Web Design Produces 353% Traffic Increase in Two Months

SEO Design Chart

Many of my website design prospects frequently ask me “what they can expect” when we discuss converting their static website into a dynamic WordPress website.  I answer them honestly by saying it depends on a lot of variables because no two projects are exactly alike.  While this answer is not a concrete one, it is the best one I can give because I don’t yet know the variables.  What I can tell them is that there are great examples of success when the process goes right. Does SEO Really Matter in Website Design? Yes, yes it does.  My project plan doesn’t allow for website Read more

304 Link Building Opportunities

Link Building Branch With People

Let the Link Building Begin! Your new website just went live so you’re now enjoying the fruits of your labor and admiring the exceptional job you and your team did on design and development. The project is finally over and it is time to settle back and wait for your website traffic to climb to new heights. Reality check! I repeat - it is time for a reality check. You’re about half done with your quest for internet dominance. The research, website design, build out, and on-page SEO are all only part of your ongoing battle for visitors and conversions. Link building is not only necessary Read more

The Girlfriend’s Guide to Blogging

The Girlfriend's Guide to Blogging

This week I received an email  from a longtime girlfriend who is interested in launching a blog.  I was actually surprised by this, because Mary (name has been changed to protect the innocent) has a fulltime job already and it is not marketing related.   She had an idea for a blog and wanted advice on how to get a blog started. My girlfriend is not alone.  I receive dozens of emails each week from people wanting blogs and websites created for their “idea” and I can tell at least 75% have no clue what to do or where to start.  The classic signs of this state of confusion are the Read more

Good Times at WordCamp Detroit 2011

Name Tags

Another year, another WordCamp here in Detroit.  I was excited for it to arrive and I'm definitely sad to see it go.  I love WordCamp almost as much as I love WordPress.  It brings together my favorite things: WordPress and my fellow like-minded geeks.  This year I was able to bring along my possy, which included my assistant Jen (and long time BFF), my fellow internet marketer Rachel, and our collective friend Megan who is completely new to WordPress.  Good times. This year's WordCamp was hosted at the Detroit RenCen building.  Yes from the image below, you can see the Read more

Stand Back! The Geeks Are Coming

Web Design Geek

Last night I met with a business partner named Scott.  Scott is an engineer and his engineering brain loves SEO.  I’ve been teaching SEO 101 while we build Scott’s website.  Last night as we moved from SEO 101 to SEO 201, Scott couldn’t understand why I didn’t do this with every client.  The truth be told, 99% of my clients don’t care.  They pay me to make sure their website and SEO are taken care of and they don’t want to worry about it. We All Make Mistakes Very few clients have Scott’s thirst for knowledge.  They don’t understand it, or care, or have the time to Read more

Web Design Ain’t Over Until the SEO Sings

SEO Singing

So you’ve gone through weeks of website design, content creation, and setting up your social media accounts.  You are ready to go live with your beautiful new website.  Ah, not so fast.  You’re forgetting the SEO consultant has the last word and no website should go live until your SEO guru dots all the I’s and crosses all the T’s. At Web Savvy Marketing we work on a good mix of web design projects and straight SEO consulting.  Our website design clients typically select us because our process is integrated with full search engine optimization.  The funny part is that they're Read more

Why DIY Websites Are Many Times a Horrible Mistake

So you’ve finally made the decision – you need a new website.  If that’s the case, you’re probably trying to figure out if you should hire a professional or try to go it alone.  If you’re a small business or a tech savvy marketer, you’ve considered doing it yourself or maybe even decided to take the DIY website route.   For some, this can be a great decision. For others – aka most – this can be a disaster. The DIY Website Designer Lately I’ve received a lot of emails and calls from people who ventured down the DIY website path only to find themselves going astray.  Read more

We’re Sponsoring WordCamp Detroit 2011

Wordcamp-Small

WordCamp Detroit is coming! As summer winds down, vacations wrap up, and kids return to school, the geeks begin to circle and prepare for WordCamp Detroit. Since we love everything WordPress and we are also geeks, we’ve decide to help sponsor this year’s event at the RenCen in downtown Detroit. Why Should You Attend a WordCamp? If you love WordPress or want to get involved with WordPress, it’s a great opportunity to learn more about WordPress and interact with the local WordPress community. Many of us don’t leave of our monitors much, so it forces us to get up and explore the world Read more

Should You Ditch Your Website & Developer?

Dude in Garbage Can

When I first started my business, I thought projects would be clearly defined as web design or SEO. Oh was I wrong.  Projects, like clients, come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. What may start out as a simple SEO project may lead into a full-blown website development. And this migration isn’t because I’m pushing web design on clients, it’s because the client has significant limitations with their existing website. Since I run into this often, I'm sure the average website owner does too.  If you’re trying to decide between updating your existing website or moving towards Read more

Social Media Can be a Band-Aid and Not the Cure

Social Media Band Aid

This week I had a call from a very nice gentleman who wanted help with social media and blogging. He also mentioned the need for a little organic SEO. Great I thought, this is my thing and we’re a perfect fit for each other. I love the combination of social media, blogging, and SEO. To me this combination is like “Rebecca candy”. What Lies Beneath is Always So Scary At the end of our discussion I promised to review his website and dig further into his online presence. I’m not going to offer to help or even send a proposal, unless I know what help is needed. So I dug further and I did Read more