WC Journal Internet Marketing Articles

WC Journal (Weidman Consulting Journal) Articles

WC Journal: Search Engine Marketing Overview (somewhat dated) - Search Engine Marketing (SEM) refers to the strategy, planning, implementation, and ongoing maintenance activities related to driving targeted and profitable Web site traffic from search engine sites. This article looks at both paid and "natural" methods of traffic acquisition from search engines.

WC Journal: Home Page Usability - This article resulted from reading an excellent book and then applying the concepts described in the book to my own Web site (Note: the previous version of my home page). The book is Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed by Jakob Nielsen and Marie Tahir. Dr. Nielsen is possibly the most notable Web usability expert in the industry. After reading the book I decided that my own site could probably benefit from the same analysis.

WC Journal: Web Site Mertics - What is the return on investment (ROI) for the money you've spent on designing, promoting, and managing your site. The answer is not always easy to obtain.

WC Journal: Site Design for Search Engines - Article looks at how the design of your Web site affects its search engine compatibility. Compatibility in this sense indicates how easy it is for the search engine crawlers to find and extract information from your Web site to populate their databases. If you're considering a new site or a significant redesign, make sure that search engine "friendliness" is considered during the initial design phase.

WC Journal: Strategy Part 2 - The "average" small business spends around $10,000 on their first site, and that amount again in maintenance over the one to two years following. You would think that the "average" small business owner would want to know what the return would be on any $20,000 investment. Here we review an outline of the process steps necessary to develop a Web site strategy for a new or updated site.

WC Journal: Web Site Strategy Part 1 - If you distill the goals of any commercial Web site down to the most basic ones, the result is the identification of two fundamental challenges: attract visitors, and convert them.

WC Journal: Small Percentage of Web Sites Are Profitable - The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) reports in their National Small Business Poll - The Use and Value of Web Sites that, when asked, only 27% of small business owners saw an operating profit from their Web site.

WC Journal: How To Hire A Web Developer - Shopping for a Web site developer is not unlike looking for a new car. First, you see lots of terrific sites on the Internet and you become excited about the prospect of getting a new one for yourself. By the time you have listened to each vendor's sales pitch you are ready to just keep your old site and spend your money elsewhere. Eventually, though, you get through it, and there is tremendous satisfaction showing off your new site - assuming, of course, that you chose a good developer who completed the project to your satisfaction.