Greetings from Karelia Software!
Great Book for Authors on Building a Website
Building your own website is a big undertaking — fortunately made technically easy by Sandvox, but still a lot of planning is needed. Sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming to just get started. So we were happy to learn about a new book written for authors, called The Author Online. If you have written a book and you think you should create a website to go along with it, this is an indispensable guide to getting started, written by a veteran of the publishing industry. It’s not a technical reference, but a jam-packed collection of advice and ideas in getting online. This book is such a good introduction; we wish books like this existed for every other field to help people get started! If you are a writer, or even if you aren’t but you are looking for a good overview of how to approach the content of a website, you should check out The Author Online.
The author of the book, Annik La Farge, is a big fan of Sandvox and we’re delighted to have teamed up with her to extend a special offer to Sandvox users: the first 50 people who sign up for her newsletter by sending an email will get a free copy of the e-version of The Author Online. Use this form to send your email, and please include the word“Sandvox” in the subject line or the body of the email.
Or, if you’d rather just buy the book now, Annik is offering Sandvox users a 15% discount off the paperback and e-book versions. Just go to this special page to make your purchase.
You can read a sample chapter and find out more about the book at the companion website (built with Sandvox!), TheAuthorOnline.com.
The promotion runs through Tuesday, October 12, so be sure to send your email by 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time on that day. If you’re one of the first 50 people you’ll receive a PDF file within 48 hours of sending your email.
Keyword Research Tips
Every time you go to Google for information, the words or phrases you enter are called keywords. You are then directed to websites that Google recognizes as the most relevant to that search.
If you have your own website, you want your site to be found — that’s a given. One way for you to increase your chances at becoming part of those search results is with the use of keywords throughout your site. But, which ones to use becomes a very important decision.
A terrific — and free — tool that all webmasters should become familiar with is the Google Adwords Keyword Tool.
Even though this feature is geared for PPC (pay per click) ad campaigns, the information is quite useful to anyone writing website content or engaging in other SEO (search engine optimization) techniques that can help with your site ranking, such as submitting articles, posting to Facebook and Twitter, or just trying to acquire more links.
An often-overlooked benefit to this tool is the ability to determine how much competition you have for a given search phrase. Ideally you want to target keywords with a good number of searches and not too many competitors. So, if the number of searches is relatively low but if the number of competitors is even lower, it may actually be a great term to use in your page content. Conversely, if the number of searches is sky high, and the competition is even higher, it is probably wise to go after a different term.
Once you figure out what keywords your website needs, you can use them not just within your content, but in your page titles and other areas of a page like the meta description and file names. You can add these keywords to a Sandvox page using the Page Details area.
Have fun enhancing the keywords on your site!
New Sandvox Designs: Inspire, Team Colors
Go Leopards! Fight Cougars! Win Wolves!
With the new “Team Colors” design from 11Mystics, you can easily build a website to match your favorite team’s color combination . You know how lively school or sports-team colors can be? Orange and Blue? It’s here. Maroon and Gold? Got it covered. Pink and Chartreuse? Well, you have to draw the line somewhere.
With over 20 possibilities, you can really highlight your content. This design is ideal for schools or sports teams. Artists and musicians will really like the spirited feel of “Team Colors” as well!
Head for the 11Mystics website to see if your team’s colors are available; the design pack costs $14.95.
“Inspire” is a brand-new and unique offering from SV Designs with a clean, straight line approach. The ten subtle yet distinctive color selections can really give your message a boost.
Delivery is enhanced by a crisp, centered image. Navigation is simple and horizontal. This is the perfect design for an individual or small business wishing to drive home a message without distraction.
The supplied black and white photo banner is very attention-getting. Or you may prefer to supply your own image. Either way, your site visitors will be impressed with the sharp, professional feel of “Inspire.” Cost is $12 for the package, which includes all color variations.
More Information about Inspire
|
Sandvox Video Training
