Lead Generation Minneapolis

In today’s economy, it is very important to have a source of leads for your business. Many businesses that help other businesses grow become a huge asset, especially during a down economy. Minneapolis lead generation can be a huge benefit to local businesses within the Minneapolis area. With the growing number of people conducting online searches for local businesses, this opens up great opportunities for companies seeking to take advantage of local lead generation.

There are many ways to generate leads for your business. A few of the ways are:

Build a website that is search engine friendly and updated often
Pay Per Click (PPC) search engine campaigns
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for “organic” search results
Send out a mail flyer to a specific industry you are targeting and follow up with a phone call
Write an online article featuring a company that you would like to work with and in the article show how the company could benefit from your services
Ask for referrals

These are just a few of the ways leads are generated. It is very important to look at all of the options and choose the best one to fit your business’ particular needs and/or budget.

Online Lead Generation Minneapolis

Generating leads from online sources has proven to be a great way to help increase a business’ bottom line. This is also one of the main reasons why Google is as large as they are. When it is possible to give searchers relevant information according to what they are looking for, the possibility to make a great connection is opened. Online lead generation is a very affordable way to see if online searchers are interested in what you have to offer. Online lead generation is far less expensive than more traditional forms of advertising (phone book, TV, newspaper, local magazines, etc) and it is possible to track ROI much better with an online lead generating advertising system.

One quick search for a given industry with a “Minneapolis” location tagged on the end of it usually produces a great wealth of information in a local area. This shows that other businesses are taking advantage of lead generation in Minneapolis and that it is working for their businesses.

Start generating leads for your business today

Another great feature of generating leads online is that you can start and stop when ever is convenient for your business. It is possible to set your own budget. This makes generating leads from online sources a huge, affordable benefit and explains why it is growing so rapidly. Set aside a budget and a time frame and start taking control of the leads being offered to your business.

Tags: Increase ROI, increase website conversions, relevant information, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), website optimization
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Content Generation for Your New Website

Website Content Generation

So you have finally decided to get a website for your business. Congratulations! You found a reputable Minneapolis web design firm with a solid portfolio and great customer service. You want a clean, crisp design and also be found in the search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. Then it finally sets in, you are going to need text on your website. What should you say? Should you really include that? How long should it be? Need some help? Keep reading.

What should you say?

Even though you may think writing copy for your business may be easy, when it comes time to actually sit down and write, it may take a while to organize your thoughts.

I would recommend the following ideas for your “Home” or “About” page:

How many years have you been in business?
Write the story about how your business was started.
What products and services do you offer and how do they differ from the competition?
List the geographical areas you serve.
Where your business is located.

For a “Products” or “Services” page, I would recommend:

A picture of the product or service being completed
A description of the product or service
All of what is included with the product or service
Any warranties
What the user can expect when they have this product or service
Any part numbers that are relevant to the product or other common names for the service
A contact phone number

Finally, for a “Contact” page, I would recommend:

Any and all contact information
Phone number
Email address
Fax number
Website address
Business mailing address
Google Map with driving directions
Google Talk, AIM or other instant message programs

This information will help you get started on some of the types of text that visitors will find useful on your website. We have noticed when writing our own text that the above suggestions get the ball rolling and then it usually spirals into a bunch more content that you were unaware that you had wanted to put in.

How long should it be?

I would recommend breaking the information into some decent chunks, maybe 500 – 1200 words and spreading it around on different pages. If you do have a long page, I would recommend internal links that, when clicked, automatically scroll down the page to the desired content. If you choose to do this, place a “Back to the top” link at the bottom of the desired content section. It makes it easier for users to quickly get around your website.

Be resourceful, use the internet!

Go out to websites and look at what people use for great paragraphs. What ever you do, do not steal others’ text. This can get you in serious trouble. You can, however, see different writing styles for different industries and then come up with your own unique style of writing for your own website.

Be sure to include keywords!

Finally, keep in mind the keywords you would like to rank for in the search engines. Include a few keywords throughout your text so that the search engines can pick them up. Don’t stuff your paragraph with keywords. This could lead to penalties and possibly get your website banned. So keep it natural and let the search engine ranking begin!

Tags: refine your website, relevant information, relevant website information, website content
Posted in Design / Redesign, Suggested Content | No Comments »

Reasons for a Website Redesign

Website Redesign

Every now and then, you run across a website of a company that looks like the last time it was updated was 1997. How much trust does that build with you? I usually think, “Hmmm…if their website is outdated, maybe their business practices are as well.” And then I usually proceed on to their competitor. Having an updated and user friendly design can pay dividends to people searching for your products and services or to your sales team and having them guide prospective clients to the correct area on your website.

Redesign and update your website

It is important to keep your look and feel as fresh and clean as possible. We believe it is also important to maintain a constant look and feel throughout the website. Do yourself and your visitors a favor and don’t have the logo aligned left on one page and then aligned right on another page, with different navigation elements. Keep it consistent. Also make sure your website is in accordance with your other promotional materials. We have helped clients who send out flyers and it is important to have the same logos and colors in order to appear consistent. With customers, it’s critical to build up enough trust so they feel comfortable contacting you.

Make your website redesign more user friendly

Make sure your website does not have any broken links. This is a sign to the search engines that some of the content on your website may be outdated.
Validate your website. The World Wide Web Consortium has a website validator that you can use to make sure your website is up to code standards.
Redo your title and description tags on your website. Make sure it relates to the information you have on the web page. This can help in the search engine results.
Make sure your navigation is clear and consistent. This is a huge deal on the web. There is nothing more frustrating than a website that has inconsistent navigation throughout the website. Visitors WILL go to competitors’ websites.
Update offers and contact information. Be sure to change and add any phone numbers that need to be replaced. Make sure email addresses go to the proper location. Make sure your address is up to date. Is all of the contact information on each and every page? Is everything spelled right? Is that sale from 1998 over yet on your website?
Add new, worthwhile information to your website. Do you have an article about your company that would help other visitors to make a decision to use your products or services? Do you have any testimonials that you could share? Is there any new affiliation that you would like to show off to visitors? Collect as much information that you think would be helpful to a visitor and get it ready to place online.

Taking on a website design project can be a hefty task. If you could use our assistance, please feel free to get in touch with us. We have completed many website redesigns over the years. The owners are usually very excited when they see the effect it can have on the search engine positions and the conversion rates from visitor to customer.

Tags: new website look and feel, refine your website, relevant information, update my website, user friendly web design, website redesign
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Affordable Website Designs: How You Can Help Make Your Website Design Affordable! Yes, You!

Affordable Website Designs

There are many factors that you should think about when preparing to make your website design affordable. Making affordable website designs is something that every website designer strives toward if they wish to keep their clients happy. In this article we are going to discuss how both you as a customer and your website designer can work together to make your affordable website design.

Let your website designer know what your specified budget is.
This is rule number 1 for a reason! Affordability is different for each business. For example, I was talking to one of my acquaintances about boats while we were going for a boat ride on his new yacht. He said that the boat was “affordable” so he bought it and he loves it. Another acquaintance told me he was looking for a boat. “Affordable” to him was a price around $1200. Affordability is the amount of a resource (money, time, etc) to spend on something and it is not the same for any two people. It is important to let your web designer know what “affordability” means to you as a customer.
Know what you can live without!
“For example, I was talking to one of my acquaintances about boats while we were going for a boat ride on his new yacht. He said that the boat was “affordable” so he bought it and he loves it. Another acquaintance told me he was looking for a boat. “Affordable” to him was a price around $1200.”

Let’s face it, everyone wants their website to have ecommerce, interactive features, rank high in the search engines, get unlimited updates and make them financially independent. I’ll let you in on a little secret.you won’t get any of those with a $10/month website. Having a website that does all of those things is possible. They have been done before, but affordability was never mentioned while they were working on the project. So maybe having a presence online where your customers can reach you via email and find out more about your company and your store hours is what you really need. More likely than not, your website designer can do all of the things mentioned above, but you can help make your affordable web design easier on yourself, your wallet and your designer.
Have all materials ready for your website designer.
This help is extremely appreciated by all web designers that are on a project budget. A list of some of the things that you can have ready is as follows:
- Text for the web pages that you would like
- The pictures/images you would like on each page
- The location of the pictures/images (either on the web, on your computer or in your house)
- A company brochure
- A thought about what you would like the design of your website to look like
- Links to other websites you would like to have on your website
This can be a tremendous help for making affordable website design. All of these items mentioned save your website designer time and makes things more efficient. Do them and it will lower the cost of your business website design project.
If you think of any changes you’d like or features you’d like to add, bring them up and talk to your designer about them.
They might have an effect on the affordability or have some other extra steps that you don’t see that would need to be set up in order to have the new feature. Keep the lines of communication open! Having an affordable website design takes effort from both parties.

In conclusion, making an affordable website design is realistic and can be done. Having an affordable website design is done all the time, but it needs help from both the client and the website designer to make sure it is done properly. Help the web designer by gathering around items that are needed in the project. Also, it’s always a good idea to keep the lines of communication open, and affordable web design is no exception. Keep these ideas in mind when you are involved in a website project and you will have no problem keeping your goal of having an affordable website design.

Tags: afford a website, affordable website design, business website, company affordable website, how do we get this process started, new website look and feel, relevant information, small business website, stages of a website, website budget, website process
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Introduce Your Business to the Internet

By now you should have heard that your business should be online. The internet has proven to be a vital part of many marketing campaigns. The internet allows businesses to capture information about customers that traditional marketing could never do. As with any introduction, it is best to show up looking good and being friendly (to the search engines).

The internet has seen dramatic growth in the past decade. More and more people are spending cash to see if they can use the internet to their advantage for their business. A recent statistic states that the number of people online in the US is close to 347 million, according to Internet World Stats, that’s over 89% of the population. Not a bad place to introduce your business to the world.

The information that can be gathered about your customers is another way that you can make yourself useful to them. When a user contacts you from the website via email, you are able to gather names, addresses and information that is relevant to the customer, such as a question about a product or service you offer. Then you can tailor your sales pitch according to their needs and give them what they are looking for.

Lastly, making your website search engine friendly and easy to navigate is a good practice. Being easy to work with is essential to growing your business. When you introduce yourself to new people, you try to look your best. A professional web design speaks volumes about how you value your company image.

When you decide to get your business online or redesign what you have, think about the people to whom you will be introducing your business. It’s always best to show up with a professional image.

Tags: company website, good practice web designer, how do we get this process started, refine your website, relevant information, update my website, user friendly web design, website design process, website redesign, website services
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Lead Generation Minneapolis

Lead Generation Minneapolis

Online Lead Generation Minneapolis

Start generating leads for your business today

Content Generation for Your New Website

Website Content Generation

What should you say?

How long should it be?

Be resourceful, use the internet!

Be sure to include keywords!

Reasons for a Website Redesign

Website Redesign

Redesign and update your website

Make your website redesign more user friendly

Affordable Website Designs: How You Can Help Make Your Website Design Affordable! Yes, You!

Affordable Website Designs

Introduce Your Business to the Internet

Introduce Your Business to the Internet

Testimonials

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Web Tools

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