How PPC on Facebook Can Draw Facebookers to Your Site

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for Albany Web Design (and Albany SEO)




Anything that people spend a lot of time doing provides a great marketing opportunity. Nowadays, people spend a lot of time updating their statuses, chatting, spying on long-lost acquaintances, cultivating their Farmville crops, or otherwise interacting with that famous white screen...

Enter Facebook Ads.

America's Favorite Way to Procrastinate

Now that Facebook is everywhere, advertising on Facebook is a super way to reach out to the world. While folks are browsing their friends' posts and profiles, they are simultaneously viewing advertisements that Facebook positions on the right side of their screens. These clickable ads make it easy for a user to jump over to the website or Facebook page of any company whose ad piques his interest.

Hit Your Targets Dead On

But here's the thing. Not only do Facebook ads provide clickable advertisements to a group of people who are most likely just killing time, but they also can provide these ads to people from very specific demographics. If you think about your Facebook profile, the information you share gives away a lot about you. Many people openly share their interests, their educational background, their employment history, their marital status, and more. This is information that marketing list maker types used to have to dig around to get, but these days many people are happy to broadcast it to the Facebook world. So without doing any snooping, Facebook can make sure that your ad pops up on the screens of people who are most likely to respond to it. This is target marketing at its most precise.

In the case studies tab on their advertising page, Facebook gives a pretty solid example of how this can benefit business owners. Since Facebook users often share their relationship status on their profiles, it's easy to market specifically to people who are engaged. The page shows an example of a photography company who benefited tremendously from advertising on Facebook to women who had chosen “Engaged” as their relationship status.

What's the Price Tag on These Magical Ads?

We can't tell you exactly how much it's going to cost, but you can tell us. Like PPC campaigns through Google, the cost of advertising on Facebook varies based on your budget. Facebook offers a PPC-style option which allows people to pay only when a user clicks on the ad, and once you've reached your predetermined daily budget, Facebook stops displaying your ad for the rest of the day. Another option is to set up a Cost Per Thousand Impressions (“CPM”) campaign where you pay a flat rate every time your ad is displayed 1000 times. Either way, it's up to you how much you want to spend, making it possible for businesses large and small to take advantage of Facebook ads.

So if you're looking for a way to advertise your page to specific targets at a price you set yourself (AND to justify spending more time on Facebook at the same time), give Facebook ads a try.

Optimizing Your Website for People With Disabilities

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for Albany Web Design (and Albany SEO)


The world wide web is for everyone.

But think about how challenging the internet experience might be for people with disabilities.

People who see, hear, understand, focus, or read differently than others can have a tough time navigating through a website that was not designed with all people in mind. But the Web Accessibility Initiative website gives examples of specific disabilities and some easy ways you can enhance your site to level the playing field for people with these challenges.

For instance, the WAI site points out that many websites present obstacles for individuals with colorblindness. The site suggests labeling color pictures with words, particularly on e-commerce sites that may be selling the same item in, for example, red, blue, green, and gray. It also mentions that text designed to indicate something special is often a different color on a site (e.g. clearance items in red text), but using underlining or bold text would be more helpful for a person with colorblindness.

Providing Access for Everyone

The key is to provide options that will allow different users to access your site in the way that works best for them. If you have videos on your site, for instance, you may want to think about making it easy for a user with a visual impairment to view them at a larger size. You may also consider providing a closed captioning option for the hearing impaired. And it might be a good idea to make the videos easy to turn off in the event that they distract a user with ADHD who is trying to read nearby text.  You'll find that providing these types of options on your site can also benefit clients who do not have disabilities, allowing them to make choices about how to use elements of your site and making it easier for them to use.

A lot of factors go into the design of a website, but if reaching the largest possible audience is one of your priorities, make sure to tell your web designer that you're interested in making your site accessible to people with disabilities. After all, a store with a ramp is more likely to get the business of a person who uses a wheelchair, and a website with accommodations for individuals with disabilities can make it clear to your customers that everybody's welcome at your site.

Put Social Media to Work for Your Site

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for Albany Web Design (and Albany SEO)



Social media is an increasingly popular function on websites, but your social media sites and your website are not the same thing. And you shouldn’t confuse the two. Each has separate goals and purposes, and it’s important to have a separate plan of action for each. Here are three differentiators to help you navigate the separation.

Linking to other websites. Once you get people to your website, don’t let them get away. Keep them for as long as possible through a series of calls to actions and conversion points. But on your social media sites, you certainly want to drive people away from your page and to your website. Your website is the hub of your social media activity, while your social media pages are marketing efforts to get traffic to your site.

Updating content. Undoubtedly, you’ve spent considerable time creating sharp content for your website. You probably don’t spend as much time analyzing the content on your Facebook posts and Tweets. The tone of your social media entries should reflect that of your website, and should be updated frequently with relevant information. Your website should remain relatively static in its content, and be a solid foundation to people to learn about your company. Keep your website consistent and provide timely updates via social media.

Creating strategy. Divide your online strategy into two sections: Your website and your social media efforts. The strategy for your website should be consistent across all pages. The strategy for your social media should be custom-tailored for each platform, but be unified in the fact that all platforms should drive people to your website. Facebook, Twitter, forums and blogs all have separate purpose, so devise a strategy that works for each. Efforts for your website and your social media pages should have the ultimate goal of increasing sales and producing measurable results.

Your online presence is important, and it’s key to create a unified identity in all online efforts. But don’t mix the purposes of your website and your social media pages. While they go hand-in-hand for successful online engagement, each has a distinct task, so plan your involvement accordingly.