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What do You MEAN My Website is GONE?!

This past week brought a very scary scenario to one of my clients.  Over the past few weeks, our team have been working with a new client to create a fresh website. It was discovered a few days ago that their old site was gone before the new one was ready. That made me reflect long and hard about how well I back up my website and what security measures I have in place. Here are some things that came to mind that I think you need to address immediately if you haven’t already:
1) Back Up Your Website – this may be something that you are expecting your web developer to do, or this may be something that you do yourself, but by all means make sure that your website is backed up regularly. ‘Regularly’ will vary depending on how often you make changes to your site, but a minimum would be weekly. If you do a daily blog or have just finished uploading a bunch of new content, back it up right away. In any case, choose your host carefully and make sure they back up their servers regularly as well.
2) Take control – if you aren’t technically inclined, make sure that the person you have given control of your website (i.e. login information, ability to edit and upgrade etc.) is someone whom you trust explicitly. Even then, make sure all passwords and log in coordinates are kept by you in a safe place. You should have the keys no matter who is managing the site. People move on. Relationships fade. This includes access to your registrar account for domain names and your web host account. Make sure you get alerted, or mark on your calendar, when renewal time is coming up and be proactive so nothing expires.
3) Plan Ahead – if you foresee any changes within your company, or if a special event is coming up where you want to make sure your website is accessible, ensure that all those involved with the site are aware of the need and prepared if something goes amiss.
4) Be Adaptable – if for some terrible reason your website gets deleted or lost, deal with it. I don’t mean that to sound cold, but if you need a site quickly while you’re pulling together what used to be on your old site, find a reputable company that can help you out. Announce to your intimate network what has happened and what you need, and ask for help right away. You’d be amazed at how quickly people want to jump to your aid.
It’s usually not possible to predict when tragedy will strike. But we do have a wide range of tools at our disposal to prepare for some things, particularly in the area of technology. Backups and updates should be factored into your daily routine as a matter of course.

stress meterThis past week brought a very scary scenario to one of my clients.  Over the past few weeks, our team have been working with a new client to create a fresh website. It was discovered a few days ago that their old website host had deleted the site before the new one was ready. That made me reflect long and hard about how well I back up my website and what security measures I have in place. Here are some things that came to mind that I think you need to address immediately if you haven’t already:

1) Back Up Your Website – this may be something that you are expecting your web developer to do, or this may be something that you do yourself, but by all means make sure that your website is backed up regularly. ‘Regularly’ will vary depending on how often you make changes to your site, but a minimum would be weekly. If you do a daily blog or have just finished uploading a bunch of new content, back it up right away. In any case, choose your host carefully and make sure they back up their servers regularly as well.

 

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Have A Niche Day

When planning a trip to a destination for the first time, the excitement of anticipation wells up as you list all the amazing things you can see and do.  I’m planning my first trip to Italy with my mom and there are a few items on the list that are ‘must see’.  As I’m reading and researching, I see that a week is barely enough to see our priority destinations. But work and family commitments (not to mention cost) impact the duration of the trip. We’ll just have to make the tough choices and be very specific with where we’ll go or we’ll be spread too thin and get burned out.
When running a business, similar considerations come into play. As your skills and reputation grow, the temptation to spread out your service offerings can be great. There is a great danger, however, that you end up spreading yourself too thin. But to not offer those extra services means leaving money on the table when customers need to go elsewhere. Focusing on your core strengths means you can offer excellence and experience to every job. That usually results in better service and increased customer satisfaction. And naturally those delighted customers will tell their friends and colleagues. So although your offerings are targeted and specific, you’ve increased your sales force with all those happy customers.
Are you targeting your products and services? What’s your niche?

happy-faceWhen planning a trip to a destination for the first time, the excitement of anticipation wells up as you list all the amazing things you can see and do.  I’m planning my first trip to Italy with my mom and there are a few items on the list that are ‘must see’.  As I’m reading and researching, I see that a week is barely enough to see our priority destinations. But work and family commitments (not to mention cost) impact the duration of the trip. We’ll just have to make the tough choices and be very specific with where we’ll go or we’ll be spread too thin and get burned out.

 

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The Freelance Squeeze

If you are a freelancer or self-employed, you’ll understand the dance between marketing your business and actually doing the work. Marketing specialists insist that you should always be marketing, even when you are busy, to ensure that the work continues to flow without significant gaps.  I agree with that philosophy (although my current calendar has its own ideas on that) and I have vastly improved my follow up methods to ensure no leads get dropped. But there are forces beyond our control which means we have to have flexibility and good time management powers.
About five months ago I was preparing several quotes a week and was very excited about all the work that would be trickling in as a result. But a funny thing happened. Most of them didn’t move forward. The reasons varied from lack of budget and change in corporate direction, to the customer simply being too busy so the job had to be put off. During that time I kept myself busy trying different marketing strategies and making improvements to my website so that I at least felt productive. But I won’t lie to you, it was disappointing and scary.
Can you guess what happened next? Yep, my schedule EXPLODED! People who were too busy months ago came to realize that their website was a priority and needed me to get to work immediately. New contacts were finding me through my improved website and calling with an urgent need because they needed someone just like me. My networking (off and online) efforts were bringing new people to my site and stimulating email and phone conversations that brought in even more work. So today as I write this blog post, I should actually be working on three other jobs. I won’t lie to you, this feels terrific....and scary.
Now my time management is challenged and my processes for developing quality content and SEO strategies are being tested. I feel fully alive because I love what I do. I’m thankful for this roller coaster because there is not one single minute that I’m bored.
Where does your business sit right now? Are you being persistent during the slow times and continuing to market? Is your business website and social media presence in top form? How is your scheduling and time management? I welcome you to share your challenges and how you overcame them.

54734iraepksirpIf you are a freelancer or self-employed, you’ll understand the dance between marketing your business and actually doing the work. Marketing specialists insist that you should always be marketing, even when you are busy, to ensure that the work continues to flow without significant gaps.  I agree with that philosophy (although my current calendar has its own ideas on that) and I have vastly improved my follow up methods to ensure no leads get dropped. But there are forces beyond our control which means we have to have flexibility and good time management powers.

 

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Never Give Up, Never Surrender

I love that phrase from the parody SciFi flick ‘Galaxy Quest’. It makes me laugh because of the context
in which I first heard it, but it’s a phrase I find myself using often. Why? Because there are so many
situations at work or home where people around me (and myself) are on the brink of giving up.
Does that happen to you? You have spent hours on a project, only to learn that the direction has
changed and you’re forced to start over. You get excited about a new idea then it fades to panic when
you see what’s involved in actually executing. You hold on to that broken table, knowing in your heart
that one day the missing fourth leg will miraculously show up (wait, maybe that’s a different post).
Giving up is easy.(Note: not talking about smoking or drugs here, I’m talking about things that were
worth doing in the first place) Oh, there may be a few regrets, the odd raised eyebrow but anything’s
easier than what you’re going through right now, isn’t it? Well, let me tell you that choosing ‘easy’ is
usually the wrong way to go. Choosing easy means you didn’t challenge yourself or learn anything.
Choosing easy is equivalent to being lazy. And lazy is a one way ticket in the wrong direction.
I’m writing this post because I got paid today for an invoice that was outstanding for a very long time.
It would have been easy to write it off to keep the books clean but, dammit, I was not going to let that
happen. I bugged this guy for close to a year and today got my reward. It would have been easier to
remove the distraction and focus my energy on new work. But I just wouldn’t give up.
What are you thinking of giving up today? Can I talk you out of it?

Galaxy-Quest-PosterI love that phrase from the parody SciFi flick ‘Galaxy Quest’. It makes me laugh because of the context in which I first heard it, but it’s a phrase I find myself using often. Why? Because there are so many situations at work or home where people around me (and myself) are on the brink of giving up.

Does that happen to you? You have spent hours on a project, only to learn that the direction has changed and you’re forced to start over. You get excited about a new idea then it fades to panic when you see what’s involved in actually executing. You hold on to that broken table, knowing in your heart that one day the missing fourth leg will miraculously show up (wait, maybe that’s a different post).

 

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8 Keyword Placement Rules

When developing copy for your website, the most important consideration is what keywords you will use. After you've gone through the process of figuring out what the keywords should be for each page you plan to optimize, then you have to decide where they will be placed within the text. Remember that your first priority is to your reader, not the search engines, so make sure what you're writing is interesting, compelling, and grammatically correct.

Where Do You Place Keywords?

1) The URL of the page
2) The Title tag
3) The main page header (H1)
4) Other header tags (H2, H3)
5) Opening paragraph and closing paragraph
6) The URL for an image on the page
7) Alt tag for images on the page
8) Meta description for the page

Usually your web page or blog post should be long enough to impart useful information to the reader and therefore you want to make a few hundred words in length. Help your reader to navigate through the page by making it scannable, with sub-headings and white space. Huge blocks of text might put them off to the point where they'll 'come back to it' but often don't get the chance. Make it short enough that they'll consume it right away and hopefully share with their network.

If you're looking for other ideas on how to research keywords or where to best place them within the text of your website content or blog post, contact Marnie at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

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