University Sporting Goods... Not So Good

(www.rebelfever.com)


Here we go again.  Another example of inadequate web design in Oxford, MS... University Sporting Goods.  The University Sporting Goods website is, to be blunt, awful.  I don't even believe that it would pass as mediocre web design in 1994... sorry (I'm not being rude - it's just how I see it... along with everyone else).  Let me tell you, this e commerce website really makes me want to pull out my credit card and go to town... No, seriously, I doubt University Sporting Goods has ever received an online order.  However, a few design changes and a more modern look could change that.

Here are some things that I notice right off the top of my head:

1. Graphics and Styles are Awful
2. The whole layout is in frames
3. E commerce layout is not user-friendly

Awful Graphics and Styles.
Honestly I would expect University Sporting Goods to have great graphics on their website considering that they employ some of the best graphic designers in all of Oxford.  That just goes to show that graphic designers are not necissarily web developers (and vice versa).  Take a look at the header and menu and tell me if you think it looks like something to show off.

The text styling on this website is a headache.  I am all for school spirit, but honestly, red and blue text EVERYWHERE??  Furthermore, the text is center aligned everywhere... not good.

Framed Layout
Every page in the University Sporting Goods website is a frame.  This means that pages are built into another page basically.  If you take a look at the website and click on any link then the URL does not change.  For instance, if you were to choose the menu item "Tailgating" the page that you are taken to is a subset of the homepage... notice that the URL remains constant at http://www.rebelfever.com/ rather than a more search-engine friendly URL of http://www.rebelfever.com/tailgating.  I know that most people are going to say, "Why does that even matter?  I still get to access the page that I want to see."  That may be true, but from a design and development aspect it is inferior.  Not to mention that from a search engines viewpoint it appears that all pages are the same... same title, same meta descriptions... not good at all.  Each page should have a unique keyword-rich title and meta description... SEO 101.

The E commerce Layout is not User-friendly
As I mentioned before, I doubt that University Sporting Goods has ever received an online order... well that is because the ecommerce aspect of the site looks out-of-date and untrustworthy.  I would be skeptical to put my credit card digits in this site for fear that my identity would be immediately stolen.  Overlooking the fact that the ecommerce portion of the site is outdated, the layout is anti user-friendly.  There should be a category menu on every single page of the ecommerce store so that users can easily browse from one category to the other.  Also, it would be nice to be able to browse items by price, size, gender, etc...


If I was Pat Patterson, I would cut the cord on this website... especially since people actually see it (embarrassing).  Check out the volume of searches on Google that are related to University Sporting Goods:

Look at that! That is an average of 533 monthly searches for terms related to University Sporting Goods on Google alone (not including the other major search engines such as Yahoo or Bing).  Volume like this makes the current website scream, "Stop! Don't let them see me!"

University Sporting Goods has a great reputation; their customer service is second to none in Oxford.  However, their website is last to all at the moment.  I can't say it enough, "This day and time, a company's online presence is just as important as their offline presence."  This is true because people are searching searching searching... the numbers don't lie.  A fresh new website design would do wonders for the image of University Sporting Goods, and who knows, maybe even some online sales.

Adam is considered a top Internet marketing consultant for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Adam is considered a top Internet marketing consultant for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Importance of an Opt in List with Email Marketing

Email Marketing at its Best

Email marketing should be implemented into your business website in order to capture a name and email address of the visitors that visit your website that might be interested in your services.  By capturing the visitors name and email address this is like them actually setting foot into your business building and having a look around your business, and them leaving your business with a purchase of your product or service and at the same time you now know they are at least interested in returning to you (the business).

The opt in list is a must for email marketing, without it you can’t capture their name and email.  That’s a pretty simple concept there.  No opt in list, no name and email address. No name and email, no potential returning customer.

By capturing and name and email address, it’s equivalent to that visitor coming into your store or business and purchasing a product or service. 

This is marketing, so you do have to actually market to your opt in list.  3 important steps to take while marketing your opt in list.

1.        Above the Fold:  This means you put your opt in list on your web page above the fold.  What is above the fold mean?  When you first arrive to a website, what you see is above the fold.  Do not scroll down and you are above the fold.  Catching the attention of your visitor prior to them having to scroll down and see the opt in list is extremely important.
2.        Call to Action:  In order for someone to enter their name and email address there needs to me a reason why they should give you their name and email address.  Give them something for free.  Information, product, a report, research studies, or an eBook.  The headline needs to be a call to action description: ex. Receive my FREE eBook about How To Train Your Dog.  Value is the important factor here.  Give your visitors a reason why they should enter their name and email address, good reason would be giving them some free valuable content or product (eBook).
3.        The Actual Emails:  Once they enter their name and email address they are a customer for life.  The method to sending them emails is important as well.  You want them to return to your website, you want them to buy from you again.  In order to do so you don’t want run them off buy spamming their email inbox ten times a day.  Structure your email sending to a few days in between.  Just don’t send all your emails at one time.

 So, take care of your email opt ins and in return they will take care of you.  It’s kind of like your customer service at your store or office.  You treat your clients and customers well while they are in your store they will remember that and return to your store to buy something from you in the future. 

Be good to your email list and give them free quality content and services.  They will respect that, by doing so they will network for you and tell their friends and family about how good you treat them.  In turn, you get more customers, more sales, and more profits.  That right there can make any business owner a very happy person.  For more info click here >> Email Marketing

Jason is considered a top Internet marketing specialist for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Jason is considered a top Internet marketing specialist for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Downtown Grill in Oxford MS Has Some Issues

Downtown Grill's Website Has Some

Good and Bad
(www.DowntownGrill.net)

       If you are a local Oxford native like me, you may have step foot into one of Oxford's premium Dining experiences on The Square. Downtown Grill Restaurant has been around for several years now and it sits in a prime location on the northwest side of downtown Oxford, MS. Serving both lunch and dinner it can sure hit the spot if you are looking for high quality food and dining atmosphere.


Enough of me propping up the restaurant, I'm not here to tell you how good the food is. I can leave that to the food columnists, (such as the well known and respective Oxford native John T. Edge) to handle all that.

We critique websites, and just so happens on this day Downtown Grill gets to be it. I'll give them a overall rating of 6 (scale of 1 to 10). The big hit they take is that there whole site is in flash and these days that is not cool for the BIG GUYS (Google, Yahoo, and Bing). Yep! I'm talking about the major search engines. If you don't know much about the importance of these big guns then I suggest you read this blog: Traffic, why it it so important

Upon arriving to their home page http://downtowngrill.net my first search is for a email opt in list. This day in time visitors to your business website is like having then step foot into your actual restaurant. Email marketing needs to be implemented into your marketing strategy. Come on people this is 2010!

1. Each page within their site is not indexed in Google (see video below for details).
2. Needs a name and email opt in list (this is called Email Marketing).
3. All flash - Not good these days, maybe 4 years ago.
4. No actual content
5. Although the flash looks good, still not good for search engines.
6. It is user friendly -- easy to navigate

People search these days, right? Well if you don't know by now Google is the #1 most visited website on the web. There are over 31 billions searches each month on Google alone and Google only makes up 60% of all searches on the whole Internet!

Facts about Downtown Grill Google searches each month:

1. downtown grill oxford ms - 170 searches a month
2. downtown grill oxford - 260 searches a month

Here's some screen shots:

 -------The overall point with this is they are getting searches for the term Downtown Grill which results into visitors to your page, why not put up an email opt in list on the home page.  Capture there name and email and they are customers for life basically.  Send them updates about the restaurant, throw out some coupons etc.  During these times of a bad economy the name of the game is getting new customers to set foot into your restaurant and this is an important factor.

I'm done here, more critiquing is in the video below... 

Jason is considered a top Internet marketing specialist for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Jason is considered a top Internet marketing specialist for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

208 in Oxford Needs a Website - Here's Proof

The restaurant 208 is a popular dining spot in Oxford; it offers a relaxing atmosphere and a great menu.  However, 208 desperately needs a website.  Why?  Because the amount of search volume on Google focused around the 208 restaurant in Oxford, MS is great enough to justify it.

Take a look at the search volume stats on Google:

As you can see, the term "208 oxford ms" receives about 320 average monthly searches on Google alone (this number does not reflect the searches on other search engines such as Yahoo and Bing)!  That number alone justifies the need for 208 to have a website.

What sticks out to me most is that about 28 people each month are searching for "208 menu oxford ms".  Customers want to see 208's menu before they decide to eat there.  Having a website with the full menu is a great opportunity for 208 to answer these peoples search query and capture additional customers .  If someone is looking for a menu online and they do not find it, then likely they will find a competitors menu and decide to eat there instead... not good for 208.


After thought:  It amazes me that some businesses put off getting a website as they do not see how it could benefit their business.  However, it is 2010 and every business can benefit from having a professional website... it definitely wouldn't hurt.  A new website along with an E-mail capture form that allows 208 to send out promotional emails could definitely bring back some repeat customers.  I know that if I was eating at 208 and was asked if I would like to join their Email list in order to receive occasional specials and promotions I would definitely opt-in (as would many others).  Email marketing is one of the best forms of permission-based marketing... it doesn't get much better than that-- customers inviting you to market to them.  Like I said, it definitely wouldn't hurt.

Adam is considered a top Internet marketing consultant for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Adam is considered a top Internet marketing consultant for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Oxford Floral Website Critique

(www.oxfordfloral.com)

*Warning* This post could get long... I could critique the Oxford Floral website all day long.

Wow.  What is there not to say about Oxford Floral's website?  This is the quintessential definition of poor quality web design.  In fact, Oxford Floral's website is so bad I would venture to say that it could be the worst in town (which is ashamed considering the great reputation of this company).  If you take a look at Oxford Floral's slogan it says, "Serving Oxford, Mississippi and the South since 1924"... It might as well say, "If the Internet was around in 1924, we would be the only destination".

It really is that bad.  Let's point out some things that I see off the top of my head:

1. Awful color variations on different pages... it is almost blinding (this screams BACK BUTTON!)
2. No Opt-In List for Email Marketing
3. Very little HTML content on Homepage
4. No top menu structure 
5. Poor Meta description
6. No use of Heading tags
7. Online Store is way out of date 

Color Variation
When a visitor arrives at Oxford Floral's website the first thing he/she is going to notice is the bright background color.  But, we do not know what background color the visitor is going to get because the website has some weird thing going on that brings up a random (annoying) color every time the user refreshes the page... this feature would have been cool in 1996.  Not anymore.

These bright colors scream for the visitor to bailout of the website by clicking their browser's back button which will result in this site have a very high bounce rate and a low average time on site.

The Many Colors of Oxford Floral

No Opt-In
For a company such as Oxford Floral that has many loyal customers their website could really use an opt-in form in order to collect customer email addresses for an email marketing campaign.  Personally I believe email marketing would work great for a local florist and gift shop.  No doubt that Oxford Floral has a huge database of customers... why not take advantage of that and keep the customers informed about updated inventory?  The bottom line: Email marketing definitely couldn't hurt. If anything, it is going to bring people back into the store more often.


Lack of HTML Content on the Homepage
This one is obvious. There is such little text on the homepage that it makes it difficult for search engines to actually know what the site is about.  I would definitely recommend adding a brief keyword-rich blurb about the company in order for search engines to better index the site. 

No Top Menu Structure
This website should certainly have an "About Us" page, "Our Location" page, and a "Contact Us" page in a menu at the top of the site above the fold so that visitors can actually find these pages.  Right now if you wanted to find out where Oxford Floral's location is, you would have to navigate to the bottom of the page in order to find the "Find Us" link... most people are not going to see this.  If you did actually find the "Find Us" page (http://www.oxfordfloral.com/?page=find), the first thing you would see is an outdated image of an Oxford map... I think it's time for an embedded Google map so that people can actually find the store.

Poor Title and Meta Description
For those of you that know how to view a website's source, one of the first thing you will notice is the poor title tag and meta description that this website uses.  The title tag and description simply reads, "Oxford Floral Company"; The title and description should be much more enticing and keyword-rich.  Also, I have noticed that every single page on the site uses the same title and meta description... this is not good at all from a search engine standpoint.  Each page should have a unique title and description... SEO 101.

No Use of HTML Heading Tags
Another thing one will notice when they view the source of the website is that it does not take advantage of Heading tags.  Again, this is SEO 101... adding a few keywords in H1 and H2 tags could possibly increase the organic rankings of the site.  Small changes like this can do wonders for a local business website.

Online Store Out of Date
It is obvious that Oxford Floral's online store is way out of date.  Not only is it old, but I bet it hasn't been updated in years (they probably do not even carry some of the stuff that is on the site anymore... which wouldn't matter, because I bet no one has purchased anything off of the site... ever).  That's all I will say about the online store; it's just old.


As I mentioned, I can go on and on about the poor quality of Oxford Floral's website... It's bad, really bad.  The sad thing is that this website actually gets some decent traffic... it's sad because if I owned this website, I actually wouldn't want any traffic -- I wouldn't want anyone to see it.  Take a look at these search stats from Google:

Wow. The company branded term "Oxford Floral" gets an average of 29 searches a day!  That's about 870 searches each month!  So, at least that many people are interested in visiting Oxford Floral's website... I would definitely say it is time for a major upgrade in the web design department.

It sometimes amazes me how some companies forget that their online presence this day and time is almost as important as their offline presence.  A well-designed and up-to-date website never hurts a companies image, but it definitely can help. 

Here's the bottom line:  Oxford Floral is a reputable local Oxford business... it's time that their website convey that same quality reputation (especially since so many people are searching for them on major search engines.

Adam is considered a top Internet marketing consultant for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Adam is considered a top Internet marketing consultant for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Search Engine Marketing is For Internet Specialist Only

I continue to see more and more people tweeting and blogging about search engine marketing like they understand and know it like the palm of their hand. Being considered as an Internet specialist, this can really get to me sometimes. The reason is not because I am jealous of all the content out there about this topic, it’s because more than 80% of this content is random jiberish.

As we all know there is A LOT of content on the Internet. There are billions and billions of web pages on the web as of today and billions continue to be published every year. Most of the new content is just rewritten content about the already existed content. Basically someone finds an article or blog post like this one. Copy and paste it into their Microsoft Word and just rewrites the whole article sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph in their own words. This results in replicated jiberish.

What can unique writers, like me and others, do to stop this from happening? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Once you publish your content on the Internet it is free to view by anyone. That’s just the price you have to pay for doing so. For most people, like myself, I write and publish content on the web to educate and enlighten the users on the web -- not for my content (idea) to be taken from someone that is not an Internet specialist but to be read and acknowledged to be good, quality content.

This is exactly why a good search engine marketing strategy comes into play. Search engines are smart, very smart. The algorithms within Google are by far the best on the web. For this reason, website owners need a creative Internet marketing strategy in order to receive decent levels of traffic.

Marketing on search engines requires precision research. Without thorough research you are getting way ahead of yourself. There are three steps to search engine marketing.

1. Keyword Research: Researching the correct targeted keywords for your website is priority numero uno. Before you dive into a niche or market, proper research for the targeted search terms (keywords) is extremely important and tedious (...at times). Only an experienced Internet Specialist will be able to find the correct keyword phrases that turn out to be golden nuggets for your business.
   
   
2. Competition Analysis: Who are you going after? You have to study your competition to see if it is worth your time and effort before you jump into a market or niche. Doing this before you start your full-on marketing campaign can make or break you. Diving into a market that is heavily competitive is not the right idea here, trust me.
   
   
3. Customer Research: Knowing and understanding your customers and maybe your next potential client is step three. Researching your targeted customer can boost your sales and production by an easy 100%. Is your customer in a passionate market? Do you have the answer to a potential clients problem? You should.
   

Information that educates your buyer/customer is important for your business or niche market to become extremely successful on the Internet. Understand that quality is ten times better than quantity these days! I encourage everyone to start writing their own content. This is called unique content and if you start doing this from the beginning, then Google and other major search engines will start to like you and your content.

Jason is considered a top Internet marketing specialist for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Jason is considered a top Internet marketing specialist for the local Internet Marketing company P.O.G. in Oxford Mississippi. To learn more visit: http://ProfitOptimizationGroup.com

Web Design Service in Oxford, MS

Are you looking for a professional web designer in Oxford, MS? Well here at Oxford, MS web design, we have you covered. The experienced Internet Marketing Consultants of Profit Optimization Group, LLC are the best in the business and are sure to meet your every need.

Services offered by Profit Optimization Group are not only limited to web design and development, but also include:

• Search Engine Optimization
• Pay-Per-Click Management
• E-mail Marketing
• Web Hosting

Whether your business is in need of a website from the ground up or just a redesign of your current website, the pros at P.O.G. are the guys to call.