Erich Stauffer

Tag: Indianapolis

  • Indianapolis Colonics; Colon Hydrotherapy from Beauty from Within

    Colonics, which are colon cleansings, according to Indianapolis colonics Beauty from Within should be done on a regular basis for proper internal hygiene. At Indianapolis Colon Hydrotherapy they believe that true beauty starts from inside the body. They say, “The road to vibrant health is achieved by assimilating maximum nutrients from living foods while eliminating cellular waste through a warm , gentle, sterile water cleanse.”

  • Indianapolis Web Design and SEO Consulting

    Erich Stauffer is primarily an online marketing firm that uses two primary tools to promote your business or brand on the Internet. The first tool is your web page, which tells users about your business, allows them to interact with your business, or is setup to sell things for your business. The second tool SEO, or search engine optimization, which helps drive traffic to that website. The two tools are not mutually exclusive, however. The best SEO techniques involve improving the wording or layout of the web site and as well as promoting the site from outside using link-backs.

    Although relatively new techniques come out all the time to adapt to the methods search engines like Google use, content is still king. The easiest sites to market are those with lots of text about the company and the products or services they offer. Many times, businesses choose to hire copywriters for the sole purpose of helping to write articles for the website. These articles are either about the company or about a product. Another reason for using a copywriter may be to write objective press releases. Press releases are usually one of the best methods to get the word out about a new product or promotion and are a key to any SEO plan.

    If you would like more information about Erich Stauffer, about web design and seo in general, or about web design and seo in the Indianapolis area, please visit erichstauffer.com.

  • SEO Terms – By the way, what does SEO stand for?

    When I first got into web design, I didn’t even know what SEO was, let alone stood for. If you’ve stumbled upon this article you might already know that it stands for search engine optimization. This refers to the process of improving search engine results, which leads to our next SEO term, SERPs. SERP refers to search engine results page(s). The number your site is on that SERP is your PR or page rank. When the term is smashed together with no space it is a Google registered trademark. You might also see the term PR5 or PR4. Search engines give greater credibility to sites with links from PR1-PR5 websites. PR, as noted before stands for page rank and the number indicates the rank on that page (1-10). A PR1 website is the number one website for a given search term, for example.

    If you choose to get help on your Internet marketing, how do you decide which SEO firm to go with? Erich Stauffer, an Indianapolis SEO firm writes that, “web design built around search engine optimization,” is something to look for in a SEO firm. SEO is more than just in-bound links. The website has to have good content and a good structure. Are you using H1 tags on every page? Strong tags instead of bold? Are you adequately using your description and keyword meta tags? Are you using tables or DIV tags to organize your information? Can your web page be viewed on a mobile device? Have you submitted your website to ODP? If you do nothing else, please do this last step as the ODP, the Open Directory Project, is the most important step in your SEO or Internet marketing campaign.

  • A Tale of Two Entrepreneurs

    Ever wondered what difference a website can make to your local business? This is a story Patrick Neeman told about two business owners he knew personally.  One friend thought his local business was okay without it, while the other followed the path online.

    Neeman said to his first friend, “Why don’t you have a small website for your business?” This friend runs a small business where his clients spend their money with him on a discretionary basis — that is, it’s for entertainment purposes.  They have to physically visit his business location to use his services, and even though he could sell merchandise online, it makes no sense because most vendors could beat his prices.

    “Looking around his office, he had some computer from the prehistoric era that had dial-up and nothing else. He would never, never really embrace the web like he needs to generate business from it,” said Neeman.

    The other friend, Bob The Chiropractor, just started his business recently in spite of the recession. He runs a chiropractic business, but Neeman met him previously at a marketing company and said, “He’s really a businessman that happens to be a chiropractor, instead of the other way around.”

    Because of the nature of his business, the customers also have to come in to use his services and it’s extremely local. Bob’s really embraced the web, and it shows. In fact, Neeman doesn’t even list the URL – he invites you to type in “Bob The Chiropractor” at Google.

    How well is he doing?

    He’s doubling the size of his office because he’s overbooked. End of story.

    Neeman writes, “Not everyone should get a website, because like any marketing activity, to do it truly well you have to embrace it, and it does take some extra effort. But if you put in that effort and do it right, the rewards can be tremendous.”

    View the full article to find out How to Make the Web Work for Your Business in 5 Steps.

  • The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki

    Guy Kawasaki was part of Apple’s Macintosh team. He helped develop the computer and although it became a huge success, much of the rest of Apple wondered at the time why resources were being taken away from the Apple II, the current product leader. This lead Guy to one of his core themes, “Kill the cash cow.” He has this in common with Jim Collins who has a similar saying, “Sell the mills,” which refers to Scott Paper Company selling their paper mills in order to directly compete against Proctor and Gamble.

    The Art of the Start is not Kawasaki’s first book, nor has it been his last. Rules for Revolutionaries came before and his most recent book is Reality Check. Although all of Kawasaki’s books deal with the entrepreneurial spirit and development, The Art of the Start is a no-bull how-to manual for getting any business, school, or church off the ground and running. The very first chapter lays out the five things any organization needs to do to start. All you have to do is follow them.

    The following is an excerpt from the FAQ section at the end of the first chapter:

    Q. When should I worry about looking like a real business, with business cards, letterhead, and an office?

    A. Make business cards and letterhead immediately. Spend a few bucks and get them designed by a professional or don’t do them at all. Ensure that the smallest type size is twelve points. An office isn’t necessary until customers are coming to see you, or you run out of space for the team.

    Q. Do I need a Web site?

    A. Yes, particularly if you’re going to raise money, serve lots of customers, change the world in a big way, and achieve liquidity. Customers, partners, and investors will look for your Web site from the very start.

  • 10 Effective Marketing and IT Solutions for Small Businesses

    10 ways small businesses or entrepreneurs can use their new website to expand their business – not just their online presence.

    Promote your website.

    Create social spaces on web 2.0 places like Facebook, Myspace, & Youtube. Create content that attracts visitors, then link to your site to draw traffic to the products and services you offer. Content is king so the more articles, blog posts, pictures, video, and information you post, the more people will land on your site and ultimately patronize your business. Even if you don’t decide to use these web 2.0 services, we recommend creating accounts there to reserve your brand name and prevent others from using or abusing it. An easy, but effective way to promote is to ask peers in your field or related fields to link to your site. This gives legitimacy to your website and helps boost search engine rankings. Periodically review your primary keywords. Are your customers finding you using these keywords? Adjust if necessary.

    Be the master of your domain.

    Do you have a new domain that you would like to create email addresses for different parts of your company or for your staff? Think of internal and external uses for email using your new domain including distribution lists that might benefit your business. Decide if you’d like to manage your own email or have someone else do it for you. There are hardware and software solutions for both options if your business has the need. There are also ways to use your domain to store documents safely and securely online. Make your staff more productive by sharing documents and setting up a wiki using your new domain. Create a sub-domain to install a CRM package like SugarCRM or BaseCamp or online applications like Microsoft Office Live or Google Apps. Create a sub-domain like “remote” and configure remote access to your office PC or server – get secure access to your desktop or server from anywhere, as easy as typing in a website address.

    Prepare for growth.

    Create processes for what you’ll do when you get an email from your website. Be prepared for when you get them. Decide what information you want to collect from your website using the web form, the analytics, or via phone call, and then create a privacy policy. Users may want to know how their information is collected and used online then post this privacy policy. Some online advertising programs like Google Adsense require that your site have a privacy policy posted with specific verbiage. Check with your vendors to see if they require that your site have a privacy policy. In addition to creating a privacy policy, you might want to consider creating a customer resource management (CRM) tool to store the information you collect. This can be as simple as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Google Sites, or SugarCRM. You’ll want to know who your customers are and where they came from.

    Manage your ROI.

    Any other advertising you are doing on billboards, radio, TV, or print should be pointed back to specific, non-linked pages on your website in order to determine the ROI on those advertisement investments. Use analytics to see what pages your customers or potential customers are visiting to determine how they got there. See what pages people are entering your site through and which ones they are leaving and how long they are staying on each. This way you can adapt your website and improve performance. If you are not getting the results you desire, review your call to action to see if users are responding to it. Is it clear what the site is asking them to do? Protect your brand and know who is talking about and/or linking to your website by setting up alerts to notify you when someone writes about you online or links to your site.

    Update your marketing.

    Does your old image or brand not reflect your new website? You might need to update your branding and/or logo to match the look and feel of your new website. Update any signs, business cards, or marketing materials, especially business cards with your new website’s address. If you are promoting your business on Twitter, Facebook, or Myspace, you might consider adding these websites as well. Be discriminate, but don’t hide them either. Transparency is a hot business trend in 2009 and may continue into the future. Creating a dialog with the customer is important, but its not enough to expect them to converse with you on your website, you have to go to where your customers are. And for the most part, your customers are on social spaces like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.

    Keep your website fresh.

    Your website is new now, but that won’t always be the case. Customers expect a website to change its content over time. When you have news, post it to your website. When you have sales or begin selling a new product or service, post it. This will help keep your business looking fresh and alive. A general rule is to change something on your website’s home page or primary landing page at least once a month. An easy way to do this if you don’t have much news it to change out pictures or video. Content on your social spaces is more strict and should change daily. A stagnant social space can sometimes do more harm than good so make sure to keep it updated and you will reap the rewards from engaged customers and brand loyalty.

    Save money.

    You may have paid a newspaper or head hunter to help you find top talent before. Now you can use your website to collect résumé’s or post jobs online. You can also use your website to do market research testing the popularity of a product or service before you buy inventory or hire a new staff member. Use analytics and promotion to help you tease information out of the content you post. In this way you will save money from buying and promoting a failed offering until you find the one that truly has a market. Save even more if you’ve used a market research firm for this type of service in the past.

    Make money.

    This may or may not be the primary goal of your website, but you now have a platform for selling products or services directly to customers online – just as you would over a physical counter in a store. You can have the ability to accept credit cards on your site or through services like Paypal or Google Checkout. You can also use part of your website for affiliate referrals which pay you when someone signs up for something on another site. This is a form of an advertisement and if you were inclined to add that, there are options to sell space or work with major partners like Google as an additional way to generate capital for your business.

    Rethink location.

    Now that you have a website, how might you use it to expand your business’ footprint? What products or services did you not offer before because of location? You might want to reevaluate decisions you’ve made in the past in relation to your physical location. Now that you have a website which is not necessarily restricted by where it is on a map, how does that affect your business model? Does this allow you to broaden your market? Does it allow you to consider setting up a franchise or sales offices elsewhere? Taking this thought experiment to the next level, could you create premium content about how you do what you do and either offer subscription-level service to those who need the information or even write a book about it?

    About Erich Stauffer Web Design and Promotion

    At Erich Stauffer, we believe that, the keys to a successful business are organization, accountability, and execution. This is a philosophy that we not only practice internally, but expect our clients to hold us to as well. Client Service is our #1 priority, and our team of professionals will work with you to design and promote your website to achieve your vision of a successful business.

    Erich Stauffer delivers exceptional solutions for your business:

    • Professional web design to keep visitors and gain customers
    • Web promotions to attract visitors
    • Web Analytics to show a return on your investment (ROI)

    We are an Indianapolis firm serving the entire Midwest region and beyond. We offer web design and development services for all types and sizes of businesses.

    Don’t have a website yet? There’s no better time than now to invest in the future success of your business. An attractive website is a critical component of success for any business. At Erich Stauffer, we can create, update, and maintain your website. Our company also offers other valuable services such as:

    The next step is to contact our Sales Manager who will arrange a time to have an initial consultation. We look forward to discussing how to help make your vision of a successful business come to life through the power of the web. After all, “Our Business is Helping Your Business.”

    Get a free quote today!

  • Erich Stauffer Reviews “6 Website Fixes to Make Now”

    This is a review of an article originally published on Entrepreneur.com on April 28, 2009 entitled, “6 Website Fixes to Make Now,” by Mike Werling. This article is for small business owners and entrepreneurs who may or may not have a webmaster or web designer and it assumes that everyone is on the same page that every business needs a website.  Werling’s thesis is that, “Relatively minor issues can drag down your site’s effectiveness,” and that these issues could be costing your business money.  We couldn’t agree more, but lets go down the list.

    Website fix #1 is, “Increase the speed.” It’s not about streamlining your site for dial-up users anymore.  Even broadband users can enjoy a fast-loading site while other are increasingly browsing the Internet using their cell phones or PDAs, which also can have slower connections.  Werling writes that technology for tech’s sake is no longer in fashion, which is also Website Fix #3.  Even Flash, which is on 99% of all computers is not as sought after as it once was even, “just a few years ago.”  Werling quotes Ben Rushlo,  director of Keynote Consulting for Phoenix-based Keynote Systems, a service provider that improves online business performance, “People now view [Flash] as annoying. They’d rather read information.” Rushlo recommends using the smallest file sizes for images as well as putting any, “non-essential” pictures towards the bottom of the page to, “help the important information pop up quickly.”

    Website fix #2 is, “Write better product descriptions. ” This has mostly to do with e-commerce solutions and shopping cart design, but we can apply some of these suggestions to anything message you are trying to get across online, whether it be selling a product, service, or an idea.  Werling says all descriptions should be, “Succinct and filler-free.”  One of our web designers tells the story of a supervisor at a previous job declaring a, “No Fluff Zone,” for all client-facing material.  Werling agrees, but says it, “Can be difficult because, as Amy Schade says, you need to, ‘Convince [users] the product meets their needs,” but the verbiage. ‘Has to be short and descriptive.’”  Werling goes on to say that, “There’s no salesperson available on a website, so [users],  “Should be able to see a product and know what it does,’ says Schade.” A director at the Nielsen Norman Group in New York City, Schade is also co-author of the second edition of the “E-Commerce User Experience” report.

    Website Fix #3 is, “Delete tech used for the sake of tech.” This fix is sort of a combination of fixes 1 and 2.  In order to speed up a website, you get rid of slow-loading flash (Fix #1) and any fluff (Fix #2) that doesn’t really propel your website’s goal forward.  Rushlo says, “[Site owners] need to evaluate if things like music, video and 360-degree views are necessary.”  Werling writes that Schade subscribes to Rushlo’s view, “[Schade] says to beware the trendy and new. Anything business owners jump on because it is the latest and greatest has the potential to backfire, especially if entrepreneurs don’t have the resources to keep up with all of the moving parts of their sites. Things like Facebook pages and video are fun; and social networking is quickly becoming an integral part of many businesses’ marketing platforms, but business owners need to weigh a technology’s popularity against their ability to utilize it fully.”

    Website Fix #4 is, “Improve shopping cart and payment options,” but we are going to call this, “Improving the functional design of your website.” Users can be irrational.  The smallest hangup or hint of mistrust can make them change their mind on whether or not they are going to use your product or service.  Yes, shopping carts should have the same look and feel of the rest of the site, but they shouldn’t require setting up an account, for example and of course the site should be trusted and secure.  If you cannot afford a secure certificate for your website or do not want or need to setup that type of environment, Paypal is a perfectly acceptable solution that users trust.  The checkout process or any other primary aim of your website should instill confidence, not regret.  Be as transparent as you can.  Let users know how the information will be used and kept.  This is sometimes called a privacy statement.  Transparency is also a top business trend for 2009.

    Website Fix #5 is, “Use unique page titles on every page.” This is more of a SEO tip than anything, but nevertheless true.  SEO stands for search engine optimization.  It’s what you do on your site to make it more appealing to search engines like Google or Yahoo.  Page titles, what is displayed at the top of your browser window, are important and they should be different for every page.  Each page should have a different description, keywords, and H1 tag, just as a baseline.  There are many other things you can do to improve SEO, but changing the titles on your page is one of the most important.  If you use H1 tags, make sure they are only used once per page.  Use H2 or font tags for other titles on your page.  Use a Strong tag around items that are especially important.  Some CMS programs like WordPress default to using Strong instead of Bold tags.

    Website Fix #6 is, “Shorten forms.” This dovetails into Website Fix #2 and 4.  Basically,  Werling recommends removing what isn’t necessary. If you don’t need the user’s physical address, for example, don’t ask for it.  Werling writes, “Only ask for the information you really need. ” In summary, business websites should be fast-loading and fluff-free.  Give the user just enough to make a desicion. Remove anything that isn’t necessary in order to not annoy the user and improve speed.  We think this is great advice.  If you would like help making any of the above changes to your company’s website, please contact us.  Erich Stauffer is  an Indianapolis web design firm serving the entire Midwest region and beyond.  We offer web design and development services for all types and sizes of businesses.

  • Does Your Local Business Need a Website?

    If you want to attract new customers, the answer is easy.

    Websites may be the most overlooked vehicle of advertising for local, small office, home office businesses. We believe every business, no matter how big or small needs a website. Every dentist, lawyer, accountant, and church needs one. Every café, restaurant, coffee shop and nightclub needs one. Every wholesale supply or landscaping company needs one.

    We’re not suggesting that all businesses need to transact business online, we’re only saying that everyone listed in yesterday’s yellow pages needs to also be available on the Internet today. Why? Because your customers expect it. That’s where they are looking first and foremost.

    If you’re thinking you might not be able to afford putting up a website, think again. Roy H. Williams of Entrepreneur Magazine said that, “For a simple website, a budget of $2,000 to $5,000 for construction and $100 to $400 for monthly maintenance and updates should cover it. Robust sites with streaming video, opt-in subscriber functions and other, more complicated features can run between $12,000 and $20,000 for construction and $500 to $2,000 for monthly maintenance and updates.”

    A properly constructed website allows your prospects to gather the information they need from the privacy of their Internet connection. Ask yourself what questions your sales team gets every day? Then ask yourself how would your best sales team member phrase their responses on his or her best day? This is the type of information that needs to be available 24/7 on your website.

    Think of your website as a relationship strengthener, a kind of halfway point between your regular advertising and your front office. Do you think it’s easier to convince customers to visit your website or to convince them to get in their vehicle, drive to your establishment, park, get out, and walk in your door?

    The Internet has allowed the introverted half of our population to explore in ways they never would have otherwise. Introverts strongly prefer to gather information anonymously and are unlikely to dial your phone number, except as a last resort. Even more unlikely is that they’ll choose to walk into your store and engage a salesperson. Introverts aren’t necessarily shy–they simply like to gather all the facts before they put themselves in a position where they’ll likely be asked to answer questions. Half of all your customers strongly prefer to know what they’re coming in to buy before they walk in your door. And even the other half of your target market, the extroverts, will appreciate an informative website that functions as an expert salesperson during all those hours you’re not open for business.

    Don’t think for a moment that your customers aren’t already on the Internet looking around at your competition. When several hundred people were recently asked, “How many of you have used a search engine within the past seven days to research a product or service that you were considering purchasing?”, 85 to 90 percent of the crowd raised their hand, according to Williams. He goes on to tell the story that occured during a trade show in Las Vegas, he was the keynote speaker for a trade
    organization whose 1,600 delegates had been gathered from around the world. He was there to deliver a speech on the keys to more effective advertising. The trade organization published a full-color magazine for their members, and prior to this conference, the executive council had been complaining to him privately about the high cost of publishing and shipping that magazine. He was waiting offstage and while the emcee was introducing him, the chairman leaned over and whispered to him, “Almost all our membership is over 55 years of age, so you probably don’t want to mention the Internet.” Once again, Roy asked this roomful of oldsters, “How many of you have used a search engine within the past seven days to research a product or service that you were considering purchasing?”. The answer? Roughly 95 percent.

    Does your local business need a website?

  • Congratulations Vermillion Christian Church!

    Vermillion Christian Church of Alexandria, Indiana has decided to update their website in order to serve their community better. We wish Vermillion Christian Church the best as they move forward with this project. Vermillion Christian Church believes, “Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent.”