PostRanger.net

Make MySpace your Website

If you're looking for a professional Website, but are too strapped for cash, MySpace may provide an alternative.

In this video from Gsinc, host Gareth Davies speaks with marketer Ben Wills about using not only MySpace but other social sites like Facebook for your campaign:

To build and maintain a Website using the MySpace platform:

• First, create a MySpace profile (Consider using one of your search keywords or key phrases in the title of your site. For example, a companion for this blog might use the terms Website or Web design in the title.)
• Then, fill in the "About me:" and "Who I'd like to meet" sections of the profile page using your key phrases once or twice more and telling visitors a bit more about you and you business or Website, use HTML to add links and embed some video if appropriate.
• Join or create MySpace Groups, use the MySpace blog function, and post to the "bulletin space" and "status and mood" sections regularly to keep visitors engaged as your number of "friends" grow
• Remember that since MySpace frowns on doing business on the site itself, you will need to direct visitors to a seperate storefront off the MySpace site or give contact information about how to reach you for more information on your services.

Add streaming video to your Website

Add video from YouTube or any one of a number of other popular sites on the Internet and have them streaming from your Website in minutes.

Adding streaming video to almost any Web page increases interest for the reader and may encourage them to stay longer at your site. Watch the simple overview from the YouTube help center to learn more:

Adding video to your Web site instead of a standard blog is no different:

• Visit one of the above mentioned streaming video sites and locate a video fitting the topic of your vsite or page or make and upload one yourself.
• Locate the code inside the "embed" window or perhaps revealed by clicking on an "embed" or "get codes" button below the screen window on the video player.
• Cut and paste the code into the HTML of your Website where you wish the video to appear
• Rebublish the page with the new embedded code then review the updated Website (with video added) in your browser

There's nothing else to it. You will have video embedded and streaming from your Web site within minutes encouraging visitors to stay longer to view your content.

Try Website design with blog tools

Website design doesn't have to be a high tech affair with blog tools available on the Internet.

Blogging software like TypePad and free services like Blogger offer options for the cash strapped entrepreneur or ambitious do-it-yourselfer. Watch the video below from RecognizedExpert.com:    

On any of the premium services available from platforms like TypePad for those with a higher budget, taking a more standard Web site approach is also an option.

Such an approach might include:

• Using the "feature this post" option under "Display Options" to create a front page look to your blog with a lead posts thatg remains constant acting as a landing page
• Customizing the "categories" tags on your blog to create the feel of a Web site setup with each post or set of posts acting as a page on related topics like "About Our Company", "About Our Business", "About Our Services" and "Company News"
• Eliminating "archive", "subscribe" and "comment" widgets in the "content" section under "design" and moving the "categories" section toward the top of the right hand side of the page using the widget tool in the content section.
• Using the "embed your own HTML" module (also under "design/content") to create a window for your PayPal store front or other link to your companies main services and moving this feature toward the top as well using the widget tool. 

Analytics from Google measure Web site success

Analytics from Google can help measure the success of your Web site, showing many details about visitors and their behavior.

The free service can be immensely helpful in many ways as this video from Google clearly demonstrates:

Creating a free Google account

• Visit the Google Analytics site and click the "sign up now" button. (You'll need to sign up for a Google account first, if you haven't got one.)
• Enter a current e-mail address, create a pass word, approve the Google terms of service and continue.
• A confirmation e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address you provided. Confirm your e-mail and you will be taken directly to your new Google account.

Creating an account for service from Analytics

• First, click on the Analytics button on your main Google Accounts site to take you to the Google Analytics sign up
• Then, hit the "sign up" button and travel to the new account signup section where you will be asked for your URL (the address of your Web site), your account name and the country and time zone where you reside.
• Fill in additional identification information for your new Analytics account, approve the Analytics terms of service agreement, and paste the Analytics tracking code into your blog or Web site (You'll want to use the code on every page of your Web site and for blogs consult the instructions for your blog platform about the best place for the code.)

Are you using Google Analytics for your Web site? If so, have you found it helpful and can you tell us how? What are the most important features you use to measure your Web site's success? Comments are held for approval.

Add bullet points to your web site or blog

bullets
Originally uploaded by DeusXFlorida

Bullet points can pep up any Web site, working with graphics, photos, and embedded video to improve the overall appearance of your page.

Bullet points help to:

• organize key points in the information provided on your web pages.
• break up great clumps of text that may be daunting to readers when looking at the information on your page
• provide visual interest working with photos and other elements to create a pleasing overall design
• provide great link bait attracting bloggers to link to your page as an online resource thus drawing more traffic to your site.

For more on the benefits of using bullets and lists on your Web site or blog see "Creating a stickier professional blog with lists" at PostRanger.com.

Though some platforms provide easy-to-use tools that automatically create bullet points for your blog, these distinctive elements can also be created on any Web document using simple HTML.

Web site adds blog tips

Blogging Fun!
Originally uploaded by Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

Our Web site design page PostRanger.net has now added blog tips from our sister site PostRanger.com.

View regular updated posts from PostRanger.com via our new feed on the right side of the page under our category and web design news sections.

Simply click on the title of interest and be taken directly to the original post on PostRanger.com.

The site also offers information on social networks, Search Engine Optimization and basic HTML and layout tips for blogs.

We're hoping you will find both sites very helpful in your journey toward understanding the Web 2.0 world no matter what your plans for these tools.

And for more tips on blogging watch the below video by blogger extraordinaire Darren Rowse sharing thoughts by other successful bloggers on how to get started:

Search Engine Optimization for your website

Search Engine Optimization for your website is as important as the colors or images you use for design.

This is because ultimately, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) determines whether your website is ever even seen by the big search engines, and it begins, as Mark McLaren of McBuzz Communications explains in this video, with proper placement of keywords: 

To find the right keywords for your new website, just go to the Google home page and begin to type in a topic you think visitors interested in your page might use for a web search.

As you type, Google will show you alternate words and phrases and the relative number of results for each search term on a special pull down under the main search window.

For example, in the case of our sister site PostRanger.com, which deals mainly with "professional blogging" the term "professional blogging sites" returns far more results (29,400,000 compared to just 1,560,000 for the two word phrase) so more searchers may use this term.

Once you've chosen your keyword, McLaren suggests placing it in the title and first line of text on your Web site or blog post, even highlighting it for emphasis. You may also want to add it to the meta tags of your site, but don't overdo it.

McLaren and others suggest Google may actually penalize in its ranking for Web sites intentionally stuffed with keywords designed only to attract search engines, and remember stuffing your Web site with meaningless keywords will have another bad effect.

Those who find your site may link to it and share it with others if they find it useful and this will have the effect of boosting your page rank on search engines too because of quality links.

But excessive keywords boost your bounce rate, the measure of visitors who find your site and then leave immediately after realizing it is not what they wanted. In the end, minimal prominantly placed appropriate keywords are helpful but can't replace good quality content.

So websites stuffed with keywords just to attract a search engine simply won't cut it. 

Promote your Web designing on Flickr

Promote your Web designing talents on Flickr and share your abilities with the world.

The creation below illustrates the abilities of Norwegian TSR Designs, for example, for potential clients.

Web design, originally uploaded by tsrdesign09.

Flickr allows users to sign up for a free account, create a profile including a link back to your main Web site and upload images and graphics to share with others in the community.

Remember to register for Flickr's special Creative Commons license allowing users including blogs like this one to share and remix your designs with attribution to you allowing spread of your work virally across the World Wide Web.

Watch this video from Howcast about how to sign up for a free Flicklr account and start uploading files from your PC:

Custom web design and Search Engine Optimization here

work's out.
Originally uploaded by blehk

Custom web design and Search Engine Optimization can be two of the most important factors in marketing your business online.

Here at PostRanger.net, we work with partners who can provide a wide variety of services including:

• web design to assist in branding your company or organization on the World Wide Web
• SEO to ensure that top search engines like Google and Yahoo! can find your site and direct customers interested in your products or services there
• zip code targeted online advertising to help you attract the customers interested in your business
• image rendering to improve the look and feel of your web site
• lead generation Web sites helping those interested in your product or service to get in touch with you!
• lead capture pages to bring in prospects and allow you to contact them with more information on your product or service
• hosting giving your professionally created Web site and your business a permanent home on the World Wide Web.

For more on available services visit our affiliate Web site today for prices and packages to help promote your business.

Free web designer promoting business

Spider Web
Originally uploaded by mkreyness

A free web designer promoting business or your organization, our recommended application has a variety of benefits.

This web solution provides:

• simple tools allowing even the beginninner to get started building web sites in minutes
• a supportive community that provides guidance and potential exposure for your new site
• tools that allow you to share photos and embedded video as part of your completed web site
• AdSense and affiliate marketing programs allowing you to easily monetize your new web site with products and services that fit your niche
• A complete control dashboard allowing you to monitor your traffic and other stats, moderate comments from visitors, join and create groups with others in the community, create and maintain a profile for your new webpages and favorite and rate sites by fellow webmasters.

Become part of a community of fellow webmasters, build sites promoting yourself, your business or organization or simply expressing your passion or idea and make some money for yourself or charity along the way.

                                                             JOIN NOW