SEO Web Development Tips

Ignite Boise ROCKED!

admin — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:14:42 +0000

Ignite Boise 01 @igniteboise launched their first event last night at the Egyptian Theatre last night in downtown Boise. It was so outstanding I can’t wait for Ignite Boise 02!

5 minutes. 20 Slides. What would you say?

Ignite captured the best of geek culture in a series of five-minute speed presentations on topics and lots was said by the Ignite Boise Speakers in very clever and fun ways. The event was so good I even applauded an attorney!

In spite of the current economy, the news [sic] Ignite Boise brought together the Creative Community of Boise Idaho with some amazing presentations from a wide variety of presenters and ended with a real YES WE CAN forward thinking entrepreneurial attitude.

Once again, the local Geek Leaders and the Creative Conscience Community in Boise Idaho hit the nail on the head.

Ignite was started in Seattle in 2006 by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis. Since then 100’s of 5 minute talks have been given across the world. There are thriving Ignite communities in Seattle, Portland, Paris, and NYC and now Boise, Idaho has been added to the list.

As previously touted, Ignite Boise brought together an inspiring and unexpected blend of thinkers from business, art, technology, government and academia. All with ideas. And all willing to share them. And all of them excellent.

The Ignite Boise organizers created such a fabulous event environment that even the audience was part of the event, extending down the street to McGraineys after the show. When strangers ask “were you there tonight?”, you know you were some place special.

Ignite Boise Sponsors

So often overlooked… but not forgotten.
SPECIAL THANKS to all of the Ignite Boise sponsors:

Ignite Boise Venue

The Egyptian Theatre ROCKS. What a great venue for anything.

LinkedIn: Social Networking Business Tool

admin — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:52:11 +0000

LinkedIn: Relationships Matter.

Linkedin is an online business Rolodex or an online resume. It is a business-oriented social networking site designed to help build and manage professional relationships.

Linkedin is a Social Networking tool like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, that many businesses are turning to to promote their business services and products.

Keep in mind that it is a business tool; you still have to talk to people, make business calls, develop a business relationship; the beauty of Linkedin is in the reach.

Linkedin is one of the most overlooked Social Networking media websites on the Internet and has approximately 30 million users. If you already have a Rolodex with 1,000 contacts by becoming proactive and using Linkedin you can grow your contact list by building relationships.

Here are a few business points and how to make Linkedin work:

Build it before you need it
Add your picture
Define your Headline and make it compelling
Get recommendations
Create custom URL’s for your business websites
Send out personal invitations and make them personal
Make introductions more easy to connect
You can use it to find jobs
Use it to generate other opportunities
Add it to your email signature

Keep in mind when using Linkedin; people hire individuals not companies.

Word-of-mouth advertising & social networking

admin — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 03:34:44 +0000

Word-of-mouth Advertising gets boost from Social Networking.

As the economy does its current spin to wherever, many local business owners are looking for new affordable ways to market their products and services.

Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube are 4 of the most popular social networking tools that business professionals are currently adding to their repertoire as an affordable marketing solution. These tools combined with leads groups and local Chamber of Commerce mixer events provide business information in a manner never seen before.

The recent move for small to even large businesses into the current Web 2.0 phenomena is proving to be a great addition to the more traditional word-of-mouth advertising by many businesses currently use. This isn’t to say word-of-mouth advertising doesn’t work, rather word-of-mouth marketing is working at lighting speed!

By combining micro-blogging with blogs and websites many business owners are finding that they can quickly get their message out in conjunction with a traditional word-of-mouth marketing strategy.

Many business owners are capitalizing on the power of the Internet to let people share and discuss personal and professional information with many people at one time.

Boise Code Camp and Tech Fest 2009

admin — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:14:17 +0000

Boise’s 2009 Code Camp and Tech Fest will be Saturday, March 28th, 2009 at Boise State University.

Boise TechFest is a technical conference put together by and for the local Boise technical community. The basic format is based on big technical developer conferences. Boise TechFest is an extension event to the successful Boise Code Camp, and offers sessions on topics for technical professionals besides software development.

Each session is focused on the business of software development, process and methodology, business analysis, Information Technology, networking, virtualization, and all subjects relevant to technical professionals.

TechFest sessions have been designed to include non-software developers in the Code Camp experience. They recognize that this event has become the premier technical event in Idaho, and including TechFest as part of the day opens the event to even more participants.

This year they are trying something a little different and are hosting 2 sets of sessions throughout the day. In years past it as been apparent there is an interest for technology sessions that are not necessarily based on coding.

The speakers are from the local community, as well as professional speakers from throughout the region. Although you will find professional presenters at TechFest, there are many presenters who are speaking for the first time. Code Camp is a great opportunity to share a topic you are passionate about.

Anyone is welcome to present at TechFest and any subject relevant to Information Technology is welcome.

Last year’s Boise Code Camp attracted well over 400 people and with the addition of Tech Fest this year they are hoping for upwards of 600 attendees, making this the biggest Code Camp in the Pacific Northwest!

The event is free to everyone. They ask that you register so that they can plan well for the event.

FREE Press Release Distribution Sites

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:59:56 +0000

If you are planning your first press release to distribute on the web there is an effective way to distribute your press releases that’s actually for free.

Remember when releasing a press release make sure you have something newsworthy to say
Make sure your press release is written professionally (or at least
isn’t total junk or a blatant advertisement)
Please follow the How to write a press release or more information on press releases

Here is our list of FREE PRESS RELEASE distribution sites:

Now that you have created your press release send them out every time you have some news about your company.

How to write a press release

admin — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:40:09 +0000

It amazes me how many business owners don’t know the benefits if writing a press release or how to write a press release. With all the hoopla of websites, blogs and social networking this business tool is often over looked.

Keep in mind that a Press Release is NOT an Ad!

A press release announces your business and website to the world. They are also known as a news release, it should be informative and appealing to reporters and other contacts.

Make a statement as to why your products or services are a benefit. Describe how your products or company was developed; always keep in mind that you are going to send your release to people who have hundreds or thousands of releases to read through. Make sure to make your company stand out with a well-written press release.

Your first priority is to please the editor/writer and secondly the web surfer. When you write your press release, make sure you consider how your material could catch the editor’s eye.

Write an nontraditional piece; include new angles that make your press release stand out from the rest. Include a catchy title. Your publication is more likely if you appeal to the current interests of the specific publication and the specific editor/writer.

Editors consider the demands of their audience. If your work fails to meet the subscriber’s needs, the story will not be published. Keep your writing timely and be truthful. This will increase your chances of publication.

Going Local: Let’s face it; most websites will not get significant attention from large publications on a national or international level. If you have not done anything highly innovative or of interest to the big time publications, you still have a shot at going local.

Local and regional publications love a “local business does good” story and you don’t need to be in the realm of rocket science or devising a plan for world peace to get local attention. Personalize it.

Some information to include:

Newsworthy information is best presented in the form of an inverted pyramid. This means that the first part of your release should be the key information. Answer the primary questions first, making sure to include any vital ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’ elements. Their order is based on which elements are of greater importance to your particular news release.

Go straight to the point in the beginning because you hopefully will have time to explain later… that is… you will have time to explain on subsequent paragraphs… but only if you pique the interest of the reader in the first paragraph. Begin your release by making the ‘news‘ clear. The main focus of your first section is, “This is what it’s all about“.

The information that supports or clarifies details in your release comes in the second part. Secondary information includes background information or any other details that you need to explain. Because less emphasis is put on this section of the release, get straight to the point and keep it simple. Keep the inverted pyramid format in mind, putting less important information lower in the release.

The last section should include information that closes your release in a smooth but strong way. Don’t leave people hanging, on the other hand, don’t babble on and on…

What does your company offer?
How might people already be familiar with your company’s name?
This is the time to establish a connection for people between your website and company name.

Some Great Online Resources to read for your Next Press Release:

PRWeb

PR Newswire

Press Release Guidelines

So now you’ve read all the info on press releases and are still struggling? Not sure what’s next? Here’s the On-line template from Duct Tape Marketing:

Fill out the form, then copy and paste it into a Word or PDF file then email/FAX it to all of the news/business forums you have available both on and off the web.

Business SEO Tips

admin — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:13:54 +0000

Welcome to our new updated Search Engine Optimization and Web Development Tips blog. We will be providing SEO Tips, strategies, web development tips to help web developers with new ideas and concepts.

We will be providing the latest SEO tips and web development tools that we find to help you with your website.

This section of our website will include some business ideas on how to grow your business in conjunction with your web Internet presence.

As a professional web development company that specializes in SEO we also realize that your business doesn’t exist in a bubble. We hope that you find these tips as an asset to growing your business both on and off line.