Web Design Discussion

Recently I was asked to design a 3 column web site for Handyman Services Loudoun County. The purpose of the web site was to create a professional online appearance for the business that clearly illustrates who they are, what services they offer and the locations they cover.

I first created a few image designs in Fireworks to give my client a number of options to choose from…e.g. design, colors, layout of images and content. He chose a 3 column design (2 outer green coloums, middle white column) with a a green gradient background.

How to create the css background images

Step 1. Green gradient image for web site background

I created a green gradient image (fading from green to white) for the background color of the web site using Fireworks then positioned it on the web site with CSS.

CSS code for body background:


body {
font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
color:#336666;
background-image: url(images/bg_green_outer.jpg);
}


Step 2. Background image for content

The 3 columns consist of a white middle column for the main content and 2 light green outer columns to prominently display photos of construction projects. I sliced a 1px wide by 2000 pixel length from the original image I had created in Step 1 then positioned it with CSS

CSS code for content background:


#wrapper{
width: 1000px;
background-color:#FFFFFF;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
padding: 0px;
background-image: url(images/bg_inner.gif);
background-repeat: repeat-y;
}


Step 3. Create header background

I positioned the logo as a background image in the header with CSS


#header{
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
background-color:#FFFFFF;
height: 150px;
background-image: url(images/All%20Seasons272.gif);
background-repeat: no-repeat;
background-position: 50px 0px;

}


Step 4. Create menu background color

The web site has top and bottom navigation menus with a dark green background.


#topnav ul{
padding-bottom:3px;
padding-left:15px;
padding-right:15px;
padding-top:2px;
margin: 0;
background-color: #336633;
}


The background images help present a nice layout for the web site that can easily be altered or changed using CSS positioning.

To read the list of Pros please visit Video Sharing WebSites

Cons of Video Sharing Websites

1. Reduced quality

Although you receive free bandwidth from video sharing websites, the quality gets reduced due to compacting the file. What started off being a great looking video may appear fuzzy when uploaded to a free site.

2. Free sites can disappear anytime

There is always the possibility that anyone of these free video sites will disappear anytime. This means your video will be lost forever unless you saved a copy.

3. Lack of flexibility

Once your video clip has been uploaded you’re unable to edit it unless you have the original file.

4. Lots of competing videos

Your video will be competing with videos uploaded by other people. Even if your video gets a top listing initially it’s difficult to remain there because competing videos will knock you off that position. Visitors will get directed to your competitor’s video.

5. Exposure to the public

Many individuals mistakenly believe that their videos will only be seen by members, but that isn’t true. Any internet user, even those without an account, can view your videos on YouTube etc. In fact, it is not uncommon for video viewers to email a YouTube video link to those they know. Therefore, the views that your videos receive may be more than you ever expected or wanted.

6. Attract spam

Because your videos are exposed to public consumption, they may attract spammers that leave spammy comments or harvest the email address on your web site.

If you want to avoid all the cons of uploading your video to free video sharing web sites
I suggest purchasing a copy of VideoWebWizard.

This software enables you to quickly and easily convert your video file to a web ready format. It creates all the files necessary to add video to your web site and automatically creates a redirect URL after the video has finished playing.

Most website owners these days use written content to attract and keep visitors. If you add video your web site it can appeal to a wide range of people and keep them longer on your web page. This helps to presell your products and services.

Pros of uploading to video sharing websites:

1. Easy to upload

After creating an account you simply click the upload button, browse to the video file on your computer then save it. Within a few minutes (or sometimes hours) your video will be live.

2. Free

There is no cost to upload your video to as many video sharing websites as you like. The only cost is the time it takes to create accounts for each video sharing website, optimize your videos and upload them.

3. No bandwidth costs

Videos consume huge amounts of bandwidth. If many people view your video at the same time the bandwidth needs and costs increase dramatically. Free video sharing sites take care of all your bandwidth needs although most of them limit the length of your videos.

4. Easy to embed html code

YouTube(and others) provides the html code to embed in your web page. Simply copy the html code they provide with the upload then and paste it where the video should be displayed on the page. Make sure you save the page then upload it to your web server for testing.

Have you ever wondered how you can put VIDEO on your website?

If you want to avoid all the cons of uploading your video to free video sharing web sites I suggest purchasing a copy of videowebwizard.

1) Multiple Video Conversion – Convert multiple videos all at once

2) 14 Video Players – Choose from 14 different professional video player styles

3) 13 Video Skins – Spice up your video with any of the 13 video skins included

4) Brand Your Video – Overlay a business logo, copyright notice, or other image on top of your video

5) 10 Web Page Templates – Choose from 10 web page templates to put your video on

6) Redirect To URL – Have your viewers automatically redirected to any link (for example, an order page or affiliate link) immediately after your video ends

7) Put Video On An Existing Page – Place any output video on a web page you already have set up

Download your copy of VideoWebWizard 2.0 right now!

To read Part 1 please visit: Video Marketing and Keyword Research

3. Download your keyword results

You can download your keyword results into an excel spreadsheet. This makes it easier to sort the keywords you want to use plus you can refer back to this file when conducting future keyword research.

4. Add the keywords to your video

Add your targeted keywords to the title, description and tags of your video. Make sure you include your web site URL at the beginning of your description. Use the full URL (http://www.domain.com) so it will be a live link.

5. Provide a call to action

The purpose of your video is to direct visitors to your web site where they purchase a product, service or subscribe to your opt-in page. Include your call to action at the end of the video that also displays your web site address.

6. Embed the video in your web page.

YouTube provides the code for you to display your video on a web page. Write an article on the same
topic as your video and include the video in the text. This will attract visitors to your video because many of them prefer to watch rather than read the content. Use the keywords in your article to attract search engine spiders to it.

7. Repeat your keyword research

Whenever you create a video on a new topic or a different keyword repeat the steps above. The popularity of your keywords may also change from month to month. Even if you already have completed the research for a specific keyword last month do it again next month. This will help you to keep up with search engines changes and stay ahead of your competition.

Attract 1000s of NEW visitors to your website with

“Effective Article Marketing Strategies”

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Maryland WebSite Design

How do you get people to find your videos on YouTube and other video sharing web sites?

People find your videos in the same way as they find web sites. They enter a keyword in the Google or YouTube search box and Google displays the content. Your articles and videos often appear at the top of the results’ pages. It depends how competitive your topic is.

Video sharing web sites use tags for search engines to find them. You must include your main keywords in these tags if you want your video to be indexed by the search engines.

How to research your keywords

1. Start your keyword research with the Google AdWords Tool
(Google the term “Google AdWords Tool” to find it)

Type in the keyword phrase you think people will use to find your video and check the synonyms box. A table will appear with several columns:

Keywords related to terms entered
This is a list of keywords and related keywords that people are searching on,

Advertiser competition
This shows the number of advertisers bidding on each keyword relative to all keywords across Google. A fully shaded green bar means that term is very competitive. A lesser shaded bar indicates less competition for that phrase.

Approx Search Volume
This shows the approximate number of search queries matching your keywords that were performed on Google and the search network for that month. A high number indicates many people are searching on that keyword.

Match Type
Broad – shows the broadest number of searches for that term
Exact – shows the exact number of searches for that term
Negative – shows off-topic keywords that users may be thinking about.

It’s best to start your keyword search with broad matches then get more specific.

Choose Columns to Display
This is a drop down box that will give you other options to search for:

Estimated Ad Position – shows estimated position for ads appearing on each keyword based on the maximum cost-per-click (CPC).

Estimated Avg CPC – shows the estimated average cost-per-click (CPC) for each keyword based on the maximum CPC.

Advertiser Competition – shows the number of advertisers worldwide bidding on each keyword relative to all keywords across Google.

Approx Avg Search Volume – shows the approximate average monthly number of search queries matching your keywords that were performed on Google over a recent 12-month period.

Search Volume Trends – shows fluctuations in Google search volume for each keyword over a recent twelve-month period, specific to your targeted country and language.

Highest Volume Occurred In – shows the month that each keyword received the highest Google search volume within a recent 12-month period, specific to your targeted country and language.

2. Select quality keywords

Select your most targeted keywords..one’s that relate closely to the topic of your video. Aim for keywords that have little competition and high cost per click. If you have difficulty with your selection then choose the ones that receive the highest search volume first then use the others later.

My next post will discuss where to place these keywords in your video
*****************************************
Attract 1000s of NEW visitors to your website with

“Effective Article Marketing Strategies”

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Maryland WebSite Design

Video marketing is one of the best methods to generate visitors to your web site because it is still a relatively new technology that not many marketers use. This means you have the potential to stay ahead of your competition by achieving high rankings in the search engines. Videos also captivate your visitors attention with moving images, sound and text.

Once you have created your video you want to upload it to video sharing web sites.

Definition of a video sharing web site

This is a web site that enables people to upload and share their videos to the public. Sharing your videos with the public attracts viewers that can then be redirected to your web site to purchase your product, service or subscribe to your ezine.

Where to upload your videos

1. Single uploads

If you want to upload your video clip to individual sites then choose all or several from this top 10 list. You’ll first need to create an account with each web site.

YouTube
Metacafe
Break
Google Video
Dailymotion
Yahoo! Video
Revver
vidiLife
Stickam
ZippyVideos

2. Multiple uploads

The fastest and easiest way to upload your video to multiple sites at the same time is to create a TubeMogul account. After creating a username and password for each site you can upload your video and it gets sent to all the video sharing web sites with one click. You can even track your results.

Here is a list of web sites they include:

tubemogul.com
uncutvideo.aol.com
blip.tv
break.com
brightcove.tv
crackle.com
dailymotion.com
video.google.com
graspr.com
howcast.com
imeem.com
metacafe.com
myspace.com
revver.com
sclipo.com
veoh.com
video.yahoo.com
youtube.com
viddler.com
vimeo.com
5min.com
stupidvideos.com

3. Paid option

If you wish to submit videos, podcasts, articles, press releases from one easy location visit: http://www.drostdesigns.com/at/go.php?c=easy

The benefit of this service is that you’ll generate more traffic when you repurpose your content in other formats. You not only get more incoming links but capture a wider audience.
*****************************************
Attract 1000s of NEW visitors to your website with

“Effective Article Marketing Strategies”

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of WebSite Design Maryland

Traffic is the life-blood for your web site. There are 100s of different methods to generate web traffic however video marketing has become one of the fastest and most productive ways that appeal to a large audience.

Traditionally content on the web is text driven however not all people learn by reading. Some of the limitations of reading text online include:

1. Difficult to read text on a screen

People mostly scan text when reading it online because their eyes get tired if they’re reading every word.

2. Doesn’t engage all the senses

People need to read the material to digest it. It doesn’t engage all the senses unlike video which can utilize moving images, sound and text.

3. Takes a lot of time to create text-driven content

It takes many hours to create a long sales letter that converts visitors into buyers. It takes much less time to create a video sales letter.

How to generate video traffic

1. Use a video or digital camera

If you’re just getting started create a short movie of yourself (or a friend) talking about the benefits of your product or service. Write a short script. This will help you avoid making mistakes ie using filler words such as ah, like, mmm.

2. Use windows movie maker and Microsoft paint if you don’t have a camera

This software is included on all Windows computers so you can even create movies for free. Create slide images in Microsoft Paint, import them into Windows Movie Maker then save the movie as a .mov file.

3. Upload your video

Open an account on YouTube. Create an attractive title and description for your video then enter the keywords that describe your video content in the tags. Upload your video file. It may take several minutes or sometimes hours depending on how busy YouTube servers are.

4. Promote your video

Create an account on TubeMogul. This is a video sharing site that enables you to upload your video to many sites at the same time. This increases your chances of generating more traffic because more people will see it. You also receive backlinks from each site which helps boost your search engine rankings.

Here are 3 other ways you can market your video:

*Write an article on the video content then submit it to article directories.
*Write a post about it on your blog
*Embed the video on your web site by copying the code from YouTube

The key to successful video marketing traffic is to create new videos on a consistent basis then and upload them to multiple video sharing web sites. Monitor the effectiveness of your videos by analyzing your web site statistics. Over time you will see a constant increase in the number of visitors coming to your web site.

*****************************************
Attract 1000s of NEW visitors to your website with

“Effective Article Marketing Strategies”

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Maryland WebSite Design

When it comes to traffic generation strategies many people forget to create a specific plan of action. Instead they quickly try to implement a multitude of techniques then give up because they did not produce the desired results..lots of traffic.

Why video marketing?

* Using videos is a powerful strategy to boost traffic because it engages your customers’ senses more than just reading text. With video you can include animation, sound and text.

* Your videos can be submitted to multiple video sharing sites simultaneously. This expands the reach of your audience because each video sharing site attracts different kinds of people.

How to create a video marketing strategy:

1. Create a list of keywords that you wish to target

Generate your keyword list by entering your main keyword in the free WordTracker tool. Select keywords that you can easily write articles about.

2. Write an article for each keyword

Once you start writing an article targeting a specific keyword you’ll discover other ideas that can be used as article subtopics. You can often produce several articles from one topic.

3. Create a video slide show for each article

By first writing the article you have done most of the hard work. Now convert the article to video by creating a slide show of it. This can be achieved by creating slide images in Microsoft Paint or other graphics software then importing the images into Windows Movie Maker.

Create a template that you can use for each slide then modify the text when creating a new slide. Display the full web site address in your last slide (or every slide) to direct visitors to the product or service on your web site.

4. Write an optimized description and optimize your tags

Before uploading your video write an attractive description that tells your visitors what to expect by emphasizing the benefits. Include your main keyword(s) in the description and tags. Remember to also include your full web site address within the description so it will become a live link live after uploading your video.

5. Upload your video to major video sharing sites

Here are the top 10 video sharing websites:

YouTube
Metacafe
Break
Google Video
Dailymotion
Yahoo! Video
Revver
vidiLife
Stickam
ZippyVideos

6. Monitor your rankings and traffic

Check your site stats after a few days. You should see an increase in visitors to your web site as a result of your video submissions. Enter your keyword with quotations around it (ie “keyword”) in the Google search box to monitor your rankings. If it’s not a very competitive term you may achieve top rankings for it. If it’s very competitive you’ll need to create and submit lots more content.

7. Be consistent

Don’t expect to get top rankings with one video. The key to a successful video marketing strategy is to do it consistently. Make a goal to at least create and upload one video per week for the next 3 months. When you see the spectacular results from your marketing efforts you’ll be inspired to produce more videos in a shorter period of time.

*****************************************
Attract 1000s of NEW visitors to your website with

“Effective Article Marketing Strategies”

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Maryland WebSite Design

What kind of questions related to your main keywords are being asked by your visitors?

People often type whole questions in the search box to find find specific information. When you enter a specific keyword in the Keyword Questions Tool search box the tool will return questions related to your keyword.

Example

When I entered “web site design” it returned 3 questions:

how to design a web site
what are the average cost to design a web site
how to evaluate the design of a web site

3 Top Reasons to use the Keyword Questions Tool

1. Content for web sites, articles, blogs

Whatever your target market is, there are specific questions people always ask. Provide the answer for them by writing an article about it, creating a blog post or building a FAQ (frequently asked questions) web page.

2. Build backlinks

For each article you write you can include a link (or two) to your web site. The more articles you write the more incoming links you will receive which will boost your search engine rankings.

3. Increase web site traffic

The Keyword Questions Tool will generate more traffic to your web site because it provides inspiration
from answering targeted questions generated by search engine visitors.

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Get high rankings, build tons of incoming links
and generate lots of traffic to your web site.
by visiting Search Engine Optimization Services

To read Part 1 please visit: Video Your Articles and Dominate Your Niche

6. Easy to distribute

Article directories provide an easy way to publish your content. If you want to submit your article to 1000s of directories at the same time you can use article submission software. (I prefer submitting manually to the top 5 directories).

There is also video submission software that can quickly and easily publish your videos to multiple web sites at the same time. Often your videos will appear at the top of the search engine results pages.

Here are a couple of resources:

TubeMogul.com – free video sharing site

EasyPushButtonTraffic – paid video sharing site

7. Stay ahead of your competition

If you want to outrank your competition in the search engines you need to create a marketing plan that will enable you to consistently produce both text and video articles. Every time you write an article create a video article also.

Most of your competitors won’t have a marketing plan that includes video articles. This means you can easily dominate your niche by achieving the top rankings for your main keywords. Top rankings means more people will visit your web site and purchase your products.

*****************************************
Attract 1000s of NEW visitors to your website with

“Effective Article Marketing Strategies”

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of Maryland Web Design