Articles by Larry Lang on ArticleSnatch.com

5 Ways Articles Can Help Grow Your Business

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

With more and more devices providing Internet access, more and more people are heading to the Internet for their information needs. One of the easiest ways you can provide that information to them is through articles posted on your website or submitted through article directories. Here are five ways that you can use those articles to help grow your business. 1. Build your list. Even if you are just starting out, you can use articles to build your list. After youâ€'ve posted an article on your own website or submitted it to an article directory, people searching for a certain subject can find your articles. Once youâ€'ve hooked them with great information in your article, you can use a resource box to provide information about you and a link to your website for more information. This link should point them back to a page on your website, where of course you have an opt-in box ready to capture their name and email address. If your article is well written and content-rich, they will check out your website and opt into your list. 2. Generate more traffic. **End Summary** Topics: using articles]]> list building]]> generating traffic]]> search engine ranking]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

Search Engine Keyword Selection

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Search engines are the vehicles that drive potential customers to your websites. But in order for visitors to reach their destination – your website – you need to provide them with specific and effective signs that will direct them right to your site. You do this using carefully chosen keywords. Finding the exact right keywords or phrases can bring hoards of traffic right to your door. But if your keywords are too general or over-used, the possibility of visitors making it to your site decreases dramatically. You probably think you already know what keywords you should be using. Unfortunately, if you haven't followed specific steps, you are probably WRONG. It's hard to be objective when you are right in the center of your business network. You need to be able to think like a consumer from the outside looking into your business. Your understanding of your business and your customers' understanding of your business may be significantly different. Instead of plunging in and scribbling down a list of potential search words and phrases yourself, ask for words from as many potential customers as you can. **End Summary** Topics: search engines]]> keywords]]> keyword phrases]]> online business]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

Increase Your Search Engine Ranking

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

At least 85% of people looking for goods and services on the Internet find websites through search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The idea of optimizing your pages for high search engine rankings is to attract targeted customers to your site who will be more than likely to make a purchase. The higher your page comes up in search engine results, the greater the traffic that is directed to your website. That's what search engine optimization is about. Below are 4 components that affect your search engine ranking. 1. Title Bar - The title bar is the colored bar or tab in your browser that is just above the top of your page. The title bar on every single page of your site should contain the most important keywords and phrases taken from the page itself. However, avoid very long strings of keywords, keeping them to six words or less. Avoid repeating keywords more than once in the title bars, and make sure that identical words are not next to each other. To change your page's title bar, you will need to access the code. **End Summary** Topics: search engine]]> search engine ranking]]> search engine optimization]]> getting traffic]]> Internet marketing]]> marketing campaign]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

Evaluating Your Website's Performance

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Setting up a website is the very first step of an Internet marketing campaign. The success of your site depends greatly on how specifically you have defined your website goals. Without goals to guide you in developing and monitoring your website, all your site will be is an online announcement that you are in business. If you expect your site to stimulate some form of action, there are steps that you can take to insure that your website is functioning at peak efficiency. One of the first indicators of how well your site is working for you is finding out the number of visitors over a given period of time, say a month. However, just because hordes of people have visited your site, this does not necessarily mean that your site is successful. It is equally important to monitor the people that actually performed the action that your site was set up for and figure out the ratio of people who visited to people who took action. This is called your conversion rate. **End Summary** Topics: Internet marketing]]> conversion rate]]> search engine optimization]]> website performance]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Resource Box This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

When Free Isn't Free

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

One of the great attractions in starting an online business is that you can get your business up and running with minimal start-up costs. You can run a Google search and find free web templates, free hosting accounts, free teleconference services, and free PLR content, among other things. However, you need to remember that the old adage is true: you get what you pay for. It's important to do your due diligence in researching a free product, just as you would with something you would be paying for. Consider the company's reputation, customer satisfaction, and make sure you can terminate or uninstall it if it isn't working for you. This is not to say that there aren't some great free resources available out there. So how do you know when free isn't really free? Answering the following three questions will help you decide if a free product is really going to be free for you. 1. What is my time worth? We all have three personal resources to draw from: time; money; and energy. If you're not spending money for an Internet resource or product, chances are you're going to be spending time and energy. **End Summary** Topics: online business]]> starting online business]]> internet business]]> own online business]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Resource Box This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

Automate Your Business for Maximum Profits

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

One of the big attractions of running an online business is the dream of making more money with less output of time, money, and energy. With today's technology, that dream can become a reality, and the key to that reality is the automation of your business. When you are setting up your business, one of the first steps you can take in automating is to make sure that all your business tools are integrated. Is your website set up with a shopping cart? Does your shopping cart work with your merchant account? Are digital downloads set up to be delivered automatically? Does your hosting account support all the tools you want to use? You need to make sure that each of your different components are set up to work together and communicate without you as the middleman. Once the components of your business are in place, you will want to automate the day to day and repetitive tasks involved in running your business. One of the most effective ways to do this is by using autoresponders. An autoresponder is an email or series of emails set up ahead of time to be sent automatically in response to certain actions. **End Summary** Topics: autoresponder]]> shopping cart]]> help desk software]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

Image Optimization for Maximum SEO Impact

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Images are great for a website. They can add to the overall look, appeal, and effectiveness of your site. Images may be necessary if you are selling a product. There are many reasons to use images on your website, but did you know that improperly used images can kill your site? Large (those that have a high number of bytes) and misplaced images can end up costing you money. They require more bandwidth and storage space, which costs you more money. Most web hosts offer a set amount of storage space and a limited data transfer rate, so you will either waste valuable space with large images or you will exceed your bandwidth and end up paying extra for your hosting. In addition to losing money this way, you also lose potential customers and visitors to your site. Large images take longer to load, and you can guarantee that if a page takes 10 seconds or more to load, the person is going to click away or hit the "back" button. Traffic = money, so it is important to keep the traffic flowing. **End Summary** Topics: image optimization]]> SEO]]> optimization tools]]> optimizing your images]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Resource Box This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

Finding A Webmaster Who Creates W3C Compliant Websites

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

If you are planning to hire a webmaster for your web design needs, be sure to do your homework. There's a lot more to designing a web page than merely making it look good. How your web pages are or are not constructed can mean the difference between up and running or shut down! After doing your basic due diligence in checking the individual or the company itself with the Better Business Bureau to see that it has a good reputation and that there are not outstanding complaints against the company or webmaster, your next step is to check to see if the pages that the webmaster designs are W3C compliant. A webmaster's home page is like their resume or "sample" of the work they do. If their own home page is not compliant, chances are that they will not create yours that way, either. What is a good way to check for compliance? Beyond the obvious method of just plain asking, it's very simple to check up on a particular web page to see if it is compliant. Validate Their Home Page One way for you to do this is to validate their home page. **End Summary** Topics: webmaster]]> web design]]> compliant]]> W3C]]> validate your webpage]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Resource Box This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

7 Routine Maintenance Steps For Your Website

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

You've invested the time to create great looking, compliant web pages. Now what? Maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. You'll find that just as it is well worth your time and money to create an attractive, compliant website that is search engine friendly, you've got to maintain your site to keep it that way. Your website is a reflection of you and/or your business. What does your website say about you? Missing or broken links, outdated information, and missing images are just a few of the things that can make your site look unprofessional, as well as affect your search engine ranking. Your webmaster may offer maintenance services, but here are seven steps that you can perform yourself to make sure your web pages are and remain - W3C compliant. 1. Each time you change a page, be sure to update the keywords. You may be adding something or changing text and you want to make sure your keywords reflect the changes. 2. Keep the html/xhtml code clean and remove old code when not in use. Cluttered or improper html code will have an adverse effect on your search engine rankings. 3. Color schemes can date your site. **End Summary** Topics: website]]> website maintenance]]> search engine ranking]]> web pages]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Resource Box This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

7 Steps to Optimum Website Performance

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Get the most from your web pages by checking them after they have first been launched, and then on a regular, ongoing basis to make sure that each of these steps checks out properly. When You First Launch Your Website 1. Bookmark your website. Now, re-open your browser and see if an icon other than the browser icon shows up before your URL. You can easily get your own custom favicon to load with your page. Also try to type in your website without the "www". If you get an error or server message, contact your hosting company to have this corrected. Many internet users will attempt to directly navigate to your website without the w's. 2. Have a family member, friend or associate check your homepage. It's best if it is someone who is not familiar with the Internet. Ask them if they know the focus of your web site. They should be able to point out the main focus of your homepage without difficulty. If they are confused as to what your site is about, you need to make some changes. Ask yourself "Is my message clear from the get-go?" 3. **End Summary** Topics: website optimization]]> SEO]]> W3C]]> compliancy]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Resource Box This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

Using Hyperlinks and CSS in Your Website

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

A class is the blueprint from which individual objects are created. In Java, a class is used to show a set of like items. Here is an example of a hyper link going to a site using a class: Elite Web Strategies a:link { color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff } a:visited { color: #0000ff; background-color: #ffffff } a:hover { color: #0000ff; background-color: #ffffff } a:active { color: #ff0000; background-color: #ffffff } So what is each part used for? * "a:link" will specify what the hyperlink looks like on the page. * "a:visited" will specify what the hyperlink looks like once it has been visited (clicked on). * "a:hover" shows what the hyperlink will look like when hovered and * "a:active" specifies what the active link will look like. In the above example you'll also notice both color and background colors are designated. Color indicates the actual color of the font, followed by the hex code for the color you want. The background color is the color behind the text itself, followed by the hex code for that color. **End Summary** Topics: hyperlinks]]> CSS]]> W3C compliant]]> a class]]> LVHA]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Resource Box This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.

Secrets of HTML Tags

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0400

When creating your websites to be W3C compliant, you know that HTML tags are important. You will need to include these tags throughout the pages and be sure to use them in the proper format so that your pages come out the way that you want them to. Here are some common html tags that you will need to know when creating your pages. When you learn these tags, you will be set to create compliant pages that look great and contain all your information. Once you have created a template for the layout of your pages, you can reuse the same one each time, changing only the specifics such as the title, the font type, color, size, etc. These secrets to HTML tags below will help you create your pages quickly and easily. Title Tags put your keyword phrases here META Tags Href Tag This is the tag that explains to your browser how to find fonts and other items you place in your CSS or style sheets. **End Summary** Topics: html]]> code]]> W3C compliant]]> W3C]]> Meta tags]]> creating html]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Resource Box This article may be distributed freely on your website, as long as this entire article, including working links and this resource box are unchanged. For more tools, tips, and tricks of the trade, go to: http://www.elitewebstrategies.com - Empowering You to Empower Your Business. Copyright 2007 Larry Lang All Rights Reserved. Lang Enterprises Inc.