SEO includes optimizing content, “back-end” html, website architecture, links and sharing. Each piece of the puzzle is important and each one increases the likelihood of organic clicks. The higher your SEO rank, the higher up you are on search engine pages when someone searches for keywords used throughout your site. Did you know, 75% of search engine users never scroll past the first page of search results?

Additionally, 70-80% of users ignore paid ads on search engines (frequently appearing in a special box on the top of each page) and instead focus on the organic results below. If you are spending your money on advertising, it may be time to consider instead spending that money on optimizing your website!

The most successful websites are constantly being optimized as content changes and new keywords are discovered. If you feel your business could benefit from SEO but are unsure where to start, Evolve Systems can help you! We offer a wide variety of SEO and online marketing integration. Contact us today.

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• Rollover effects and links may or may not be available.
• CSS call-outs for specific mobile browser types will allow for greater flexibility.
• Consider an alternate image set for pages that have heavy image content.
• There is a big difference between a mobile aware site and a mobile app: An app is a specific body of code that is downloaded to the mobile device. You want your site to be mobile aware.
• Adding code into the meta area of the webpage will help handle most mobile devices in use.

If you have a very high percentage of mobile users visiting your website for basic information, it may be practical to have a separate mobile site (m.yourwebsite.com). Redirection from the Main Site to the Mobile site is handled by your server and can be made automatic. This “m” site would contain the basic functionality of the main site, but would not include extensive information. Viewers can ultimately link back to the “full version” of the website if they choose to.

Contact us if you would like to discuss your mobile options!

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Color Palette: Keep your color palette simple. Stick with your logo/identity colors, and utilize neutrals. White/light backgrounds with dark texts are the easiest to read. If you count four or more bright colors, consider consolidating. If you use more than two bright colors, keep them within the same color family.

Consistent Fonts: Much like colors, fonts should be consistent and easy to read. Stick with a good sans serif for the bulk of the copy. Consider one or two decorative headline fonts and use them sparingly. Keep things simple!

Easy Navigation: Most likely, if you have a website, it is because you want people to be able to find information on you or your company. Make sure you have a main navigation bar that includes active links to each main page on your site. If you have a secondary navigation menu, be sure it is easy to find. There should be a “home” link on every single page.

A few additional things that really help improve a website appearance:

•  Correct Spelling. If in doubt, first type your copy in Microsoft Word (or another word processing program) and use spellcheck!
•  Obvious Contact Info. Your contact info should be the easiest thing to find on your webpage. If you have a “contact form” make sure it works properly.
•  Social Media Buttons. If your business has social media accounts, the links should be easy to find on your website. If you are not yet utilizing social media, start today. (see our post from last week for helpful social media information!)

If your website needs updating but you don’t know where to start or do not have the time to get it done, contact us. We have website refresh and updating packages that can be customized to your needs.

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• First you need to create social media accounts, and begin using them. There are many social media platforms, but we suggest starting with the basics: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
• Next you need to include social media buttons on your website, in a highly visible location. You want your customer base to be able to find your social media outlets quickly and easily.
• Install Google Analytics. This is a very powerful tracking tool that will give you great insight into the people visiting your site and clicking through via social media. Among many other things, you can see which pages/posts are the most popular, where people are coming from, and how many visitors are stopping by.
• Keep an eye on the competition. Check out the websites of several of your competitors. How are they using social media? How can you improve your own social media in comparison? What can you do to differentiate your business?

It is important to note that social media will not change your business overnight, but with time it should noticeably increase your web traffic and business volume. If you are looking for a boost, give social media a try. If you are looking for some help, contact us today for more information on our social media offerings!

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Is all of your information current and up to date?  This includes services offered, prices listed, current contact information, employees, photos, business hours and history. If you have outdated information on your site, it will be much more difficult for your potential clients to find what they are looking for.

Is your current branding clear and consistent through your site?  If you have modified your logo, colors, or fonts since your last site design, it is time to get the site updated so everything is consistent. Branding is so important. Are you lacking a clear brand identity? Now would be a great time to re-brand your business and re-launch your website.

Are you a step behind the competition?  Write down a few businesses that you would consider competitors. Check out their websites and see how yours compares. Does your site lack anything the other sites have? Do you feel good about your website when viewing the sites of your competitors and/or peers?

Remember, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. If your website can be improved, now is a great time to get it done. We live in a digital world. Your website is the strongest marketing tool you have! Contact us today to discuss ways we can improve your web presence.

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Step 1 – Clean the hard drive of deleted and unneeded files by using the Windows Disk Cleanup Tool.  On most systems, you can find this tool under Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools.   Running this tool does take time, so set an hour aside once a month.  Just cleaning the files off your hard drive will keep your hard drive clean and uncluttered.

Step 2 – Defragment your hard drive.  When a file is saved to your hard drive, it is like writing a sentence on a lined piece of paper.  It starts at the top left and starts writing the file.  Now imagine a full page of sentences.  If you don’t need a sentence or need to write more on this page, you will need to erase a line or two.  This holds true for the hard drive.  When you delete files from your hard drive it has space here and there.  When files are written, the hard drive needs to utilize its space wisely so it will go to the top left and start to write the file until the first hole is full.  If the file didn’t fit into one hole or space, it goes to the next open space to continue to write the file until the file is written and saved to the hard drive.  The file is now called a fragmented file.  The hard drive is very good at tracking these fragments, however it does take time to collect the fragments and reconnect them in order for you to open.

Over time, your hard drive becomes fragmented to a point where it is taking a long time to collect all of the file fragments to reassemble the file.  This is called a fragmented hard drive.  One sound solution is to use another tool called Disk Defragmenter.

Running this tool once a month after the Disk Cleanup tool, will save time, space and wear and tear on the mechanical parts moving back and forth over the storage media.

Step 3 – Use the Evolve Vault to keep backups of your files off-site and in a safe and secure location only you have access too.  The Evolve Vault runs quietly in the background. When there is an Internet connection, it will keep your vault in sync with the directory you have chosen to back up.  The Evolve Vault can run on Windows or Mac and has an unlimited amount of storage.

Today the Evolve Vault Backup Solution costs $49.50 a year.  That is only .13 cents a day, for unlimited storage.  It is also half the cost and none of the hassles of maintaining your own hardware for backups.

What will you lose if your system goes down?

I am so confident you’re going to love using the Evolve Vault! During year of 2012, we are offering it to our subscribers for $20.12 for a year!  That’s .06 Cents a day for peace of mind.

Just go to http://evolvevault.com/packages-pricing/ and click the Backup Buy Now Button.

Enter code CIO2012 for your special discount.

*This article was written by our CIO Carl Boudreau as part of our monthly CIO Corner series.*

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We are entering the fourth full week of the new year today, and for the average American that means this is the week you will forget about or give up on your New Year’s Resolution. While New Year’s Resolutions are often personal (but unlikely) challenges stated at the end of one year or beginning of the next, business goals can (and should) be made frequently.

If you run or manage a small or large business, we hope you have created goals for 2012. If you haven’t yet, here are a few things to consider.

-Set one goal at a time, and give it a deadline. Stating you would like to double your business in 2012 is a nice goal, but probably not the most realistic. Instead, choose to open 40 new accounts by April 1st. Choose to sell $10,000 in products in February.

-When you have chosen what you will do, decide how you will do it. If you are blindly aiming at a target, you probably won’t hit it. With a plan, you have a much better shot. How can you open 40 new accounts by April 1st? Figure out the best way to go about it, and then do it.

-Share your goal with others. Share it with your staff, your family, and other people who will hold you accountable. If others know about your goal, you will be more motivated to accomplish it. If you have employees, specific goals will give them something to aim for as well.

-Evaluate what you have done, and decide what you will do next. Did you sell $10,000 in products in February? If you did, set a higher goal for March and make it happen. If you didn’t, what could you do better next month to make it happen?

Goals are an important part of growing a business. Come up with one goal at a time, write it down, make it known, and do it.

Good luck!

Are your business goals web and/or social media oriented? If so, we can help! www.evolve-systems.com

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Government agencies and businesses prefer to use P-cards for a number of reasons including cost savings from e-procurement, enhanced reporting on purchases, greater employee purchasing control, and lower negotiated rates with businesses (e.g. airlines). The Federal government saved over $1 billion in 2006 by using p-cards. Similar cost savings were realized by businesses in terms of percentage of spend. Merchants enjoy accepting the purchase cards because payment can be received quicker, invoicing costs are substantially reduced, and government agencies and larger corporations have been known to give preferential treatment to businesses that are able to accept these cards and provide the necessary Level 3 data.

What most businesses do not know is that standard merchant accounts are not typically set up for Level 3 acceptance and not all providers of merchant accounts can offer Level 3 capabilities. If a merchant’s goods or services can be sold to government agencies or larger corporations, they are wise to get setup with a merchant account that can facilitate Level 3 processing. Level 3 processing is exclusively used in business to business and business to government environments.

Merchants should also be aware that when the appropriate information is included in a Level 3 purchase, they are rewarded with lower processing rates which can be as much as 1.00%. Evolve Systems has the experience and expertise to assist businesses in working with Level 2 and 3 processing as well as your e-commerce and website needs.

For information on how to assist your clients in processing at Level 3 rates, please contact us at Evolve Systems.

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1. Promoting new products. Sharing images and information on new products is great, but showing your products in action is one of the best things you can do. This is something you can get really creative with, or keep it simple and direct.

2. Employee training. YouTube makes it easy to offer ongoing training without cutting into productivity by rounding everyone up for seminars. Employees can watch presentations when it is convenient for them.

3. Client training and Frequently Asked Questions. If you offer a product or service, there is a good chance you will answer the same questions over and over. With YouTube, you can create a short video giving an in-depth answer and all you have to do is share the link.

4. Testimonials. What is better than someone loving your product or service? Someone telling other people they love your product or service! You can easily record testimonials and share them on your website or blog for prospective customers to see.

So there you have it- 4 new ways for using YouTube. If you are not sure where to start, YouTube has put together a Getting Started Guide! Check it out today and discover the usefulness of this great media platform.

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Cheers!

Your Friends at Evolve Systems

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