1. The most obvious disadvantage is that you are paying for the service and not just the product. The prices can become very high if you are renting the CMS site rather than buying it. The price can add up when you rent because you continue to pay over time. It’s not really a deal if the payments never end.

2. You are responsible for your online presence. How it shows in different browsers, plug-in support, missing image and more. You will need to know how to manage the website from all angles. Is your SEO getting traction? Do you have Social Networking integrated into your site? Who handles updates and maintenance? Sometimes CMS requires advanced understanding of HTML, CSS, and web technologies. If you’re not use to working on a website, you can get in over your head quickly.

3. CMS sites primarily use templates for the design. You are confined within this type of template with limited flexibility and uniqueness of that design. To alter that template, it usually requires PHP programming and design skills to brand the template.

4. The web pages of CMS sites are generated with URLS of long strings that contain words, numbers and symbols. This makes it difficult for search engines to spider these types of pages. Most of the time meta tags are left out which are necessary for obtaining higher rankings. While you can change to permalinks, you may not know that fact until your site is already built. Sometimes changing that settings effects links and you are in charge of fixing them.

5. Additional cost can occur with CMS sites with updates, support and bandwidth. Testing for errors, browser compatibility and screen resolution are required. If errors occur or database server fail, the cost of maintenance can become burdensome.

The point here is while some CMS products offer a great web solution, it’s important to understand the pros and cons before you build. We can help you make the right decision toward owning that custom designed website. Contact Studio490 for your next website project.

TJ and Dana Todd
Studio490

Customers are using social networks and expect businesses to use it too. If Americans are spending most of their time social networking, shouldn’t companies want to be a part of that world as well. Customers believe that companies should incorporate social networking into their regular marketing strategies.

Back in time, most businesses didn’t have a website to promote their product or service. Now, the majority of businesses have at least a basic web presence. The website is considered to be part of their standard business. So, it will become with social marketing. Social marketing will be a part of the standard way to do business.

Social marketing doesn’t require lots of time. If the company implements the social networking as a part of its marketing strategy, social marketing can be an easy marketing activity to achieve on a daily basis. By integrating the company’s website and social networks, time spent on social networking can be minimize.

By using social marketing,  the company is able to reach thousands of viewers daily. Your business is not just waiting to be found by its website. Now your company can promote your business through other social networks, which brings awareness to your target audience.

With the use of social networking, businesses are able to connect and communicate with its customers and potential customers. It improves the company’s web visibility and increases search engine rankings.

Now is the time to incorporate social networks into your marketing plan. This will not only enhance your online presence, but reach new prospects and meet your current customers’ expectations.

Contact Studio490 today to discuss your social marketing strategies.

TJ and Dana Todd

Studio490

With that being said, it isn’t enough just to have a website. You will be given only one chance to make that first impression and it best be a good one. With a well designed website, you can compete with other companies regardless of their size. You must have a professional looking website so that your potential customers will want to purchase from you. If your site looks like it was designed by a 13 year old with no experience, your chance of making that first impression a good one is lost. Customers come to the web world seeking information about product before purchasing anything. Make sure they find you on the web.

Other reasons you must have a website:
You are open for business 24/7. Customers can contact you via your website at any time during the day/night. This, in turn, increases your business’ revenues through the website. Your customers will increase in volume as well.

You can reach customers from all over the globe. You are not confined to just local businesses. Your products/services can be offered to anyone who interested in your products/services in the global market.

Having a website is an inexpensive way to advertise your business. A website offers good value to money spent. And you can launch promotions easily and costs less than the traditional methods of advertising.

As you can see, there are lots of pros for having a website. The most important reason being making your presence known in the web world!

Next up: Your website and SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Tj and Dana Todd

Studio490

1.    Utilization of Resources

A good alternative to adding a new department or creating a costly task force to complete a specific function is outsourcing. Some tasks may take up an inordinate amount of an employee’s time. By outsourcing, companies can free up their employee’s time which would allow them to do the important day to day function in a timely manner. This increases overall efficiency and improves employee morale.

2.    Reduces Operating Cost

Companies that try to do everything themselves may incur very high research, development and marketing expenses.  Keeping an employee trained and up to date with within certain fields can be costly too. Outsourcing the secondary functions to experts whose only function is one particular task can be much less expensive in the long run. Additional costs, such as SS tax, WC benefits and health insurance, are all part of hiring a full time employee. A company will not incur these cost with outsourcing to experts.

3.    Access to Experts and Specialists

Outsourcing firms are comprised of highly trained and very experienced specialists who know how to handle all aspects of that particular project. For difficult tasks, this allows for many companies to manage those complex projects. The employees will have more time to do their aspects of their job which would increase productivity and customer service. By outsourcing these projects, the company will not be confined to their geographic location.  The company will  have access to even a greater pool of experts by outsourcing through North America. (We are not talking about outsourcing outside of our borders. We want to keep the jobs within the USA.)

4.    Improve Customer Service

When an employee is bogged down with lots of tasks to complete, he/she is less capable of providing excellent customer service. Outsourcing permits a company to redirect its resources from non-core activities toward activities that serve the customer.  The level of customer service will increase because time and resources are being focused on that area.

5.    Improve Efficiency

Cost, quality, service and speed are critical measures that a company must aim for in improvements. This need to increase efficiency directly conflicts with the need to invest in the primary focus of the business. By freeing up time and resources, the company is able to concentrate on making money and growing the business.

Challenge
They approached Studio490 and explained their situation in extreme detail. We came to understand that their trust in vendors had been broken on top of not getting what they paid for. Our challenge was to discuss what we could do for them, how we were going to do it, how long it would take and how much it would cost.

Solution
We explained that we do ministry work for 50% off our market rate and that would help offset some of the expense that they had incurred with the previous vendor. After several meetings discussing their goals and objectives, we gained their trust and commitment to proceed.

We branded a new logo for their marketing materials along with redesigning their web site. The part that impressed them the most was the quality and speed of work for the price quoted. We provided them with several logo variations within 1 business week of their commitment. Once we established ourselves, we then proceeded with providing them a wonderful online solution that took less then 8 weeks to complete. The web solution we provided costs less then 54% of the previous vendor.

We felt that we had proven that good creative resources still exist out there and that we are indeed one of them.

Tj and Dana Todd

Each plan starts with gathering ideas about your audience, brand, and specific goals or needs. We will study and research your business as well as your competitors to gather relevant information to plan the most effective solution.

Produce:

The content of your website or marketing tools tells others about who you are in relation to your philosophies, aspirations, and benefits of using your services. Content is the voice of your company. It will be used to inform, persuade, and entertain your audience. You will want to perform in the most effective way your medium will allow. We will craft the building blocks to help you with future conversations with your customers. Not only is the voice of content critical, so is the placement of the content. You want your target audience to be able to find you in today’s Google or Yahoo search engines. One powerful step in the process is placing targeted keywords and meta tags in your website, this will allow the customers to find you before your competition.

The design of your website will define the success of the message you are trying to communicate to your audience. As you build your Brand Equity, you will have a stronger presence in the market and to your target audience. We will work with you to discover how to communicate your message through designing and branding your identity.

Promote:

This step of the process is the most overlooked part of the development process. After your project is designed, we must create a connection between you and your target audience. We will work on creating and delivering your project through custom email campaigns, press releases, blogs, social media, and etc. By promoting your product/service, you are creating relationships with your audience and their desire for your product or service.

TJ and Dana Todd

Studio490

You contact a design studio (such as Studio490) and they rain on your parade by telling you that an all Flash site is all but invisible to Search Engines.

You may ask yourself, then why do I see so many sites with all the crazy movement, voice overs, transitions and more?

The Answer….

They usually belong to an established company which really does not need to worry about being Found. It’s more about reinforcing their brand with a cool site. Here is a test, what is the name of the shoe company that has a tag line of “Just Do it”? Can you find their site without having to use Google?

When you don’t have to worry about your audience discovering nike.com, you can focus on different brand angles.

I believe a combination of Flash and html is the best of both worlds. The flash sets a tone to the site, but the html provides you a platform to stay “Findable” on the search engines.

Your objective should be to educate your soon to be clients on your products/services and entertain them enough to have them remember you.

Let Studio490 take you to the next level of web development.

Tj and Dana Todd

Studio490

What makes a professional web designer is their ability to listen to the client and suggest the right business solution. Even though that solution may not be something the “Designer” does. A true professional should tell you what you need and not just what you want to hear. Most clients don’t know their meta tag from their link exchange, but it’s your web designer who should.

It does Studio490 no good to design and develop a web solution that never exceeds its clients business expectations. That simply makes a unhappy customer and they don’t return.

The Client

Just as it’s important to hire a professional web designer, we believe it’s important for the client to know what they are asking for. If they don’t, then be open to feedback from that professional. Know when you’re asking for a Lexus on a Yugo budget.

Spend some time learning what you will need to ask for before you find someone to provide that service. Look for a professional who has references, testimonials and samples. Ask about qualifications and how they do business. A professional will be more than happy to talk about their company.

Know what’s included and what is not in the scope of the project. Project Creep is very common in web development and it’s best to define what the cost will cover.

A committed web professional and a educated professional client is a winning combination. You can see our references to see.

Tj and Dana Todd

Studio490

Then you realized that your company logo should be more than just words. And so you brought the topic up in a sales meeting and the guy who sells stuff on eBay was the most creative person in the group. So he whipped up a logo using Paint Shop Pro over the weekend.

Next thing you know, the logo is in your power point which was put together by your Sales Manager.

Three weeks later, you are attending a conference and your secretary has been working on a brochure/calendar combo and you say, “hey, drop in our new logo and print out 100 for the show.”

I paint these situations because this is just what happens everyday in business. May I suggest you print out all of those materials and lay them out on a table next to each other.

Do they look the same?

I’d bet a Venti Mocha Frap that 7 out of 10 are not. They were made by different people at different times with different reasons. Not to mention that none of these very skilled and willing people were Creative Professionals.

That disjointed look you now see all throughout your Client Facing Materials are what your clients see everyday while dealing with your company. Your brochures look different than your email blasts. Your business cards look different then your website. Your powerpoint look different than your closeout materials. When they get some project materials from a SA they look different still.

What is this saying to your client?

Is the process of your business this disconnected? Are my orders being handled properly? Am I paying to much to a company who is spending more time on my project than they should be?

This is where a Creative Professional such at Studio490 comes in and asseses the single brand of the company, adjusts all materials that are not company branded and develops a process for employees to follow to avoid future disconnects.

Having a single brand applied to all client facing and internal facing materials will streamline the development process of communicating with your client. After all, you want a sales person to be selling and not trying to design your next newsletter.

Contact us today and let us exceed your expectations.

You can see some of our work at www.studio490.com and our references from clients we helped fix that broken road.

Tj and Dana Todd
Studio490

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There are ways to get to the top of search engines and here are 2:

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Organic SEO: in which you constantly work on your site content, link exchange, keyword research, meta tags, title wording, networking, blog support (see Studio490.com), online marketing, promotions, email blasts, direct mail, web banners and more.

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Buy your way to the top by Pay-Per-Click: you pay to be listed above the fold when someone enters a certain keyword.

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As a reference, the term “DSL” was selling for 3.05 in 2005 and is now up to 6.24. So if you were the highest bidder for “DSL“; every 100 people that clicked on your link would cost you 624.00. As you can see it wouldn’t take much to blow your budget out of the water if you were going after a popular keyword.

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** Quote **

Successful SEO Needs Effort, Not Quick Fixes
By: Mark Nenadic

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If you want to be successful with search engine optimization, you need to commit yourself to achieving long-term results. This does take patience, but is necessary if you want to come out on top. The following tips can help bring you closer to your high ranking goal:

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Tip 1: Conduct thorough research for keyword phrases- Use effective keyword programs such as Keyword Discovery or Word Tracker. The paid programs of their software will help you generate the best keyword phrases for your business.

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Tip 2: Valuable web content- Don’t create a website that is overrun by graphics. SEO spiders will crawl right over these graphics and by pass you. Your website needs a reasonable amount of web content that is pumped full of valuable information. It needs to be clear and concise. And it should also convey your website’s message, which needs to include the keywords you’ve selected to rank high.

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Tip 3: Relevancy-  Ensure that all of your link anchor texts and title tags are relevant to one another, as well as to the web content that is presented on your site.

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Tip 4: Patience is a virtue- It will take almost a year, or even longer, before you begin to see any traffic from the natural results of search engines. Try not to let this get you down. Take this time to continue to improve your site and give the competition a run for their money. Eventually, your persistence, patience and positive thinking will pay off.

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** End Quote **

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While not having a website at all is still worse than not doing any SEO (search engine optimization), it’s not by much. If you plan on not doing any SEO to your site after launch or in production, keep your site lean with good content until you can afford to do some.

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Tj & Dana Todd
Studio490.