2008 December | flyte blog: small business web marketing blog

Archive for December, 2008

ProSites – Affordable Web Sites for Small Businesses

Monday, December 22nd, 2008

We don't often promote individual ProSites — our affordable Web sites for small businesses — here at the flyte blog, but every once in a while it's nice to list some of the companies that are now using the ProSites.

Maine Custom Woodlands – A full service timber harvesting, land management and excavation company.
Alan Shaver – Candidate for trustee of the Episcopal Church Pension Fund.
Psychological Associates of Northern Jersey – A multi-disciplinary partnership of mental health professionals in northern NJ.
Business Etiquette Institute – Margie Kelly, a business etiquette consultant.
Reduce My College Costs – A resource-rich Web site for parents of college-bound children looking to save money on tuition.

All of these sites are built on the WordPress platform, allowing our clients to update their Web site without any HTML knowledge or expensive 3rd party software. Just a modern browser is all they need to keep their Web site fresh and smelling like springtime.

Rich Brooks
Small Business Web Sites

Posted in Client News, flyte news, Web Design & Development, Web Site Launches | No Comments »

Portland Motor Club – Climate Controlled Car Storage in Maine

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Today flyte launched a Web site for Portland Motor Club, a climate controlled car storage facility here in Maine.

PMC is a brand new, state-of-art facility with radiant heat with climate and dust control that was specifically designed for car storage. It's also surprisingly green.

For your vehicle there's:

Custom storage preparation services
Engine starting & running service
A full menu of professional reconditioning and detailing services from
a wash to a wax-and-shine to a deep restorative cleaning and custom
care services
Rental of wash/detailing bay with access to our professional cleaning products
Rental of mechanical lift bay with a complete professional automotive tool system
Access
to our automotive mechanic specialists trained and experienced with
working on antiques, muscle cars, exotics and everything in between
In-house professional covered automobile transportation services
Outside car trailer and boat storage

For you there's:

Unlimited key access to the Portland Motor Club member area during business hours
Handsome,
well-appointed lounge with flat-screen TV, cable television, wi-fi,
iPod entertainment and computer station with beverages and snacks
available
Conference/Meeting room scheduled on a first-come/first-served basis (applicable fees for planned
events)
Car club meetings & special automotive events (educational programs, rallies, car shows, etc.)

To be honest, I'm a little jealous of your vehicle.

I took some photos of some cars from a special show PMC put on the other night. You can find all the classic car and muscle car photos here.

If you live or vacation in Maine and you have a car that needs a little extra TLC, Portland Motor Club is the place for you.

Rich Brooks
Maine Web Design

Posted in Web Site Launches | 1 Comment »

Twelve Months of Web Marketing Articles from Flyte

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

It's December, that time of the year where we look back and regurgitate our content rather than create fresh content reflect on what we've said and done.

Like in years past, we've published 12 more issues of flyte log, our monthly Web marketing ezine. If you haven't read all of these posts odds are you aren't my mother (aka my editor.) Here's your chance to catch up:

Looking back on it, social media seems to be the topic of 2008, and I don't expect that to change in 2009. Small businesses will continue to look for low-cost, high-return methods of marketing, and a social media strategy will be the competitive advantage many of them are looking for.

What trends do you expect to see in 2009?

Rich Brooks
Seer

Posted in Entrepreneur & Small Business, flyte news, Web Marketing | 2 Comments »

SEO Web Marketing Reminder

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

Flyte's first Webinar open to the public is tomorrow, Thursday, 12/18/2008, at 1pm EST. The topic is Search Engine Optimization: Rank Higher, Sell More!

Who Should Attend:

Small Business Owners
Marketing Professionals

Experience Level:

Beginner to Intermediate

What You'll Learn:

Understanding of how search engines work and rank your site
How to optimize your site for increased search engine visibility
How to increase the number of quality incoming links

What You'll Need to Participate:

A decent Internet connection
A separate phone line

Cost: $25

To learn more and register, visit flyte's Web Marketing Events page.

See you then!

Rich Brooks
Search Engine Webinarista

Posted in flyte news, Search Engine Marketing | 2 Comments »

Flyte Has Street (View) Cred

Tuesday, December 16th, 2008

A few weeks ago (or so) Google Maps Street View published new photos of southern Maine. This shot of 136 Commercial Street is a little off (we're actually a couple of doors down in the highlighted building) but it's still nice to see our building.

Hey, is that my 4-Runner?

That DiMillo's sign (top right corner) is also featured at the flyte Web site in a night time shot.

Where in the World Is…
Rich Brooks

Posted in flyte news | No Comments »

Setting Up Google Analytics: A Step-by-Step Guide

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Google Analytics is a powerful traffic reporting system that will provide insight on how people find your Web site and how they behave once they get there. It's a required component of any Web marketing strategy.

This post is kind of a how-to of getting Google Analytics setup on your Web site, whether you're a DIYer or you want to provide the necessary snippet of code to your Web developer to keep your update costs down.

Step 1: Get a Google account.

Chances are, you may already have a Google account; if you have a gmail address, you already do. However, you may want to create a new Google account specifically for your Web site, separate from your personal Gmail.

If so, start by visiting http://www.google.com. In the top right corner you should see a Sign In link. Click it.

(more…)

Posted in Analytics | 4 Comments »

The Ice Storm

Sunday, December 14th, 2008

As I write this post it's day 3 of the 2008 ice storm here in Maine and I'm still without power at home. However, the CMP guys tell me our power should be back up within 15 minutes.

Admittedly, it was frustrating to go without power for three days when neighbors across the street, around the corner and behind me all had their power back the same day. However, we were blessed to have good friends who put us up for 3 days and 2 nights. Luckily, our daughters and theirs played like angels the entire time. It was more like an extended slumber party than anything else.

For the grownups, bourbon and beer got us through.

Besides the kindness of friends, the other silver lining was some great photos I got of the ice storm. You can view them in the slideshow below or at Flickr: Ice Storm 2008.

Rich Brooks
Thawing

Posted in Off Topic | 3 Comments »

Search Engine Optimization Webinar

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Every time I post/email/promote that I'll be putting on a seminar here in Maine I invariably get a few people who ask when I'm coming to Buffalo/Dallas/Sri Lanka because they can't make it to Maine.

Well, thanks to the Interwebs, I think I have that problem licked. I'll be putting on my first public Webinar next week. The subject is Search Engine Optimization: Rank Higher, Sell More! I'll be talking about how to improve your organic search engine rankings through onpage optimization techniques and link building.

If your site isn't getting the visibility you're hoping for, then please join me:

Date: Thursday, 12/18/2008
Time: 1pm – 2pm EST
Place: Your Desktop
Cost: $25

There's only 50 "seats" I'm making available, and about a dozen of them were taken before I posted this.

You'll need a decent Internet connection for the video and a phone line for the audio portion of the program. Hope to see you there!

Do you want to learn more about search engine optimization, but that wicked snow storm outside is keeping you house bound? Then I have the perfect solution for you.

I'll be putting on my first public Webinar next week. The subject is Search Engine Optimization: Rank Higher, Sell More! I'll be talking about how to improve your organic search engine rankings through onpage optimization techniques and link building.

If your site isn't getting the visibility you're hoping for, then please join me:

Date: Thursday, 12/18/2008
Time: 1pm – 2pm EST
Place: Your Desktop
Cost: $25

There's only 50 "seats" I'm making available, and about a dozen of them were taken before I posted this.

You'll need a decent Internet connection for the video and a phone line for the audio portion of the program. Hope to see you there!

Rich Brooks
NakedWebinars.com (Coming Soon)

Posted in flyte news, Search Engine Marketing, Web Marketing | 2 Comments »

Muscle Cars and Classic Cars at Portland Motor Club

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008

We're just about ready to launch a Web site for the Portland Motor Club, a classic car storage facility in Portland, Maine. In the meantime, they hosted an event with the Portland Museum of Art showing off a collection of classic cars and sent over an invitation.

I rallied from my sick bed (cough!) and brought my camera down to PMC's brand new building to take some photos. Enjoy! If you have trouble viewing this you can check it out at Flickr, too.

Rich Brooks
Portland Maine Web Design

Posted in Client News | 6 Comments »