Author: Eliyahna

Basic benefits for you & your audience

Your site is so much more than just an online “flyer”
The internet affords many benefits that are not available in print form such as visitor interactivity and engagement as well as the analytics used to diversify, save and make available specific user preferences and the benefits of behaviors gathered during visits. A real competitive edge can be gained by using these elements to address future users and to outperform your competitors. More than just a “thing” or an optional commodity, your website should be a representative of your company’s message twenty four hours per day seven days per week. If you’re featuring something trivial and temporary such as a lemonade stand or a one time event, a cookie cutter website made with proprietary templates can be a quick fix but the site used to represent your business to the world should be much more.
Where am I?
If your site’s front page leaves viewers wondering where they are or what your company is about, they’ll typically click away to a different resource that seems more instantly relevant. Take the time to ensure that your message, product or service is showcased from the get-go. Straight forward language and imagery should be used to convey your business’ offerings in a well organized and easy to understand manner on any size device. Questions should be answerable from the very first page to avoid the absolute necessity of browsing further… a phone number, email and possibly mailing address should be presented on the top-fold of the site along with showing your hours of availability on the page.
What do I do here?
What do you want from your visitors? Do you want to just share your location, products or services? Would you like to obtain their contact information for further relationship development? Do you want them to buy something online? Whatever the intended function of your site in relation to your business, make your goals a reality by providing incentive driven calls to action on the first view. Don’t make the viewer scroll two or three fold or have to search to locate hidden navigation venues to locate the interaction required. This will lower your bounce rate (where visitors arrive and quickly leave) and engage your audience in a more meaningful and lasting way.
Why should I return?
Return visitors can be useful and profitable. Personal account logins with activity summaries, newsletters featuring the first few lines of text and “read more” links to drive the reader back to the site, social media posts, special announcements and member benefits are just a few ways to ensure that your visitor will come back. Return users typically share sites they like with friends and family. Offer relevant and truly valuable incentives to ensure continued engagement with your online viewers while providing ways to share and further engage using social network sharing and announcement sign ups.
Don’t forget, a website is more than just a “flyer” in more ways than one. Besides the consideration of the interactivity factors, a website’s design has to ensure a smooth flow from arrival to interaction completion according to a human perspective. Limiting the page to just textual elements will bore the viewer and will bury your messages together in an indescribable heap. Links and navigational elements should be shaped like “buttons” that users will be drawn to click. Whitespace is important along with the harmony of the colors used throughout. Shapes and imagery should be applied in a manner that will help to convey your company’s brand, product or message instinctively.
These are some of the elements that along with search engine optimization and worthy and relevant content will work together to ensure that your web page takes advantage of some of the key benefits available through the world wide web. Contact us for more information on best and proven practices to improve your business’ online presentation at https://eliyahna.com.

December 23, 2015
How much should a website cost?
Web design is a vast arena not unlike many services that are offered to business owners. There are novices and there are professionals, there are great developers and there are hacks, there are extremely expensive websites and there are low cost alternatives. The idea of this article is to give the audience an idea of what to expect in service, price and expertise.
First we should talk about small business. What does that term mean? For the sake of this article “small business” means any business that has an annual revenue of $400,000 or less and an employee base of less than 50 employees.
For web development terms, This means a basic, CMS driven website that may include some e-commerce capabilities and is generally within the 5 to 14 page range. There is no need for custom plug-ins or databases. For e-commerce solutions we use PayPal or a hosted cart solution like Shopify integration.
For a large sized business with an annual revenue of over $400,000 and more than 50 employees, a larger more function driven website may be necessary with perhaps a matching intranet for employees or an online meeting area.
Whether large or small, here is a list of several common reasons that first time website owners fail and how we can help you to avoid those pitfalls:
Inexperience. – You may have a great business idea based on a huge market void which has made you rich beyond your wildest dreams but you still have no idea how to begin to plan, project, develop, launch and market your web presence. This is the number one reason businesses fail with “fresh builds.” Our experienced developers and designers use all of the proper steps in completing your project. Steps that are proven effective time after time and that are currently being used by successful enterprises to outrank and out-perform their competition.
Financial Constraints. – Whether you have a large budget or you have very little to spend, not knowing how much to spend and where to place those funds can shut your online hopes down in a hurry. Knowing what a website costs and how to budget for it is an essential tool set when venturing out. Our team has experience in all of the many business identity, branding and advertising methods available on and offline and can advise you on the method sure to result in the highest return on investment for your company.
Sharks, Con-Artists and Pitfalls. – Not unlike any other profession web development is loaded with amateurs, con-artists and pitfalls that can set you back. There are people who can look as though they know what they are doing, who can dazzle and impress and yet are just a money pit when it comes to making a productive, successful website that will suit your needs. In our over twenty years of developing we have heard enough horror stories to fill a book. Staying away from these situations is a very good idea and we can teach you to recognize the red flags you need to watch out for along the way.
In ALL our estimates below we assume the following:
Estimates are based on our hourly rate as professional.
Estimates include planning, design, programming, marketing setup and launch.
All new websites will be mobile/tablet-responsive.
All of our websites are built in a CMS framework such as WordPress to empower your non-technical staff to edit most content themselves (unless otherwise requested).
Clients will provide most textual content but the web firm will provide some. (body copy, product/ team images). Royalty free images are always available and included with new web builds.
The Cost of Cost and the Who of Who.
A website’s budget is determined by the estimated number of hours required to design and build it. An offshore web company may charge anywhere from $10 – $40/hr while an established US web agency may charge between $60 – $200/hr or more. You may find a solo web developer in the US charging between $25 – $200/hr or may also find free services to build your web presence.
The One Person Show. – Generally speaking, most web developers started out as a one man band but as we gain experience, we branch out and group with other professionals. The internet is a very large place and a successful website requires the following skills to publish and market it properly:
a. Back-end developer (PHP Developer)
b. Front-end developer (HTML, sass, less, CSS)
c. Art director / UX designer (layout and functionality)
d. Search Engine Optimizer
e. Social Media Marketer
f. Project Manager

Although we have a few developers at Eliyahna Creative that come close, as you can see, one person possessing all of those skills is unlikely and one person being an expert in all of those fields is extremely rare. Most one stop shops will give you a mediocre build and marketing that is highly lacking at best. Steer clear of those places.

The Off-shore Solution. – Offshore developers are hard to reach and you never know quite what you are getting. Do they understand your goals or what you are trying to convey to customers in your country? Do they understand your instructions?
In many cases the inexpensive cost of off-shore and one man teams seem like they have a great appeal but the bad far outweighs the good. In short? You get what you pay for, as with anything in life. Like all great endeavors, planning is essential. A great place to start should be writing down the purpose of your website. What do you hope to achieve with your web presence? Make a list. Do you wish to sell a product? Do you want to network with other business owners? List all the functions you require on paper.
So how much will your website cost? Here’s our breakdown for the website described above:
Website Breakdown:
Planning
UX (sitemap, wireframes)
Visual Design
Programming
Content Support
Client Training / Documentation
Testing and Launch
Total Cost: $3,700 – $11,400 *and up, depending on Requirements
Programming for e-commerce or complex websites will be more time intensive and could increase costs substantially. Post-launch we definitely recommend a minimum of $500 per month for ongoing, proactive maintenance, marketing efforts and SEO. If you have further questions please contact us for a free, detailed consultation. Call 530- 683-5463 or contact us via our Inquiry Form. We also have many more articles in our blog that will help you become more successful online.
November 28, 2015
Ways to Master On-Page SEO

In this article we discuss ways to master on-page SEO. Search Engine Optimization is possible using a lot of methods and also in several types that may be really efficient for your web site marketing on search engines like Google and also Bing. On page SEO is perhaps the most essential method in your search engine optimization.
The on-page optimization of a web site may be split into two special areas: the optimization of the underlying code and structure of a website; and also the optimization of text content and graphics on a website. Nevertheless, there are many other elements that are additionally important in ensuring a great position in search results. These types of elements are usually: server-related elements like the dependability and also speed of hosting, age of the domain, the conduct of customers on the website and so forth.
In SEO, specific significance ought to be provided to a few tags that define the code like the title tag – which may be observed at the top of your internet browser whenever you open a web site in the Search Engine Result Web pages. You need to stipulate the name of a particular web page with the help of the subject tags. They’re extremely important as they assist customers and robots to recognize the topic of the web page. Consequently, you need these tags to consist of keywords for a much better identification by the customers and also the various search engines.
It’s also suitable to supply various titles for each web page of the website, so as to enhance every web page for any single particular topic. For instance, if you market office chairs and tables, you need to make two various pages every with “office chairs” and also “office tables” as the title, rather than making a single page. An additional essential aspect in code degree may be the Meta explanation tag. This particular tag should feature attractive information so that the users could be more prone to click on your site.
It is best that the Meta description tag shouldn’t be greater than 155 figures to make certain that Google doesn’t reduce the actual sentence in half, to dilute it. The next essential part of HTML code optimization is actually developing a sitemap that assists internet search engine crawlers to get around the website, so that it can index all the webpages effortlessly. If the sitemap isn’t clear, Google won’t index the website and it’s position will be seriously impacted. Additionally, you need to use various heading tags (h1, h2, h3…) to supply much more clearness to the content.

August 17, 2015
Strategies for Off-Page SEO
Many people are familiar with the idea of utilizing key phrases in order to assist increase their Google rankings. Nevertheless, on the other side of the coin is the SEO work that you simply do OFF site. This is known as off page SEO, and it is much more effective than any kind of on page SEO techniques.
Listed here are 10 of the most extremely critical factors when it comes to off-page SEO with regard to upping your Google ratings. By following this guidance and including these types of methods into your own SEO technique, you’ll be providing yourself the most effective chance to soar up the search engine search positions.
Backlinks – The long story quick is actually that the much more back links that you have leading to your website from high rated sites within your key phrase’s genre, the greater your site will be able to rank. This particular aspect is one of the most significant elements of enhancing your Google rankings with off page SEO.
Backlink Quality – While the much more backlinks you’ve for your website the greater, the standard of these types of backlinks performs an important part. Not all links are made similarly, and also ones which have more natural worth will give you a bigger increase to your Google ratings. Top quality one way back links particularly, through related websites, or even better, high pr websites, are important to your search engine rank. The greater the better.
Backlink Variety – In addition to the quantity and also high quality of backlinks to your website, the variety of backlinks you have additionally performs a role. It can help your ratings a lot more to have links arriving through several resources such as weblogs, sites, community forums, articles, associated sites and much more compared to simply having links arriving from one person, course or even network.
Backlink Anchor Text – Having a backlink is excellent, but using a backlink which includes extremely specific anchor text is actually better still. The anchor text utilized in a link on one of your webpages can help connect which page is using the incorporated term. This is a powerful way to enhance your Google ratings for your targeted keywords and also key phrases.
Website History and also Age: The longer your site has been around and also the older your domain is, the more reputable and also trustworthy you’ll be viewed as. You cannot do a lot about this issue when your website is new, however, you may think about buying older, current domains as long as they’re in a good position using the major search engines.
Social Networking – The development of social networking links is a powerful way to enhance your off-page SEO. Social networking links will help you to develop a big and also varied quantity of backlinks to your site but additionally, you will be able to touch base and also interact with more prospects and also potential customers. Your involvement can help lead to a heightened website and also more powerful outcomes across the board.
Visitor Conduct: The way which site visitors behave when they see your site can in fact impact your Google ratings. Bounce rate is really a measure of the number of one site appointments aimed at your website. The more your bounce rate is reduced, the greater appreciated, associated and also worthwhile your site is viewed as being. Therefore you must strive to minimize your bounces and supply significant, helpful content with a good intuitive and engaging style.
Traffic Resources: The causes of your visitors may also end up affecting your Google ratings. There are “good” and also “bad” causes of traffic on the web, and when you participate in linking strategies or even traffic purchasing you can actually become punished to some levels. You would like your visitors to come from reputable referral websites which are related to your personal web site, organic looking and also any kind of genuine PPC strategies you may be running.
Targeted traffic History – You need to consider web development like a steady procedure. Which means that you ought to be progressively and also constantly adding more pages and also content, whilst progressively and also constantly including more hyperlinks and so forth. An abrupt, large increase may indicate sketchy conduct, and could end up costing you several placements in Google ratings. Therefore, take your time and build gradually, normally and also constantly.
Net Directory Inclusion: There was a period when internet directories were probably the most effective tools for high Google ratings that your web site could use. That point has passed, nevertheless even the most appreciated sites can benefit from their assistance.
If you follow every one of the points above, or perhaps at least a fraction, you’ll be on your way to enhanced Google ratings by using off-page SEO. While these types of off the page strategies were once additional options, they’re currently considered equally important to on-page SEO. Actually, numerous specialists and also professionals right now agree that off-page SEO can be even more essential for Google ratings than on-page strategies.
August 17, 2015
SEO Campaign Keyword Utilization

A highly effective SEO campaign starts by utilizing key phrases to focus on the topics that you simply intend your website to position for. To be able to rank within the internet search engine pages (SERP’s), an internet site needs to possess a position of relevance for any given search phrase. Normally, this is accomplished by getting keyword wealthy content on the website that coincides using the search phrase the web surfer types in to the internet search engine.
In organic, (natural) SEO, you will find several factors that lead towards the ranking for any search phrase. Each internet search engine provider has their own group of criteria they use to find out which site is best for your specific term. The standards that are utilized to determine internet search engine ratings will be calculated with a complex internet search engine formula.
Because of our prime quantity of specific customer traffic that stands to become acquired by an internet site which has a top-rated position within the search engines like google, looking companies keep your particulars from the factors which will make up their formula a carefully guarded secret.
Despite the fact that looking companies are careful using the exact formula they use to gauge the ratings of internet sites, there has been several constants learned that when applied, produce favorable results.
Key phrases – Content without Key phrases = Website without Traffic
Key phrases are in the center associated with an effective SEO campaign. The fundamental guideline in SEO is the fact that submissions are king. So, you should base all of the content of an internet site on accurate and informative content.
The very first factor in an optimization campaign is market and keyword research. To obtain the search phrases which are producing traffic for that subject that you would like to position for, you have to figure out what the web customers are trying to find. This might be accomplished by a number of different means.
You will find a number of different keyword tools that might be used. The main one tool which was the standard for a long time was the Overture keyword selector tool which, by the month of January 07′, continues to be upon the market. The information within the Overture database still remains readily available for historic data, but is no more being openly up-to-date by Yahoo!, the organization that now is the owner of the service.

August 17, 2015
Building an Effective Keyword List for SEO

Learn the secrets of developing an effective keyword list for SEO. Selecting the right keyword list for your website will ensure the best result for your SEO campaign.
Your keyword list is the driving force of your web aspiration and therefore should be your first and primary focus in: a.) choosing your domain and b.) building your web presence.
Keywords are the fuel of any successful web endeavor and are meant to not only allow potential traffic to find your site but to label your abilities and define who you are. Keywords can make your site or leave it an empty web wasteland. The beauty of selecting the right list is how it will affect your indexing and your long-term ranking.
Keywords are what customers type in the search engines when they are searching for services, products, concepts, and answers. Businesses “optimize” web pages by assigning what keywords define their company, are relevant to core content, and define chief competitors by determining which keywords are popular for their demographic. Choosing the right keywords depends on the correct method of obtaining the list. If the method is thorough and concise, those words will sky-rocket your business into internet super-stardom with earnest work and knowledge. And, whether you seek the support of social media, PPC campaigns or an organic ranking, they all start here – with a great keyword list.
Keywords permeate every aspect of a business and are not limited to their online relevance but saturate offline marketing as well. They are the heart and soul of a company’s marketing engine on a basic linguistic level and this in turn can fuel the creation of a great list. What do you do? What does your business do better than your competitors? A need to ask the essential questions that define what and who you are as a business is necessary for building a list that will outperform your rivals.
Step 1. Getting Down to the Nitty and the Gritty.
What’s in a name? Quite simply, everything. The dynamic of these terms or phrases are the very life-blood of who you are as a business. In all likelihood your keywords will end up as key phrases with words included in your list to enhance your core phrases. Keywords or key phrases should be brain-stormed and considered in a narrowing process that starts with generalization of services, products, client culture and focuses on your business’ deliberate features or values that stand out in your industry. Ask yourself the following questions to get a good general base:
What do we do?
What is our client culture method?
What features do we offer that others in our industry do not?
What separates our business from others in our demographic?
It is important not to over rationalize this process. Keep it simple! Specification is the key to a great and time-tested keyword list but you do not want to overdo it. A good example would be the keyword “car”.
Although it is possible to rank for the keyword “car”, the chances that your website will achieve a first place listing is against your business both via time and financially. It can be done, but that’s another article. What does your company do for cars? Be more specific and focused. Does your business deal with foreign cars? Perhaps foreign car accessories or service? Narrowing the field helps tell the story and the story support the theme. Tag-along key phrases that are not primary key terms like the generalization “car” can help your primary keywords in boosting your ranking. Edmunds.com didn’t get a top ten ranking by listing the keyword “car” by itself, they had tag-along key phrases in smaller markets that supported their primary key term.
A primary key phrase of Florida Real Estate may take a bit to achieve a primary organic ranking, but can be helped with key phrases such as Orlando Real Estate, Florida Retirement Homes, Tampa HUD Homes, etc. These phrases should be simplistic and to the point.
Step 2. Sizing Up the Competition.
It is often said if you want success, “don’t reinvent the wheel” and this old adage is well applied on implementing keywords for your web venture. Looking at where your competitors rank, what their current rankings are and what key phrases they use is vital to “keeping up with the Jones’.” Many firms can run a report outlining your competition and why they are out-ranking your endeavor. It’s a good idea to hire a firm like West Press for this stage of the keyword building process. West Press can show you detailed information on which terms would be best to add to your master list, which terms your competitors are using and also suggest adaptive strategies.
As a practice, West Press generally uses the top three competitors within your industry demographic that rank well in organic listings in the “Big 4″ search engines to study. The list will be comprised of competitors who rank well in your demographic and perhaps one that is more successful and is a larger enterprise that uses more primary key phrases. It is a good idea to go after a company like Nike for example, in using the key phrase “tennis shoes” but your list needs more grounding than that to compete. Adding tag-along key phrases will help with this process and build your base.
Step 3. Themes That Tell A Story.
It’s important to group qualified key phrases into groups that lend themselves to your story. Each primary keyword or key phrase should be listed with additional words or phrases that supports the main theme.
Think of them like a table and each table needs legs. For each idea we piece together a theme and selection can be organized for optimal success.
Step 4. Knowing When To Say When.
There are many websites that believe that more is better, SEO doesn’t work that way. In short, a large number of keywords will not help your ranking. What helps your ranking will be how concise, focused, and specific your list is to your company’s mission and duties. Too many keywords or key phrases can back fire as a plan and limit your ranking.
A large list that tends to be irrelevant can get your site banned. A specific list that is well planned out will out perform a large list that entails every thought about a company and their offerings. This is an important lesson that can save you aggravation later.
Step 5. Zeroing In On Popularity.
Eliminating and revising your list will depend on what key phrases are more popular. Unless you have a multimillion dollar budget for off-page television ads during prime time or can make a video go viral, you will need to follow suit with what is already popular within the engines. A good firm will test your list and be able to exclude key terms that have no relevance or a low keyword popularity within the “Big 4.” Keyword popularity can change so your list will need to be reanalyzed at some point and recompiled. At West Press we generally examine keyword lists every ninety days and by doing so, ensure that your content and Meta information is relevant with current trends.
Deciding on keywords should be a fun and fulfilling process. It not only cements your business further in the mind and the abstract of who you are and where you currently stand as an enterprise but allows you to expand your ideals and client culture for further discovery both on and offline. Is your web presence in need of the right keyword list or SEO expertise? West Press can help. Our internet staff has more than sixteen years experience in SEO and online marketing. Give us a call today!

August 16, 2015