Zahava Group, Inc. a San Diego based international trade and product distribution company recently hired Canopy Marketing to develop a website to promote its business. The website, developed in both Spanish and English is targeting poultry, cheese and deli product distributors as well as grocery store chains in the United States, Mexico and Central America.
Canopy Marketing Blog
December 7, 2009
Parkllan Electric Company launches new website
Parkllan Electric Company, a San Diego based electrical contractor, hired Canopy Marketing to develop a new website for the company. Owner Jeff Parkllan wanted a website that reflected his personality and drew new business contacts through internet search queries.
Casper Development Resources offers ADA compliance reviews
Canopy Marketing is proud to unveil the new website for Casper Development Resources, Inc. Casper Development offers site surveys for businesses seeking to comply with Title 24 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In addition, owner Neal Casper, also offers plan check services, site accessibility surveys, expert witness services and construction management.
Canopy Marketing launches website for Cura Orphanage
We are proud to announce the launch of a website for Cura Orphanage in Kenya, Africa. Cura Orphanage offers a loving home for children who have lost their parents to AIDS. The Home has room for up to 150 children and is currently seeking sponsors to help fund the care and education of children in need.
Cura….where hope has a place to grow.
June 9, 2009
How to keep your email from landing in the Spam box
Email newsletters are an excellent way to connect with your customers or potential customers. But, we all know that our email boxes are crammed with email marketing. There are a variety of spam checkers and filters that stand in the way of your email newsletter and your customers In Box.
So, keep a few tips in mind to make sure your email newsletter gets to your client and hits the mark.
Avoid having your email newsletter labeled as spam….and miss your client’s In Box.
Here’s what NOT to do:
Don’t use ALL CAPS in the subject line or in the text of your email
Don’t use “trigger words”
· These include: free, trial, money, quote, sample, membership, access, sex, spam, $$$, checks, money orders, extra income.
· Even seemingly harmless words like search engine listings, cable converter, and reverses-aging can penalize your email. Be careful when picking your message title.
Don’t use excessive punctuation (!!!)
Instead, use “good triggers” and prove that your email is a real, justifiable email.
Here’s what TO do:
Use the words News, Newsletter or List in your subject line
Indicate your publishing frequency in the subject line (Weekly, Daily, Monthly)
Include the date of the newsletter in the subject line
Include the Issue Number in the subject line
With these simple guidelines you’ll have a better shot at getting your email where you want it….getting the attention of your client.
May 19, 2009
How important is your logo?
The days are gone when we just hung up our sign on the door and customers showed up. With today’s global market, tight competition and a shrinking dollar, an effective logo is one of the most critical components of your brand.
Consider this:
Your logo may be the only impression you get to make on a potential customer. Image is everything and time is short. A good logo conveys the essense of your business — it either draws the interest of your customer…or it doesn’t.
Awareness and familiarity are key ways to grow your business. Your logo helps with both of these. All your branding efforts should be based on your logo, and your logo dictates the design of your sales tools. For better or worse. A poorly designed logo can’t leverage you for success.
Your logo should reflect your company in a unique and honest way. It’s ok to be clever, but not at the expense of being clear. It’s your shot to set your business apart, and it may be the sole reason someone chooses to do business with your company.
A quality logo should last at least 10 years and will set the tone for all your marketing efforts.
What does a custom website cost?
These days a website is critical to effectively marketing your business. What makes a good website? What does a custom website cost to develop and launch? And what’s the difference between a custom site and setting up a site on your own?
A good website should address three key areas:
Content: an effective website has compelling content that provides a call to action that is clear and meaningful to your target audience. What are you trying to get them to do when they visit your site? Buy your product? Call you for a consultation? You need to be clear on what you are trying to accomplish so your site can be set up to call for that action.
Design: There’s an old rule that you only have about four seconds to draw someone into your site. More recent research shows that most web visitors are at your site because they are already looking for something specific, so they may be a little more willing than we used to believe to slog through a site to find that golden nugget of info — but not too patient!
Your site design needs to pull them in, engage them and set the tone for the experience you want them to have. Do not underestimate quality site design. This is what sets apart a ho-hum site and a site that grabs attention.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): There is really no point in spending the time and money on a new website if the search engines can’t find it and catalog it. Proper SEO begins at the very first step of developing your website. The way a site is programmed/coded makes ALL the difference in how the search engines read it and catalog your information. You can have a great looking site that is invisible to the search engines because of the way it is programmed. Understanding this is key to a website that lands in the top three pages of someone’s search query.
Really, it’s the three reasons above that set custom designed websites apart from the template based sites that people put up on the web when they are in a “do-it-yourself” mode. Yes, it costs less money to put together your own website. But I call that putting good money after bad design. Even cheap is a rip off if it does not accomplish your marketing goals.
Custom designed sites take into account design, content and programming to develop a website that meets marketing goals and can stand up to the intense competition on the web.
Cost
The cost of a custom site depends primarily on what functions you need the site to have. Do you want a shopping cart or ecommerce function? Do you want a blog connected to your site? How important is SEO?
At Canopy Marketing we provide a detailed cost estimate for every project, outlining the goals and metrics of success for each project. We give you multiple options to consider as you plan your web marketing.
A custom website generally starts in the range of $3500. This includes a graphic designer developing an original design for your website. It also includes content development and the programming of a tableless HTML site. And all of our sites include basic SEO practices, which includes submission to the search engines, page descriptions and titles and the coding of content so that it is heirarchal (this means the search engines can tell what information is most important on the page).
So, yes, you can set up a site on your own for less money. And you can probably find a company to develop a site for you for less. But with good website development, you get what you pay for.Will a cookie-cutter template that your purchase on-line address the three areas key to the success of a website? And will a low-priced company offer you original design, assistance with content and attention to SEO?
We understand a quality website is an investment for your company. We’ll make sure you get the return on your investment that you deserve.
May 11, 2009
Field of Dreams — You get what you pay for
In the world of Internet marketing and website development the range of services and the level of quality behind those services can be totally baffling to a business owner attempting to increase her business through the Internet.
In my conversations with clients I often have the opportunity to speak to this issue. Whether it’s an online service offering logo development for $99 or the ploy that tells the consumer they can build their own website fast and cheap, there are many online companies who over promise and under deliver.
For a long time I considered these folks my competition, but I have come to understand that they are not. You really do get what you pay for, and if you want a logo that casts a vision for your company or a website that actually causes a targeted response, then looking for the best “deal” is throwing good money after bad marketing.
Once I got over being uncomfortable when someone compared my pricing to the latest Internet deal, something opened up for me. Hey, I love a good price, too. And what I do know for sure about Canopy Marketing and the services we provide is that we are, in fact, low priced when truly compared to a marketing firm of equal stature and experience.
But a good deal really shouldn’t be about price. When marketing your company and attempting to grow your market share, it is important to put what marketing resources you do have in play to make the most impact for your money.
We’ve been in business since 1996 and we are here to stay. Our relationships are for the long term, and that means we want to provide not only value but quality. We stake our reputation on it.
I heard about a printer that posted a sign in his place of business that said:
1. Price
2. Service
3. Quality
Pick Two.
Kind of sobering, but after my years in the business I find it can be true. If you are picking your marketing agency on price alone, you will probably suffer for service and quality.
What makes the most sense to me is to weigh price, while considering the quality of the work performed and the level of service you expect. We always work to provide the lowest price possible, without compromising quality. And we don’t compromise service — ever.
Next time: What does it cost to develop a website?
