4 Steps to Choose the Best Keywords

We all know by now how important it is to have a website on the World Wide Web, but if you don't properly optimize your website, it will be next to impossible for people to find you simply by using search engines, such as Google or Yahoo. You may have the best looking website, but if no one is finding you on the Internet, you probably will not get the success that you want for your website.

You want to make sure that you optimize your website so that search engines can find you easily and let's face it, we all want to be ranked first on the search engine pages. So, how do search engines rank you? Search engines scan keywords and phrases in order to rank you, so in order for your website to rank higher over time in the search engines and attract more people to your website, you need to know the basics of using keywords on your web site.

Here are steps to take:

1. Step One: Take out a sheet of paper and make a list of at least 20 words and phrases relevant to your business and what information that you have on your website. You may not be using all of the words on your list, but it will give you a great starting point to narrowing your list to give you the best search engine optimization results. Tip: be specific! For example, let's say that you are the owner of a French-style bakery in San Diego, California. If you use "French bakery" as a key phrase in your website source code, you may never be found within all of the other websites related to French bakeries. If someone searches "French bakery," they will get over a million results. However, someone looking for a French-style bakery in San Diego, California may get a couple hundred thousand. This is still a lot of results, but you see my point. The more specific you are, the more likely your ideal cli... Cont. Article

Copyright 2009 - Lisa Hromada - lhcreativeidstudio.com - All Rights Reserved

How to Build a Stronger Brand By Understanding Generations

One of the essential elements to building a strong brand for your business is to understand the unique characteristics of your ideal client. In order to truly understand what your ideal clients value and what their concerns are, you must conduct some in-depth research into what they like, what they look for in a brand, how they make buying decisions, and much more. Understanding the different generations, how they think and what concerns them is a great place to start. It can help you find creative ways to communicate with your ideal clients on a personal and emotional level.

When you know the attributes of your ideal clients, you are better able to find them, reach out to them on their level, and provide them with quality services and desirable products.

The following provides you with a start to understanding the different generations:

Generation Baby Boomer
Baby boomers were born approximately between 1946 and 1964. This is a generation of hard workers and they believe that hard work pays off. Baby boomers lived through the women’s rights and civil rights movements, and they were determined to live the “American Dream.” They have a different mentality than generation X and generation Y, which at times frustrates them because baby boomers think differently and have had more years lived and lessons learned. Because baby boomers received much of their identity from praise and most of the praise came from work, it is important for them to be acknowledged for their hard work and where they are today.

Generation X
Generation Xers were born approximately between 1965 and 1978. They saw all of the mistakes that the baby boomers made and they are determined to fix them and not make the same mistakes. They are the generation known as the latchkey kids; they were left home alone to take care of themselves because both of their parents (or their single parent) were forced to work and make money for the family. They contemplate family life wisely and with caution due to growing up in a society of high divorce rates. They desire a healthy balance of work and life.

Generation Y
Generation Yers were born approximately between 1979 and 2001. These are the children of the young baby boomers. This generation behaves much more grown up at their young age than previous generations. They are often thought of as the generation with high self esteem with no experience to back it up. With guidance, this generation has the potential to make a powerful and positive impact on the world. They believe in giving and finding better ways to live one’s life.

As you can see, each generation thinks and values things differently. By understanding how your ideal clients think, feel, and what they value will make a significant difference when it comes to building and developing your brand.



Copyright 2009 Lisa Hromada lhcreativeidstudio.com - All Rights Reserved

The Power of Balance in Work, Life, and Design

Balance in Work and Life

For most women entrepreneurs, juggling the demands of career, family and personal life is their number one challenge. Often feelings of overwhelm arise when trying to strike a balance. To avoid these feelings, it is best to prioritize the activities that are the most important to you.

Here are some ideas and methods that have helped me and can help you find balance:

1. Keep a log. In an effort to avoid overwhelm, I began to track everything I do for one week, both work-related and family-related. I then decided what is necessary and what I can eliminate to have more time for more things that satisfy me.
   
2. Separate work time from personal time. Though it may not always be easy in today’s technologically driven community, turn off your work-related cell phone and any other devices when you make time to spend with your family, yourself, or your friends. Give yourself (and others) a break from being obligated to immediately respond on your ‘off-hours.’ 
   

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Balance in Design

Having balance in life makes us feel good. It is the same for design. When designers incorporate different elements on a page in evenly balanced layouts, it makes the viewer feel more comfortable, at ease, and less confused. All designs have specific basic elements to convey a certain message beyond the individual words and graphics that are placed on the page. How these elements are placed on the page determines how our eye moves around the page as well as how immediately we get and understand the intended message.

Balance in design works throughout all kinds of brand materials:

Logos

Business cards

Letterhead

Advertisements

Fact Sheets

Brochures

Books

Newsletters

Press Releases

Websites

and more...

First, What is Balance in Design?

Visual balance comes from arranging elements on a page with the purpose of not having any one section of the page be too heavy visually. At times, designers intentionally place elements on a page to create a visual imbalance to express a certain mood or emotion.

Basic principles of balance in design encompass 4 main principles:

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Copyright 2009 - Lisa Hromada - ID Studio - All Rights Reserved