#1 – The easier to remember, the better.

Choosing a domain name that is easy to spell and easy to remember helps brand your company.

#2 – The shorter, the better.

A domain name that is shorter makes it easier to type and easier to share with others.

#3 – Don’t use numbers and letters that could be mixed up or misinterpreted.

For example: Two, 2, Too, Four, 4, For.

#4 – Your domain name doesn’t have to be your company name.

If your business is XYZ Plumbing, your domain name does not have to xyzplumbing.com.

Instead, try using keywords or search phrases that are related to your business, such as simplesinkrepair.com.

#5 – There are still plenty of good domain names if you know where to look, use a domain name search engine like www.domainsbot.com

Type in search phrases and it will spit out other options and automated suggestions if your primary keywords are already taken.

For more information about domain names, web design, or online marketing, contact us.

Okay, okay. Everyone is always wanting to see amazingly fantastic web design. There are many beautiful websites out there that combine form and function and really perform as they were intended to. Then there are millions of mediocre websites out there. These are perfect examples of what not to do in web design.

However, this blog post is dedicated to the worst of the worst. These websites aren’t just bad. These websites will cause seizures if you look at them for too long. They are so bad that they should come with a Warning from the Surgeon General. Click on the images to visit the websites, if you dare! View these websites at your own risk!!

**DISCLAIMER: Just in case you were wondering, these websites were NOT designed by Empercom.

In the comments section, let me know if you agree, disagree, or you want to add to the list.

1) MIA.UK *Warning: May Cause Seizures

2) Yvette’s Bridal **See if you can spot the onsite SEO!

3) Paperrad.org ** Some say that this website was deliberately bad. In my opinion, that doesn’t change the fact that it should not exist!

4) Stevenlim.net **Look out Ladies! This is the fan site for the World’s Most Handsome Guy! This site comes with a warning that the webpage will take several minutes to load and may crash your web browser.

5) milliondollarhomepage.com **Initially, it was a creative idea to sell virtual real estate on your website but this does break every rule of good web design.

It used to be that people would hear about your company through the newspaper, billboards, yellow pages, direct mail, and if you’re budget was big enough, the television.

That was then. This is now. Today, the most powerful marketing tool for ANY business is the internet. Search engines like Google.com make it simple for companies to be listed in a local geographical area. Yahoo and MSN do this to. Often times, these local listings will show up before the regular search results for any given keyword.

Not only search engines but online yellow pages and online directories and even social media such as Facebook have become mainstream marketing techniques for any size business, from the individual promoting their network marketing opportunity to globally-recognized companies like Pepsico that launch billion dollar social media campaigns. Your company fits into this realm of targeted online marketing which means that if you don’t have an online presence then you’re missing out of a lot of potential customers and businesses.

Since this article is all about creating an easily recognizable brand for your company. Online marketing plays a crucial part of this process. But before we go that far, let’s consider whether or not your company is easily recognizable. We need to look at several factors and variables to determine whether your company’s brand needs to be updated.

Step 1. Identify your market. Plain and simple. What type of market does your company represent?

Step 2. Identify your service or product. What type of service or product does your company provide? Does your service or product solve a current problem that is present?

Step 3. Identify your targeted audience. Who is your ideal customer?

Step 4. What is your USP? UPS stands for “Unique Selling Proposition”. It is what sets your company apart from your competitors.

Step 5. Easy to spell. Easy to pronounce. Easy to remember. Makes sense, doesn’t it? If your business name is easy to remember it will stick with people.

Step 7. Does your business name explain what you do? Hammocks ‘R Us, for example describes exactly what the company deals with.

Step 8. Is your domain name related to your business? .com .net .biz .us are the best domain name extensions to use for your business. For example, if your business name is Dave’s Cleaning Supply then the most ideal domain name for your business would be www.davescleaningsupply.com.What’s

This blog post is for you if you can answer one the following questions.

• Are you still using a website designed in 1998?
• Is your website as professional as your company is?
• Do you believe that your company’s website can do more for you?
• Was your company’s website designed by a friend’s 8th grader as a school project?
• Is your website in desperate need of a makeover?

As part of our Spring into Action Promotion, we are offering a free website makeover to a few lucky individuals that want to strengthen their company’s online presence. What this means for you? You know longer have to live in the “internet dark ages”.

What’s included in the Free Website Makeover?

• Full SEO Website Analysis and Report
• Recommendations for increasing the website’s ROI (Online Marketing Plan)
• 30 Minute Phone (or On-Site) Consultation
• 1 Full Redesign of your Website based on suggestions and the Consultation

If you like our design and recommendations, we will help you implement those changes on your current website absolutely free!

You may be wondering why we are doing this… Well, it’s not a totally selfless act, while we won’t try to SELL anything to you. We hope that you will casually spread the word about Empercom to your colleagues and business associates. By promoting your own website, you will be promoting us. Leave a comment or question below.

Apply for a Free Website Makeover.

More often than not, when discussing the fabulously intriguing topic of web design with potential clients, I hear, “Oh yeah, so-and-so’s cousin’s friend does web design.” or “My sister’s a lawyer and she created her own website.” Of course, DIY (or Do-It-Yourself) is a very popular choice because people think that they’re saving money when in all actuality it cost more given the fact that those ‘do-it-yourselfers’ don’t know how to design a website for people and search engines.

I understand the DIY mentality especially when it comes to home improvement projects. However, don’t suppose for one minute that if I was going to court and needed legal counsel that I would attempt to represent myself. Same concept right? Leave it to the professionals. That means web design too!

Designing for people

On average, when someone clicks on a link to visit your website, they will spend at most, 30 seconds on  your site before clicking the back button to return to wherever they were coming from. This happens all to often unless the website gives them something that truly catches their attention.

Website graphics and images solve this problem when they give the website visitors a visually appealing site to look at. Although, have you ever been on a website where the graphics took forever to load? This especially happened during the ‘golden age’ of dial-up internet. Website graphics and images should still be small so that they will load faster. They are a few out there that are still using dial-up, if you can believe it or not! This is just one example of how a professional web designer designs for people.

Designing for Search Engines

Having a search engine friendly website is crucial to any successful online marketing campaign. Search Engines don’t see the graphics of the website. If there text within the images as opposed to raw HTML text then the Search Engines will not be able to read the text. The Alt tag. The Alt tag is a way for search engines to know what the image is about. An Alt tag is a small phrase or keyword about the image. This is just one example of how a professional web designer designs for search engines.

For more information on how Empercom can provide professional design solutions for your business, click here to fill out your information to receive a free no-obligation design quote.