| LED Digest 1507: Affordable Web Development? |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest ................................................. January 30, 2003 Issue #1507 ................................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== CONTINUING ================= --== File Names Affecting Rankings? ==-- ~ William Tunstall-Pedoe "Someone may have found the site and linked to it...with text containing the keyword." ~ Craig Fifield "...each page of the photo gallery has the word 'limewash' in the title tag." ~ Christian Nielsen "I have seen the same thing [with] domain names..." --== Darwin and the World Wide Web ==-- ~ Kevin Jackson "...we could not cost-effectively build a website... that a small business could afford!" ~ Dave Abernethy "In the UK...we have too many small scale... designers willing to do sites at very low prices." --== Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ==-- ~ Veronica Yuill "...Google uses page rank... because it's a way of identifying useful pages." ===== GEEK TIPS ================== --== Multiple Browsers ==-- ~ Peter Warnock ==== BILLBOARD =================== --== Internet Advertising Pricing ==-- ~ John Smart ===== CONTINUING ================================= From: William Tunstall-Pedoe Subject: File names > The search word for all of these? "limewash". His ranking > in Google? 24 of about 2,550... I guess this proves that file > names and paths do affect rankings. - John Smart, LED 1506 There is another possibility: Someone may have found the site and linked to it from theirs with text containing the keyword. If Google indexed the site containing the link it would associate the keyword "limewash" with your brother-in-law's website even if it is hasn't found the keyword anywhere at the actual location. William Tunstall-Pedoe http://www.anagramgenius.com/ ------- new post - same topic ------- From: Craig Fifield Subject: File names Hi Adam & Everyone, John Smart mentioned his 'limewash' site as proof of filenames affecting SE ranking and since this is a hotly debated issue in the SEO world I was immediately interested. However, this can't be taken as proof of file names affecting ranking due to the fact that each page of the photo gallery has the word 'limewash' in the title tag. Can file names affect search engine ranking -- possibly, but this should not be taken as proof. Sorry John! In general, file names should be used for your end user, and / or to ease your site management, not for search engine rankings. Take care, Craig Fifield Search Engine Optimization Tips http://www.submit-it.com/subopt.htm ------- new post - same topic ------- From: Chris Nielsen Subject: File names I would be cautious to say how much they affect search results, but the fact that I have also seen results returned that do not contain the search phrase except on the file name, also proves to me that it is a valid factor and should be included as part of a SEO strategy. I have seen the same thing where domain names are concerned, and the words are separated with a hyphen. Thank you, Christian Nielsen Nielsen Technical Services ------- new post - new topic ------- From: Kevin A. Jackson Subject: Darwin > ... though there are lots of people who claim > to have web building businesses, they just > don't seem to be interested in handling the > small business owner - Vicki Lambert, LED 1506 We had been hearing this from prospects and clients for some time, and the truth was we could not cost-effectively build a decent website for a price that a small business could afford! All that has changed in the past year, and we find ourselves in a very competitive environment, as we offer standardized small websites at small business rates and levels of service. Clients asked: what has changed, why suddenly now you can afford to do small sites? For a while my answer was that we had examined our processes, fine-tuned everything, and gone back to basics on everything, eliminated waste and excess. The real reason just hit me this week: it is because we have gotten much better at what we do over time. You would expect as an industry matures that we start to find ways to do things better and quicker, as we gain in experience. There is one important piece of background to add to this: not everyone who is offering reasonably priced websites is doing it because they are mature web developing shops, experienced and efficient. There are several other groups out there offering these rates, including: - Big business, (no names) who can afford it because they are using it as a loss-leader to get you into a monthly billable program. Downside: some of the web developers on staff will be good, some not, and no way for you to know or choose which you get. - Start-ups: new companies with no portfolio who are using price as a way to get into the market. Again, some may be run by people with lots of experience from previous employment, some may be talented but inexperienced, others may have little ability or experience, and you will find that out quickly enough. Cheers, Kevin Jackson http://www.biz-zone.com ------- new post - same topic ------- From: Dave Abernethy Subject: Darwin I thought Dirk Johnson's letter (issue 1505) was spot on but I am staggered at Vicki Lambert's problem (issue 1506) with finding someone to develop a small site. In the UK, I would say we have too many small scale (one man / woman band) designers willing to do sites at very low prices. In part this is because they are doing the work in their spare time and have a 'day job' too. So they are not worried about earning a living off it etc. However, their skills are frequently lacking - not necessarily in design but very often in business acumen, internet marketing, search engine knowledge - in fact many of the areas highlighted by Dirk. This causes a problem for businesses like ours who can provide a more rounded (and I would argue more cost effective) service in depth but need to charge a higher fee to cover the work too. Many small businesses appreciate the costs only too well but not the benefits. However, some do take a longer term view of their website and they achieve more accordingly. We are finding there is increasingly a good market for 'second time around' sites where the owners have learned the lesson at last that they need to do a proper job to get results. By the way, we can do work for US sites too... Dave Abernethy, Managing Director Net Commerce Solutions Limited www.net-commerce-solutions.co.uk ------- new post - new topic ------- From: Veronica Yuill Subject: SEO Mike Jacobs wrote (refuting Shari Thurow's claim that SEs want people to write for end users): > What's left is Google, and what's on the page > isn't nearly as important as what points at the > page. So, in the end, pages that are "user-friendly" > and little else don't win in the engines. Sorry, but that just doesn't make sense to me. Why do people link to other pages from their own? Because those pages have good, useful, and user-friendly content on them. People don't generally link to pages with no content, or pages full of "spider food". QED. That's why Google uses page rank... because it's a way of identifying useful pages. Which seems to prove Shari's point! Regards, Veronica Yuill Archetype Information Technology Ltd http://www.archetype-it.com/english/ ===== GEEK TIPS =================================== From: Peter Warnock Subject: Multiple browsers > I've got 3 browsers running on my machine... But > I've never managed to get the AOL browser to run > alongside these, on my Win98 SE machine... - Philip Chave, LED 1505 Windows 98 has always had a reputation for being unstable. Netscape 6 was also considered buggy. I use the following suite of browsers to verify consistency: I'm running Windows XP Professional, with the following browsers: 1. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 SP1 2. Netscape Navigator 4.8 3. Mozilla 1.3a (equivalent to Netscape 7.1) 4. Opera 7.0 5. AOL 8.0 (based on IE) While these programs work together, I still face two problems. 1. My audience may not have the most current software 2. It's impossible to consider all screen resolutions, ad blockers, etc. The best advice, is to form a network of associates who can evaluate your work. I have friends and family review my sites regularly. Finally, since AOL version 5 or 6, the integrated browser has been based on Microsoft's Internet Explorer. The MSN Explorer is based off this platform, too. Peter Warnock webstruction.com ==== BILLBOARD ==================================== From: John Smart Subject: CPM 101 I can see that most (if not all) think that paying for click throughs is the way to go, and pay-per-view is of no value. I have been thinking about this, and think it is wrong. I don't sell advertising space on any of my domains, so I am not trying to cost-justify a decision here, I am just trying to approach this with logic. A local car dealer advertises a lot on the TV here. I can picture his face, name and address (not his phone number, but I could find that). He has to pay the TV for every time that advert is shown. Would he rather pay only if someone went to his dealership saying "I saw your ad on channel 5?" I expect he would, but he knows that he is getting his name remembered. I haven't bought a car from him, but next time I want a car, I know I will remember his name. That is what he is paying for. Not just sales today, but brand recognition, sales tomorrow. Let us look at Yahoo, and banner adverts. If I could place a web hosting banner on Yahoo, in a relevant section, then it could be a long time before I see a ROI. But further down the line, people will have brand recognition for my company, and will be more willing to spend money with me. This has to be remembered in the PPC discussion. You have to target your ads carefully - brand recognition is of no use to the wrong audience (a common online example is credit card / gambling ads on educational / kids sites. I can see a long-term reason for advertising there, but short to mid term (now to 15 years) is not going to bring results). The next part of advertising in question is the method used. Which TV commercials do you remember? I can list many that made me laugh (recently there has been Disney's "Mommy calls him 'our little souvenir'." the irritating "meow meow meow meow advert for Meow cat food that you cannot help but smile at (ad roll your eyes!), McDonalds child asking Daddy where babies come from, etc etc etc). I remember these brands with a smile. I even discuss the adverts with friends and family! This is good advertising. What online ads do I remember? The CCTV pop-ups that exploded over every screen a few months ago, and still show up from time to time. Is that a good memory? Will I spend money there? Will I talk about that with anyone else (other than the readers of this!!)? I don't think so. Has there been a good online advert yet? Probably. But it didn't reach me. I suppose that the best so far has probably been Amazon.com. I don't recall them ever irritating me (a good sign!) and I do shop there, plus I can always remember the domain name. So memorable (be it humor or other) and relevant will bring in the ROI we all want. And PPV isn't as evil as it 1st appears! John Smart, Technical Director http://www.internetdesign.com ------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1995-2003 Adam Audette. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." - Ernest Hemingway |
