I had a great time presenting at the Ignite Sussex event at Dogfish Head Brew and Eats in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.   If you have never heard of Ignite, it is a new type of networking event where local artists, professionals, and technology-related folks give short, 5-minute presentations.  Giving one of these presentations is tough – you have 20 Powerpoint slides on auto-play, and only 5 minutes to present.  That is only 15 seconds per slide!   You have to talk fast, be passionate, and know your material.   Good Ignite presentations should be fun, and I did my best to keep mine entertaining.  Let me know what you think!

Diamond Motorsports chose Delaware.net to redesign and rebuild their old, automated site due to shortcomings in functionality, design, and lack of web sales. Diamond was using a site developed by PowerSports Network (PSN) using a catalog-based, eCommerce template with little to no SEO, extremely low Google page ranking for their vehicle listings, and extremely limited web sales orders. In addition to the poor eCommerce engine PSN provided, the CMS package included was difficult to manage, update, and was prone to front-end design fragility.

Delaware.net’s goal was to bring a web 2.0 visual feel to the dealership’s web presence while providing an easy-to-use interface powered by our fully customizable Team-Logic CMS and Store-Logic eCommerce engine that not only drives up sales of vehicles, parts, and accessories, but also provides a powerful sales and customer tracking tool for the staff to use through our Team-Logic CRM system.

Brand New Vehicle Listings App

Before coming to Delaware.net, Diamond Motorsports was utilizing a PSN-powered catalog-based vehicle listings application. Although this gave Diamond an automated import of vehicles and products from distributor catalogs, the interface was neither intuitive nor search engine optimized. The challenge was to create an easy-to-navigate interface, an app that can be integrated into our Team-Logic CRM system, and a tool that can drive up sales and promote online sales and interest in a range of powersports vehicle categories.

The programmers at Delaware.net developed a custom app from scratch to handle this task and produced a system completely managed by the staff at Diamond Motorsports. The vehicle listings app features the ability to add and edit an infinite number of vehicle types/categories, an inventory management system, the ability to add and edit custom specs for each vehicle type, and to manage all related content including an infinite number of images for each vehicle in the inventory. In addition, the listings app was integrated into our Team-Logic CRM system giving customers the ability to submit sales inquiries that would then create projects and tickets in the Team-Logic CRM system for the Diamond Motorsports sales staff to utilize for followup and tracking.

Store-Logic eCommerce Engine

In addition to the vehicle listings app developed for Diamond Motorsports, Delaware.net’s core Store-Logic eCommerce engine was utilized to provide a high-performance online store to sell parts and accessories from Diamond’s in-store inventory as well as accessories from distributors partnering with the dealership. Diamond Motorsports now has the ability to manage and track all of their online inventory with an easy-to-use admin interface utilizing a suite of eCommerce tools that are continuously being maintained and upgraded as new web trends emerge. Among the dozens of features Store-Logic contains, the staff at Diamond Motorsports will be able to utilize drop shipping for orders needing a 3rd party distributor, use real-time shipping rates with their choice of FedEx, UPS, or USPS, and track various stages of shopping cart entries giving the staff the ability to follow-up on abandoned carts as well as track, automate reponses to, and follow-through with completed orders.

Team-Logic CRM System

Delaware.net’s core Team-Logic CRM system comes standard with Team-Logic CMS and has full integration with Store-Logic as well the vehicle listings application. The Team-Logic CRM system gives the staff at Diamond Motorsports the ability to receive sales inquiries, contact information on their web users, and the ability to follow-up and track customers that submit information via the website. The Team-Logic CRM system automatically creates tickets and projects when sales inquiries, questions/comments, or contact info is submitted through the website. Diamond’s staff can then sort the generated projects/tickets into various different groups, add notes and details about the ticket or customer, and assign it to any staff member or department at the dealership. This maintains a streamlined flow of information, tracking, and follow-up from customer submission to final sale.

Team-Logic CMS

Before utilizing Team-Logic, Diamond Motorsports had limited capability with PSN when it came to adding and editing content to their internal pages, much of the time struggling with broken layouts and design elements. As seen with several other PSN template-based sites, it was extremely easy to break the layout of the entire site by way of poor implementation via the PSN-provided CMS app.

Our Team-Logic CMS gives the staff at Diamond Motorsports the ability to manage all non-commerce content throughout the site. Some of the features of Team-Logic CMS include full control over content layout, the ability to add and edit photo galleries, edit and update navigation trees, and add video inline or as a popup (lightbox-style) window. Through constant development and upgrades as well as hands-on personal support, our Team-Logic CMS offers a fully customizable content solution developed for any site, large or small.

Mail-Logic eNewsletter Application

The Team-Logic CRM app also gives Diamond the ability to group customers into various mailing lists for easy newsletter emailing using Delaware.net’s core newsletter app, Mail-Logic that can easily be bundled with any of our other apps. The purpose is to provide as much communication and follow-up contact with clients as possible to keep them informed of news and events in and around the dealership, new features, and sales promotions.

A Solution That Works

Working closely with the staff at Diamond Motorsports, the developers at Delaware.net were able to produce a high-quality, high-performance powersports website built upon a powerful CMS, CRM system, eCommerce store, and an email newsletter system. Please feel free to browse through the completed project at www.ridedms.com and if you would like more information on a quote to improve your own website, please visit Delaware.net

This feature is called “Search Engine Friendly URLs”. This feature has existed for years is software like WordPress, and some of the other open-source CMS solutions on the market.   Our CMS and ecommerce systems come turn-key with a more stable and complete set of features than many of the open source CMS solutions available, but we were lacking in some of the search engine and social features.  Now we have them.

This new feature has been deployed to all of our servers that are running our Team-Logic CMS software, and our Store-Logic 2.0 Ecommerce software.   Customers whose websites were built prior to August 2008 will need a minor upgrade to their websites to take advantage of these new site management platforms.  There are over 200 new features in the CMS and Store-Logic 2.0 engines over previous versions.

How the new URL Feature Works

First, lets look at a problem that has existed with the page URLs that our software has produced in the past:

If you have an older online store, your category pages probably has a URL that looks like this:
http://www.somestore.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.catalog&catId=77

If you look at that URL closely, you will see that it has variables at the end that tell the server how to build the page. This is a dynamic URL, because the variables can change.  For example, look at the end of the URL and you will see “catId=77“.  What that means, is that this URL is getting a category from the database of store categories to build this page, and it is category number 77.    This is simple for programmers and computers to understand, and the page gets built instantly on the fly.   The problem is that search engines don’t trust pages that change frequently, but they do index them.   So if this URL looked different, it would be easier for search engines to trust the page and it could potentially come up higher in search results.    If search engines index words in the URL, this page would also suffer because it has a category ID number instead of the category name.

Another problem with this URL is that tracking your store’s category performance in your traffic reports is very difficult to read unless you know what “category 77″ is.   If you sold shoes online, it is a lot easier to read a report that says “The Nike shoes category got 1000 pageviews last month” instead of “Category 77 got 1000 pageviews last month”.

Our new Search Engine Friendly URL Builder feature solves both of these problems.

Now you can make URLs that look like this:

http://www.somestore.com/shoes/nike/jumpman-classic/

Just from looking at this new URL, we can tell what the product is.   It is a Nike shoe, and the model is “Jumpman Classic”.   Since the URL can actually be sculpted for PRODUCTS AND PAGES, it is possible to use this technique not just on categories and products, but also on customized landing pages in your website.    This is very powerful stuff because Google looks at over 200 different elements of your web pages to determine what terms your page relates to.   Google also just announced that they will be using the SPEED OF YOUR SITE as a ranking factor after the first of the year.

To summarize, here are several of the new Search Engine Optimization (SEO) features in our latest software versions.

• Search Engine Friendly URLs in Ecommerce Product Pages
• Search Engine Friendly URLs in Category Pages
• Search Engine Friendly URLs in CMS Pages
• Custom Page Titles in all CMS and Ecommerce Pages
• Tagging Engine – add cross-linked search tags to any page or product, works throughout your site, mimicking a blog page
• Link Titling – all links, navigations, and embedded navigations have hover text built-in
• Google Sitemaps – All websites running on Team-Logic CMS and Store-Logic 2.0 will generate a Google sitemap file automatically.  You will need to register this file with Google to make it work.
• Google Site Search – Google site search is now built into our CMS.
• Google Base, Google Shopping – you can now deploy your products to Google shopping from our Store-Logic 2.0 Engine.
• Sitemap Generator – Our CMS and Ecommerce systems generate a sitemap page automatically.
• Twitter feed push from our CMS.

Call our office for a free site review to see how we can make your site easier to manage, come up higher in search engines, and make you more money.

Please enjoy this video from Google’s search guru Matt Cutts.

In reality, pursuing a Web strategy is not particularly suited to either group. IT may be excellent at rolling out complex systems, but it is not suited to developing a friendly user experience or establishing an online brand. On the other hand the marketing department may only be concerned with making the site flashy and loose the functionality. Lastly if the task is left to an individual in the company with other duties already, the site will more than likely get neglected altogether.

To remedy this there should be either a dedicated department or individual who’s sole task is to manage the website and keep it current, while also spending time researching and developing strategies to keep their site growing with the companies goals. If it is impossible to have a team or individual dedicated to your website full-time, than there needs to be time set aside every week to update and maintain your site or potential clients will lose interest.

Try to think of your website as a garden, without the proper attention it will not be fruitful.  Without continual maintenance and updates your website will not attract new clients to help grow your business. A decentralized approach to site management using a Content Management System can enable multiple stakeholders to edit their respective areas of the website.

Visit http://www.delaware.net/team-logic/ for more information.

It was a pleasure working with Bill, his son Will, and Michelle to get these shots. I’m uber-excited to see what Dan Pope, our other graphic designer, comes up with for this website. Look for more photography on their killer new site, coming soon!

Here is a sample of some of the photography:

Questions to answer before building a website:

• What does my company offer?
• To whom do we offer this product or service?
• How do we want to offer this product or service?
• What makes us better than others in our field?
• What is the most important aspect we want to push?*

*This question can be answered from a couple of angles, but is extremely important, mostly overlooked, and, if answered well, will make you more successful on the web and in your career.

What does your business want to push the most?

• Is it the most profitable service or item?
• The easiest product or service to grow with?
• A service you really enjoy (building decks vs. finishing basements)?

Pick your hot ticket item and make that the first (and visually more important), element seen on the website. All too often a client will have eleventeen services they offer and want ALL of them on the front page in attempt to motivate potential customers into action. In very few circumstances will this work, and it is best to have one to three “calls to action” on any given page.

A handful of pebbles thrown at a target almost ensure at least one will hit, but do no damage, and most of the pebbles will be thrown in vain. Throw a stone and you might miss a fraction of the time, but it will do more damage when you connect. This is the way to attract customers online. Know your strategy, and attack with fervor and accuracy.

Knowing without doubt the answers to the above questions will hone your business model and make you a more successful entity online. See our president’s blog post on “The Long Tail” to learn more about how knowing your specific client beats out trying to serve everyone every time.

I have listed some key points from the Matt Cutts Interview below as well as the video. Enjoy!

Inbound links are a great way to market a website online. An inbound link is a link from an internet website to the website you are trying to promote. It is important to note that not all inbound links are created equal and your link building campaign should be carefully planned. If the website linking to your target site is in a relevant field, you will see a greater benefit than one from an unrelated field. As an example, if a manufacturer of widget x links to a website selling widget x, this is the perfect “authority” link and these are your best types of inbound links.

The important thing here is not to get carried away. I have seen people go overboard and scour the internet looking for Forums, Guest Books, Blogs and Directory sites to add their links too, only to find that their target website loses credibility in the search engines. Too many poor quality inbound links, especially paid links can be counter-productive so, choose your links carefully. One method to determine a good inbound link is to check the Google® PageRank™ of the referring website. If the PageRank is 5 or above and the website is in the same field as you or, even better, the website is the #1 resource for information related to your industry, that is a perfect inbound link opportunity.

Why do inbound links matter?
Inbound links from authority websites can make your website more credible for a subject that search engine users are typing in to a search engine. In this example, I will use the Google search engine. If a Google search engine user types the term widget x into the search field and Google determines that 18 websites have linked to your website as a resource for widget x, Google will reward you and list your website in their search results.

Sounds too easy, right?
Well, there are challenges to this practice, one of which is how do you ask for a link? The most common way to ask for an inbound link from a website is to send an email to the company in which you would like a link from. You might start by providing information about your company such as length of time in business, some sample clients, testimonials and as an added benefit, tell them that you will provide a link to their website in exchange for a link to yours. This practice is known as building reciprocal links. Reciprocal links are often the best form of linking campaigns and most definitely a topic for another blog post…stay tuned for that one in the next few days.

It cannot be stressed enough the importance of choosing a specific, appropriate color family that matches your brand and communicates your desired message to your target market. The good news is that you don’t have to be a design geek or web nerd to assemble a solid color arsenal. There are tools to help.

The first step is to know your identity and demographic. If you don’t know what EXACTLY your business is selling and who to, develop that wing of your plan. Once you have your ideal customer in mind, and a company ethos to cater to that individual, pick one broad color that portrays that image.

There is a general guide to, for lack of a better word, guide you to choosing something that works. Reds are intense and passionate, persuasive and for the daring. This is a tough starting color, so if you’re basing the rest of your hues off of this one, be careful and make sure it fits.

Blues are all around safe. A cooler family, they speak mellow, trustworthy and seriousness.
Greens denote subtle emotion, health, and serenity if it is a lighter shade, while darker hues emanate wealth or prestige and are not as calming.
Yellows are associated with the sun and communicate optimism and warmth. They are energetic but comforting.
Purples show royalty and sophistication when used properly. Lavender is more about nostalgia.
Pinks very as much in meaning as they do in shades. A more dusty pink is sentimental while hot pinks are energetic and loud, and softer pinks are more feminine and romantic.
Orange is always energetic but feels clean and falls more often in a children’s theme, but peach tones work well in upscale markets.
Brown is earthy and shows stability but can come across as dirty. Lighter shades, however, can convey that upscale look.
Black is bold, dramatic and intense. While this is really hard to pull off, if you’re working in a technology field or a personal site it really makes products and photos jump.
White is clean, fresh and pure. Works great in many areas.

So now you have your base color picked and you want to assemble swatches to complete your family. How do you do it without taking a semester of color theory? http://kuler.adobe.com is your friend.

You can create your own scheme based on a color you enter, and then choose which mode you want to use. Just remember to use the guide above for the additional colors you pick! For a hilarious video that touches on horrible color use, visit www.makemylogobiggercream.com. Cheers ’til next time.