Emails are the number one feature used by people who own or work on computers. Even more than surfing the web, email is a simple and effective online tool. The key for small businesses is to maximize how they use emails and e-newsletters–and the first step is to make sure your emails get read.

Email layouts are crucial now. You’re competing with so many other emails that the best way to stand out is to have a brand look that is professional and delivers the message of who you are and what you have to offer–every time.

Using quadrants and columns are a great way to present information that allows your viewers to digest your message in bite-size pieces. But don’t stop there. Images, also referred to as graphic files add a finesse to your email.

Want to use a logo that’s a graphic or a photograph? Turn it into a JPeg, (or JPG), a GIF, or a PNG. These are the easiest graphic files for a computer to store. Be sure to keep your file size down to 50K. Keep your resolution down to 72 dpi–or 300 if your email or e-newsletter will be printed.

Remember not to embed your images in your email as a file or attached file. Why? Because you’ll wind up in junk email folders. Instead, create an image reference line of HTML. Another way to handle this is by using your ESP (email service provider). You can store your images on the server and upload them as needed.

Speaking of HTML, make sure your text is written in HTML, but sent in plain text. Sounds crazy, I’ll give you that, but an email that’s doesn’t have HTML design elements is going to come off stilted–boring and difficult to read. But most emails come in plain text so that various computer speeds can read the emails easily.

The rest is common sense:

Emails and email newsletters are still the best way to reach your viewers. Do all emails get read? We all know the answer to that–but if your email is a pleasure to look at, easy to read, and contains great content, then yours is likely to be marked “read.”

All of us get business emails. Typically, they come in plain text and we convert them so we can read them easier. Colors, images, and text come in place. We orient our eyes and scan the boxes and rectangles that hold bite-size pieces of information. We figure out what the email is about–what they’re offering, teaching, providing–and we do this effortlessly. Within seconds we decide–save the email, click through, order, or delete…

It only takes seconds to scan a good email, and at any time you could lose your audience, or you could glean a connection or a sale. Email layouts make this entire process easier, more efficient, and hopefully more effective.

Ever heard of heat maps? EyeTracking.com, FaceLAB.com, and Eyetools.com are just some of the tools used to track eye movements, pupil size, eyebrow and other facial changes that occur when people view online sites, landing pages, and emails. Major companies have utilized this innovation and have improved their connections and sales dramatically. What these tools have shown is that there’s a pattern to how we view online material, and the basics, such as user-friendly layouts can be used by anyone to optimize their site and increase sales.

Great Email Layouts Include quadrants that make it easy for the reader’s eye to follow.

Viewers usually start in the left hand upper quadrant, then go one of two ways–straight across, or straight down. The bottom right quadrant is always last. So make sure that your most important message or content is in the left upper quadrant.

What makes a viewer go across–or down? It depends on what you have anchored. A good visual is more appealing than text, usually, so if you have something important to say, consider using a graphic to accompany it.

You don’t have to divide your email into exact quadrants. I also get rectangles across the top or down the left side, (so that you are forced to read straight across) as well as other configurations. Figure out which layout you like by checking out other business emails, e-newsletters, and websites. Determine what goes best with your message.

Most important: Get a look, (colors, layout, graphics) a logo, a name, and identifiable contact information and stick with it. This is branding in a nutshell. Make sure that this information is always in your left-upper section/quadrant.

Your next most important task is to deliver something. Let your viewers know what this email, landing page, website is all about. If it’s an email or e-newsletter, make sure it’s in the subject line. Mention it again within the body of the email and make sure it’s near the top where the eyes tend to land. Be clear about what you want them to do–click through, call, learn about a promotion or a sale, inform them of something important to read or know about a product or service update are all important messages you want your viewers to know about.

Make sure you reference the purpose of this email in that left hand quadrant and tell them where to go to retrieve it. Give them a place to click or tell them where this information is listed within the body of the email or on your website. Make it easy for your viewers and don’t bury it in too much text.

These simple techniques make your email, e-newsletter, and even your website viewer friendly. Don’t you enjoy getting an email from a trusted business that you appreciate and respect? When you open that email you know what to expect–quality services or products and helpful information. You trust them to deliver good content again and again. Don’t you want your emails and your website to be anticipated?

It`s normal to try and save money when you are first starting your business, but that doesn`t mean you should cut corners. In fact, some very important areas are going to cost some money, so you`ll need to budget for those right away. Graphic design is one of these necessary costs.

You can save money by going the DIY route with graphic design, or getting a friend of the family to do it cheap. However, chances are you won`t get the best graphics the first time.

It might seem like a good idea to start off cheap with the intention of getting better graphic designs done later on, but this is one area where you really don`t want to skimp. Your logo and any graphics that you have done should be top notch and professional looking, since this is going to be your brand. A poorly done graphic design just points out that you aren`t willing to put everything you have into your business. It looks unprofessional.

Spend the money necessary to perfect your graphic design is well worth it. You`ll be branding your business right from the start.

If you`ve been in business for a while, it might be time to update your logo and other graphic design elements. While it`s a good idea to keep things the same to a certain extent, keep in mind that some graphics can make your business look dated and out of touch.

Updating your graphic design can be done in one of two ways. You can either change everything completely and rebrand your business, or just update the existing look.

Going for a full makeover can be hazardous. While it ensures that you have the chance to choose a great, timeless design this time around, you are also discarding the branding that you`ve worked hard on. However, a simple update might not be enough for some logos. Since graphic design has a huge impact on how we perceive businesses, it`s a good idea to think carefully about this before you make a decision.

Graphic design works to help you brand your business, but making changes to it can cause problems if you end up going with something completely and utterly different.

Setting up a website can be quite costly, unless you learn to do some of it on your own, which many business owners do. After all, there are lots of free website templates on the internet and you can easily upload them to a host and customize the content, right?

While this is true, it is NOT the way to go. In fact, opting for a free template could well be the worst graphic design mistake you`ve ever made.

You see, those templates are free for everyone. That means the same template could easily be used by hundreds of other websites, eliminating any brand recognition you would get from your own graphic design.

It`s far better to invest the money and get a website that a graphic designer has created just for your business. That way, you can promote your brand and keep it strong, without dilutions from other sites.

Do you have a logo for your business? While most offline businesses tend to think of a logo right off the bat, the majority of small internet-based businesses neglect this aspect of marketing. It`s a very important part of branding.

What do you think of when you see the golden arches? Of course, McDonalds . . . that is a symbol that is recognized around the world . . . no sign necessary. What about the swoosh symbol for Nike? Or the leaping cat for Puma? These are logos that have been very successfully used to promote the business behind them and people are recognizing these brands everywhere.

Having a logo will help trigger recognition in your clients` minds. When they see your logo, they`ll instantly think of your services or products. Which is precisely what you want them to think of. A logo is part of the marketing process and it really does help to include this in your graphic design.

I stumbled across this website called www.dontclick.it. Of course, the concept is intriguing, but the thought crossed my mind, How would this concept affect SEO if it were to roll out across the entire Web?

First, the site is designed entirely in Flash. In order for it to do very well in the search engines at all, Flash would have to move beyond its current state of interest and the search engines would need to capability of crawling them. That’s already happening to some degree. But Google would have to to do better than that in order for Flash sites to be indexed the same way that HTML sites are now. That’s for starters.

Another thing that I think would happen if the entire Web looked this way is meta tags would go out of fashion completely. There’d be no need for them. If the search engines could crawl the Flash files and read the text and images for indexing purposes then there’d be no need for meta tags whatsoever. They’d completely disappear.

The most obvious issues related to search engine spiders would be the links. Since we’re talking about mouseover effects inside of Flash, there might be an issue with the search engines being able to crawl those links - at least at their present stage of development. Google has been known, however, to find solutions for its algorithms based on new developments in design so it is not entirely impossible that Google couldn’t figure that out. And what Google does the other search engines are sure to follow.

Still, the biggest downfall of a Flash-dominated Web would be the interlinking. Would webmasters still want to link out using mouseover links? Today, if you want to leave a website to get to another, you have to click a link and that takes a conscious effort. What about if you simply had to mouseover it?

You could make the mouseover require an action like swiveling the mouse in order to activate the link, or add a timer, but each method has some drawbacks. No matter, there would still be some SEO ramifications to any of these solutions. Would link building still have the same effect that it has today?

I realize some of this may be over the heads of readers who are new to the Web development and are still trying to figure out why linking matters at all. But eventually these questions will have to be answered. I see Flash becoming a more important part of the Web, but just how important remains to be seen. And, of course, like any new development, there will be adjustments. But the SEO part of the equation is one that I find intriguing and am somewhat concerned. Does anyone else share that concern?

Here’s an interesting question posed by Marketing Pilgrim. Does Google have a right to give searchers the option to skip intro whenever they are about to visit a sight with a Flash landing page?

I think so. Google has no obligation to webmasters to show their site exactly as the webmaster wishes. Google exists for searchers, not webmasters. And the search engine has said all along that it’s primary mission is to help searchers find information. Webmasters should make it their primary mission to help Google, and the other search engines, do a better job of doing just that. Flash intros impede the information searching game for searchers.

You know what I’m talking about. You search for a certain type of information and find a result on the SERP that looks like it might be what you want. You click the link and you land on a web page that has a Flash intro. It loads slowly. Sometimes you have a “skip intro” option and sometimes you don’t. Webmaster’s choice, right? Sure. Webmaster’s choice. But, what about on the search engine’s search results page?

This is where it gets sticky. Google can do whatever it wants with its own website and since its mission is to help searchers find the information they want, if a skip intro option on the SERP helps the searcher save time and find the HTML version of a page quicker then Google is doing what it set out to do - help the searcher find the information it is looking for.

If you are planning to build a Flash intro into your website, you might want to consider that no one will ever see it. Personally, I think Flash intros are useless. Flash in limited doses is OK, but don’t force your website users to site through a slow-loading Flash intro just because you think it’s cool.

Learn more about website design and development at Small Business Mavericks.

Which Comes First??

The Importance of Website Design

Designing a website that is not only relevant to your market but also optimized for the search engines will lay the foundation for your success. Successful sites on the web today are driven by social media and Web 2.0 platforms; your website must have a few fundamental elements of Web 2.0 design interwoven to the site so that components such as articles, blogs, and video can be shared easily across the major social networks. Without these components, you could be left far behind your competition and fail to reach your target market. In the end, this means lower levels of traffic and infrequent visitors.

A website that is both SEO-friendly and W3C compliant is another important element to keep in mind; if your site isn’t indexable by the search engines, even the most creative website promotion strategy won’t bring you steady traffic for the long-term.

The Importance of Website Promotion

Promoting your website also plays a critical role in website development; with the right strategy and well-designed site in place, you will be able to build steady traffic while increasing brand awareness of your business.

The overall design of the site can help you branch out into different social media networks and develop successful website promotion campaigns. For example, having a simple ‘share this’ feature implemented on your website will enable any user to bookmark your content and share it with their social network. This is a very basic, ‘natural’ form of website promotion that can essentially help you market your site to your target market. Including a discussion forum or a blog where users can post comments is another way to build a high-traffic site; this is another form of marketing as word-of-mouth spreads when users share information and link back to their posts and comments.

Without the appropriate features in place – which are all a part of your web design project - none of this can take place.

How to Proceed with Website Design and Website Promotion

When you’re building a website with new features and custom content, you will need to make sure the content is applicable to your target market’s needs. This is where a strategic marketing plan may be required, and this will then turn into a formal website promotion plan geared specifically to your market.

From the launch stages to tracking your visitors and learning about their behavior on the site, building your site to accommodate for your marketing strategy will help you get the leverage you need to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace – no matter what type of industry you are in.

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Want to protect an image? There’s a new tool online to help you do just that. It’s called TinEye.

TinEye is the first image search. The best application I can think of for this tool for small business owners is to see how your images are being used online. If someone is using your image without authorization and in ways that you don’t approve of then you can stop them from using your trademarks illegally and unethically.

According to their sales page, TinEye uses image identification technology and pattern recognition algorithms to see if images have been modified. So if someone takes your original artwork and modifies it for their own use without paying you for the privilege, you’ll know about it. Other uses of this technology include:

• The ability to research corporate brands and products
• To see how others have used a particular public domain photo so that you don’t duplicate them
• Research the use of stock photos online
• See how images you know have been modified

I’ve got to hand it to the folks at TinEye for coming up with a unique and creative idea in image search. If this tool works better than Google Images then I can see partnership coming. Image search online needs some improvement.