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One of the most important things you can do to help your site get properly indexed in Google is to sign up to Google Webmaster Tools. If you already have an account with Google such as gmail, you need not create a new account.

Once you sign in to Google Webmaster Tools, there you can find all kinds of useful information about your site(s). You will need to do a couple of things first.
1. Enter the URL of your site
2. Verify that you are the webmaster of that site (i.e. you have access to the server where the site resides)
3. Refer Google to your site's sitemap (preferably in XML format)

The first two steps are relatively simple, but the third step is more important than you may think. In the sitemap, you can tell Google:
-    About the pages on your site
-    The page priority of each page
-    How often you change the content on that page
-    The last time a page on your site was modified

These details are very important because they will determine how often your site is crawled by Google and which page is the highest priority.

Below is a sample entry found within an xml sitemap recommended by Google.




http://www.your-site.here.com/
1.00
2008-12-04T20:37:34+00:00
daily




The first part is where you add your URL. Then the priority, 1 being the highest. All others are usually below 1 (i.e. 0.60, 0.75, etc…) The next is the date of the last modification of that URL and finally the frequency that you update this page.

A great place to auto generate a Google recommended xml sitemap is xml-sitemaps.com There you can just enter your URL and generate an xml sitemap. Once you have done this, edit it as you please and upload the sitemap to the server that you site resides and refer to it in your Google Webmaster Tools account.

Viola, you have now verified your site and told Google the pages on your site, their priority and how often they are updated.

During a downturn in the economy or a recession, business are forced to tighten their belts and take a second look at spending. But while other businesses may be suffering, your business doesn't have to be. Here are some tips to get you through the tough times.

Offer A Deal
As a business, try to focus on offering special deals on services that are easy for you to provide. Even if it is not one of your more profitable services, it is still better than nothing at all. Everyone is looking for a good deal, and they're going to get it from somewhere. It might as well be from you.

Invest In Marketing
Invest your precious money wisely by making your business look better than your competition. Although you may be tempted to cut back on all spending, cutting back on your marketing dollars could prove to be detrimental to your business. Divert more spending to marketing to capture any and all potential sales opportunities.

Every Lead is Precious
Treat every lead as an opportunity to make a sale. Even if it doesn't seem like the ideal lead, make the effort to contact them and see if you can make it work. Any business is better than no business.

Add Freebies & Incentives
Offer value added incentives along with your products and services. To entice your potential customers to choose your business, offer them either:

1. Bundled discounts
2. Promotions with a finite end date
3. Freebies if they order x amount
4. Referral incentives

Contact Former Clients
Hit up former clients/customers for referrals. Maybe they know of someone who needs your services. Or check if they are ready to do business with you again. Maybe they forgot your contact info and just needed that extra push.

Make Strategic Partnerships
To maximize your revenue stream, look for other businesses that can compliment your own. If you are a graphic designer, look for local printers that are willing to refer you business. Find like companies that are willing to pass on extra business that they can't handle and vice versa.

Improve Your Business Model
Take advantage of the down time to come up with ways to improve your business model. Take a look at your past projects to see what the pitfalls were and brainstorm ways of improving your project management methods. Working on your project efficiency is a great way to generate more revenue in a shorter time. If you finish projects faster, you will get paid faster. Improve your business model, strategies, and image in preparation for when the economy inevitably returns to its normal, healthy state.

Remember, there are lots of things you can do to improve your business, even during a recession.

Before starting a new website, it is important to take a few things into consideration. Below we have created a list of Do's and Don’ts based on our experience in web design.

Don’t!

Don’t Use Missing or Broken Links

There's nothing more annoying than the dreaded 404 page. Missing and/or broken links will discourage your visitors to return again. Check links frequently to make sure they are working, and repair them if they are missing.

Don’t Use "Under Construction" Pages

Those cheesy animated GIFs of the construction worker are so 1998. Under construction pages discourage your visitors to return again because they leave the impression that your site is incomplete and that your company is unreliable. If you have a page that you are still working on, it is best to remove all links or references to that page until it is ready for the world.

Don’t Clutter Your Pages

Don’t try to jam pack too much on one page. Simple and clean is always best. Websites that overwhelm users with too much content, ads, pictures, etc. are more likely to confuse their visitors and less likely to retain them.

Don’t Assume That Your Visitors Understand Your Business

Don’t assume every visitor has done thorough research on your business and what you offer. Remember that you are the expert and that they are visiting your site because they are looking to be educated about your expertise. Provide illustrations, demos, bulleted lists, glossaries and anything else that will help clarify what it is your business does.

Don't Use Font Sizes and Colors that are Difficult to Read

What if we wrote an entire paragraph using this font size?

Or, what do you think of this color?

Yuck. Enough said.

Do!

Do Update Your Site Frequently

Updating your website frequently is a great way to make your site more interactive. Your visitors will be more likely to visit your site again to see what is new.

Examples of areas to update would be:

• News
• Blogs
• Specials & Deals
• Promotions
• New Products / Services

Do Use Forms

Forms are an easy and quick way for your visitors to contact you and request more information. Try to keep forms simple and short. Here are some instances where forms would work well:

• Contact Form
• Comments & Suggestions
• Request Pricing
• Submit a Testimonial

Do Use Stock Photography

Stock photography can help enrich your website with colorful and vibrant pictures. There are so many sites out there that sell or offer free stock photography. (www.istockphoto.com & www.sxc.hu)

Do Make Sure Your Homepage Clearly States What You Do

Be clear and concise in communicating your type of business to your user on every page, and especially on the home page. It would be a shame if your visitor left because they couldn’t figure out what it is you do.

Do Have a Clear Call To Action

Have a clear and enticing call to action throughout your site. (Examples: Call Now, Order Now, Contact Us Now For a Free Estimate)