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5 Reasons Why SEO Is So Important For Your Site

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:16:00 -0800

Why is search engine optimization so important for your website?

1. Without even the most basic SEO your site is invisible to the search engines and the world, which means you are missing out on the chance for people to find you when they search online.

2. SEO optimization can transform your site from a stodgy online brochure, into a powerful self-promoting marketing system which works for you globally 24/7, even while you sleep.

3. Using SEO can help you target your services or products to exactly the right kind of buyers in your market.

4. Adopting proper SEO practices helps you improve the clarity, content and navigation of your website.

5. Professional search engine optimization helps to pinpoint your site's purpose and subject matter, making your site a valuable part of the search engine's results page.

5 Tips To Get Your Small Business Online

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:53:00 -0800

If you're one of the thousands of people currently out there thinking about setting up your own small business, you might want to brew a cup of tea and spend a few minutes reading through the tips contained in this article. 5 Tips To Get Your Small Business Online offers a goodly amount of sensible advice, mostly geared around optimizing your web presence to take advantage of the surge in online commerce.

Much of it is common sense (e.g.you will need a domain name and web host!) but there's also some valuable advice on how to maximise your website without getting caught up in things you probably don't need (hint: you probably don't need a mobile website right now, unless a large amount of your business comes from people on the move).

Taka a read, and don't forget, our job here at Panda Site Builder is to help remove a lot of the drudge from setting up a site or online store, so you can focus on building your business. We're hoping that you will use us as a one-stop shop for all your online needs and questions, from domain names to traffic generation and copy writing. If you haven't done so already sign up to our irregular newsletter which will keep you up to date with all the Panda Site Builder News as it happens.

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Should We Save The Giant Panda?

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 02:42:00 -0800

The BBC today asks - 'Should We Give Up Trying To Save The Panda?' We say absolutely NOT. That is all.

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CSS Snippets

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 03:47:00 -0700

html { background: #111; color: #eee; }
h1, h2, h3 { color: #eee; }
body { color: #eee; }

More of our customers are starting to use those clever CSS Snippets to tweak the design of their site, so we're going to try and put together a CSS Snippet gallery as soon as we can, in order to help people 'cheat' a little and give their site design a little instant edge. Hopefully it won't take too long to do, but the To-Do list is long and the winter months are brutal. Or something like that.

In the meantime, here's an example of that you can do to the Discovery Theme with a tiny snippet and some imagination. Simple but effective.

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What Helps Small Business To Prosper?

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 03:31:00 -0700

Starting and running a small business can be challenging at any time, let alone during a downturn, so it was interesting to read this piece titled What Helps Small Business To Prosper?. Of course there are a huge number of factors which go towards success, including the scarily random confluence of luck, planning and execution, but in general the thing that seems to stand out from all these reports is a relentless focus on delivering as much customer satisfaction as you can.

Nowadays of course a lot of this focus involves implementing great customer communication, which of course is where having a decent website comes in. But it's not just the website is it? It's the whole tapestry of communication, from your help desk to your order processing and follow up emails. The companies which seem to 'get it', use all the tools they can find to ensure that they're both talking and listening to their clients and customers. We're trying to do it, and we know that a huge percentage of web startups are shooting for this goal as well.

I guess the message of this post is to remember that the Web changes everything. To grab success now, you're expected to open up your processes, discussions and decisions to the whole world, and not just impose them on your customers from high ground. Sounds easy, doesn't it?

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Simple drop caps via a CSS snippet

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:49:43 -0700

Here's a fun tip for those of you with access to the CSS editor on Panda Site Builder's paid plans. Pop this snippet of CSS into your CSS editor box (you'll find it under the Styles tab) and watch these cute drop caps appear at the beginning of your paragraphs. You can change the colour of the letters by replacing the existing 'color' code (starting with a #) with something more to your taste. Have fun!

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    p:first-letter {
        display:block;
        margin:5px 0 0 5px;
        float:left;
        color:#FF3366;
        font-size:60px;
        font-family:Georgia;
    }

--------------------------------------------------------------------

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Getting free SEO advice from the world experts in search

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:39:34 -0700

[photo]

Before you feel the urge to rush out and employ specialist search engine optimisation (SEO) experts to help your site rise up in the Google search engine results, you may want to just make a quick cup of tea and pop on over to the Google SEO Starter Guide. This absolutely free 32 page guide is chock full of superb information delivered by the masters themselves.

It's really well written, provides advice for complete beginners as well as more advanced stuff, and most importantly points out some of the traps which you might fall into as you try to make your site more visible. The bottom line is that original good quality content is a must, no matter what other techniques you use to improve your search rankings.

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How To Get Your New Site Noticed By Google And Other Search Services

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:37:05 -0700

We've just posted a guide to getting your new site noticed by Google and the other major search services in our knowledgebase. It's not an exhaustive list, but it should be a pretty good starting point. We'll revisit the topic again later as we add more cool SEO features to Panda Site Builder. Hope you get some use out of it!

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How to Produce a Successful Press Release For Your New Website and Service

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:12:15 -0700

Many people are unaware that sending out a local or niche PR release can be as effective as conventional search engine optimisation in getting your website noticed by the search giants like Google. This is because nowadays most of the newswire services that you can use have hooks into the major search engines, so your release becomes immediately indexable for the web. This makes it a worthwhile exercise.

Here are the steps you need to take to craft a useful press release.

A. Prepare
Before you do anything, pull together a list of the thing/s you want to talk about. Above all keep it simple, too much information is confusing, and muddies your main message. So is it a press release to just mention the new website, is it to show off the new products you are selling, or to demonstrate on your site that you are offering a new service? Pick a main topic and stick to it.

You'll also ideally need to come up with some context, so look around your market and see how your product or service fits in, what makes it different, what are the cool things you do that others do not?

B. Create
Once you've got it all sorted out in your mind, you'll need to put it down in words. There are specific formats for press releases, which generally make them easier to read and scan, so try and keep to that format. Here's an example of a press release format from PR Web - http://www.prweb.com/releases/restaurant/owner/prweb1356174.htm . I personally do not like the long title form, but it can be useful from time to time.

The important parts are a) the title/headline. this needs to be punchy, relevant and interesting. The best way to do this is to demonstrate something different in what you are offering. b) The first paragraph needs to summarize your whole press release in as simple to read a way as possible. c) you need to make sure you insert enough keywords for your product or service, so the search engines connect your business to the right audiences. Don't overdo it, but make sure you have them in there! For more tips see - http://www.docstoc.com/docs/591558/Sample-Press-Release-Template-Guide .

I can't teach you how to write the actual release, since each one varies according to subject matter, but what I can say is you should always try to keep sentences short, and ideas simple. Don't write long boring paragraphs, or delve too deeply into your offering, just keep it simple, easy to read and short. Press releases are designed to be read by busy journalists and bloggers, so they need to be easy to scan.

C. Distribute
So now you have it written and you're happy with it. You have checked and rechecked for spelling and grammatical mistakes (right?) and now you have to distribute it to the right people. Who? Well the undisputed leader of the release wires is PR Web (www.prweb.com). They have a huge distribution network, but it costs. You can expect to pay upwards of $150 for a decent release distribution. We recommend that if you have the money, you use PRWeb first, since it's a proven service and well patronised by journalists across the world.

If budget is a problem, then you will have to resort to the free alternatives. They're definitely not as good, but they will get you coverage of a sort if you use them intelligently. Here's a list of 25 free press release distribution services - http://www.businesswebdesigncharlotte.com/dont-pay-for-press-releases-25-free... .

As well as the above distribution services, I would also suggest you try and build a small list of important online news services and bloggers who cover your kind of marketplace. They don't have to be huge services, just as long as you locate the ones who have a decent enthusiast audience. Send the press release to them separately, with a covering personal email explaining how cool you are.

Finally, don't forget to use your local knowledge to good effect. If you are supplying goods and services to your local geographic area, definitely send a copy of your release to your local newspapers and online listing services. Do a search for local news services and papers in your area, and send the release to their news section by email. You'll be able to find the right email address on their websites. If necessary give them a call to find out the name of the person who deals with the business listings section. You may be hassled to take some advertising, but you can always refuse politely.

Well that's it, a very short roundup of the steps you should take to try and publicise your new website and products or services. Good PR is an ongoing process, so don't expect instant glory from one press release or one event. Over time try and build a relationship with the bloggers and news outlets that are important in your market sector or geographic area, and eventually these contacts will pay you back with the kind of coverage you need. Good luck!

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Approaching public launch

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 06:41:00 -0700

Welcome to the first post on the Panda Site Builder blog. We will be using it to communicate new product news and status updates, as well as more general thoughts and hopes from the startup business front line. We will also be including a selection of hints and tips to help people get the best out of the website creation process.

It's interesting as you approach launch time how focused the conversation gets. Instead of vague generalities you focus with laser like intensity on issues that will affect not just the technology, but the business as a whole. In effect your interaction moves away from being feature led, to strategic. It's easy to see how your teams can end up pushing insane hours trying to keep it all real. Interesting.

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