Content Management System vs. Search Engine Optimization

A great concern of many web site designers is the affect that a content management system (CMS) has on search engine optimization (SEO). In the past, content management system applications published content with drawn out, complicated URLs or often created several copies. Because of this, search engines seldom accepted the URLs and often ranked the web site lower than normal. Fortunately, CMS applications are designed to be more SEO friendly.

Search engine optimization is very important and should be taken seriously with any type of web site. Entrepreneurs and small business owners who may not have a large budget are now considering how they are going to receive high page rankings within search engines. These individuals are educating themselves on SEO and other technological genres.

Nowadays, most content management systems are expected to improve a web site’s search engine optimization rather than to hurt it. When shopping around for that perfect CMS, ask yourself the following questions: “How does the software or application help with my SEO?” and “What specific parts of the application or software will help to advance my SEO efforts?”

On the other hand, be sure to pay attention to the structure of the application and how it helps you develop your content. This aspect is very crucial simply because a CMS is meant to maintain your content in an orderly manner.

Below are the six main categories of a Content Management System:

• Enterprise CMS (ECMS)
• Web CMS (WCMS)
• Document management system (DMS)
• Mobile CMS
• Component CMS
• Media content management system


About CODANK Web Design

CODANK is a top Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Common SEO Mistakes

If you are not familiar with search engine optimization, properly optimizing your web site may become somewhat of a hassle. Many companies and entrepreneurs fail to understand the importance of thoroughly planning in hopes of drawing in traffic. Inexperienced individuals easily make decisions which tend to damage their search engine optimization plan.

According to Wikipedia.org, search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines via the “natural” or un-paid search results.

Similar to other methods and procedures, SEO is governed by rules and regulations. These rules are typically administered by search engines which include: Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN/Bing, etc.

Below are common mistakes made during search engine optimization by many companies and websites.

• Wrong Keywords – be sure to select keywords and phrases which have relevance to your web site.
• Use of Crawler Unfriendly Methods – search engines deal better with HTML text rather than Flash files
• Images instead of Headings – search engines need to read actual content; refrain from posting nothing but images
• Backlink Spamming – quality backlinks are much better than just having numerous backlinks
• JavaScript Menus – crawlers cannot read JavaScript menus; try using a sitemap instead.
• Ignoring URLs – place keywords in an URL; helps with SEO
• Poor Site Promotion – marketing goes beyond just launching a site; try inbound links
• Ignoring Title Tags – a title tag is important because it shows in the search results as your page title
• Thin Content Pages – little to no content is present on the page
• Poor Content Management System – a CMS should be crawler-friendly in order to be beneficial

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Changing URLs

There are many ways to make your web site rank a lot better in search engines. One place to start is by modifying your URL structure and making it more search engine optimization (SEO) friendly. Doing this incorrectly can cost you your present rankings and it could take months to make a complete recovery.

According to Wikipedia, a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) specifies where an identified resource is available and the mechanism for retrieving it. An URL example is:

http://www.example.com

Before actually changing your entire URL structure, it is best to make sure that it is worth doing. Below are a few tips and information needed to make a decision. Sticking to this checklist will help to reduce your ranking drops.

Change from a dynamic URL structure to a static URL structure
Creating a static URL that is descriptive and search engine optimization friendly will help you in the long run. It will also give you one URL for each product or page on your web site.

Make all URLs more search engine optimization friendly
Do not create any URLs that aren’t able to explain what each page is all about. Below is an example of a bad URL:

http://www.example.com/store/prod1.html

We recommend that you use appropriate keywords and phrases in your URL to improve its SEO efforts. This will also make them more user-friendly for visitors.

Use 301 redirects in place of old URLs
Once you have changed your URLs, be sure to put 301s in place to redirect all of the old URLs to the new URLs.

Update internal links
All internal links should point to the new URLs. This will eliminate any confusion and will add to your internal link value. Placing 301 redirects isn’t going to solve this issue.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Think Outside the Box: Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing is a relatively fresh idea when it comes to using it on the Internet. It is referred to as an unconventional means of getting a company’s name out in the public. Many businesses choose to use guerilla marketing because it is very cost effective – if not free. The tactics that you choose to use are very creative and are, for the most part, fun to come up with. Here are a few examples and possibly some good ideas companies to try:

Force them to visit your website – Be very cautious when doing this! Every time you use a public computer, set your URL to the homepage. This could easily work in a library or lab room full of computers.

Leave your mark on money – Get an ink stamp with your company information or URL and stamp every dollar you use. This way, people see your URL, and visit! This works especially well if your company is centered on cash.

Give away prizes or run some contests – Advertise a contest on your website for free promotional space or endorse a contest in your city for free products or services. Also, you can use radio, TV, or outdoor ads.

Out-of-the-norm advertising – This term is used to describe all sorts of free places to advertise. You can purchase t-shirts that promote your product or service and wear them everywhere. Put bumper stickers on every car, motorcycle, scooter, bike, and tricycle you own.

Look for niche places to advertise - It helps you far more to advertise to the fewer amounts of people that are for sure interested in your product or service than to the masses that may or may not care what you have to say. The movie theater is relatively inexpensive and can be very profitable if you choose your movies right.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Checking on Your Website Listings

You may have recently submitted you new web site to the top search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing/MSN. It is now time to keep an eye on its progress within each search engine. Generally, you will want to know when it is listed and exactly who is linking to it.

There is a slight chance that your web site will not get listed on one or more search engines. This can be due to:

•A simple oversight
•URL was mistyped
•The search engine found some broken links or other related errors
•Engines have not crawled your web site yet

There are different ways to check on the status of your web site submission at various search engines. Because Yahoo and Google are the two most popular search engines, you will want to keep tabs on them first. But, don’t forget about Bing/MSN because it is quickly growing in popularity as well.

The easiest way to search for your page is to visit each search engine and enter the URL of your main page and other web pages that you wish to check on. For example, to see if Google search engine has listed any web pages for www.codank.com, you would enter the same exact URL into the search box. Also, be sure to check on your competitors in order to see if they are listed.

Being indexed does take some time. It is best to allow 4 to 6 weeks for your web site to appear in search engines before trying to resubmit.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Page Ranking Tips

Achieving high page ranking can be easy for some web sites and harder for other sites. Search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, look for two aspects to your web site: relevance and context. It is best to pay close attention to the specific keywords and phrases that you choose to use because it can affect the ranking of your web site.

Below are several tips and recommendations for web sites that are looking to increase their page ranking. Play close attention to these tips when looking to improve your listings.

Ways to Increase Your PageRank by CODANK Charlotte Web Design

•Create a blog and begin posting quality content
•Keep all of your content fresh, appealing, and up-to-date. Doing so will attract more visitors that will eventually come back more frequently.
•Use descriptive title tags, page titles, meta keywords, and meta descriptions for all web pages include on your site.
•Place important keywords in your meta tags, header, opening paragraph, and footer
•Link your web site with other sites with high page rankings. Low ranked pages can cause your page to drop in rankings as well.
•Register your web site with local directories and search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing/MSN.
•Use keywords that are visitor-friendly. Conduct thorough research and do not simply rely on your own judgment for keywords and phrases.
•Delete or update idle web pages
•Take advantage of social networking sites that allow you to post vital information – website URL, contact information, etc.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Common SEO Mistakes

A variety of small to large companies often seem to experience the same obstacles when going through their search engine optimization phase. Business-to-business marketers tend to fall behind in terms of methods and adoption of new marketing tools.

More and more marketers are beginning to take advantage of the high quantity and quality of business-to-business leads that often come from actually setting a search engine optimization plan. Innovative SEO programs have been made available to help companies prosper.

Unfortunately, there has been a mix of common mistakes that a lot of companies have made over time. Below is a list of the top common mistakes and different ways for new businesses to avoid them.

Content cannot be reached by search engines – your web site will perform poorly in search results if their crawlers are not able to conduct a thorough search. These crawlers need to be able to locate all of the links and content in order to index any web site. To avoid this mistake, be sure not to use complex URLs, use a 301 redirect to direct visitors from old pages to new pages, provide a navigational method.

No updated content – providing not only visitors but search crawlers with new and updated content is a great way to achieve high search rankings. Visitors need to know that you are serious about giving them current content.

Using keywords that aren’t customer-friendly – what a potential customer might type into a search box, such as Google or Yahoo, is what helps you and your web site be found. You should use these keywords and phrases to better optimize your site. Do not only use words that you think are correct. Conduct thorough research in order to locate the correct terms.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Indexing 101

Registering your web site with search engines such as Google and Yahoo lets them know that your web site actually exists. Numerous search engines take an initial look at your site immediately after you submit it and verify that the address you submitted is valid. After that, the specific search engine schedules your web site for indexing.

Because most web sites include more than just one page, search engines use the URL you submit to find other pages at your site. When submitting your web site to be indexed, you are required to give the search engine the URL to your home page in this form:

http://www.codank.com/

Google and Yahoo, as well as other search engines, use this page as the starting point for all of the other pages at your web site. Each link found on the homepage is searched and indexed. Eventually, the indexer will crawl through every page on your web sites.

A number of days might pass before your web site is actually indexed. Your waiting time depends on the accumulation of new sites waiting to be entered into the database and the effectiveness of the indexer.

Depending on the web site and owner, there may be a few pages that need to be excluded from your site indexing. There are a few ways that you can control what pages are indexed and what pages aren’t indexed. The first alternative is to use a robot exclusion file. This file is a plain-text placed in the top-level directory for your web server. You place this tag in the HEAD section of a web page can then specify which links to follow.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

What is Keeping Your Site From Being Listed?

Registering with search engines can be a challenging task. You may find yourself registering your web site with a search engine only to find out a few days or weeks later that your site is nowhere to be found in the search engine’s database. Search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, have several reasons why not list a web site, but the main reason normally centers around the site’s URL.

To avoid being rejected by a search engine, there are a few things to take into consideration. The first is to make sure that your web site’s URL can be read or used. To avoid this problem, ensure that you type the entire URL to your web site. Be sure to use the proper cases since some can be case-sensitive.

For example, some web servers might consider the URLs www.example.com/HOME and www.example.com/home as being different web pages.

It is also a good idea to watch the language rules of the URL. Some search engines will not use a URL that includes reserved characters, such as:

= Equal Sign
$ Dollar Sign
? Question Mark

Additional reasons why a web site would not get indexed include:

The usage of frames
The usage of scripts
The usage of graphics-only pages
A Robots.txt file

Be sure to consult with a search engine optimization professional that is aware of proven techniques for improving your standing in the search engines. There are many methods that can help you get indexed and receive high rankings.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Correctly Structuring Your URLs

Structuring your web sites URL correctly is very important. Both search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, and search engine users take URL structure into consideration when they make decisions about your web site’s significance and authority.

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is defined as a subset of the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that specifies where an identified resource (web site) is available and the mechanism for retrieving it.

URL Examples

http://www.codank.com
http://www.codank.com/blogs/

The way that you structure your URL can affect both your rankings as well as the percentage of people who click your link, as known as click-through rate. Search engine optimization professionals suggest placing relevant keywords into page URLs. These relevant keywords should be associated with the written content seen on the page.

All URL structures should be organized and labeled appropriately. For example, if you are an art store, your web site’s urban art section should be located at www.example.com/urban, and your web site’s pastel paintings should be located at www.example.com/pastel.

Structuring your web site as stated above creates an easy, organized, user-friendly web site navigation system. Search engines can easily located your content-rich page and relate it back to its parent category. Users of search engines prefer to view clean, well-structured URLs when searching for a page.

Having a well thought out and organized URL structure can also open doors for other advertising campaigns. These campaigns can include paid search, or pay-per-click (PPC), advertising campaigns.

To learn more about structuring URLs correctly, be sure to read Search Engine Optimization by Kristopher B. Jones.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Craigslist Can Help You Draw in Traffic

There are many ways to draw in traffic to your web site. Search Engine Optimization professionals have crafted comprehensive strategies for driving organic traffic. What works for another web site may not necessarily work for your web site. Each strategy is unique and can be tailored to work effectively for you.

A great way to gain attention for a web site is by regularly posting ads on Craigslist. Typically, it helps in getting your web site indexed by search engines, such as Google and Yahoo.

Craigslist is a collection of local classifieds and forums. All listings are free and they include:

Jobs
Housing
Goods
Services
Romance
Local activities

The web site draws in approximately 20 billion page views per month. It is #7 worldwide in terms of English-language page views. The site is available in other languages such as French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Posting your web site’s ads on Craigslist can be very beneficial. For example, you can use Craigslist to post listings about your new line of spring products that you have recently published on your own site. It is best to include the URL to your web site in order to draw in more visitors.

Even though Craigslist is a very useful source of traffic to your web site, it is also important to understand and adhere to their terms of service or risk of having your web site and listings banned from using the service.

Be sure to become familiar with their policies before listing any ads or posts. All posts expire after about 45 days. For more information about Craigslist, visit www.craigslist.org

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Does a CMS affect SEO?

Web designers should be aware of the affects a content management system (CMS) can have on search engine optimization (SEO). There was once a time when content management system applications actually published content with drawn out, complicated URLs or created numerous copies. The end result was search engines rejecting the URLs and ranking the web site lower than normal. In the present day, CMS applications are a lot more SEO friendly.

A content management system (CMS) is a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment.

Search engine optimization plays a big role in web site ownership. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are beginning to focus on ways to receive higher rankings within search engines. They often use more technological assistance, which includes SEO help.

Today, a large number of CMS applications have been designed to improve a web site’s SEO. When looking to invest in a CMS, you should ask the following questions:

“How does the software or application help with my SEO?”
“What specific parts of the application or software will help to advance my SEO efforts?”

Also, take into account the structure with which it will help develop your text content. This is an important aspect because a CMS was created to uphold your content in an orderly manner. It will also assist with your content strategy and your web site structure.

There are six main categories of a Content Management System (CMS):

Mobile CMS
Component CMS
Media content management system
Enterprise CMS (ECMS)
Web CMS (WCMS)
Document management system (DMS)

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

MSN/Live Search SEO Tips

MSN/Live Search is one of the top search engines on the World Wide Web, as well as Google and Yahoo. These are the major search engines in which most websites strive to reach. They tend to put a lot of time and energy in their Search Engine Optimization in order to receive high ranking results.

A search engine is defined as software that uses applications to collect information about websites. The information normally collected consists of phrases or keywords. These two are likely indicators of what is contained on the website, links into and out of the page, the URL, and the code that makes up a page. All of this information is then cataloged and stored into a database.

MSN/Live Search’s SEO Tips

How can I improve my search results?

Make sure that you spell search words correctly.
Use words that you would expect to find in the websites that you're looking for.
Search for exact phrases by placing the search words within quotation marks. For example "Charlotte Web Design".
Vary your search terms. A different word or phrase will return different search results.

Additional notes to be aware of:

Basic searches aren't case sensitive.
Common words, such as a, and, and they are ignored unless you use quotation marks around them. For example, "a" car "and" car, or "the" car.
If your search includes a date, type the name of the month instead of the calendar number.
You don't have to type the word AND between your search words. By default, all searches are AND (A search keyword that you can use to find results that contain all the search terms you specify) searches.
You can type up to 150 characters, including spaces, in the search box.

To view more information about optimizing pages for submission to MSN/Live Search, visit search.msn.com/docs

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Website Analyzers

As stated in a previous CODANK Charlotte Web Design blog, conducting a website analysis can be very beneficial to a site’s web presence. Keeping track of a site and also analyzing its statistics is a great way to discover which pages of the site are visited the most often.

There are numerous website analyzers available. Some focus on most downloaded files while others may focus on top entry pages or top paths through the site. Whatever the case may be, they all provide vital information for companies and their websites. Once a company gets a better understanding of their visitor’s behavior pattern, they can then focus on areas that need the most improvement.

CODANK Charlotte Web Design recommends the following web site analyzers:

Manvish e-Service’s Website Analyzer (www.manvish.com/eservices/seo/analyser.htm)

The Manvish e-Services’s Website Analyzer provides information on a website’s META tags, load time, overall size, keyword density, and much more. Follow the link above, enter your URL and e-mail address to begin the analysis.

Website Grader (www.websitegrader.com)

Website Grader is similar to Manvish e-Service’s Website Analyzer. An analysis of Metadata tags, headings, readability level, Google ranking, traffic rank, inbound links, and blog analysis are all included.

Website Grader also suggests that websites be registered with DMOZ Directory, Yahoo Directory, del.icio.us bookmarks, and Digg.com.

Increase Your Web Traffic in a Weekend by Jerry Lee Ford, Jr. and William R. Stanek suggests that companies should also investigate the website analyzers provided at Site Solutions (www.sitesolutions.com) and WebSiteOptimization.com (www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze).

The above analyzers are highly recommended. Webmasters or SEO professionals should take the time out to visit these sites and conduct an analysis for any website in which they work with.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Charlotte Web Design - Keeping a Landscape Log

Before adding your website to different indexes and directories, it is recommended that you conduct a thorough research of each one. Exploring these indexes and directories will help you gather enough information in order to make a final decision. It is a great idea to keep track of what you discover.

Throughout your online research, you may come across certain directories related to your area of business, newsgroups, mailing list discussions, and sites created by competitors – all in which may better help you promote your website.

Conducting research and keeping track is properly defined as Internet landscaping – you are creating a Landscape Log. In effect, you’re mapping the Internet landscape. You need to collect information that can be very useful after your research. You may find some directories or indexes that you hope to register with or discover some email newsletters you want to work with when you have time.

A landscape log does not have to be complicated. You can create one either in Microsoft Word or Excel. If you prefer to be very organized, you can use an ACT or Access database.

According to Search Engine Optimization for Dummies: 3rd Edition, the following information should be collected during a thorough research:

Site name
URL
Company name
PageRank
Alexa traffic rank
Contact name
Contact e-mail address
Notes: write a quick description of your impressions of the site and the help it may provide you.
Actions: keep track of your contacts with the site (to ask for a link, for example).

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Link Popularity Software

There are many ways to help generate links to your website. The easiest step is to ask friends and family for links. The most difficult step to do is to actually wait for those links to appear.

Online tools, such as LinkPopularity.com, can help companies find links. Other tools are also available. Search Engine Optimization for Dummies: 3rd Edition suggests a link popularity software called SEO Elite (www.SEOElite.com). The program costs $167 and it is designed to look for links to a site in various search engines, visit each of the pages containing the links, and then return with the following information:

The URL of the page linking to the website
The Internet protocol (IP) number of the website on which the page is held
Whether the link that the search engine thinks in on the page is still there
The PageRank of the page
The Alexa rank of the page
The anchor text (link text)
The number of outbound links on the page
The total number of links on the page (outbound plus internal website links)
Whois information – data about who owns the website on which the page sits
The link value – an estimate of the value of the link, based on the PageRank divided by the number of links on the page
A contact e-mail address pulled from the page

SEO Elite also gives you the ability to find potential link partners and e-mail them, and a way to search for potential link submission pages and quickly submit information on them.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Content Management System Applications 101

In the present day, Content Management System applications are a lot more Search Engine Optimization friendly. Up to that time, CMS applications often published content with long, complicated URLs or created several copies. The end result was search engines often rejecting the URLs and ranking the website lower than normal.

A content management system is a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. Procedures can either be manual or computer based. These procedures are meant to:

Improve communication between users
Assist in easy storage and retrieval of data
Reduce repetitive duplicate input
Improve the ease of report writing
Control access to data
Define user roles as defined to what information they can view or edit
When choosing a CMS application, always take into account the structure with which it will improve the developing of content. This is important because a CMS is designed to uphold your content in an orderly manner. It is best to set your own content strategy and your web site structure.

Most content management system applications have been created to help improve a website’s Search Engine Optimization plan rather than deter it. If a company is not familiar with SEO, they should invest in a professional who has some type of experience.

There are six main categories of CMS, with their respective domains of use:

Enterprise CMS (ECMS)
Web CMS (WCMS)
Document management system (DMS)
Mobile CMS
Component CMS
Media content management system

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

The Most Common Search Engine Optimization Mistakes

Search Engine Optimization can be very tricky when not done the correct way. One of the biggest challenges in SEO is the fact that people don’t realize its importance when drawing in traffic to a web site. Uninformed marketing specialists can easily make decisions that can harm the entire purpose behind Search Engine Optimization.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is defined as the process of improving the quality or volume of traffic to a web site from search engines. Unlike Search Engine Marketing (SEM), SEO does not deal with paid inclusion. The earlier a site appears in search result listings, typically the more visitors will receive them from the search engine.

CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company has put together a list of the most common mistakes made during Search Engine Optimization. The list includes:

Thin Content Pages – little to no content is present on the page
Use of Crawler Unfriendly Methods – search engines deal better with HTML text rather than Flash files
Ignoring Title Tags – a title tag is important because it shows in the search results as your page title
Poor Content Management System – a CMS should be crawler-friendly in order to be beneficial
Poor Site Promotion – marketing goes beyond just launching a site; try inbound links
Wrong Keywords – be sure to select keywords and phrases which have relevance to your web site.
Images instead of Headings – search engines need to read actual content; refrain from posting nothing but images
Backlink Spamming – quality backlinks are much better than just having numerous backlinks
Ignoring URLs – place keywords in an URL; helps with SEO
JavaScript Menus – crawlers cannot read JavaScript menus; try using a sitemap instead.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company located in Charlotte, NC. The company is dedicated to providing a broad range of web design services. CODANK specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Graphic Design, Online Marketing, and Web Design and Development.

For more information, visit CODANK Charlotte Web Design and Internet Marketing Company at www.codank.com

Away From The Computer: Offline Website Marketing

Going far and beyond the cyber world and into the real world is the new craze. Getting the most out of your marketing campaign requires so much more these days. As addictive as the Internet may be, people actually do spend quite some time moving about and interacting in the real world more than they do online. Therefore, you need to expand your promotional efforts by getting to where your audience lives, works, and plays!

Additional Ways to Market Your Website

Promote Your URL
Get the word out that you have created one of the Web’s best and most useful sites EVER. The best way to accomplish this is by putting the address out there for everyone to see. For starters, inform your friends and ask them to tell their close friends. Also, tell your co-workers as well. Once the word gets out, it is bound to spread.

Keep Your Business Card Updated
If you use often, then why not make sure that they contain the necessary information. One of the easiest things you can do to get your website out there is by adding the URL to your business cards. The inclusion of your URL does not have to fancy, just something legible and neat. It is best to place it underneath your phone number and e-mail address.

Take the time out to actually pass your business card out. Don’t be like so many other people that order a box of 270 business cards and a year later are still in possession of 260 of the cards! You took the time to design and purchase the cards, now take advantage of them by actually passing them around.

Modify your Letterhead
Before you send out a personal letter or correspondence, be sure to correctly design your letterhead. Your URL should definitely be included. This will not only let people know you have a website, but it also gives you the chance to suggest they visit.

About CODANK Charlotte Web Design

CODANK is a top rated Charlotte Web Design, Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services. We specialize in web design and development, branding and identity, internet marketing, and content management systems.

For more information, visit us at www.codank.com

Virtual Website Launch

No matter how long your site has been on the Internet, it is never too late to tidy it up some more and re-launch it again. Many webmasters use this idea by hosting their own virtual website launch. In order for the launch to be successful, spreading the word should be at the top of the to-do-list! Not only should you get the word out, but it is also important to organize the various virtual website invitations and announcements. Coordination will help to inform people so that they all take effect in plenty of time before the launch.

There are numerous ways to advertise a success virtual web launch, such as: posting information on ‘What’s New’ pages, updating your sites banners, sending out a newsletter, posting announcements in newsgroups, and getting you direct mail campaign all going at the same time.

A virtual web launch is no different from a launch which restaurants or stores have all of the time. For example, try giving out a prize or running a contest for a few lucky winners on the day of your launch.

Once you have finalized the logistics of your launch, it is best not to rush through the experience. The launch should be grand and able to catch enough attention. In fact, you may want to run the event for a week or even a month in order to reach your targeted market.

Tips for a successful website launch
· Avoid the temptation to prematurely launch the website
· Plan to launch early in the day and early in the week
· Inform the entire team of the launch
· Go through entire site and check for spelling and grammatical errors.
· Ensure that any images that have been referenced absolutely have the production URL and not the development URL
· Make sure all email addresses associated with the website have been setup and tested prior to launching the website

About CODANK Web Design

CODANK is a top rated Web Design and Internet Marketing firm located in Charlotte, NC. We are dedicated to providing the highest quality, cost effective custom software development services, delivering a broad range of business consulting and outsourcing services. For more information, visit us at www.codank.com