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ThunderBits

ThunderBits – Tips for Successful Websites

ThunderBits

ThunderBits are tips for successful website design, custom software applications, and Internet marketing. Changing monthly (okay, maybe just once in a while :), we promise to offer useful principles that build better businesses.

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  • Google’s Unfair Profiteering
    Google’s paid adverstising, or AdWords Campaigns, uses a “pay per click” model that charges advertisers only for the visitors who actually visit an advertiser’s website. But in that very model, Google has managed to sneak in extra profits at the expense of small business.

  • Google’s Mobile Search
    cellphone Today’s paper reported that 4 billion cell phones will be in use by 2010, and this week’s International Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas will focus on mobile applications for those mobile phone users. The explosion in cell phone usage affects mobile search and website design philosophies that target the smallest of cell phone browsers.


  • Feeding the Masses with RSS
    rss RSS stands for “real simple syndication”, and just as newspapers serve up daily or weekly syndicated columns or comics, RSS syndicates your content for distribution to anyone interested in “subscribing” to your website’s feed.

  • Interactive Websites = Sales
    sexsells_sm We all know the adage, “Sex Sells”, but for websites the rule for all businesses is “Interactivity Sells”. If you can get your visitors to click on anything, you are on your way to winning new customers!


  • PayPal – Functional vs. Professional
    paypal_small If your website generates a lot of visitor traffic but few sales, you need to take a critical look at your website. PayPal integrated shopping carts may send the subtle message that you aren’t quite ready for prime time.

  • Google and the Missing Goosle Eggs
    gooseegg A website’s best gauge of how they are performing on the web is with the Google Search–your site is either at the top, or it is no where to be found. Frequently websites get left in the cold when it comes to getting ranked in Google because of costly mistakes made during initial development. The result? A very dissatisfying position otherwise known as ‘coming up a Goosle-egg.‘.

  • Geographically Speaking
    google-local If your site is absent from the local listings of Google and Yahoo, you are missing the Internet’s version of a Yellow Pagesâ„¢ ad. Now, with Google having made their local listings integrated with Google Maps, customers are not only able to see your listing but also your location posted on their city map.

  • The Skinny on Domain Names
    General rules for making your decisions for buying a domain name (ie. web address, URL, www address) final. There is a misconception on buying all extensions of the same domain name. Learn more on domain name purchasing.

  • The Tie to Web and Print Advertising
    yp Web and print advertising go hand in hand, and should be used effectively to augement one another. Learn more about how online advertising is directly related to the tried and true methods of print advertising.



  • Web Tips for Your Home Page
    whome Whether you are just starting up a business and developing a website simultaneously or you already have a website live for customer readership, all websites can benefit from some basic tips for the home page.