Web marketing for Web Designers and SEO Professionals on FoundLocally.

• By: mruthenberg
• On: 02/15/2009 20:39:04
• In: Industry-specific Topics
• Comments: 0

Web designers offer a number of skillsets to their clients. They are important form a creative perspective but are also relied on for their technical knowledge. They need to think “out of the box” both creatively and technically. Web designers individually and collectively benefit when clients achieve greater success with their online efforts.

Related Link: Web Marketing

Good websites are not just about sales & marketing, though initially that was where all the attention was. Some sites had good e-commerce and some had good product information to support an in-store or personal sales channel, while other sites only had rather lame “brochureware”, often just repurposed creative content from other media.

Web Design and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) provide a range of services for their clients. After designing the website, they enhance the site’s findability on search engines by reviewing, and improving the content and the META tags. Then they submit the site to a number of search engines and directories, some free (like FoundLocally!)  and some paid directories. As well, they will do some pay-per-click advertising with a number of sites like Google, Yahoo and MSN. The Pay-per-click helps bring immediate traffic, while waiting for the search engines to spider (look at every page using automated “bots”), index and list a website in their search results.

Web design & SEO firms can take advantage of the FoundLocally site in several ways. They should (of course) add a listing for their firm, as well as add listings for their clients, to ensure that the web site is promoted to the maximum amount possible, using the FoundLocally Descriptions and other elements of the listing to maximize the links back to the client website, and even maximize link-backs to specific key parts of the web site.

Link to web marketing tips for Specific clients & Industries

When a client has one web site but multiple locations (for example, if it is a chain or a franchise organization) it is in everyone’s interest to get each location listed, not just the one website. FoundLocally has a cloning technology, where we can create all the listings from a single listing you’ve added and an Excel spreadsheet, at no cost to you or your client. (Please contact FoundLocally for the template)

Link to web marketing tips for multi-location chain & franhise organizations

While Web Design & SEO firms are important to the messaging of each client’s online communications, they are often not part of the day-to-day operations, and should involve the clients in the additional dimensions of the FoundLocally listing that can improve the economics of their operations. This is done by adding client mangers to the CONTACTS tab of the listing. Then they can post to the EVENTS, JOBS, and SAVINGS tabs to fill fundamental business needs, and help generate the profitability to support a proper web marketing effort. We can set up these managers as Registered Contacts using an Excel template, and assign them to the corresponding locations, at no cost to you or your client. (Please contact FoundLocally for the template)

Making the Most of Your PROFILE

You can add a corporate listing to promote their company and quality brand

1. Use the Description field to state your key branding message (and how you differentiate yourselves from other web design and web marketing professionals). Use the Products/Brands to identify key target markets and industries your firm focuses on.
2. If you are working with a multi-location chain or franchise organization (or an interprovincial charitable group), we have a number of “cloning” shortcuts using Excel templates to quickly add many listings based on a single listing. Our process insures that listings are in the correct FoundLocally community, and have appropriate Areas selected, and can have appropriate web links for each location and appropriate contacts for location, as well any regional/provincial managers.

TIP: this cloning process is FREE and efficiently adds many locations to our directory with minimal time, effort and error. Please contact FoundLocally. We will be happy to discuss the best approaches for you and your client’s specific needs & goals..

Multiple CONTACTS to Update Listing(s)

1. Set up multiple contacts per listing using the CONTACTS tab and “Add New”, to add additional staff people in your firm, so each can post items to your listing, or login and ad additional clients and their websites & locations.
2. You can also add client marketing, HR, and Operations persons who can login and update the operational components of their FoundLocally listings, letting you focus on web marketing and website design.
3. You can use the POWER USER tab to copy existing Contacts over to other listings you are the Registered Contact for. For example, you can add a number of in-house contacts to specific client FoundLocally listings.

TIP: it would be helpful when posting multiple staff people to client listings that each Registered Contact’s “Title” field might include their title plus the name of the firm (so client contacts don’t inadvertently remove them from a listing, not realizing they are working on the client’s behalf).

Posting NEWS Announcements

1. You should post announcements (using the NEWS tab of each respective listing) to FoundLocally listings at the same time as it is sent out to other media outlets.
2. You can post announcements to the client’s FoundLocally listing for them.
3. If you have multi-location clients, you can use the POWER USER tab to quickly copy an announcement from one listing (head office) to the other listings for that organization. You can also use the POWER USER tab to post differentiated messages to groups of listings, so you can have an Ontario announcement, a Maritimes announcement, a Prairies announcement, as well as a West Coat version of the same announcement. TIP: Please contact us beforehand, and we can create special Contacts profiles to handle regional/provincial groupings of the listings you manage
4. News postings can dramatically improve your findability by increasing the association of keywords in the news story with your/your client’s web site and name. In addition they can improve your/your client’s creditability as an industry information resource.
5. Announcements stay posted until you take them down. On FoundLocally, news has a long shelf life. FoundLocally news is not thrown out or recycled the next day, like with a newspaper!

Posting EVENTS

1. You can use the EVENTS tab to post any special events, like “live remotes” with a local TV or radio station. EVENTS postings can link to their own web page if you have an event that people need to RSVP for or buy tickets.

TIP: These linked pages can be on your site, the clients’ or a third party (like, say, TicketMaster)

Posting JOBS to fill staffing needs

1. You can use these listings to recruit people for internal or client needs using the JOBS tab.
2.  If you are posting jobs for non-profit clients and their fund-raising activities, you can use the JOBS tab to post volunteer opportunities, either under their FoundLocally listing or yours.

Editorial Opportunities for Web Design firms & Their Clients

1. FoundLocally is always looking for good editorial content. We define "good" as content that helps inform and educate the marketplace so they become better, more discerning consumers. Good editorial may advocate a point of view, but should not sell a specific company or its product. The benefit, you (or your client) gets a writer's credit and a link to your website.
2. Self-promotional stories are best posted to a listing's NEWS tab, providing exactly one link-back from your free listing.
3. On the other hand, a good story, will be included in all our cross-Canada FoundLocallly sites, and get your site 30 link backs (as of early 2009) one from each of our city domains. This has a dramatic impact on the value of your site by ranking search engines like Google.

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