Ellevate – “Take Your Website Into Overdrive”

The rest of the article:

2)  It has a blog AND static pages in it.  Having a blog is essential for search engine optimization (SEO).  If you don’t update your site AT LEAST once a week, you can expect that the Google meta spiders will stop visiting and will, therefore, stop indexing your site.  But you don’t want a blog to be separate from your Web site.  Wouldn’t it be disappointing if your blog started ranking high but your Web site, which pays the bills, didn’t?  The best is to have the blog inside the Web site, which is exactly what WordPress does.  You can write “posts”, which change often, and you can also have static information about your company on “pages”.

3)  It sends out pings. What are pings?  They are search engine optimization friendly notifications that get sent out on the Internet every time you write a blog post.  They get your page noticed before you even know it!

4)  It’s customizable. This way, your WordPress site doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s.  Since its open source, you can make it look the way you want for your branding.  To make things easier, you can download “themes” from the WordPress site, which are also free.  For more complicated ventures, there are companies out there that can tailor-make a “theme” the way you want it.

5) It can do lots and lots of stuff. In plainer terms, it can be as functional as you need it to be.  There are thousands of “plug-ins” available for free (developed by WordPress volunteers).  These include shopping carts, image and video galleries, widget changers (for the info on your sidebars), site-map generators and SEO packs that automatically insert meta-tags into the code of your page for Google and other search engines to read.  The list is endless!

6) It’s constantly updated. The people who work on WordPress are always improving the software.  This means your CMS will stay up-to-date with the latest trends in technology.

To see it all in action, visit www.smartt.com and click on the video thumbnail on the right sidebar.

BBOT – “Free alternative to increase Web traffic”

SmarttNet reaches ‘close-to-home’ businesses at Burnaby Tradeshow

To view and print a pdf version of this story, click here: smarttnet-reaches-close-to-home-businesses-at-burnaby-tradeshow

For immediate release May 21, 2009

Since SmarttNet joined the Burnaby Board of Trade, its Internet marketing department couldn’t wait to attend their first tradeshow as bona fide members.  Much to their delight, the event was more than they ever expected.

“This was one of the best tradeshows we have attended this year,” said Chief Marketing Manager Martin Wong. “I was pleasantly surprised at the turnout. Last year the show was very tiny and it seems like this year they have really marketed it well…There was a good mix of small businesses, corporations, government organizations, and also the community.”

The organization itself was especially happy to have SmarttNet’s presence.  According to Jason Wong of the Burnaby Board of Trade, “On behalf of the BBOT, it’s been a pleasure having SmartNet as a member this year. Not only were they first-time exhibitors at our most successful Annual Business Creating Business Trade Show ever, they have also become one of our most active and engaged members since joining us in March 2009. SmarttNet is a prime example of a progressive and emerging company in Burnaby’s growing technology industry. We need more businesses like SmartNet.”

The SmarttNet table was the only exhibitor of Web development and e-marketing services and SmarttNet itself is one of the only companies offering Search Engine Optimization (SEO) on the Burnaby Board of Trade.

Live demonstrations of SmarttNet Web sites were being held on a fancy Macintosh computer and, according to Wong, many guests were “shocked” at how easy it is to use a Content Management System (CMS). “We made some good relationships,” continued Wong.  “Lots of people were interested in how we can help them with their rankings [on search engines].” Business was also pleasure at the show, especially when SmarttNet staff took a turn at the Oxygen bar.

“It was really fun being able to try out a fellow member’s product, and at the same time I made new contacts while breathing in fresh oxygen,” recalls Joyce, E-marketing & Media Specialist at SmarttNet.

For more information, or to arrange an interview call 604 473 9700 or e-mail joyce@smartt.com.

Amy, SmarttNet’s Project Manager in the E-marketing Department at the SmarttNet table exhibiting at the Burnaby Board of Trade. Joyce, SmarttNet’s E-marketing & Media Specialist showcasing the fancy screen used to give live demos of SmarttNet’s Web sites using a Content Management System (CMS). Martin, SmarttNet’s Chief Marketing Manager, trying out the oxygen bar at the Burnaby Board of Trade tradeshow. Trying out the oxygen bar and then making a few friends while she’s at it!

As you can see, SmarttNet enjoyed the oxygen bar!

bbot

Did you know?

As a full-service e-marketing department, SmarttNet is equipped to meet all your marketing needs, great or small. Below is a list of some of the things we do:

At SmarttNet, Web design and e-marketing go together. That way, your marketing efforts won’t be hindered by the technicalities of your site’s structure. Instead, they’ll complement each other. Often this is a hard combination to accomplish, but at SmarttNet, tech development and creative services work under one roof (that’s right, no outsourcing here!).

When SmarttNet makes your Web site, a Content Management System (CMS) is used so that you or your staff can make changes without knowing HTML or other computer code. A CMS is as easy as using any word processor. You can create content, add pages of information and even insert photos with a few clicks.

See our page about Web development and Content Management Systems to learn more!

Most people have heard about SEO, but what they don’t realize is that, where e-marketing is concerned, high page ranks on search engines is only the beginning. At SmarttNet, we look at your business as a whole, and build a strategy for increasing sales and returning a profit. We don’t just get visitors to your site, we help you convert those visitors into actual buyers.

Examples of e-marketing and SEO products to choose from at SmarttNet:

Article campaigns – In short, this is a proven and effective way to build your online presence by providing free advice about your industry out on the Web. SmarttNet has trained writers on board ready to write about whatever topic it is that you’re involved with.

Link building – we’ll get other sites linking to you, where you want them to be. Incoming links are the heart of SEO strategy and at SmarttNet, we’ve got resources to help you get to the top for the long run.

AdWords advertisements – confused about Google AdWords and how they work? No problem, just bring your business to us and we’ll handle it from here, making sure your pay-per-click advertising is returning valuable profits and not flushing cash down the drain.

Keyword research – this is not just about what adjectives represent your business. It has to do with what search terms your customers are using to find you on the Internet. Often a name alone, or even the perfect domain is not enough. The Internet is not a static place, and neither are the shoppers who use it. This important step should be reviewed and analyzed on a consistent basis.

Visit our pages on e-marketing and Search Engine Optimization to read more!

At SmarttNet, we have two ways of helping our clients. We can perform services for you, or, we can teach you how to do it on your own! Our SmarttTraining series is a two-part course designed to give you the know-how on all you need to manage e-marketing and SEO for your online business. We tell you what works, what doesn’t and why. If you have questions, we’re there to answer them. Best of all, SmarttTraining uses your business as a learning hub. Live applications and take-home assignments contribute to your marketing strategy as the course is being taught so you can go home with a base from which to start working.

Our SmarttTraining course is not based around motivation or cheap selling tools. We give real advice based on hard facts. Since we believe in sharing, we’ll let you in on trade secrets that hard to find out there. And, even if we end up providing e-marketing services for you in the future, at least you’ll know what goes on and how it’s working to help grow your business.

Visit the SmarttTraining page to learn more about how you can grow your online business all on your own!

SmarttNet advises online marketing in magazine

To view and print a pdf version of this post, click here: smarttnet-advises-online-marketing-in-adpages

For immediate release May 1, 2009

Business in Vancouver’s Adpages magazine has been released, featuring a section about “Online strategies: what works, what doesn’t.”  The source of the advice? SmarttNet’s e-marketing department.

In an article titled, ‘The online marketing game,’ SmarttNet Internet marketer Joyce is quoted by writer Sara Newham, explaining the difference between consumer habits in real life verses online.

“On the Internet…what they’re looking for is usually…expert advice and information, so if your web page homepage is a sales page, they will get turned off really easily,” says Joyce in the article.

The idea is that brick and mortar businesses should operate differently on the Internet, realizing it is a medium on its own.

“It’s about people’s expectations in different settings,” explains Joyce.  “If they walk into your store, traditionally they have the mindset that they’re there physically because it’s time to buy something.  In that case, by all means a sales pitch will work, because that is what helps.  But on the Internet, people aren’t there for that – they want to do research before they buy.”

For this reason blogs are heavily important to the conversion process, the method by which a visitor becomes an actual buyer.  The written, impartial advice acts as a stimulant to keep people on a Web site longer, which is what eventually convinces people to buy.

Another aspect of online marketing brought up in the article is syndication.  Joyce recommends that all social networking accounts be linked together so that “any time an activity happens in one place, it will show up in all the other places, [and] all of your networks will be able to see what you’re doing.”

In addition to being interviewed about online marketing advice, Joyce also wrote a commentary explaining the parallel universes of online and offline marketing.

“Here we showed the online equivalents to marketing tactics that are common in ‘real life’,” says Joyce.  “For example, getting market share in real life can be compared to building backlinks online.  The more you have, the more you out-beat your competitors on search results.”

Other examples mentioned include social networking, article campaigns, target marketing, competitive research, pay-per-click ads, keywords, affiliate programs, meta-tag spying and shopping carts.

To view copies of SmarttNet’s presence in Adpages, click on the “Published” tab on the homepage at smartt.com.

For more information, or to arrange an interview with Joyce, call 604 630 7579 or e-mail joyce@smartt.com

Adpages 2009 – Marketing online versus offline: How are they different?

Adpages 2009 – “The online marketing game”