a purchase or request additional information.

Blog It!

Professional bloggers are increasingly being recognized as experts in their respective fields. Hopping into the blogosphere is a great way to become noticed. Regularly writing blog articles can be time consuming, but adding even a little bit of fresh content on a regular basis can give you an impressive ROI. Updating your blog every week can give your rankings a real boost and the interactive nature of blogs encourages increased incoming traffic. The web design for your blog should also include a forum where others can log in and add to the conversation. It will encourage repeat visits and can generate real buzz about your company. If you simply don’t have the time to become a regular writer, a Chicago SEO company like Design and Promote can provide the content at surprisingly affordable rates.

The power of the Internet to capture and sway the decisions of consumers around the globe has made its mark on businesses large and small. Business size and location are no longer stumbling blocks in a global economy where the right web design in Naperville, IL can turn web surfers halfway around the world into loyal customers. You can now use the right Naperville web design to appeal to potential customers regardless of their location. You can generate leads, promote your products and services and increase your international revenue without ever leaving your home office.

The Internet is one of the most powerful marketing tools available because it can appeal to the relatively short attention spans of web surfers and set your business apart from your competition with innovative online features. To ensure that your web design is compelling enough to not only capture but retain the interest of site visitors, take a look at our list of the top ten web design features every website should have to encourage visitors to not only visit, but click through your company’s pages to learn more, shop more, and buy more. Take a look at our tips for maximizing the effectiveness of your online presence, starting with your home page.

Top Ten Web Design Features For Successful Online Marketing:

1. Unique and Engaging Content:

Make sure the content on your website is interesting, relevant and – above all – original. Rehashing the same information that visitors have already read on a dozen other sites won’t win customers. Make sure you’re offering valuable, helpful information that makes you an expert and gives them value for their time.

2. Organization:

A business homepage is often a company’s only chance to make a first impression; work with a team of professional, Naperville web design experts to ensure that the final user interface is well presented and organized.

3. Accurate, Verified Information:

Skip long, tedious lists of data regurgitated from reports. Instead, focus on accurate, focused information that visitors can use. A few strong tidbits of high quality information are better than endless reams of meaningless statistics.

4. Search Engine Optimization:

Nothing captures visitors like content that is not only valuable, but properly search engine optimized for keywords that are relevant to your products and services as well as the needs of your target audience. The Naperville web design professionals at will also use the appropriate meta tags, headings, and other SEO features to move your website quickly up the ranks of the most powerful search engines.

5. Frequent Updates:

If you want to turn occasional visitors into regulars, your web design needs to include frequently updated information that’s easy to find and interesting enough to capture their attention. Consider adding a “What’s New” or “Company Updates” section so that visitors can get to the newest information quickly.

6. A Company Blog:

A well written blog can quickly establish you as an expert in your particular area, particularly if the blog generates interesting comments and plenty of peer input.

7. Navigation That’s Easy:

Regardless of the incisive dialog on your blog or the fascinating articles on relevant topics, if visitors get lost in confusing navigation, they’ll quickly leave in frustration. Don’t let them leave because your web design leaves them lost. Make sure your web design is intuitive so visitors don’t have to stumble around.

8. Harness Interactive Features:

Make sure you reach out to your potential customers virtually with pages that allow them to contact you via “Contact Us” pages or a live chat feature. Engaging customers in an active dialog will win loyalty and reassure them that you are genuinely interested in them.

9. Efficient Turn-Around Times:

Follow up on any contacts quickly so that visitors who have taken the time to contact you will feel valued. Your response time is crucial; if you can’t give them an immediate answer, take the time to let you know you’re working on it.

10. Cutting Edge Security:

Nothing else will impress potential customers – or give them the reassurance they need to take the step from “merely looking” to “customer.” A trustworthy web design firm will be knowledgeable about the latest security enhancements and will ensure that your site is safe for every type of transaction while protecting customer information.

At Design and Promote, we’re able to offer you every one of the top ten features of outstanding web design in Naperville, IL and the surrounding area. Contact us today for more information on how we can transform your web design, turning your site into a powerful income generator.

TEAM B2B is a Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce leads group that focuses on business-to-business relationships. This was their third year hosting the Bags Tournament, but this year for the first time, they had their very own website, which was created by Design & Promote.

“Since I was a sponsor at last year’s event I realized the challenges TEAM B2B was having for their registrants. I wanted to make the process smoother by building a website which linked to online registration for both sponsors and players. This was able to give them the ability to not only register for the event but they were also able to upload company logos, send email invitations and more,” said Bruce Jones, owner of Design & Promote.

The tournament was held in Naperville on Saturday, October 22^nd and KidsMatter’s Executive Director Idalynn Wenhold was present for the event.

“KidsMatter is so grateful to Design & Promote for the amazing website and registration process they created for the Team B2B Bags Tournament. The turnout was twice the size of last year and I believe a lot of that should be credited to the tournament’s website,’ said Idalynn.

Chicago-area SEO company, Design & Promote is no stranger to assisting the not-for-profit world. Last year the company offered Naperville website design at a nearly fifty-percent discount to all nonprofit organizations.

“After years of working in the Internet field I know how important it is for a company or organization to have a well presented and functional website. It is a great method to get your message out there and increase exposure. Creating a website for a fundraising event does just the same, and increased exposure will inevitably lead to a more successful turnout,” Jones said.

The 3^rd Annual Bags Tournament had a total of 65 bags team compete, 17 teams in the competitive bracket and 48 in the social. Some of the big winners include:

• Competitive Bracket Winners:  Team Name: Role Models- Dave Sutton & Chris Novy
• Social Brackets Winners: Team Name: PhilOlsen- Ryan Philo & Kris Olsen
• Men’s Long Toss Winner: Jim Gedvilas
• Woman’s Long Toss Winner: Cindy Rowsey

The new  Bags Tournament website donated by Design & Promote is http://www.napervilleb2bbags.com

For those of you that are aware of QR Codes you probably think they need to point to a website or landing page to work but that does not always need to be the case, there are many other opportunities to engage with your prospects and customers.

There are many options when using Quick Response Codes from branded QR Code that include your logo and sometimes even your companies color scheme and can also include a graphic surrounding it with a call to action, a shortened url or even what to do if you do not have a QR Code scanner on your phone.

Below are some of options of other things that can happen after someone scans your QR Code from a brochure, business card, event flyer, trade show display, real estate sign and more.  The more targeted the message and destination the more likely it will followed through with and your prospects will appreciate things like making it easier to get to your office, add you as a contact in their phone etc.

Website Link

Just a simple link to the homepage of a website, basic and probably ok for for general info about your company.

Landing Page

A QR Code that points to a specific landing page on your site is better than one that points to your home page, your landing page can be specific about a certain product or service that you are promoting from your marketing literature.

Conversion Form

Even better if your landing page includes a contact form so you can capture an email address and follow up afterwards. You need to usually offer something in return like a download or entry into a contest etc.

Like Our Facebook Page

Another conversion form could be a QR code to like our Facebook Page like the example above.

Watch A Video

Most everyone would rather watch TV than read a book so why don’t you have your QR Code go directly to a YouTube video or one hosted on your website and have it set to autoplay.  Thanks Mike!

Google Map and Directions

Ok now we’re thinking, if you want to make it easy for people to find your office or event why not give them a map to your location including directions from where they are currently.  Most smart phones have a GPS built in and offer turn by turn voice navigation. Now no one should have an excuse for not finding your place if you give them a Google Maps QR Code.

Add Me As A Contact

If your goal is to cultivate a long lasting business relationship then offer a way of adding you as a new contact on their phone complete with email address, phone number, company name, website address and more.

Call Me

If you want people to call you right now then offer a QR Code that adds your number to their phone and I’m sure that you will get more responses to your campaign.

Send Me A Text

If texting is your thing this QR Code example shows how a SMS quick response code works.

I hope that you found these QR Code examples useful, remember when you set up a mobile marketing campaign that includes quick response codes take the time to think like your customer, what would be more meaningful and easier for them because you will only win if you figure out the path of least resistance.

And don’t forget, besides custom branded QR Codes Design & Promote also are experts at creating mobile friendly websites and landing pages, brochures, QR business cards.

Just about anything that you can think of that embraces new technology and makes it easier to market to your target audience is our goal.

Scan one of the QR Code Samples above and watch how we market to you.

To see the size of picture we’re talking about, check out our Facebook fan page.

There are some rules to follow when creating a Facebook page graphic in order to make it as effective as possible.  Here are three tips:

1. Pay attention to your branding

Your Facebook fan page is a place to continue your current branding, not invent new branding.  Use the same logo and graphics you use on all your promotional materials to make everything as cohesive as possible. As the saying goes, don’t reinvent the wheel.

2. If applicable, use a picture

If you are a small business, or a consultant, or sales rep, take the opportunity to use your face in the graphic.  It is still Facebook after all, and it’s about making human connections.  So put a human face to your fan page.

3. Include taglines or SEO rich descriptions

Make sure what you do is spelled out for fans to see.  Just a picture of you isn’t enough; make sure to include a brief description of what you do.  For example, our Facebook fan page has our logo and then the words:  Internet Marketing, Graphic and Website Design, and Search Engine Optimization.

Anyone who wanders onto our page and doesn’t already know what we do will figure it out within the first 3 seconds of viewing our page.

Facebook fan page graphics are a great way to continue the brand of your business and really connect with people.  If you would like our assistance creating a new Facebook page graphic for your company leave a comment below or give us a call at 630-995-7109.

Only Search Engine Optimization Provides Continuing Benefits After The Campaign

When ads run on TV, there is always an expiration date after which they fade from view. SEO in Chicago doesn’t follow that pattern. The very heart of SEO is the creation of new content, the development of new web pages, and particularly the generation of articles, press releases, and more. This new content is hosted on the web by other sites, and is unlikely to be ever taken down (assuming it meets basic quality standards.) Because this material is worthy of being linked to by other sites, it will keep boosting your SEO in Chicago long after its initial creation. In addition, it will improve your inbound marketing by providing another way for individuals who are interested in your field to find your company and become a client.

People Trust Natural Search Results

Some companies have argued that organic SEO is inferior to paid search options like Google AdWords and other campaigns. Some businesses have even tried to advertise strictly through AdWords, neglecting SEO in Chicago completely. While some may see short-term success, there is a reason why every Chicago SEO company recommends using both paid and organic results: people trust natural results a lot more. Think about your own use of a search engine. How often do you click on anything that looks like an ad? You’re much more likely to choose a non-sponsored result, meaning you’re more likely to choose the website that uses SEO rather than pay-per-click.

Chicago Inbound Marketing Is A Powerful Force

Individuals who use search engines are looking for specific information or providers of a particular product or service. They don’t have to be convinced that your industry can somehow benefit them; they already know what they’re looking for. The role of SEO in Chicago is to help consumers see why your company can best fill their particular need. This technique is part of a fledgling type of marketing that is just becoming a force in Chicago: inbound marketing. Unlike the traditional push of advertising and classic sales, Chicago inbound marketing focuses on drawing people to your company. The end result of a successful inbound marketing campaign is a substantial increase in traffic, increased awareness of your brand, and stronger positive opinion.

Search Engine Optimization Isn’t A Jarring Interruption

Old-style marketing techniques like conventional advertisements were always jarring. They were designed to make anyone who heard them sit up and pay attention, with the result that they ultimately antagonized potential customers and annoyed the buying populace throughout Chicago. Inbound marketing and SEO is quite a different story. There is no risk of antagonizing your clients because you’re not pushing anything at them. You are using inbound marketing, connecting them with a great way to get a product they’re already thinking of purchasing.

These many advantages set search engine optimization far above its competing marketing methods. The wise Chicago SEO company will use all of these methods in concert, but it’s increasingly clear that SEO must be an element of any smart modern marketing plan.

How Social Media Can Help You Land A Job…Or Not!

9 Tips for Student Job Seekers

You may not know that many employers in today’s job market are using social media like Facebook and LinkedIn to screen candidates. Forty-five percent of employers reported in a recent CareerBuilder survey that they use social networking sites to research job candidates, a big jump from 22 percent last year. Another 11 percent plan to start using social networking sites for screening. If an employer decided to look you up, what would they see?

Why Employers Hired Candidates After Screening Online

Eighteen percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them to hire the candidate. The top examples include:

• Profile provided a good feel for the candidate’s personality and fit – 50%
• Profile supported candidate’s professional qualifications – 39%
• Candidate was creative – 38%
• Candidate showed solid communication skills – 35%
• Candidate was well-rounded – 33%
• Other people posted good references about the candidate – 19%

If you are looking for a job, now might be a good time to review your social media profiles and add positive background and content such as education, awards, activities, and work experience.

Why Employers Disregarded Candidates After Screening Online

Thirty-five percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate. The top examples cited include:

• Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information – 53%
• Candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs – 44%
• Candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients – 35%
• Candidate showed poor communication skills – 29%
• Candidate made discriminatory comments – 26%
• Candidate lied about qualifications – 24%

Job seekers are cautioned to be mindful of the information they post online and how they communicate directly with employers . To improve your chances of getting hired, we have listed our top ten tips every student should follow when it comes to managing their social media profiles, especially when actively seeking employment.

Facebook

#1: Get private

Make sure your privacy settings are set to ‘Friends Only. You don’t want your friends sharing personal pictures with the rest of the world.

#2: Carefully Manage the Content on Your Facebook Page

Although some questionable pictures and funny status updates may be entertaining to your friends, employers may seem them as inappropriate. A good rule to follow: delete comments and un-tag pictures that you wouldn’t let your parents see. It’s still okay to use Facebook to socially interact with your friends, just keep it clean!

#3: Using a Professional Email Address

Set up a free gmail account with a professional address to use in your resume. Example: john.smith@gmail.com. Employers usually respond using email so you don’t want them to remember you as hotstuff5888@hotmail.com. Do not use your professional email address to log into your Facebook page. This will make it harder for an employer to find your Facebook when searching.

LinkedIn

4#: Are you on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is one of the easiest places that employers can find you and learn more about your background, job experience, and interests so it is important to have a professional presence here. Completing your LinkedIn profile is fairly easy and can be done in a short period of time. If your LinkedIn profile is not complete and/or out of date, what message are you sending to your prospective new employer?

#5: What does your professional headline say about you?

Does your headline say what it is you are interested in doing? You have 120 characters, so be creative. Try something like “High school student seeking part-time retail employment”.

#6: Be professional on every level

Whether it’s your photo or profile content, make sure everything you post on your LinkedIn profile looks and sounds professional. To ensure there are no grammatical errors, have a teacher or parent read over your content before you post it to your page.

#7:  Add your Resume on LinkedIN

LinkedIn now has a feature for you to import your resume and link it to your profile. What better way then to get your resume in front of perspective employers.

#8: List yourself in a group job section

Anyone can advertise their job vacancies in any of the groups they belong to, but why not do it the other way around? Why not post an ad in the jobs section of the groups you’re a member of, stating what position you’re looking for?

Twitter

#9: Follow a Company on Twitter

Many local businesses have created Twitter accounts. Be sure to follow a business you may be interested in working for and receive all the latest updates. They may even include employment opportunities. Remember, just like Facebook, keep your Twitter domain name and site clean.

Other Good Places to Search for A Job

www.craigslist.org

www.indeed.com

www.usajobs.gov

www.students.net

To download a printable version, click here KidsMatter-Job-Fair-SM-Tips

For more information contact us at Design & Promote

SEO Never Stops Providing Value

One of the major components of successful SEO in Chicago is the creation of a lot of new content. This content includes a lot that is put up for public use with attribution, helping establish companies within their industry while simultaneously helping with link building for SEO. Chicago businesses often don’t host this content on their own website. Instead, it is put up on article sharing sites and other common knowledge areas, where it can be freely shared by anyone who is interested.

These articles are powerful tools for SEO when they are first published, but they have another advantage: they never expire. For as long as they are hosted (typically forever, especially if well written), they provide added value to the initial investment in SEO. Chicago companies benefit from the Windy City’s active news and discussion networks, which can further bolster SEO of Chicago companies by circulating links even longer.

Organic Results Are The Most Trusted By Searchers

Do you click on sponsored links? If you’re like most Americans, the answer is rarely, if ever. The vast majority of people will choose organic links every time, which means that any company not using SEO to their advantage is potentially missing out. Using paid search advertising isn’t enough anymore; it takes a skilled Chicago SEO company to help companies break into a tough market, but the results are usually well worth it.

Talk To The People Who Want To Hear You

The days of push marketing are over. Now, it’s all about inbound marketing. This new technique is crucial, even in a big city like Chicago. Inbound marketing uses the pull method, attracting those prospects that are already searching for your services, around the world and locally in Chicago. Inbound marketing is a highly positive way to make first contact with new clients.

SEO in Chicago allows businesses to become visible for potential clients who are already looking for them. This is inbound marketing in its most pure form, with almost no pushy, overly traditional marketing component to worry about. Before SEO in Chicago really took hold, years of aggressive advertising sensitized the public to anything other than pull, or inbound, marketing. Today, the smart Chicago SEO company is taking advantage of this and working overtime to connect with visitors on their terms.

A Chicago SEO Company Can Help You Get Started

The new marketing model revolves around SEO in Chicago, throughout the country, and around the world. From inbound marketing to local search and viral marketing, everything increasingly begins and ends with search engines. If your company can’t be found or has weak SEO, Chicago customers won’t be able to give you their business. Make an investment in your business, strengthen your marketing, and the results might surprise you.

Diane Overgard of Find Joy Life Coaching www.FindJoy.org recently won our raffle prize at the Naperville Chamber B2B Bags Tournament that we helped to sponsor for KidsMatter.

The prize was a $1000 value local search engine optimization package and it could not have been won by a better person. We had designed Diane’s website for her about a year ago.

After doing some keyword research we decided that one of her main keywords should be “Chicago Life Coach” with approximately 1000 people searching in Google per month using this phrase and 3660 other sites competing for this same term.

One of the tools that we use for search engine optimization are search engine optimized press releases  wrote a PR for her and distributed though our normal distribution channels, you can check it out  Here.

Here are the results of that press release a few days after it was submitted, notice that it is  currently showing up on about 4500 other websites.

Click To Enlarge

You can do the same sort of search using the press release title in quotation marks like this: “Abundantly Single – Chicago Life Coach Diane Overgard To Help Women Find Joy In Life After Divorce”.

An added bonus was that this story was also picked up by the Chicago Tribune Here and shown to their thousands of subscribers and website visitors.

OK, so now for the results, do a search in Google for “Chicago life coach” and you will see Diane’s website FindJoy.org now on page one, a few months ago Google was not even indexing her site for that specific keyword.

If you would like to see similar results for your own website using search engine optimized press releases and more please drop us a line.

The idea of traditional marketing is you are putting your ideas into the world and hoping someone who needs your services comes upon them.  This includes ideas such as trade shows, email blasts, cold calling, advertising etc.

What Is Your Inbound Marketing Strategy?

The idea of inbound marketing is you work to “get found” by people who are looking for exactly what you do.  The way it’s accomplished is by setting up your website in such a way that it naturally attracts potential clients through channels such as the search engines, the blogosphere or social media sites.

So how exactly does inbound marketing equal more qualified leads?  It’s because the people who find you were searching for you rather than the other way around.  They need your service and you are much more likely to land a customer who needs what you are selling and actively sought you out than one who didn’t.

Additionally, by working to sell your products or services to people who have come to you for help, you are going to be spending less time and money convincing them.  After all, they came to you  already half way there.

If you are deciding to make a switch, and put more of your company’s time and money into inbound marketing efforts, keep in mind these three components:

1.      Content (Blogs, Videos, White Papers, Ebooks, Websites)

2.      SEO (On-page, Off-page, Link-building, Keywords)

3.      Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)

For even more convincing, think of it this way.  Inbound Marketing costs less than traditional marketing, targets better, and actually works.  What do you think about Inbound Marketing?  Do you already use it?  Do you want to start?