Category: “Just Nancy”

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Want More Sales – What’s Your Polish Look Like?

Be on target to assure you make the right impression with your website.
Be on target to assure you make the right impression with your website.

Your website is all about more sales! That’s the reason you’ve hung out your shingle, but are you hurting leads and sales by having a website that’s not polished enough?

Polish is not about having fashion models in your content photos, although attractive people in your pics will not hurt, it is about the details.

These details communicate visually your professionalism and instill confidence in prospects when they visit. It’s the look and feel and you’ve got 10 seconds to make a favorable impression!

Here are my top polish points to check out on your own site.

Content blocks on the home page
These just must be the same word count and line up horizontally. When you have three different sized boxes it just looks bad.

Blog post excerpts in your footer
Control the word count! There are plugins you can use to assure your excerpt stays the same word count. Make sure to use them so you do not have giant blocks of blog content making the bottom of your website page look like jagged teeth.

Photos with no smiles
Staff photos where everyone looks grim or the business owner is frowning should be updated. Look approachable, you don’t have to be a model, but a pleasant look on your face is important.

Photos where the clothing is too casual
Owner and staff photos are important. If you work in a professional arena like a dentist or doctor – wear a white coat, lawyers – wear a suit, business owners – the higher dollar figure your sale, the more dressed up you should be. Polo shirts and super casual wear is great for your photo if your customers and competitors will be wearing those types of clothes. Careful – what you wear impacts your site’s polish and communicates professionalism.

Blog posts that are off topic that don’t match what you sell
If you blog yourself for your own website, make sure that you create and stick to a content strategy that works to build keyword density and authority  for your website.  Keep the your website’s polish going by being on topic.  Blogging is not your online journal, but rather a way to build authority with search engines and provide new fodder for search engine robots.

If you need help polishing your site, we provide consulting services to help your site improve in appearance and polish. Find out more today.

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Introducing Our Summer Intern, William McCord

William McCord, Our Summer Intern
William McCord, Our Summer Intern

William McCord, my 20 year old son, has joined the firm for the summer in a Computer Science internship.

William is a rising Junior in Computer Science with an interest in programming, GIS, and cyber security at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

With a passion for computer programming, he is already helping to implement and tweak complex scripts for AdWords account management as well as fine-tuning his HTML and CSS skills for website design.

This summer, he will be focusing on WordPress management, site design customization, website security, mobile-friendly e-newsletters, and AdWords script programming.

He is a incredibly fast learner, innovative, and a hard worker. We are excited to welcome him into our office.

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The Trouble with Travel

The Trouble with Travel is Staying Connected.
The Trouble with Travel is Staying Connected.

Travel, it’s fun and exciting, but the trouble with travel is that internet and phone connectivity can bring your business to a halt fast!

Here’s How I Handle the Trouble with Travel

  1. Be prepared.
  2. Stay powered up with portable power packs.
  3. Make sure you have a mobile phone Travel Pass.
  4. Review connectivity in your destinations.
  5. Be prepared to pay for Internet access at hotels.
  6. Get your files into the cloud for easy access.
  7. Have an answering service or staff for backup.
  8. Don’t take on any work that has deadlines close to your trip.
  9. Take a tablet and a smartphone. No need for a laptop.
  10. Create a customer care plan in your absence.

I have personally found that US travel is easier for me than international travel, but with the right tools and expectations, international travel can also be managed easily enough.

Internet connectivity does allow me to work anywhere in the world, but all Internet connections and data networks are NOT equal. I try to keep things I really need to be connected to for an hour each night at the hotel purchasing hi-speed Internet access. I use data for quick responses to emails with my smartphone through out the day.

The more you travel, the better you get at managing what you can do and what you’d better defer to your return home.

If you have your own travel tips you live by, share them by clicking comments.