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Web Marketing, Internet Marketing Firm, Online Marketing Company

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:30:58 +0000

Web 2.0: what does it really mean?
Tim OReilly created the term Web 2.0 in 2004 as a title for a developer conference. Actually, there is not a clear-cut definition for Web 2.0 but it typically describes a form of user-to-user communication over the internet. For unlike Web 2.0 is not a technical innovation. With offers for social interaction such as Blogger.com, Del.ico.us, facebook, Flickr, GarageBand, Habbo-Hotel, MySpace, Linkdin, Spoke, Studylounge, YouTube, Wikipedia and Xing, the Web 2.0 merely documents the realisation that the internet was always a social forum for exchanging opinions and banal experiences and never just a digital market place.
In simple term, just it needs to understand that Web 2.0 is the current version, characterized by social networks (Orkut), online multigaming, audio, video and text sharing and communities built around them, wikis, blogs and so on so forth.Web 2.0: A super-medium of Business
Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. It is a medium enriched with all the possible facilities of doing business such as buying/selling/auction (eBay) classifieds (Yello, CraigsList) job search engines / aggregators (Monster, Bixee). A clear picture of B2B, C2C, B2C, B2C2B markets is provided by Web 2.0.Writing Semantic Markup for Designers
A web designer avails a lot of facility when s/he uses 2.0. To understand what useful it can be it is one of the biggest steps in realizing Web 2.0 is the transition to semantic markup. The most popular markup languages, HTML and XHTML, are used primarily for display purposes, with tags to which designers can apply styles via CSS.
Designers can describe content, but only to the extent that it fits within the (X) HTML tag set. For example, designers can mark up content as headers, paragraphs, list items, citations, and definition lists using the heading, paragraph, list, citation and defination list tags, respectively. For some simple documents, these tags are adequate to describe content effectively. For most documents, however, there is no way to accurately describe the content with the (X) HTML tags we have available. In Web 2.0, this description is not only possible, but also critical.Providing Web Services not the Place
During the early years of the Web, before content had semantic meaning, sites were developed as a collection of pages. XML technologies enabled content to be shareable and transformable between different systems, and Web services provided hooks into the innards of sites. Instead of visual design being the interface to content, Web services have become programmatic interfaces to that same content. Anyone can build an interface to content on any domain if the developers there provide a Web services API.
An interesting interface built using eBays Web services is Andale, a site that tracks sales, prices to give auction sellers a better idea of what items are hot, and how much they have been selling for. Online Privacy
E-commerce is a wide array of interconnected business concept in 2.0 equipped with modern technologies and cultural phenomena. With the advent of E-commerce, many opportunities are now available to business: transcending geographic boundaries being open 24 hours and expanded profiling and marketing capabilities.
For deliverance to your customer, you need to know you customer, though the customer may rather keep that information private.
An immense amount of data is being collected not only from browsing on the internet, but from credit cards, mobile phones and frequent buyer programs such as fly buys. Retailers may exploit the personal information every time a user uses his or her credit card. In the beginning, the Internet allowed a certain level of anonymity. With the development of 2.0, this is no longer the case. People feel susceptible to privacy invasion.Be a driver, not a passenger
Interactive Web 2.0 applications such as online diaries (blogs, see box), online libraries (wikis) or virtual worlds have changed the way that consumers gather information. Instead of settling for the role of passive customer, the active Web2.0 user wants to contribute and discuss the latest news. Interactive platforms challenge existing business models and demand on appropriate reaction as information spreads through new channels.Be authentic: it is an advance way of communication
Web 2.0 heralds a new era of communication with a massive increase in information supply and news, opinion and services flow directly from user to user. Financial institutions can take advantage if they stay abreast of this development. However, any Web 2.0 presence of a financial institution must be authentic and consistent with the institutions brand and corporate culture. To leverage the potential, the need for an immaculate reputation and the right type of brand is becoming ever more important. Conclusion:
From the concept of emerging technologies such as the Semantic Web transforming the way the Web is used (and leading to new possibilities in artificial intelligence) to the observation that increases in Internet connection speeds, modular web applications, and advances in computer graphics will play the key role in the evolution of the World Wide Web.
Now, even 2.0 is left behind the need and web-planet is looking forward for the new invention. Web 3.0 is the future, supposed to be characterised by natural language search (algorithms infirmed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) research); referred to as GGG (Global Giant Graph) by Tim Berners-Lee, who is father of www.
We have been realizing that Web 2.0 is well documented and talked about. The power of the Net reached a critical mass, with capabilities that can be done on a network level. We are also seeing richer devices over last four years and richer ways of interacting with the network, not only in hardware like game consoles and mobile devices, but also in the software layer. You do not have to be a computer scientist to create a program. We are seeing that manifest in Web 2.0 and 3.0 will be a great extension of that, a true communal mediumthe distinction between professional, semi-professional and consumers will get blurred, creating a network effect of business and applications.

Web Marketing, Internet Marketing Firm, Online Marketing Company is a post from: Web Design Resources

How to Select Good and Cheap Web Hosting Package? – an Important Consideration to Start Home Based Business Online

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 01:49:15 +0000

You might have heard advices saying that you need to pay more to get a high quality business web hosting. That is not true. Cheap web hosting package does not mean low quality. With the right guide and tips, you can get as low cost as $3.95/month with tip-top quality products and services. This article will lead you how to select a reliable and cheap web hosting package.A Word on Free Web Hosting

Using free web hosting is ideal if your web site is meant for hobby or other non-profit purposes. However, if it is meant to start home based business, you should get your own domain and have full control on it. For more details, please read article : What is Free Web Site? V The Free Web Site background .Important considerations when selecting web hosting provider.

(Remember, getting cheap web hosting package does not need to compromise on its quality.)Reliability

You should expect your web site to be up at all time. Down time should be a rare occasion. Technically, it should be up at least 99% of the time. Frequent or prolong down time could be harmful to your web site in a few ways.

- Search engines do not like lost links. They are likely to panelize those sites which contain loss links. The implication is that those sites that provides back links to you may suffer if your site is down often. Thus, many established web sites, and web directories would install link checker software to auto-check whether the sites they link out are still valid. If your site is down for a period of time, it can be interpreted as your site no longer exists and the link will be removed. Thus, you can loss your back links.

- You may loss loyal visitors who bookmarked your page. They may remove the bookmark.

- It will leave a bad image to your potential customers. They will loss confidence in your site if they always encounter site-not-found problem.Speed

Online visitors are not very patient. If your web site is loading slowly, they will just leave.

Cheap web hosting packages normally come with shared server and on tier-1 connection. However, they may not be slow. It depends on the servers speed and how heavy it is loaded. Some hosting companies provide multiple servers with Load Balancing System. Its speed could be comparable with the dedicated server. So, look out for these features.Security

Look out for the security features the hosting company provides. Good web hosting providers should help to protect your site from virus or spammers attacks. You should expect features such as Firewall protection and Spam Assassin are included free of charge.

Some web hosting providers also provide free backup facility for you to backup your sites, which is very desirable.Capacity

You should consider the capacity given by the plan before you sign up. Features relating to capacity are:

- Disk Space

- Data Transfer (Traffic/Bandwidth)

- Number of sub-domains

- Number of File Transfer (FTP) Accounts

- Number of Domains (with dedicated IP Addresses)

Sufficient capacity enable you to develop many web sites by a single plan or even function as a host for a free-web-hosting site.

It is essisental important to consider all these features together as a group. (Be aware of some tricks web hosting provider use. For instance, they may offer you with many or even unlimited sub-domains but do not give you enough Disk Space or Bandwidth to support the volume and the traffic. You may end up having to buy additional Space or Bandwidth from them which can cost you dearly.) – Disk space

Unless your web site requires big, complicated graphics or animations that take up a lot of spaces, usually a few megabytes will be enough to set up… However, to create more web sites using sub-domains, space requirements will need to multiply accordingly.- Data Transfer (Traffic/Bandwidth)

Data Transfer represents the amount of data can be transfer to and from the hosting server per month. If you web page take 1 megabyte space, and you have got 100 visitors (ie. 100 times of downloading your page) in a month, you would have used 100 megabytes of Data Transfer.

This is important. The success of your web site depends on the popularity and the volume of your visitors. If your traffic exceeded your bandwidth, your web hosting provider will ask you to buy extra bandwidth, or you will face the consequences of having your site brought down.

You should expect at least 10GB of bandwidth to give allowance for future grow. Do not believe in unlimited data transfer promises! Web hosting providers have to pay for it. There were cases reported that some webmasters got charged for being exceeding the unlimited bandwidth usage. There is always catches somewhere to hidden their charges. So, to avoid the hidden cost, do not follow the unlimited promises.

You need to consider the Bandwidth needs especially if you are planning to share your host plan with a group of people.- Number of sub-domains

Sub-domain works like an independent web site. The difference is that it does not have its own IP address. To the search engine, this site belongs to the registered domain site with the dedicated IP address. – Number of File Transfer (FTP) Accounts

Having FTP Access enables you to transfer files in and out of your web site easily. You can also build your web site with your own site builder software and publish it thru FTP access.

Some web hosting providers also provide you with multiple FTP Accounts. You can create FTP Accounts; assign them to different persons, with the access to different directories or sub-domains. With these features, your family members or friends to build their web sites under your account without extra charge. You can also run your web site as a Free-Web-Hosting provider.- Number of Domains (with dedicated IP Addresses) hosting in a package

Some web hosting providers offer plans with multiple domains (with dedicated IP addresses). This can really save cost thru economics of scale. One strategy to promote web site is to build multiple sites and interlinks them. If the IP Address is different, search engines will consider the links as external back links. (Be aware of some hosting promises with multiple domains but only allow 1 dedicated IP Address. Those are not real domains since search engines recognize web sites by the IP Addresses.)Technical Support

It should be 24/7. Mode of support at least should have Toll Free Phone Line and the Ticket Logging System. More ideally if they have Live Chat System. Personally I find Live Chat most helpful. International toll free line support is required if you are located outside the hosting country (usually means outside USA).How established is the Web Hosting Provider

This is another important consideration. Competition in the hosting business is very fierce. If hosting companies cant make profit, they are likely to close down within first 3 years. Web sites that hosted with them will also disappear with them. Check to ensure the web hosting provider is established for more than 3 years (or better still, 5 years) will lower this risk.Other Facilities

Following are some other handy facilities to look out for:- Email facilities

You should be given the access to create your email accounts under your domain name, such as yourname@yourdomain.com. Helpful email facilities include Auto-Responder (to automatically reply emails to the senders.) and catch-all (to receive all messages to your domain with non-valid accounts.) etc.- Site Builder

A free and easy-to-use site builder will be very helpful if you are not familiar with web site building.

Follow the above guideline and put in some efforts to search, you will be able to find some high quality and affordable web hosting providers. I strongly suggest you also read my article on hosting review and recommendation : Web Hosting Review. It will save you some time of searching or at least you can make comparison with the hosting packages you find.

How to Select Good and Cheap Web Hosting Package? – an Important Consideration to Start Home Based Business Online is a post from: Web Design Resources

Consumer-Generated Website Reviews: Online Marketing In The Modern Age

admin — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:09:22 +0000

Consumer-generated website reviews are the only independent and strong verifier of website quality, and are forecast to be the last standing beacon of reliability as search engine results becoming increasing compromised by commercial interest. Commercial interests are naturally at odds with consumer interests, and as consumers learn to distrust website rankings through search, they will turn to human content to provide the cross-reference as to validity. As a consequence, while SEO remains an important area of marketing for business owners, so too does managing your public reputation online become a critical concern for online business marketing.

Adding your business website to a user-generated website rankings site opens your website up to the criticisms, both positive and negative, and invites opinion on what you have to offer versus the competition. This has multiple advantages, from improving SEO website rankings to breeding credibility with new visitors, to simply providing a means for feedback about improvements that could be made to your site or service, in addition to helping shore up your position within your given marketplace as the outlook for search browsing continues to shift.

From a search engine optimization perspective, backlinks from trusted sources really do count, as a major ranking factor. A backlink from a website rankings site can provide juice in the search engines for the main website, as well as proving a particularly helpful reputation management tool. Managing your search engine results, of course, isn’t just about being number one: you have to look at least at results 1-10 to make sure they reflect the right image of your website. Website rankings sites tend to perform well in search engines, thus you benefit both from the backlink value and also from the presence of a positive website rankings page appearing prominently in the search results for your trading name.

In terms of receiving feedback, the beauty of website rankings sites is the absolute honesty you can expect. Unless you intend on doctoring the results for yourself, the comments you receive are likely to be honest: do visitors find your site hard to navigate? Is your site slow, or does your service leave a lot to be desired? Positive or negative, there isn’t an incentive to lie, and unlike most forms of feedback, you can quickly and easily get a feel for how your customers are reacting to your offering and make changes accordingly.

But by far the most relevant of advantages is the conversion advantage building up a profile of your business as a reputable provider within your chosen market. This only comes from engaging with and listening to your visitors. A strong, well-managed website rankings site campaign can create this kind of dialogue, which will only continue to grow in importance as the web becomes more diverse and more difficult to navigate successfully. And as an early adopter, you’ll have the advantage of getting on board and building a long lasting recognition that will put you ahead of the curve, for when the demand for hand website reviews reaches critical mass.

Consumer-Generated Website Reviews: Online Marketing In The Modern Age is a post from: Web Design Resources

Your Online Presence – Web Design and Branding

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:24:25 +0000

The best investment a small business or entrepreneur can have is their online website. Not only is their website important, but their overall web branding is critical as well. Web branding is a great way to stand out within the World Wide Web. Web branding is very similar to a company displaying their brand on TV, magazine or newspaper. A brand is classified as a symbol. Symbols are defined as designs which represent something else, and a brand is meant to package all of the associations, experiences and characteristics into an abstract construct.To draw in customers, a companys brand should have all of necessities to catch their attention. Whether its sound, phrases, logos or imagery, it should be something in which people come into contact with. CODANK Charlotte Web Design has provided a few Web Branding tips below. Read them carefully and plan accordingly.Character Give your brand character. You can do this by introducing it with a little personality; something that your audience can associate their selves with.Color Choosing the right color is very important. Color stimulates emotions and carried with it subconscious associations to numerous things and characteristics.Consistency Make your brand memorable. Make sure to be consistent in your web design when youre building it. Keep consistent colors, visuals and typography.Size & Position Position your logo in the upper left area of the webpage that is the area most people look to see what site theyre on.Uniqueness Differentiate your web page and brand from your competitors. If you dont, it wont really be memorable!

Your Online Presence – Web Design and Branding is a post from: Web Design Resources

How Professional Web Designers Can Improve Your Presence Online?

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:48:39 +0000

The Internet is the new way to advertise your business and reach thousands of people a day. Unfortunately there are also other competitors that are advertising online too. A professional web design company knows how to design a web site and promote it to attract the highest number of customers.

Your Business Card and Store

The business web site acts as a business card and an online store. The appropriate web designing can project a very knowledgeable and polished web site. Just like you would hire someone to build and design a physical store and advertising campaign, so should you hire expert web designers to build and design your business web site. Without the expert look, your web site will lose clients.

Saving Time

A wise business owner will outsource web designing to save time. There is a lot to learn before effectively designing a web site including SEO, HTML, CSS, Photo Optimization, Search Engine Optimization, Java Script to name just a few. Most business owners do not have the time to learn all these different facets of web design quickly enough to build a professional looking web site.

Customization

With over 58,000,000 web sites on the Internet your site must stand out and attract customers that will use your business. Professional website designers will know how to design a site to suit your business needs by adding contact forms, picture galleries, FAQs, forums, and other necessary tools that are not found on pre-made templates. Expert web designers also know how to convey the correct business message using fonts, color and layout.

Finding a Web Designer

The best place to find a web designer in online. However choose a web designer that is suited to your potential clients. For example a company in India would be wise to search on the Internet for “web design company India” as professional web designers in India will know the Indian audience better than a web designer that works out of Scotland. Once you have a list of web design companies in India look through their web sites and make sure they are professional, easy to navigate and get their message across.

How Professional Web Designers Can Improve Your Presence Online? is a post from: Web Design Resources

Cheap Web Design– Affordable Solution to Create Your Online Presence

admin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 06:07:31 +0000

Website is the most vital platform for a successful business that wants to deliver information globally. Selecting the best designing company that can provide a cheap web design is no more a complex task. It is to be remembered that hiring a good designer to design your website can at times be exorbitant. Instead of spending all your money simply on designing, you can prefer a cheap web design strategy that is both admirable and marvelous. Therefore, market survey is essential before finalizing any deal.Most business owners try to invest the minimum amount that will help them to get a business name and display their services or products to the customers as quickly as possible. For an initial start up, a cheap web design can help you the best, without having to sacrifice on the quality of work required. Lot of business websites do not need flashy animated pictures or complicated programming. A good web designer can build the templates for your websites and make it look really striking and gorgeous at even a very affordable price. They can support a design with beautiful images and relevant, informative text to make your site look attractive.Before selecting on any cheap web design company, check their design principles; be aware of the rates in the market and the customer services they have to offer. A good web design maintains a process that analyses the business needs, plans for the best solution, creates a structure and then designs it accordingly. It will not only provide an effective online presence for your business but will also help you to make your website an important resource for your customers and yield positive results.

Cheap Web Design Affordable Solution to Create Your Online Presence is a post from: Web Design Resources