Many people are tempted to just go straight to Google Images, type in what they need, and “borrow” one of the first images they see to complete the look of whatever project they’re working on. Or, they tell their web designer and/or marketing person, “just find something online.”

Finding something online is easy, it’s the making sure you pay for the image you want to use that isn’t. There are various stock photography and clip art sites that sell the rights to images for mere cents on the dollar, or actually offer their imagery for free as long as you give credit where credit is due. Depending on what you need the image for, the resolution you require and the size, the small investment upfront could help you avoid potentially a great deal of headaches in the future.

Need help finding images to use on your website or in your marketing materials? Not sure if the images you’re using fall in the “safe to use” zone? Contact GnomeMedia today so we can help.

Let’s explore some examples of Unrealistic Expectations:

- “I want my website to be as big as Facebook within the first month I launch it.”
This is impossible. Why? Facebook wasn’t created overnight. They have invested millions upon millions, years and years, into making their site as big as it is now. Having the attitude of “I want to be the next Google” will get you nowhere, unless you have Oprah or Queen Elizabeth providing you endless amounts of funding and you know ALL of the best web developers in the entire world that are willing to devote every waking moment they have to helping you.

- “I want to spend $60/month on advertising and get at least 10,000 new visitors to my site with that investment.”
If you break down the $60/month investment and look at it on a daily basis, that’s $2/day you’re spending to gain at least 333 new visitors. That’s $.006 for each of the 333 visitors. That’s less than a penny per lead, or new visitor! You have to be willing to spend money to make money. It’s always been this way in the brick & mortar world, and it’s definitely this way in the online world. If you don’t spend money to get the word out and let people know you exist, then they’re not going to know you from Adam.

- “I’m starting a news website and I want it to look and function like CNN.com, but I only want to pay $500.”
This type of expectation is similar to wanting to be as big as Facebook in a month. $500 might get you a very nice looking website, but it will not function like CNN.com. The “look & feel” of a website is merely one aspect that is considered when pricing a website. The overall functionality is the biggest aspect that is taken into consideration. It takes a great deal of time to get a website set up that functions like CNN.com. Depending on the rate you’re paying your web developer, you might only get a small portion of the functionality you want for $500. That’s not necessarily because the developer is overcharging you, but it’s because of the large amount time involved in building out the functionality. The Roman Empire wasn’t built in a day, and neither was CNN.com.

Domain
This is the web address used to access a website on the Internet. A domain name on the Internet is the same as a house address.

Hosting
This is how a website is made live on the Internet. There are machines called “servers” that are connected to the Internet. Each server runs a software program that was specially designed to make websites live on the Internet. There are two different types of hosting available; shared and dedicated. Most smaller websites will reside on a server that offers shared hosting, which means multiple websites can be hosted on a single server. Larger websites typically utilize dedicated hosting, which means that often one entire server, or more, could be dedicated to a single website.

Ecommerce Website
An ecommerce website is the type of website that is needed to have a store online. There are many companies that offer a variety of different types of ecommerce platforms to build a store on. Depending on the type of store you want to open online will determine what type of ecommerce storefront that you will choose.

If you have any questions about other website terminology that may not be mentioned above, contact GnomeMedia today and we can help.

The answer is called a “301 redirect“. A 301 redirect is the the most search engine friendly way to redirect users from one page to another.

How They Work
Someone goes to a search engine, types in something they’re looking for more information about, and they get a link to your website as one of the results. If the link is one that directs users to a page that is on the older version of your website, a 301 redirect will direct users to the newer version of that particular page on your current website when they click that link. Essentially, the 301 redirect is telling the search engine that you have permanently moved the info from your old site to this new link.

How to Set Them Up
How you would go about setting up 301 redirects depends on a number of items; whether your website is built within a content management system, who your hosting provider is, etc. If you need assistance setting up 301 redirects for your website, contact GnomeMedia and we can help you figure out what you need to do.

Let’s say you own a brick and mortar store that sells tennis shoes. How is everyone going to know you own a store that sells tennis shoes? Hopefully you chose a popular location that is easily accessible for shoppers, you advertise in newspapers, pass out fliers, attend events related to shoes to let people know you exist, and basically take continuous action to make sure you are getting your name out there.

These same ideas apply to your website. Just because your website is on the World Wide Web, does not mean everyone who interacts with the web across the world is going to automatically know your website exists.

Why is SEO so important? Your website visitors need to be able to find you online, which means you have to take action to ensure that you are working on getting your name out on the Internet. One of the problems people have with understanding SEO, is the idea that you have to constantly work at it, exactly the same way you have to constantly work on your advertising for a brick and mortar store.

According to the Compete Online Shopper Intelligence Study, more than 80 million shoppers use shopping sites that show price comparisons. Knowing this, means that you have to work even harder to get the products on your website noticed.

In future posts, we’ll dive further into what simple SEO techniques should be implemented on your website.

But how do you use social media to your benefit?

Well, for one, most of the social media outlets out there are completely FREE to use. This means you’re not putting a dent in your marketing dollars by paying for a subscription or membership to get your business noticed. The key here, though, is that you HAVE TO USE THEM in order for them to be beneficial. You can set up a Twitter account, Facebook fan page or blog, but unless you actively participate in updating them on a regular basis, they could render to be completely useless.

- Have an upcoming event? Tweet about it.
- Want people to know your specials for the week? Post a note on Facebook or blog about it.
- Have a how-to video tutorial you want to share with other people? Upload the video to YouTube or Vimeo.
- Want people to know your professional background? Create a LinkedIn account.

The time commitment you make will only be successful if you make that commitment on a regular basis. This same concept applies to a brick & mortar store. If you don’t let people know you exist, how are they going to find you? Many people get confused when they realize that this applies to the online world as well. Just because the Internet reaches the entire world, doesn’t mean the entire world is going to notice you. You have to make them want, or need, to notice you.

So, when is it good, or not good, to use Flash in a website?

Well, if you run an art gallery or movie trailer website, you’re probably going to want to bedazzle your visitors visually to keep them interested in the content on your website. So, you’ll probably use Flash or something similar.

If you want to get noticed in the search engines, having a Flash website is not going to help. Why? Search engines can’t read text that is being displayed within Flash, or any images on the site, unless you insert a great deal of extra code into the back end of the website that describes what is being displayed on the screen.

Not only is the extra code “behind the scenes” helpful for the search engines, but it is also helpful for the hearing and visually impaired that rely solely on image descriptions to understand what is being displayed on a web page.

Even with going this extra step, every time you change the text on the front end of your site, the code on the back end also has to be changed, which can be an ongoing hassle depending on how you are able to get your website updated. (e.g. You rely on someone else, or you have to find time to do it yourself.)

One other item to note about Flash, is that unless the visitor to the website has installed a Flash plug-in on their computer, they won’t be able to see the website correctly until they download and install the plug-in.

Also, if you want iPhone users to view your website, and you have Flash on it, they will only be able to see the non-Flash elements of the site, as iPhones do not support Flash yet.

So, while there is the “shiny and pretty” aspect of Flash websites, there are a lot of other items to consider as well when developing a website that may contain Flash, or be built using only Flash.

If you have additional questions or concerns about Flash, please contact GnomeMedia.

So, why the “glass half empty” responses? Well, let’s see…

Here’s a scary, realistic scenario that was presented in this article from The Consumerist:

You are working at a job you despise and you are in the process of trying to find a new job. You start emailing the HR rep at your, hopefully, potential new gig. If Google Buzz makes you an automatic “follower” of that HR rep, everyone else that is following you — AKA: your current boss or co-workers — they can also see that you’re a follower of that person. You go from having multiple, mysterious doctor appointments that disguise your interviews, to the person your current job is looking to get rid of in the blink of an eye.

This type of scenario could be extended to your personal relationships or that weirdo you contacted on Craigslist that one time because you really wanted that TV.

It will be interesting to see just how quickly Google can apply the many “updates” that are needed to truly make Buzz a contender with Twitter…if it can.

Because of the close connection I have to the agriculture biz, I have an understanding of what those farms need to make themselves successful online. There are many farms throughout the country that are just now beginning to understand the importance of not only having a website presence, but making sure they keep it updated and use it to their advantage.

You might think, “It’s a farm. What do they need a website for? They’re outside all the time.”

Everyone in the agricultural business uses word of mouth as their primary source of marketing. A dying art form in and of itself now that we live in the age of text messaging, instant messaging, etc.

Then, enters websites, stage left.

While word of mouth advertising may be the means they use to market themselves, hands-on experiences is a close second. Why drive 500 miles to look at an animal or crop when you can go to the website of the farmer and see proof that the animal you want to purchase really is brown, or that crop really is coming in as nicely as they described?

Websites are enabling people in agriculture to streamline their business and eliminate time wasted driving from one farm to another. The number one way to get the word out about live stock, hay or other crops for sale is to post it on their website. This also allows the general public to gain a better understanding of what their business is and how it affects their surrounding community.

We live in an age where kids have never seen “where carrots come from” or “how a cow is milked”, but they sure could tell you how to clear the cache on your computer in no less than 4.5 seconds.

Not only is it fun for me to build these types of websites because of my personal interest in the industry, but I feel that with every one I put online, it will teach someone, somewhere, something they didn’t already know about the world around them.

Check out our PORTFOLIO page to view a couple of the farms we have developed websites and/or marketing materials for in the past.

The reason for this post is to provide clarity to those that do not understand the complexity of this question.

When building a website, there are many things that have to be taken into consideration, such as:

- Is the website going to contain 3 or 30 pages? And, who is responsible for creating the content and implementing it into those pages?

- What kind of interactive elements, if any, are going to be integrated into the website? Photo galleries? Polls? Forms? Are you going to be selling things on the website?

- “My second cousin twice removed took ‘a class’ and made this logo for me using Word Art. Does it look professional enough to put on my website?”

The answer to this question is always “no”. I don’t even have to look at the logo in question to tell you that. You are only going to be taken as serious as you take your website. If you have an out-of-focus, pixelated logo, people will notice it and judge the “legitimacy” of your business on it. Your logo is the base of your overall branding for your business. With that said, it is always a good idea to hire a professional to create one for you.

- “I want to be able to update my website on my own, can you build me one and then teach me how to update it?”

There’s a reason why web designers and developers exist. Learning how to create/manipulate images and code websites takes a lot of training and requires a large investment in equipment and software to do so. Training, I might add, is never really finished because new ways to develop websites and manipulate images are constantly being invented. The cost of the software needed to create websites is $500-$1,000 to get started. Before you even get the software, you have to make sure your computer has enough memory and processing power to handle such large programs.

There is a way to update a website without having to be code-savvy. Having a website developer build a website within a content management system (CMS), such as WordPress, Joomla, Google Sites, Blogger, DotNetNuke, etc., enables users to update the content and images on their site at a very broad level. Note: Using one of these tools does require a commitment to learning how the admin of the CMS works.

BOTTOM LINE: Your website is an investment in your business. It is the same type of investment you make when purchasing a building for your business. The more thought, planning, and occasionally resources, you put into it upfront, the better it will be in the end.