Why is Visionary Web pressing so hard for our customers to use social media like Facebook and Twitter to reach their intended audiences? This week in Website Magazine (www.websitemagazine.com) they had an article titled Goodbye Google, Hello Social. We knew from reports that social media was getting big, but this past week Facebook’s traffic was up 250% and Twitter was up 1000% (that’s right a %1000). That translates to less than 20 million visits behind Yahoo! and 30 million behind Google.

What does this mean for the average Internet retailer? Get on the social media bandwagon or be left in the dust. Website Magazine recommends that every serious business should have a presence in the social networking sphere. It also means that early in 2010 Facebook and Twitter will probably pass Yahoo! AND Google for the most visited sites on the net.

If you think social media and establishing a social media presence is going to be a pain, not to worry – there are ways to tie your existing blog with your social media outlets AND tools to help you manage them all from one place. What are you waiting for? Contact Visionary Web today and we can help you decide how social networking could help your business.

260-569-0260
Ask for Sean Flaherty or Mark Sapusek
or email: sales@visionaryweb.com

We have quite a few clients that use blogs on their site. Here are just a few that I’m going to talk about:

Health Positive – http://www.healthpositive.com/blog
Brodbeck Seed – http://www.brodbeckseed.com/blog
Halderman Farm Management – http://www.halderman.com/blog

Health Positive: You’ll notice that a majority of the posts deal with massage therapy which is what Health Positive focuses on in their business. You’ll also see that they tag their posts which is helpful with the search engines because those could be used as search terms. So for example if someone searches for “Massage Business Marketing” then it’s possible that this blog would show up as a search result.

Brodbeck Seed: Brodbeck Seed focuses on Agronomy articles for their blog. Usually an article is posted each month with up to date happenings in the farming world. This information can be helpful/useful to the farming community.

Halderman Farm Management: Halderman focuses on land values, economy, leasing etc. with their blog articles. They also post articles in regards to their auctions as well which is just another way for people to find more information about a particular farm auction.

In conclusion all three of these companies use their blog in a very useful way for their consumers. Their articles can certainly help them with their search engine rankings for particular keywords. If you ever need a blog setup on your site please feel free to contact us @ 877.569.0260

It seems everyone is talking about Social Media or Social Marketing today. So what can you do as a small business owner who doesn’t have time to even keep up on your web site, let alone working on setting up a blog or a Facebook page? Well why not do all three at once?

This idea of writing something once and using it in multiple ways is what the web is all about! These new technologies are supposed to make your life easier not harder!

How do we do this?

Let’s start with our website.

By setting up a blog on your site you can have up to date content that is changed daily or weekly if you prefer. Different people from your organization can add different posts to different categories eliminating the need for only one or a handful of people managing the entire site. Administrators can approve blogs giving them editorial control.

The blog can then be added to the home page or your site or any page you wish providing new, updated content to each page of your site.

So the first step above takes care of two issues at once – keeping your site content up to date and providing a blog for your site.

The next step is to make a Facebook page for your company or a Twitter page for your company. Once this is done you can link your blog directly to both of these allowing your blog to update both!

How is that helpful?

Well now we have a blog that is being edited in one location and is updating itself, your site, your Facebook page AND your Twitter account.

If this is a strategy you would like to employ to update your site and get better results in the search engines and better communication with your customers – give us a call today – 360-569-0260 – we can help!

Over the years SEO has definitely changed on getting to the top in the search engines.

Below are a few of the things that you had to worry about before:
1. Meta tags
2. Links to other websites
3. Title Tags

The above items are still important but there are other things to consider now as well:

1. H1, H2 tags for important keywords
2. Pay per click advertising
3. Keeping content fresh
4. Blogging

These are just a few things to look at when you’re optimizing your site.
Please give us a call @ 877-569-0260 if you need help optimizing your site for the search engines.

Rich Internet Applications. They are the Internet’s inevitable future, but what advanced technology drives this advanced paradigm? JavaScript? No thanks. But this is not the time to escape to a fallout bunker, and hide yourself until the web’s nuclear winter is over. Flex is here, come to save the day.

Don’t get me wrong: JavaScript and Flex have a lot in common. One, JavaScript and Flex run at the client (browser) level. Two, ECMAScript is the basis for both the JavaScript and ActionScript programming languages. Heck, Flex even uses a teeny tiny bit of JavaScript to establish the application’s focus at run-time. But we can’t kid ourselves. JavaScript is not a very good language. There are some major differences between web browsers, particularly between Internet Explorer and, well, every other browser. Flex is just Flex. As long as you have the right version of Flash to support the code, the application will work. JavaScript is not very robust or error-handling friendly. Flash’s builder is a godsend, with everything you’d expect in a true application IDE: syntax checking and debugging tools. JavaScript RIAs use the innovative but wonky (if nothing but the fact that it uses JavaScript) AJAX idea. Flex has built-in support for true WSDL and SOAP support, net connections, HTTP services, and the like. It even gets better with the work of AMFPHP, which is a low load, low complexity juggernaut that makes data connectivity a snap. What would RIAs be without data connectivity? That is what makes them Rich Internet Applications, and not just Rich Applications.

So I encourage all web developers to try working with Flex. Test it out. You may even like it. And perhaps, given time, we never have to hear the words JavaScript and RIA in the same sentence ever again!

We have lately been working with a new programming platform called FLEX. This platform is made available by Adobe and works in conjunction with PHP, Ajax and mySQL to allow the programmer to create visually stunning, interactive sites and services.

I’ll get Scott to talk a little more about these services as he is more versed in them, but if you have an idea for a new feature for your site that requires a lot of form input, or customer interaction a FLEX-built application may be perfect for you.

Contact us today to learn more: 260-569-0260 or online at www.visionaryweb.com

Duffy Electric & Automation, Inc., is a full service commercial electrical and automation services contractor located in North Central Indiana. They also provide panel building, millwright, and machine shop services to their diverse clientèle.

Visionary Web has been Duffy Electric & Automation’s web development partner for nearly five years. Visionary Web created the company’s public website as well as a small employee intranet. Visionary Web provides regular consulting on website additions, search engine optimization, and pay-per-click advertising. Visionary Web’s sister company, Visionary Computers, also provides services to Duffy Electric & Automation.

We are excited to highlight Duffy Electric & Automation has a featured client this month. If you have electrical or automation contracting needs, please be sure to visit their website.

Seven Days to Save The Firehouse! On July 25, 2007 the roof at The Firehouse collapsed. Today kicks off our net campaign to raise funds to rebuild The Firehouse, North Manchester’s premier music venue. I’m donating because I want to see this fantastic place emerge again as a great place for young people, and old people, to experience great music. Please join me. Donate today! http://www.thefirehouse.net

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Visionary Web is currently seeking to hire a full-time Web Programmer. The Web Programmer will work on the web team developing customized projects including: web-based applications, web site enhancements, desktop applications, database-backed websites, and automation of web administration processes. The candidate must have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent. Strong working knowledge of HTML, XML, mySQL, SQL, PHP, VB, and MS Access as well as a strong working knowledge of Windows and Linux platforms is required. Desired skills include strong time management, ability to multi-task, ability to research and stay up to date on current and emerging technologies in the field and the ability to work effectively in a team and independently.

More details can be found on our employment page.