Girl
Geek Speaks Newsletter
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Welcome to the July 2007 issue of our newsletter for the technically
challenged and web site wannabe's. We feature articles to help guide you
through the process of designing, building, and promoting your business web
site. If you know someone who may benefit from this newsletter, please forward
it to them in its entirety, or have them subscribe below.
We've added a new feature, Ask Girl Geek, actual inquiries from real people
needing assistance with website design or promotion. Hope you enjoy it. Feel
free to submit your questions to Annette@GirlGeekWebDesigns.com for possible
inclusion in future issues. I will answer all questions or direct you to
resources where you can get better answers than I might be able to provide.
IN THIS ISSUE:
What's New at Girl Geek Web Designs!
Article: What is Yelp and Why Should I Care?
Announcements: Girl Geek Offers SEO and SEM workshop
- August 2007
What's New at Girl Geek Web Designs!
I can't believe it's been almost a year since I
wrote anything for the newsletter. Boy, have I been
busy. The last time I sent out an announcement on
this list I got 15 jobs within a week! I've been
playing catch up ever since.
Lest you think I'm all work and no play, I've been
traveling for fun and for work and have met some of
my website clients in Florida when I was there over
Christmas. I just got home from Fiddle Camp near
Nashville, TN and Baltimore, where I visited my
sister. So I may be coming to a town near you! I'm
starting the "take a Geek to lunch" program.
After about 5 years of searching, I've taken on two
new "girl geeks," Anne and Clair, to help me design
websites and make sure our turnaround time is 6
weeks or less from contract signing. Good geeks are
hard to find!
Anne has been designing websites since 2001 and is
my "form girl" and trouble shooter. Clair has 25
years experience in graphic design and 12 years
experience in website design. She's a stickler for
"clean" code, browser compatibility and getting
things just right. She's like a dog with a bone when
there's some problem to be solved.
I've been spending my time getting into Search
Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine
Marketing. In fact, I've been asked to give a
half-day presentation on the basics.
See
Announcement below.
It's fun to see my clients' websites climb to the
top of Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines. In
fact, on one of my client's sites, he has a #1
ranking for 48 of his most important keywords. Plus,
his site is on the first page for 179 keywords. In
other words, he's everywhere!
What is Yelp and Why Should I Care?
Here's how Yelp describes their services: "Yelp is
the new and fun way to find, review and talk about
what's great - and not so great - in your
neighborhood and beyond, everything from cool
restaurants and bars to doctors and yoga
instructors."
As such, it's a hybrid between social networking and
user-reviews! You join for free and post a profile,
then start posting reviews of all the businesses in
your area or around the country that you've visited.
If you own a business, it is probably already listed
there, if it's in the Yellow Pages. You may have to
go make some corrections or add your website, as I
did.
The next thing you want to do is invite all your
friends and customers to post reviews on Yelp about
your business. The big thing in Web 2.0 is "user
generated content." So, if you ask all your friends
and clients to write reviews for your website and/or
products and services your website readers will bet
the lowdown on you from actual users. Then you can
drop a line of code into your website, so site
visitors can read these reviews.
Since the trend is toward "transparency" in
testimonials, this is one way to do it. Transparency
means that you boldly and brazenly ask for and
publish honest feedback about your products and
services. This allows your prospective clients and
customers see the good and the bad and judge for
themselves. Don't you wonder about those testimonial
pages that only include the rave reviews? Having
some negative reviews gives a more realistic picture
of your business and makes you more trustworthy.
Check it out my listing at
http://www.yelp.com/biz/f8mji7_I2o3dEpl7Nc6AKA
Then go sign up for your Free account at
http://yelp.com/e;AQIAIw;IOqx3PZgPOO0_t3b0uhGjA
See you on Yelp
Announcement:
SMALL
BUSINESS WORKSHOP SERIES presents "Maximize Your
Online Presence with Google!"
If you're serious about doing business online -
whether it's selling your products or services,
prospecting for new customers, providing customer
service or order fulfillment from your website -
your website needs to be ranked highly and found
easily on Google (and other search engines) by your
niche market. This workshop will provide you with
basic knowledge of how to get your website ranked at
the top of search engines and how to get the right
traffic to your site quickly.
Cost: $45 per person
When: Friday, August 24, 2007 9am-noon
Where: Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center
150 E. Pleasant Hill Road
Carbondale, IL 62901
Call: 618-536-2424
Email: ilsbdc@siu.edu
Internet: www.southernillinois.biz
Seating is limited, so contact us now! Registration
closes Friday, August 17th.
To download the flier in PDF format, go to
www.GirlGeekWebDesigns.com/Class.PDF
Shameless Self Promotion:
Email or Call now (well, maybe wait until next week
as I'm kinda swamped) for your FREE initial web
design consultation and NO OBLIGATION bid for new
websites or old website revamping.
Also, we are now offering WEBSITE PROMOTION
CONSULTATION services which help get your site in
front of the people who absolutely, positively must
see it!
Girl Geek Web Designs - ask for Annette
Please note our NEW PHONE NUMBER (618) 457-8103
Email: Annette@GirlGeekWebDesigns.com
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