How to get traffic to your new site

You have just bought your first website, it’s flash and looks great – good for you! But now what? How do you get people’s attention and attract visitors to your new fandangle site?

1. Offline Advertising.

Yes we spend more time on line than we do off, but it is still important to include your website address on all pieces of advertising material you have. Make sure it is on your business cards, letterheads, signage, sign written cars, church bulletin, news board, shop window – everywhere! If you have the budget to be spending on flyers, posters, radio, television and other conventional media methods don’t forget to include it there. Don’t ever assume that people won’t remember the address, you’ll be surprised what some people remember when they really want to.

2. Online Directories.

Loads of these on the net - set up a profile for your business on as many as possible, if you already have a profile set up then don’t forget to update it with your new website and a link to it. Free on line directories are even better, you don’t have to pay a cent! I have been asked before whether I would recommend paying to be on some of the sites that require a fee, and I would say you need to check out there stats first

• How much traffic do they get to their own site, in particular to people searching your industry?
• Will they link to your site cleanly and not use the dreaded “nofollow” link. This is a piece of code added to links when you don’t want the link to gain any page rank from it. Don’t waste your money if they use it, it’s no good!
• Where is your listing going to sit amongst your competitors? If you aren’t on the first page, forget it.
• Do you get any added bonuses to paying, more pictures, description, ad space anywhere else?
  
  

Weigh up the answers to these questions and make the call. Personally I don’t recommend it, but some people might find it beneficial – the type of people who pay money to go in the yellow pages – if you have forgotten what those are they are the big chunky yellow books possibly holding up your computer screen right now (Money well spent… *cough*)

Google free directories and a bunch more will come up. It takes time, but gaining traffic to your site always will. Here are a few free directories to get you started anyway.

Finda, Yalwa, Businessme, Mysherrif, NZWebz, Website directory, Hotfrog, NZS.com, Bold Kiwi, Zoomin

3. Social Media.

Love it or hate it, or perhaps don’t understand it but it helps. Add your site to all of your pages, set some pages up if you haven’t already (are you nuts it’s 2012 – join us already!). Always treat your pages as a business page though; don’t go misusing social media if you don’t understand it. Yes it will help with traffic to your site, but it will hinder your sales if you start announcing your personal details, no one needs to know you’re having trouble in your relationship or went to the doctor yesterday about that rash spreading. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogger, Flickr, Google+, StumbleUpon… the options are endless, you pick what works for you and think you can keep up to date.

4. Online.

Beware of link farmers they will not help you and may hinder your results. A link farmer is someone who usually sends you a spammy email saying they can gain 100s of visitors by link baiting to your site. They can’t. Well not from anywhere good, and if you are seen fraternising with such scum Google will punish you. Only ever purchase from reputable websites, but even better try get linked to from good websites. If you have something amazing on your site that may be of interest to a reputable company, send it to them! You might be lucky enough that they find it so incredible they link to your site for free. This also illustrates how important it is to keep your web content up to date and fresh, old stale content doesn’t get links.

Don’t forget to include your web address in your email signature guys! And send it out to all of your current customers, let them know you have decided to join the online world. Every click counts.

5. SEO.

Make sure your site is SEO friendly and Google can index it to begin with. This means good content, good META tags and a well coded/designed site. If you’re brand new don’t expect any amazing results straight away, Google has a stand down period where you sit in limbo for 2 months before they even choose to recognise you exist. This gives you plenty of time to get the address out there and linked through though, you’ll jump up the ladder the more links you have and the more relevant your content is.

Getting started can be the hard part of any business, but keep at it. Gaining traffic to your site isn’t a once off thing; it requires constant attention (sorry to disappoint you if you thought it was going to be easy). The most important part is to have a good website, make the content relevant, interesting and easy to navigate and people will enjoy visiting your site over and over.

Wedding Websites – 7 Benefits and tips to putting your big day online

It’s nearly wedding season! As the final details are being organised by the loved up couples the newest addition to the big day is an official wedding website. Having your wedding online gives the opportunity to share your story with friends and family and keep memories of the event easily accessible. With so many other details to nail out before you walk down the aisle, adding an additional piece of work to it might seem unbearable, but here are the benefits of having your very own wedding website.

1. RSVP

Having a section dedicated to RSVP makes it easy for your guests to confirm or decline the invitation to your event. If you are pre ordering a menu, your guests can easily select what option they would like and any special dietary requirements. Having a simple form emailed to you with their choice in menu and number of guests makes it easy and stress free when organising seating and meals with the catering company.

2. Photos

Add a gallery! It’s fun and makes the site interesting for family and friends to browse through the fun you two as a couple have shared together during your relationship. Some members who might be travelling to the big event may not have even met your partner, so having a few pictures up of your fiancé is a nice way for people to start imagining the babies to come! You must put photos of the wedding up afterwards as well, so guests can browse through the big day’s events.

3. Your story

A must have is your story! How did you and your beloved meet, what was the proposal like? Everyone loves a good romance story so share it with your guests, if you feel up to writing it that is... Add in photos and cute quotes to really make it stand out.

4. The Wedding Party

Details and photos of the best man, groomsmen, maid of honour, bridesmaids and parents of each couple (optional). These are the people who are sharing and helping you make the big day a success, so include them in your site. If there are any issues on the day the guests know who to go and speak to should they need to. Providing contact details gives family and friends who might not be able to attend the big day a chance to send messages they may want read out or included in wedding books without you knowing. Sneaky sneaky.

5. Venue Details

Having your wedding day details easily accessible allows for guests to plan their day, they might need to arrange transport or accommodation so letting them know where and when they are expected to attend prepares them for what is to come. Don’t forget to include maps, pictures and links to venues so people can see your magical destination.

6. Accommodation, Transport, Childcare services

If required add details of accommodation and travel options, add a few different places so guests have a choice. Check in with the closest venues to see if they will do you a discount for groups, then let people know on your website how they can cash in on the deal! If you are offering a childcare service on the day provide details for your guests how they can use the service, with links and photos on what they should expect.

7. The Registry

Providing links to the stores your registry is held at makes it easier for your guests to give a gift. A lot of people are unsure what to give at weddings, as gift giving has changed slightly in the traditional sense over the years. It is probably more common now to give money, so you can mention this on your website if your prefer. I don’t think it is a good idea to set up a PayPal account and start taking peoples credit card details! But let your guests know their token is appreciated on the day and anything they choose to give would be gratefully accepted.

There are some great wedding websites out there already, and plenty of free templates you can use if you have the time. Nothing beats your own custom website design though, perfectly themed to match your invites and the rest of the day, it really does set the event alive. So if you can see the benefits behind having your wedding online look into getting your own site built, I promise I will put as much love into building it as you have the content.

Check out www.thethomsenwedding.co.nz for a recent example of DBC work.

Wildlife Photographer of the year Exhibition

In the weekend I went to go and see the Wildlife Photographer of the year exhibition at the Auckland Museum. What an amazing exhibition!! Firstly I was impressed at how well the Museum has done to organise and set up such a glorious space to display the artworks and secondly by the amount of talent some kids have!

A piece from the under 10's

The whole gallery wasn’t children’s work, it was mostly professional photography, but there were a few sections dedicated to teen work and another section to under 10. Just incredible! I did wonder how much their parents had to do with the image though, the cameras they were using were an easy $5,000 – I don’t consider my childhood to be overly under-privileged but there is no way my mother would have bought me a $5,000 “toy”.




I was also impressed by the stories told behind the photo, so many photographers put their own life on the line for a good shot. There was an incredible image a heard of bison storming through the snow towards the camera, the photographer was out shooting wolves at the time and something startled them and they began to run towards him. Instead of ditching the camera and running for his life he was adjusting saturation and lenses!! Another, the winning shot was a Polar Bear, half in the water half out. The man who took this shot was in the water with a snorkel and fins only, tied to the boat by a rope, this bear swam up to him and patted his camera with his paw… WITH HIS PAW!!! It then swam away but not before giving an award winning masterpiece. Was it worth it? It appears so…

Possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen

We started to discuss how much image alteration is allowed before it becomes graphic design instead of photography. Am I just being a cynical designer here in assuming every image I see released professionally must have had some Photoshop work done to it? If these images truly are untouched and this is the raw photo taken, then I am even more impressed!

It has definitely inspired me to take up photography myself, and I’m not ashamed to admit my early photography WILL require the use of Photoshop I have no doubt in that. As I have done a bit of photo work already for clients building websites who need product or shop photos done before, I think it is time I invested into an SLR camera. If anyone has any recommendations please let me know, there are a couple that have been suggested to me already so I’m going to look further into the Sony Alpha A290, Canon EOS 1100D and the Canon EOS 60D.

If you live around the Auckland area and are looking for some free entertainment, definitely go check the gallery out, you won’t be disappointed. Be warned this also appeals to families, and screaming children also come with the gallery.