Over the years I’ve tried various naming conventions to keep myself organized. It’s been an evolutionary process and I still haven’t perfected it yet, but here’s what I’ve done to help keep my files organized.

Folder Naming

Because I literally have a couple of hundred sites to maintain, My “My Documents” folder would take forever to open, simply because I would create a new folder for each site. example: (mydomain.com) What I have done is create a folder for all the domains that start with the letter A, and then B and so on and soforth.

Within each of these folders, I would create a domain folder (mydomain.com) and within that folder would be my site files.  I’ve always maintained a Source folder which contains all of my photoshop files as well as any other files provided by the client.  Its a great way to quickly locate information from each client, and it allows for greater speed from windows when opening this folder.

File Naming

In addition to the sites that I run, I also have the privilege of creating a lot of banners for resell from clients across the country that will run on various ad networks.  I have one client in particular in Denver for which I create about a dozen different banners a week for their clients.  The easiest way for me to keep track of all of these banners was to create a folder inside my “My Pictures” folder called Denver.  Within that folder would save both the source .psd /.png /. fla files as well as the output jpg, gif, swf files.

I named the files after the end client and then the banner dimensions.  (Many end clients have multiple size banners for a single campaign). I’ve always favored readability over efficiency, so try not to use codes for clients.

For Example; If the client is an Ice Cream shop called Buttercreams, and they were requesting a leaderboard (728×90) banner.  Then I would create the banner and save it as buttercreams_728×90.jpg.  Variations on this banner would be designated by a letter following the dimensions.  Example:  buttercreams_728×90a.jpg, buttercreams_728×90b.jpg, buttercreams_728×90c.jpg.

This method can be used in any file naming system you use. It does not have to be specific for banner ads.  Here is the General rule:  Name them left to right beginning with a general term to a more specific term.

Using Dates in filenames

There are times that I create time sensitive materials which requires the items to have dates in the filename.  When this occurs, I always create the filename using the following date format YYYYMMDD ::  Example:  20090904_news_a4.jpg  This filename is specific to a newscast.  It aired on Friday Sept 4th 2009, and it was  the 4th item in the A Block (the first block of a broadcast is usually the A block) of News.

While not perfect, this has really saved me a ton of time whenever we need to recall or modify a campaign graphic from this archive.

Be Consistent

There are other small factors which I like to have in my naming conventions which, while not that important, help me keep the chaos away.

• Always use lowercase letters
• Don’t use spaces if the files are to be used online  (Rephrase that: NEVER use spaces)
• Don’t use special characters in the file names such as (){}[]+?~!@#$%^&*.
• Don’t be afraid to create temporary work folders to keep all the files for a single banner together.

I hope this small window into the way we organize thing here will help you better organize your files.  Please feel free to comment, especially if you have a better method.  I’m always listening, and looking to improve.

Thanks.

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Usability (How easy to use are your menus?)
• “Look and Feel”  (Is your website branded for your business)
• Content (Do you have relavent content?)
• “Eye Candy” (Does your website have cool graphics or animated elements)

SEO

Search engine traffic is the number 1 best way to obtain free qualified traffic.  When someone is looking for your services, they are NOT going to know to come to your site.  They will go to google, or yahoo, or MSN, to search for your services. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the only way to get to the TOP of the search results on these search engines so that your potential client will visit you and not your competitor.

SEO considerations should begin with the website concept, not as an afterthought.  Determine which keywords are the most relavent for your website/business, and integrate them into your design (in the title, metatags, headings, footer, etc.)  From the very beginning try to incorporate your keywords into the entire design.

Usability

Once your visitors arrive on your site.  You don’t want to waste their time.  Your navigation should be easy to find, easy to interpret and easy to use.  If they cant figure out your site in just a couple of seconds, or don’t see the information they are looking for quickly, then they will leave.  The KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle has never been more important than in this respect.

One of the most effective ways to evaluate your site’s usability factor, is to get a not-to-savvy friend who isn’t too familiar with the internet, and ask them to have a look at your site.  Observe them while they are doing this and take notes as to what they clicked on, what elements where their eyes drawn to?, what was their immediate reaction (curiosity, turned off, confusion) .  All of these things will give you a clue as to whether your site is friendly and usable.

One last note on usability.  You’re website’s message should be Simple, basic, and detailed.  Make it easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for, and they will come back for more.

“Look and Feel”

Ideally, a website should be a pleasant place to visit.  It should be clean, uncluttered, uncomplicated, with soothing and inviting colors, gradients, and graphics.   Colors are often overlooked by website designers.  Usually these are picked based on the client logo, or the favorite color of the business owner.

While this is fine, one should always plug that color into a color wheel, or find a suitable palette  ( www.colourlovers.com) from which to work with.  You will find that using these techniques will result in visitors wanting to stay longer on your site because of its pleasantness, thereby giving you additional time to transmit your message to them.

Using proven color strategies on a site will render a professional looking site much quicker than just slapping a bunch of colors together to try and “yell” at your visitors to buy something from you.

Content

This element should go without saying much.  Your visitors are looking for information.  How you present it is important, but the message itself, or your content, should always be clear, consise, and to the point.  take the time to organize your content.  triple check it to make sure your following a clear thought process that will lead your visitor to the logical conclusion that they have found the answers they are looking for, and that you and your business are the people who will give them those solutions.

Without good content, the rest of the site is useless.  Bottom line, “content is king”.

Eye Candy

Illustrating your points, providing animated accents and maybe a little flash presentation are all great ways to add aditional emphasis to your site, and to your content.  Many people think visually, and may not take the time to read your information unless they’ve seen an interesting and related graphic illustrating your points.

Don’t underestimate the power of a little eye candy in helping to sell your concept or product.  Use this with care as you do not want to flood your visitors with overwelming images, but rather use them sparingly to accentuate your content and your overall site.

Remember that your competitors are striving to strike the balance with all of these elements in order to do more business.  In this highly competitive arena we call the internet, the success of your business may very well depend on the impressions people have of your site.  Make sure your giving them the right one.

Good Luck.

Here are a few reasons why I think many company websites fail with their online endeavors.

1. Failure to Focus

I think first and foremost many companies offer a variety of services when it comes to their particular industry. I also think they get carried away on the realization of the possibilities that their websites offer them. I think they are overwhelmed with too many directions to go in, and they want to “do it all” on their sites. This failure to focus their message will lead the website visitor with a lack of motivation or even energy to sift through the options and find what they are looking for.

To combat this, I suggest focusing on a singular message. A singular message geared or focused on a singular audience/Demographic. This message (throughout the site) should funnel visitors into the site, and through to a single output, be it the contact form, or to call an 800 number. If business owners could control their online ambitions and direct their web developers to deliver a singular message, I believe they will see far better results with their online marketing efforts.

2. Bad Content.

While you can spend hundreds even thousands on advertising online, your website can still fail because a simple online marketing truth. Content is King. Your website has to supply quality content in order to attract the right qualified prospect. Your site must identify itself as the correct source for providing your service or product to your potential clients. The site must be geared to SOLVE you potential client’s problems. It must also give them a reason to use you and not just gleam the information. The only way to deliver this kind of message, is to provide QUALITY content.

Take the time to write quality content for your site, and your site will pay off for you.

3. Not enough time

Face it, Your busy running your business, and don’t really have the time to learn all the different marketing techniques that exist to promote your site online. You have other things that take precident, like bills, and vendors and the other day to day operations that exist within most businesses.

Sure you can probably dedicate an hour a day to learning and tweaking and submitting your site to the various search engines and industry directories etc. However your time is probably better spent on other items. The best solution is probably to ensure you hire a web designer with the experience and the knowledge to promote your site online correctly. Remember that your web designer/online marketer should have the right knowledge and “voice” to speak and represent you online.

If given the option, try to get a designer who will provide you with a monthly “maintenance/marketing” agreement.

4. No Patience

Building a site can be quick, but driving traffic to it, and building an online reputation takes time. Do not expect to succeed online overnight. We have had clients that expected their site to come up 1st on google when typing their keyword. Well that is unrealistic. SEO can take months, and beyond that your site can take years to produce enough results to allow you to see a return.

Have patience, be persistent with your marketing efforts, the web will respond and you will build successful relationships online that will pay off thanks to your site.

In conclusion, I realize that we have all heard about the overnight successes and the people who make millions in a couple of months. This does happen, but they are the exceptions, not the rule. Based on our experiences on the web, its the Turtle that wins the race, not the hare.

Do your best to avoid the above, and you will have the best chances of succeeding online.

Good luck.

I’d like to hear from you so if you have any questions about the above article, please feel free to leave your comments. I will read them all enthusiastically and respond. Thanks

If someone wants to subscribe to your podcast they have to search the iTunes Store via search or browse.
This is not a very good way to get podcast subscribers. After all, isn’t this why you created your own website to begin with?
The good news is that you can create a direct link straight into the itunes store and directly to your podcast right from your website/blog.

Linking to your podcast

1. Open iTunes and go to the itunes store.
2. Search for, and find your podcast.
3. Right+click on the artwork for your podcast, and a button will appear which says “Copy iTunes Store URL” Click it.
4. On your website, click where you want the link to be, and click paste (CTRL + V).

I’ve created a button which you can download here:

(Right click and select “Save Image As”)

And that’s it. Now your visitors can subscribe to your podcast with one easy click.

Happy Podcasting.

So when I am speaking of SEO, my goal is not to have a large number of people coming to your site, I’m referring to QUALIFIED traffic, that is, traffic that you can convert to a client.

The following tips will probably help webmasters who are looking to integrate SEO into their designs.  However this information can help the end client in evaluating their own sites, as well as evaluating the quality of work delivered by their webmasters.

1.  The Title Tag This is usually in the header portion of the webpage, between the <head></head> Tags.  Basically its <title>The keyword phrase</title>.  The phrase can be your company name, and most of the time thats what it is, but if your company name does not reflect what you do, then I would recommend you use your keywords in this area.  It should not be more than 5 or 6 words, and you should definitely NOT repeat the same word over and over.  If you are using a CMS this functionality should already built into it.

2.  Metatags.  These are usually in the <head></head> portion of the site, and there are various different types of metatags.  Here are the basic ones that I like to use.

<meta name=”Abstract” content=”One or two sentence summary of the site or company description.” />
<meta name=”Keywords” content=”keywords separated by commas.  I would say no more than 10 keywords total.” />
<meta name=”Robots” content=”all” />
<meta name=”Distribution” content=”Global” />
<meta name=”Revisit-After” content=”20 days” />
<meta name=”Rating” content=”General” />
<meta name=”Reply-to” content=”Your email address” />
<meta name=”Owner” content=”The name of the company” />
<meta name=”Copyright” content=”The name of the company” />
<meta name=”Description” content=”One or two sentence summary of the site or company description.” />
<meta name=”Author” content=”The name of the person who wrote the content” />
<meta name=”robots” content=”index,follow” />

3. Headings.  What I mean by headings is the <h1></h1>, <h2></h2>, <h3></h3> tags.  This is what search engine bots look for to determine the SUBJECT of the page being spidered.   I have seen many webmaster simply take text and make it bold or “strong” but not enclose it in an <h1>  tag.

4. Content.  Ok, while the above will get you noticed and cataloged will, its the content that will give you a lot more credibility on search engines.  Writing a 3 or 4 hundred word page, such as about us, or services is what your traffic is actually looking for.  You want to make sure you use your keyword phrase at least twice within the content of the site.

5.  Backlinks.  This is the dirty little secret to SEO.  Backlinks are links from other sites to your site.  Lets say you have a friend who has a website, and as a favor, has added a hyperlink to your site.  If your company name is “Acme” and his link to your site says “Acme” then you DO NOT get the full benefit of this backlink.  The best backlinks are the ones which are titled with your keyword.  So lets say that you have construction company in South Texas.  The ideal backlink would read “Construction in the RGV”.  This link would be far more helpful than the first one.  Also, feel free to submit your friends page which contains the link to google, msn, and yahoo for cataloging.    Submitting pages to the search engines is very easy, and FREE.  The easiest way to do this is to go to google and search for “ADD URL”.  The first entry in the results is the page you want to go to to add the site.

6.  Outgoing/Incoming links.  This is more of a common courtesy with SEO benefits if done correctly.  I used to have a website dedicated to the geographic region where I live.  I created a page called area links in which I posted outgoing links to other sites in my area.  I then contacted the webmaster for those sites and informed them that I had placed a link to thier site, and in the same email, I requested a backlink.  I nice jesture is to include the html code for them  to simply cut and paste onto their sites.  I spent an entire afternoon doing this, and was able to generate about 100 backlinks.  This shot my website’s ranking to the top of the search engines in no time flat.  Incoming links to your site can be viewed as testimonials attesting to the fact that your are the authority for that keyword phrase.  The added benefit of having outgoing links is that google does not want to send people to dead links, So it measures outgoing links from a site as part of that site’s relevance within its subject matter.

I hope the above was helpful.  I will be adding links to useful SEO tools on the net, but for now, as long as you have covered the above bases, you should be well on your way to getting a great rank on your keywords, and of course, get quality traffic that will boost your business.

Thanks, and thats it for now.