- A weblog by InetSolutionBy Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 30, 2007
We're fortunate to have two very experienced database engineers on staff at InetSolution, and we bill a pretty hefty rate for their services. Today a frustrating experience reminded me why the fees people pay for database design are worth for more than the price they usually pay.
Continue reading "A Simple Database Design Decision Can Save (or Cost) Thousands of Dollars" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 27, 2007
For the past eight years, at least one person every year approaches me with what he (or she) thinks is a surefire way to market his website. Today it happened again, and his pitch was nearly identical to the previous 8 to 10 that I've heard. The basic pitch goes like this, "I've got a great idea to drive traffic to our website. We're going to [put up a huge billboard OR send out a postcard OR create a banner ad] with just our website address [insert www.SomeBoringDomain.com here]. People will go to the website just to see what's there. It'll be great!"
The problem is that 99% of the time, the domain name is as memorable as your lunch on June 13th (can't remember what you ate, can you?) and as unique as a white pair of socks. That marketing idea just doesn't work without the right ingredients.
But with the right ingredients, mysterious marketing can work, as evidenced by the brilliant ploy that Frito Lay's marketing group used to make me part with $3.29 that I wasn't planning to spend.
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 21, 2007
Subversion is a slick, easy to learn and use version control system for software developers. One nice feature of Subversion is that it runs equally well on Windows and Unix, and it also works over HTTP & HTTPS, which is great if your development team works offsite often. But setting up HTTPS access and web-based repository viewing via WebSVN can be tricky on Windows, so I’ve documented the steps I use to setup Subversion 1.4 + Apache 2.2 + WebSVN 2.0 on Windows.
Continue reading "How to Setup Subversion + Apache + WebSVN on Windows" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 18, 2007
I worked with a company earlier this year that was managing their own Google Adwords advertising, but getting terrible results. The marketing manager had attended a seminar on internet marketing and came back eager start driving traffic to her company's website. After three months, they had spent a small fortune paying for clicks that delivered a dismal two sales leads. But with one simple change, I cut their ad expenses by over 80% and also increased their conversion ratio six fold.
Continue reading "Use Negative Keywords to Better Target Google Ads" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 18, 2007
Many site owners use Google's Co-Op Custom Search widget to allow visitors to search for content on their website. It works well and it's free, but seeing your competitors' Google Ads in the search results on YOUR website is irritating. Now, for $100 per year, you can eliminate those ads and also customize your search results using Google's Custom Search Business Edition that Google launched yesterday.
Continue reading "CSBE Puts Google's Search Technology On Your Website, with No Ads" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 17, 2007
Holy cow, I just found the coolest software application that is going to save me at least 8 hours each month and immeasurable amounts of aggravation...and it's fun to use, too!
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 16, 2007
High quality photography is one of the key elements that separates professionally designed websites from those that suffer from "the boss's nephew designed it" syndrome. But top notch stock photography from well-known sources like Corbis, Getty and Comstock can cost over $200 per photo. At that price, stock photography can quickly chew up a large chunk of your website design budget. To save money, some companies buy a digital camera and take a DIY approach to photography, which usually results in the obvious "you get what you pay for" look.
Before you power on your digital camera or download a single clipart object, checkout these online stock photo sources that we use to get unique, professional looking stock photos for a few bucks (US $) or less.
Continue reading "Best Cheap (or Free) Stock Photography Sources for Your Website or Blog" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 11, 2007
Yesterday I had lunch with one of my clients and his friend, John. John is a commercial real estate agent broker in Imlay City, Michigan. During lunch, my client asked John why he doesn't have a website. John replied, "What's a website going to do for me? Are people really going to go to my website to find property listings? It seems like a waste of money to me."
John is a smart businessman and has done remarkably well in the real estate industry in and around Imlay City - even without a website - and a website isn't going to suddenly double his business. But I do know that the percentage return on investment he'll earn from this website idea will be greater than any real estate investment that he'll ever make.
Continue reading "just one visitor will pay for this real estate website" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 7, 2007
If you've ever sat through one of my "Writing for the Web" lectures, you've heard these statements:
This advice is equally applicable to offline writing as well, as the following cake mix instructions illustrate.
Continue reading "make each word more valuable on your website" »
By Jason Sherrill
Posted on Jul 2, 2007
The owner of the pizzeria that I frequent told me that business is slow in the summer. He said that it's because people barbecue more in the summer (we're in Michigan, so only dedicated BBQ nuts like me grill year round), so therefore eat less pizza. He said that it's especially slow on Tuesdays.
I asked what he is doing to increase business, and he replied, "Putting inserts in the local Sunday paper and writing daily specials on my board." When I asked if he was using the internet at all, he said, "No, I don't see how it could help me."
I picked up my pizza and thought about his answer all the way home. By the time I bit into my first slice, I had an answer.
Continue reading ""what's for dinner?" could make Tuesday's busy for Jeff" »
Jason - Project Director
Justin - Lead ASP.Net Programmer
Donovan - Creative Director
Mac - ASP.Net Programmer
Larry - ASP Programmer/Requirements Guru
Mosh - ASP.Net Programmer
Paul - Software Architect
Jay - Weekend & Holidays Sys Admin
Karen - Business Development & Client Care
We make business websites profitable. We do it with usable design, solid programming and unique, methodical marketing.
