87 Octane gas is a commodity. No matter where you purchase it. It is offered per gallon at about a 5-cent range within a given area. Some fuel marketers may feel that they can charge an extra cent or two per gallon based on other incentives such as a preferred location or cleanliness of the store. However, no matter where you get your gas, it is essentially the same gas you can get at any convenient store or gas stop.

Cars are not a commodity. A Kia Sephia will never sell for the same price as a Lamborghini. Why? Let me list some reasons: performance, features, reliability, luxury, brand recognition, just to name a few.

Boost ROI with a Customized Online Marketing Plan

For the same reasons, online marketing is NOT a commodity. Business owners often tell me, “Oh yeah, we have SEO .” “We do social media.” “…and we got it at a good rate” or “much cheaper.” Savvy business marketers know that the important number to focus on is ROI. How much money did your online marketing investment make your company in terms of business results (PROFIT)?

Don’t invest in online marketing as if it’s a product on the shelf to check off your marketing shopping list. Be sure that your online marketing plan  is customized to your business’ unique goals. Measure the effectiveness of your online marketing efforts. Ensure that you’re getting a return on your investment that justifies your efforts. Not all online marketing is created equal.

Learn how an online marketing plan from Xcellimark can help you get a return on your business investment. Contact us today.

How One Orlando Business is Using Twitter to Entice Customers

A couple of weeks ago after work, my friend and I decided to hit up @SeitoSushi for Happy Hour before heading over to the grand opening of Pinkberry in Orlando . I wanted to see what kinds of rolls were on the Happy Hour menu but when I went to the website, all I could find were the lunch and dinner menus.

My best friend did a quick search and sent me this status update where Seito Sushi  had responded to someone else who had asked about their Happy Hour.

Inspired by how they responded to one of their followers, I sent my own Tweet to them hours before meeting my friend:

They promptly responded back with:

It’s that kind of customer engagement that makes Twitter an invaluable tool for businesses, in particular restaurants. I am now following @SeitoSushi so I can stay up to date on their specials/promotions and ask questions about items on their menu.

But My Twitter Story Does Not End There

Ichiban , another local sushi restaurant was also silently listening to the online conversation and it looks like they had their Twitter feelers out for the keyword “sushi” and “Orlando” when they saw my Tweet:

But that was just their opening line to inquire more into my sushi whereabouts and tastes:

I knew where this conversation was going since I work in the industry but it was interesting to see how they would continue to engage me online. After one or two Tweets back and forth they Tweeted their call to action:

How You can Use Twitter To Market Your Business

Not a restaurant? No problem! You can still get some great benefits and possible leads from using Twitter. Use your status updates to alert followers about your most recent blog posts, company news, industry tips/trends and of course retweets from others in the Twitter community whose advice you find invaluable. You never know who is out there listening for your brand-name and Twitter can be the first-step towards a life-long business relationship.

Online success is becoming a key driver of business growth in today’s environment.

However, there are many challenges that businesses face when implementing and managing an effective Internet business strategy and plan.

The Most Common Challenges to Online Business Success Today are:

• Obtaining an acceptable ROI for your Web marketing efforts.
• Differentiating your business online from your competitors or other competing interests.
• Determining the most effective means and methods of communicating online to your target audience.
• Establishing credibility and presenting a compelling image online.
• Providing continuous resources (time, money, people) to your online initiatives.
• Effectively identifying and then managing different Internet service suppliers, many with competing interests and conflicting strategies, to deliver the tactical elements to a desired holistic online plan.
• Integrating your online experience with your off-line operations of the organization.

These “challenges” need to be an integral part of your Internet business plan and continually managed for ongoing success. For many organizations, that means getting the help you need to really succeed in the online space.

Help Is Available to Manage Your Online Marketing Efforts

Most companies hire accountants to handle their accounting and tax issues and lawyers to handle their legal issues. In the same way, Interactive Agencies like Xcellimark are designed to provide you with the help you need to receive the highest ROI on your marketing efforts while establishing and maintaining a compelling image online.

Contact Xcellimark today  to find out how you can benefit from the help of a professional in the online space. You make back your investment many times over when your online marketing efforts are handled by professionals who have the experience to know the market, technology, and best practices to provide you with the greatest success.

If you’ve been thinking about whether or not to start a blog for your company, there are quite a few things to take into consideration. Two of the most important considerations, in my humble opinion, are these:

Commitment for Consistency

Can you commit the time for at least one blog post per week and work your way up to two or three? Consistency is one of the keys to blogging success, so it’s better not to start a blog unless you can devote the time to keep it going on a consistent basis.

Nothing looks worse than starting to read a blog that seems interesting only to realize it was posted two years ago and the blog hasn’t been updated since then. This is definitely something you want to avoid. So think about your commitment to be consistent with your posts before you launch your blog.

Making Sure the Right Person or Persons are Blogging

Can you or someone in your company be the designated blogger? Choosing who will write is paramount since this person will basically represent your company. One trend many companies employ is having several people within the company write about various aspects of the business.

This is a great plan since it doesn’t over tax one person. If you have 4 people who can write and have something interesting to say, you can cover your blog for a month and each person is responsible for writing only one post per week. Additionally, there should be a plan in place for someone to be in charge of making sure the blog is updated consistently, especially if multiple writers are involved.

Take a Long-Term Approach

Blogging is a fantastic opportunity for you to promote your company, products or services, but taking a long-term approach is the smartest plan. Just as it is with most business strategies, making sure you have the manpower and the time to make a strong commitment is the best plan for success.

There are many steps that make up the web design process and often times the jargon that goes along with it isn’t what you’d normally hear on a daily basis. It’s important that the client and designer communicate clearly in terms that both can understand.

Here is a quick primer on a few common words that you might come across.

1. Wireframe – A wireframe is a basic visual guide to suggest the structure and layout of a website. Key elements of a web page are arranged as they might appear in the final site design. These areas of a wireframe are often represented by a hand sketch or may be a digital file with several boxes laid out in a grid format. Wireframes are generally free of any image graphics or other artwork. The purpose of this step in the design process is to make sense of the content and goals of the web page. Here are a couple of wireframe examples:
   
   
   
   
2. Sitemap – A sitemap’s job is to identify the key pages in a website. In addition to calling out specific links in a global navigation, the sitemap may also show a secondary nav system or even list out links to external sites. Here is a simple example:
   
   
3. Mock-up or Comp – Mock-ups or comps are used early in the design process to get feedback from clients on design ideas and direction for their site. It is a simulation of the layout and graphical elements and is usually presented as a flat image. The mock-up or comp is produced and reviewed before any HTML prototyping is done.
4. Development Site – While a website is being programmed, it may be hosted at a temporary web address. This allows for the creation, testing, and review of a site to be done out of the eye of the general public.
5. Content Management System or CMS – A Content Management System is a tool for clients to update the content of their website  without needing the additional help from a programmer or design professional. Clients can easily make changes to text, add and delete web pages, and upload photos to their site all within a familiar interface that resembles a word processing application such as Microsoft Word.

There are lots of other components to a project that may come with their share of industry terms. The key is that they’re used in a way that not only explains their meaning but lets you, the client, know what to expect during the project lifecycle.

It’s Friday night and you’re ready for a nice relaxing weekend with only two questions in mind: What do I do? Where do I go?

Maybe you finally want to try that barbeque place you’ve heard your friends talk about or maybe you want to go racing with some serious go-cart action.

But how do you find the places closest to you or the best places to go?

Local Listings Help Searchers Find Local Businesses

The solution is simple - “Local Search listings.” With a local search  listing, you can find restaurants, go-cart tracks, eye doctors, and even where to get your shoes repaired.

A local search listing is a comprehensive business listing that business owners control.

Reviews Help Businesses and Searchers Alike

The local listing also links in reviews from consumer review sites so searchers can read other people’s recommendations or warnings about a business or service.

Reviews are critical to the success of not only the local listing itself but they also determine whether people choose to do business with a company or not. If a business gets lots of positive reviews, then more and more people will want to do business with that company. Therefore it’s important to have a strategy to help build your online reviews.

Professional Help Makes All the Difference

There are many things that businesses need to do correctly to get the most out of your local listing. Simply claiming your listing is not enough.

As more and more businesses realize the importance of their local listing, it will become more difficult to show up in the “local pack”.

And just like SEO was once thought to be a simple thing to accomplish (not so anymore), your local listing is not something that should be left to chance.

If you are not increasing your business success in the local community through local search listings, contact Xcellimark  to find out how our comprehensive Local Search program can help.

We might have all heard the saying, “It’s not about where you’ve been; it’s about where you’re going.” It points out the importance of our future and what we’re doing to get there, compared to the significance of our past.

But what is more important in the world of online marketing? What would you rather know about those visiting your website? Do you know how they’re finding your website? Do you know what they’re doing once they’ve discovered your brand online?

I admit, it’s a trick question. The answer is that BOTH are important: where people are coming from and what they do once they’ve engaged your brand/website online. To be able to decipher these behaviors, the installation of analytical  tools and diligent monitoring of these metrics are required. This allows online marketers to make educated decisions on how they can better increase their site traffic and increase conversion rates  for those that do visit their website.

Once you answer questions like these….

1. How did people find my website?
2. What did they do once they came to my website?
3. How long did they stay or how many pages did they view?
4. How far down the purchase path did they pursue?
5. Where are they abandoning my website?

You will be able to answer questions like these….

1. What keyphrases should I target in my SEO and PPC effort?
2. How can I better optimize my conversion path?
3. Is my landing page effectively communicating my value proposition?
4. Am I attracting the right audience?
5. Is my messaging appropriate for those finding my site?

Xcellimark can help you find answers to all these questions. Let us know how we can help you.

Image is a fuzzy term. It means different things to different people. Your online image is driven by buyer behavior. Buyer behavior is deeply rooted in:

• Internal or psychological factors such as personality, attitudes, and lifestyle.
• Personal or demographic factors and social factors such as friends, family, opinion leaders, etc.
• External factors such as marketing. 

There was an interesting study done a few years back that outlined the elements that make up a customer’s buying decision. Their research outlined the most critical elements customers evaluate in order to decide who to buy from.
The elements were:

• Price
• Product Quality
• Service Quality
• Image

What they found was very interesting. It is somewhat easy to compare price between vendors. Yes it may take some work in order to compare “apples to apples”, but it is a rather straightforward process.

The difficulty comes when a potential customer is trying to evaluate Product Quality and Service Quality. If they are not a prior customer of a business, then they do not have experience to draw from in order to make an informed decision of Product Quality and Service Quality. Every vendor says they have great products and services.

So what do prospective customers do?

They use Image as a substitute for making a decision on a company’s Product Quality and Service Quality.

In other words, your Image is the determining factor for Product Quality and Service Quality for your prospective customers.

There are books that go into great detail on Image and Image-related topics such as branding and buyer behavior. I will not go completely into that here other than to give you a little deeper perspective on how elevating your brand impacts your business .

Online Image and the Effects it Has on Your Business

The study suggests that if your website looks cheap, potential buyers will think your products and services are cheap, have low value, and are low quality. If your website is difficult to navigate, people think that you will be difficult to do business with. If there are errors or content missing on your website, perspective clients will think you will not deliver a working product or service.

Your online image is primarily delivered by your website and the resulting experience. Over 70% of people will review a company’s website before they make a purchase decision. In fact, I read where over 80% of all people will visit a church’s website before they visit a church.

Your Website Image is Important

There are many reasons why you have the website you have – money, vendor’s capability, your personal preferences, etc.

Many businesses develop a website that they like, but it is not driven by the Image that your prospective customers are looking for. How do you stack up against your top online competitors? What kind of online experiences is your website delivering versus your online competitors or even other market leaders? 

Sometimes the evaluation bar of Image is not set by your competitors. It is often set by your prospective customers’ experiences in other online markets or providers.

Maybe your online market is lagging other industry leaders. You should always stay abreast of the online trends and experiences. If you have evaluated your website closely in the last 2-3 years, you are going to be shocked. Much has changed while you were asleep online. But the good news is that you can wake up your website with an online image makeover. Contact Xcellimark  to find out how.

In Part 1   of this blog post, I talked about why setting specific goals is important to the success of your blog. The second part of this article will help you determine what those goals are.

A Brainstorming Session Is a Great Place to Begin

Gather everyone together who will be involved in the blogging process and throw your ideas around to see what emerges.

Ask relevant questions  to help determine your goals and establish your reasons for wanting to begin a blog.

• Do you want your blog to attract visitors who might become future clients to your site? Who are they?
• Are you trying to connect to other businesses in your industry? Who are they?
• Is it important that your blog increase your presence on the Web in your industry? Why?
• How often can you post a blog article and can you be consistent? This is an important goal. Start with at least one blog post each week and then re-establish this goal as you can increase the number consistently.
• Who is the best person (or the best people) to represent your company in your blog? Start with one or two and then try to include others in writing, which can also increase your weekly number of blog posts.
• How will you track your success? Setting a goal is one thing, knowing when you reach it is just as important.

Watch The Future of Your Blog Come to Life

As your group brainstorms, you will begin to see the future of your blog materialize and you will have a definite starting point – very important! As the weeks roll by and your blog becomes more and more a part of your company’s presence on the Internet, hopefully your ideas will continue to emerge. Keep setting new goals as you grow your blog.

If you can gain interaction with others in your industry, your blog will not only be helpful to your business, you will be helpful to others as well – this is called community and it is one of the most rewarding elements of blogging. 

So you’ve decided you want to create a company blog. Fantastic! The next step is to figure out exactly how to get your blog going to make it worthwhile and valuable for your company.

Initially, it is important to evaluate what blogging can do for your business and determine how you want to approach the whole idea of your blog.

Specific Goals Are Important for Successful Blog

Sometimes I think we have goals (or ideas) in our minds when we start a new project or task, but, for me, unless I make a tangible plan, I don’t always realize whether I am accomplishing enough. Fleshing out our ideas can turn into quality goals and help guide our way into any new adventure.

The more I’ve learned about blogging and the more I read what others have to say about blogging, the more I realize you need to have very specific goals for your blogs if you want them to be successful. Without understanding what you want to accomplish, it will be very hard to determine what to write about in a blog.

Visit us again on Thursday to learn more about setting goals for your company blog in Part 2 .

We all love pictures. Some of us would rather take them than be in them, but I think we could all agree that the world would be duller without images. 

Today, the internet makes it so easy to share photos. From social media applications like Facebook and Twitter, to personal and corporate websites and blogs, the use of images is commonplace. Often times what’s a little trickier is finding creative ways to make them really shine.

Many times our images are not ready to be used as is, and some level of editing is required before uploading them to a web page. They may need to be resized, cropped, rotated, or you may even want to fancy them up a bit by adding a nice border, text or color effect.

There are tons of fantastic programs available to achieve all ranges of editing. Of course, many of them come with an equally hefty price tag too. If you don’t have the resources or need to invest in a full blown professional application like Adobe Photoshop there are other options out there and many that are free.

Today I’m going to introduce you to Picnik.com.

What is Picnik?

Picnik is a snazzy and easy, yet powerful tool to fix up and edit photographs. It’s free to use (although Premium accounts are also available) and best of all it’s done entirely online in your web browser. That means there isn’t any large program that you have to download to your computer and figure out how to set up. You pretty much just upload your picture and start getting creative!

You can upload from your computer, test drive a demo image from their site, or you can open an image you already have uploaded from several social networking sites such as Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook, and more!

Here are some of the features Picnik boasts:

• Fix your photos in just one click
• Use advanced controls to fine-tune your results
• Crop, resize, and rotate in real-time
• Tons of special effects, from artsy to fun
• Astoundingly fast, right in your browser
• Awesome fonts and top-quality type tool
• Basketfuls of shapes from hand-picked designers
• Works on Mac, Windows, and Linux
• No download required, nothing to install

Whether you just want to crop an image, or make an entire collage for the web or to print, Picnik makes it easy and fun to do. Tweaking your photos will help ensure your images are looking their best. Then all you have to do is share your creative masterpiece with the world by adding them to your website.

If you’ve been looking for a way to spice up some old photos, I’d encourage you to check Picnik out. It truly is photo editing awesomeness!

What if this country was not in a recession? Would you still be on a budget?

What if healthy food was affordable? Would you still eat off of the value menu?

What if life was about choosing door #1 or door #2?

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

In every decision of your life, you will come to a crossroad where you are presented with various options - some are good and some are bad. And with every decision comes consequences that shape your future decisions and ultimately the path in life you’ll take. My Dad always told me that “A bad decision is better than no decision” because you can learn from bad decisions. I try to keep the bad decisions to a minimum.

Just as in life, your business is the cumulative efforts of the decisions you made and how much effort you put into it. What kind of decision have you made about advertising your company? Are you getting any online exposure? 

Find the Right Internet Marketing Path for Your Business

I’m not going to bore you with statistics about what percentage of consumers start the buying process online nowadays but, what if you decided you wanted to increase revenue and get a piece of the online business pie? Wouldn’t you want to know the best way to get it done?

You’ve worked hard to build a quality reputation in your community over the years. Is it worth trusting a novice to build your company’s website for pennies on the dollar only to need it fixed a few weeks later? I think not!

Just as your company is composed of people with diverse talents that have kept your company thriving since its inception, you need the right people in your corner to market your business online. 

Xcellimark works with all clients on an individual basis to provide custom web-based solutions  that will fit your needs and goals.  Contact us  today to see how we can help you make the right decisions for your business.

You’d be surprised by how many businesses don’t have an answer for that question. Or maybe they do, but it’s not a good one. For instance, “Impressing people” is not a business goal for having a website.

A friend asked me to check out a new website for her high-end salon. They wanted to show me how cool it was. It had all the bells and whistles: smooth, flashy transitions, custom photography, the latest fonts, and hip music. The design was interactive and clever. To be honest, it was a lot of fun to navigate. I was impressed.

She explained that the website cost over $15K to create. I suddenly thought to myself, “Wow, they must have big plans for the website in terms of growing their customer base and increasing profits.” But when I clicked on the link within the website to make an appointment to get my haircut, the interface was cumbersome and I soon gave up.

To make things worse, I noticed that when I clicked the link to make an appointment online, I was redirected to an entirely different website. I was confused.

Days later, I tried to find the salon’s new website again. But when searching the salon’s name in Google, I noticed that their Google Local listing had the wrong URL and was directing people to an inactive web domain. People could not find this $15K website, and when they did, they could not easily become a customer of the salon. What was the goal of the website?

Do you have a clear, specific business goal for your company’s website? Are you achieving that goal? If not, contact Xcellimark today for a FREE, no-obligation consultation to help .

Everyone needs some type of Internet Strategy and Plan. Typically businesses skip right to a shopping list that looks something like: develop a website, find a hosting company, set up email and maybe some vague notion of being found in the search engines. Done, right?

Not quite. Detailed Internet planning is a migraine waiting to happen for a Type A Driver personality. In fact, just about every type of personality, with the exception of an analytical, would as soon go to the dentist for a root canal than to take the time to do a little bit of analysis and planning.

It doesn’t have to be an award-winning three year business plan. But you should address the following areas at the basic level:

• Define Your Goals and Objectives – You must define a measurable goal or set of objectives that serve a primary business function such as sales revenue, subscriptions, lead generation, cost savings, service improvement, etc.
• Define Your Target Online Market –Define your primary target customer’s demographic profile or business type, primary needs, how they make decisions, where they are located geographically, and how many people or businesses fall into this profile.
• Define Your Online Competitive Market – Define your top competitors online. This may be different than who you traditionally face on the street. What are their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, etc.? Define their value proposition if they have one, any incentives or promotions they are running, and conduct a thorough website analysis on at least your top two online competitors.
• Define your Value Proposition – This may be the hardest thing you do. Why should someone do business with you over your competitors? You need to be able to communicate this in two versions – one that is less than 250 words and another that is one sentence, maybe two at the most.
• Develop An Incentive – You need to inspire someone to do something now. What can you provide that is of perceived value with a time element that would inspire someone to contact you now?
• Define Benefits – While developing a product or service feature set is nice, you need to be able to communicate the benefits that your product or service provides for your customer.  So what is really in it for them? Why should they care about you?
• Develop an Internet Strategy – Once you have done your basic research and definitions, you need to develop a strategy that defines how you are going to reach your target market, the image you need to present to your market, how you are going to present a compelling value proposition, your call-to-action, what online functions will help serve your prospects, customers and company, and how you are going to track performance to know whether you are achieving your goals and objectives.
• Develop an Internet Plan – Your plan should identify the required Internet marketing channels, website development requirements, communications requirements, performance management systems, company operations integration, a budget, and some idea of a timeline to start the process and when it needs to be completed.

If you really want to put yourself in the best position to win online, you must develop an effective Internet strategy and plan. While I realize that for some this is a no-brainer, for others it is like climbing Mount Everest. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle. The more you do of it, the smoother things will go throughout the implementation process and the more successful your online marketing efforts will be.

In Part 1  of this blog post, I talked about some of the main reasons a company should blog. The second part of this article will discuss additional ways to create a successful blog for your company.

Build a Community and Become a Reliable Resource for Others with your Blog

One of the goals of a blog is to build a community of readers who will be interested enough in what you’re blogging about to come back and visit frequently. As they share your site with others, and others share your site with others, pretty soon your community has grown in number without your having to do a whole lot – except keep blogging. This is one of the greatest benefits of having a company blog. 

Another benefit for you and your readers is to be the place people want to come back to for more good information. Most anyone in the world of blogging will tell you that one of the best things you can do for yourself as a blogger is to become a resource for others. This means not making your blog entirely about you and your company, but instead including links to other information of relevance, mentioning others in your blog posts and directing your readers to all types of helpful information through your blog.

It’s really important to be honest and sincere in your blogging efforts to gain credibility. If your only goal is to promote yourself, others will see through this and move on to more helpful blogs.

It’s a Brave New World of Media in the 21st Century

We’ve entered a new and different world of media and marketing techniques in recent years. Our world has changed from the time when all of the experts were completely unapproachable via radio, TV and print media. Now we can all have a voice! 

It’s an interactive world out there, and if we take the time to listen to others and share our ideas with each other, there is much we can learn and many ways we can benefit each other. Blogging is a simple way to do just that.

Now that’s not so scary after all, is it? 

If you’re a business owner and you’re paying attention, you’re hearing a lot about Social Media and blogging. You may be in the same boat as lots of other business owners – you have no idea how to break into the social media scene and you don’t really know what a blog is!

Maybe The Blog sounds like a scary monster who lives in the swamp and appears only at dusk through a cloud of fog and dampness. Don’t be afraid, blogging really isn’t as scary as you may think.

Yes, it’s an amazingly fast growing phenomenon; and let’s face it, in our current economic situation, many business owners haven’t had time to keep one up. So I hope to give you something to think about and help you uncover the mystery of The Blog!

Gain Exposure on the Web Through Blogging for Your Company

There are many reasons a company should get in on the social media scene. One of the main ways to do this is with a blog - it is the perfect way to get more exposure for your products or services with relative ease and not much expense. Besides, you don’t want to be left out of one of the fastest growing methods of Internet Marketing of the decade!

Blogging is one of the primary elements of a social media campaign. It is the central core of an entire social media strategy. Without a blog, your efforts to use other Social Media tools such as Facebook and Twitter probably won’t be as effective.

Blogging is the perfect platform to talk about your business in a casual way to draw other people to your blog and ultimately to your Web site, your Facebook page and to get people interested in following you on Twitter.

Visit us again on Thursday to learn more about the benefits of blogging in Part 2.
 

Xcellimark started 9 years ago as a web design company. Six months later Xcellimark started to market and promote websites in order to ensure that a company’s website investment was bringing in a positive return. That service was coined, “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO). During this time, people asked, “What’s a search engine?”

Fast forward 8 years and everybody knows what a search engine is, but there is now a new online medium in town. It’s called “Social Media.” Businesses are asking the same questions they asked 9 years ago about the need for a website and SEO. Today’s question is, “How can social media help my company make more money?”

Watch this video to see how Fortune 500 companies have increased profits with social media. Contact Xcellimark  to see how your company can use social media to increase your bottom line.

Xcellimark was excited to work side-by-side with Melinda and Paul Sullivan, Southwest Florida Realtors, as they launched their new website at www.southwestfloridawaterfrontproperties.com.  Working with Melinda and Paul for just  four months, Xcellimark not only designed and launched a user-friendly “front-end” interface, but designed and programmed an entire custom-made database to house multiple real-estate feeds.

One of the most important features Melinda Sullivan needed built into the website was an Administrative section that she could use to update, edit, add or delete web pages as needed. As a result, the website was built with a completely customized website management system that is user-friendly and easy to navigate even for the most inexperienced of computer users.

Another aspect of the website that makes it an original among real estate professionals is its versatility and attention to detail. Not only can users search for property listings in several different ways, but each area can be searched with very general criteria or very specific.

Another outstanding feature of Melinda and Paul’s site has to be the amount of detail included in each listing. Pricing, property description, community information, pictures, virtual tours and more are included on every listing that provides it.

After launch, the Sullivan’s told us that they believed this website would become the leading waterfront real estate website for Southwest Florida. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!!

Online Silos Giving Way to Digital Fusion

I am amazed today that our industry is still caught up in a “Silo” mentality. “We are a Website Design company.” Or “we are an SEO company.” “We are a PPC company.” “We are a Copywriting company.” “We are a Social Media company.” “We are a Web Hosting company.” “We are an Email Company.” “We are an Analytics and Optimization company.” “We are a Content Management System company.”

Do I need to keep going on and on? The Silos are nice boxes that are simple, straightforward and easy to communicate to others.

So what’s the problem? The problem is that it’s not how things really work and it’s not a successful online strategy.

Here are just a few brief examples. (I could fill a book with more examples):

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – An effective SEO program is highly dependent upon website coding, website content or copywriting, internal linking, social media blogging, pitching, bookmarking, analytics software, fast loading times from a hosting company, online press releases and an ongoing process of building high-quality incoming links to pages throughout your website. Is your SEO company proficient and effective in all of these areas?
• Website Development – Today’s website development must effectively fuse very distinct specialties such as image, design, video, programming, a variety of software tools, effective copywriting, SEO (see above), customer website management, email, Web 2.0 technology, high speed and reliable hosting, security, and performance management systems. It must be integrated within the context that different users will interact with it and different employees may administer it.
  
  You also need to track the performance against the company goals and objectives that were set. You must be able to grow and evolve. How will you deal with upgrades and software bugs? How will it be integrated into the operations of the business? Does your Website Design company competently do all of this?
• Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) – This is easy stuff right? I mean you just set up a Google account, pay money and go. Right? That’s what Google says.
  
  There is much more to setting up and managing a Google account effectively. Not to mention if you want to add Yahoo, Bing and a host of other players who all use different platforms, tracking systems and make decisions differently. 
  
  Even if you have done all of that perfectly, it only represents at most 33% of what is going to determine online success for your PPC campaign. Add in copywriting, design, ongoing testing and optimization, analytics software, continuous analysis of your campaign and your top competitors, and now you have about another 33% of your online success.
  
  The other 33% of your online PPC success is based upon you. Your budget, your value proposition and your market. Your PPC company and staff does all of that, right?

The key to success is fusing the various digital specialties into a cohesive team that is totally focused on achieving the online business goals and objectives that were set. The key digital specialties include market strategy, design, development, technology, communications, program management, analytics, hosting, search engineering, social media, media management, training and support working as a unified team using an integrated approach with a proven process.

It is not a “launch your site and now it’s done” plan. It never ends. It’s like your business. The only time it ends is when you are done; you have closed the doors for good and handed the keys back to the building owner.

Do it right and your online success with generate more than enough ROI to cover your investment.

I recently read the book called “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Health. It’s incredibly insightful about how to make ideas stick. “Ideas” include presentations, advertising, value propositions, training and so much more.

How many times have you watched or read an ad, maybe even multiple times, and later you really couldn’t tell someone what it was about? But if I asked you if you could tell me who “Jared” is associated with after losing hundreds of pounds on a diet consisting of sandwiches from a fast food restaurant, most of you would recognize the guy in the Subway commercial.

How to Make Ideas Stick

Chip and Dan identify six (6) principles that help make ideas stick. They are Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions and Stories. They didn’t simply think these up off the top of their head though.

In 1999, an Israeli research team reviewed 200 highly-effective ads and found that 89% of them could be classified into six (6) basic categories. The same researchers attempted to classify 200 other ads that had not received awards into the same six (6) categories. They found that only 2% of the less-effective ads could be placed into these categories.

Clearly there are very deliberate things that need to be done to make an ad, presentation, training, or any other idea you are trying to communicate worth remembering. You can study and learn these concepts and then work on putting them into practice.

The Curse of Knowledge

However, there is also a major obstacle that keeps many people from successfully pulling off these principles. Chip and Dan call it the “Curse of Knowledge”. At Xcellimark we see this all the time when working with clients. They know their product or service so well that they believe they are communicating it effectively, but many times they leave out key elements that pull their idea together. They don’t see the gap because it’s just so natural for them they believe everyone understands the subject in the same way they do.

To help illustrate this concept the Heath brothers tell the story of a study done in 1990 by Elizabeth Newton as she earned her Ph.D. in psychology at Stanford. It was a simple game called “tappers” and “listeners”.

Reach the Tappers and the Listeners

After receiving a list of 25 well-known songs such as “Happy Birthday” and the “Star Spangled Banner,” the Tappers were asked to tap out one of the songs to a Listener. The Listener was supposed to guess the song based upon the rhythm being tapped.

Amazingly, the Listeners were only able to identify 3 out of the 120 songs that were tapped. However, when asked ahead of time how many songs the Tappers thought the Listeners would be able to guess, they speculated that the Listeners would get it right 50% of the time. So even though the Listeners only guessed the correct song 1 time in 40, the Tappers thought they were getting their message across 1 in 2 times!

That’s the perfect example of the Curse of Knowledge. We believe we are being so clear when actually people have no idea what we are talking about. That’s one reason some people are not very successful with Internet advertising, or with converting people on their website. They may believe they have presented a very compelling message when in reality people either don’t get it or are not moved by it in the least.

Create a Message that Compels People to Act

Knowing how to effectively write an Internet ad that will get someone’s attention and then associating it with a landing page that helps clarify the message in a way that compels the visitor to act is a much more daunting task than most think. And even when you find a recipe for success, you need to ask yourself if you are doing as well as you can be. Is it as good as it gets?

Getting people to act involves creating a message that resonates with people and following it through with enough understandable and interesting information that clearly helps them see how your product or service will fix their need. Make sure you create a message and website that sticks and then test that message and website page with something you think may be even better to see if you can improve your results.

It’s that time of year again where we welcome the official start of summer.  All of us enjoy a good BBQ feast and time with the family, but how did we get here? Isaac Newton once said “If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of Giant.”

He was referring to how his work was built upon the work that others had done before him.  No doubt that we live in the land of opportunity. Those opportunities are there because of the hard work and sacrifices made by those who have gone before us to build this country.

Honoring Fallen Heroes

Last year I took a trip to France. On one part of the trip, I visited Normandy and the sites of the D-Day invasion. It seemed surreal to stand where so many had fought and fallen.  I can tell you that visiting the American cemetery in Normandy is an overwhelming experience.

Walking through a cemetery of where nearly 10,000 soldiers have been laid to rest is a humbling experience. As my eyes filled with tears and my heart swelled with pride, I felt honored to render a salute to all of our fallen brothers in arms.

Let Freedom Ring

American Pride goes far beyond one war or one person. We can look back at the American Revolution and find the people that stood up to a tyrannous king with one voice and said “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.”

We can fast forward to today and see our loved ones in Iraq and Afghanistan still proclaiming the same messages of freedom and liberty. This Memorial Day, let us take time to honor those who have gone before us and sacrificed everything so that we may “stand on the shoulders of Giants.” God Bless America and Semper Fi!

In any type of marketing campaign, we have to pitch our products, services and our company if we want to get new business and make our presence known. And so it is with a blog - we want others to like our blog, mention our blog, and comment on our blog. That’s the name of the game in helping to build a larger community of readers.

So the question is, what is the right way to pitch your blogs? As with most anything else, there is a right and a wrong way to go about pitching a blog to get the results you want. Here are a few pointers to get you going in the right direction.

Before You Pitch Your Blog

• Read other blogs posts and find out who is blogging about things that will be useful and of interest to your own readers.
• Comment on other blogs. Make relevant, informative comments regarding the content.
• Contact the person who is writing the blog before you send your pitch.
• Be organized and make sure you know which sites will be best the target audience.
• Check to find out if there is a policy about accepting pitches.

When You Pitch Your Blog

• Address the person by name.
• Send your pitch to the correct email address, not webmaster.
• Send an individual email to the person, not mass emails.
• Be up front and honest about who you are and who you work for.
• Make sure your email is friendly in tone.
• Reference specific posts you found interesting.
• Explain why you feel your blog will be of interest to their audience too.

Building a Strong Community is the Reason to Pitch Your Blog

The more you blog, the more you will find others with whom you have common interests and things to share. Blogging is about sharing ideas and helping others to share theirs. The more you help others, the more they will help you. Perhaps that’s why it’s called building a community.

A community is only as strong as those who live in it and we all know that helping others is what makes any community strong. A blogging community works the same way. So pitch your blog to others and respond when others pitch their blog to you.
 

I went to the dermatologist yesterday, and because it was my first time at that office, the nurse asked me a ton of questions:

• Questions about my medical history.
• Questions about any hereditary diseases that may run in my family.
• Questions about any pre-existing conditions.
• Questions about possible allergies.

The questions took some time to answer, but I was relieved that they took the time to ask, because only then could the doctor effectively prescribe the solution that I needed.

The same rings true with Interactive Agencies. Be weary of Internet marketers that don’t ask enough questions. There are too many Internet marketers that make wonderful claims of high page rank and conversion rates, but don’t take the time to ask the right questions. Instead, they hope that their pre-packaged solutions and routine tasks that may have worked for one business will work for yours.

That’s why a partnership with Xcellimark starts with a healthy dose of questions:

• Questions about your business’ specific goals, regarding your business’ online presence.
• Questions about your business’ value proposition and what makes your business different.
• Questions about your business’ competition.
• Questions about your business’ previous and current marketing efforts.

Contact Xcellimark today  to answer these questions, and receive an Internet marketing solution that is tailored to your business’ unique challenges and needs.

One of the most significant things you can do as a blogger is to give high priority to the importance of blog post titles. Good keyword-rich titles help rankings with search engine results and deserve a good deal of thought – every time!

All writers have their own strategies, and what works best for some may not work for another person. When I begin writing, I have a topic in mind, but I don’t actually give my blog post a title until I’ve finished writing it. I may start with one title and change it quite a few times before deciding on the final one.

Selecting Keywords and Keyword Search Tools

So how does one go about choosing keywords? Well, obviously, it depends on what you’re writing about.

If I were planning to remodel my kitchen and wanted to purchase new kitchen cabinets, how would I search for ideas on the Internet – kitchen cabinets, kitchen cabinet, kitchen remodeling, cabinets, etc. All the different ways one can search for a particular topic or item are basically keywords.

When you think of keywords, you should think of what word someone would use to search for the particular item or topic.

But that’s not the only way. There are many helpful tools out there – some of them for free – that are incredibly helpful in choosing the very best keywords. SEO Book Keyword Suggestion Tool  and Google AdWords  are two popular tools.

Keyword Placement is Important in Titles

While you may be tempted to choose cute, catchy titles for your blog posts, don’t do it! Of course, you want your titles to catch the attention of your audience since you do actually want someone to read your posts, but there is a difference in catching attention and being catchy!

If I see a title that catches my attention and then the article is about something totally different, I am immediately irritated. So I don’t want to do that to anyone else.  Make sure the main title contains keywords and it tells the readers what they are really going to read about.

In Meta Titles the most prominent keyword should be placed at the beginning or as close to the beginning as possible. The Meta Title doesn’t have to be the same as the title that appears at the top of the blog post – it can actually be longer, but it is imperative that keywords are placed early in the title to make them more likely to be found by search engines. And after all, you want to make the Search Engines happy!

Over the weekend, my mom and I volunteered at the GR8 To DON8  8K Run for Organ Donation  where runners, walkers and volunteers came together to raise money and awareness for organ donation. It’s a cause that is dear to my heart because I am a living donor; I gave my mom a kidney almost 4 years ago. We had so much fun on our route #18 as we cheered and guided the runners and walkers to the finish line. We also got to see some dear old friends who provided love and support during and after the transplant.

When it was discovered that I was a perfect match for my mom, I was elated. I have never felt such a sense of purpose than when I came out of the hospital after donating my left kidney. It was like I was finally able to give back to my mom after all her years of hard work and sacrifice for me. And I would do it all over again if I had to.

April is National Donate Life month so it’s the perfect time to become an organ, tissue, marrow, and blood donor. There are more than 98,000 people who need an organ transplant and you never know when you can be someone’s saving grace. Click here to get more information on organ donation. Trust me, you won’t feel a thing ;-)
 

Xcellimark has once again been selected by Goldline Research as one of the 10 Leading Providers of Web Design in the Southeastern United States and is featured on a list published in the April 12, 2010 issue of Forbes Magazine.

To be selected as a Leading Provider, companies must pass the Goldline Research certification process by meeting all of Goldline Research’s industry criteria such as no consumer complaints, lawsuits or disciplinary actions and the ability to provide client references that are checked and scored based on a proprietary scoring system.

"Being recognized as a Leading Provider of Web Design for the fourth year in a row is both remarkable and an honor for us. It’s important to us to partner with our clients to deliver the overall marketing success they need to reach their goals and objectives," said Scott Lambert, President of Xcellimark.

"Great web design must be a part of a well-defined marketing strategy, integrated with compelling copy, and enhanced with digital marketing and ongoing optimization to deliver profitable customer growth. It is the combination of these critical elements that consistently delivers online success for our clients."

And it’s that kind of thinking outside of the box that makes Xcellimark an industry leader. They know that online success goes beyond a good looking website and a cookie-cutter SEO program, which is why they provide their clients with a customized digital strategy with a blueprint for success.

The Internet marketing plan may contain any number of creative integrated solutions such as video, social media, compelling writing, continuous testing and analysis in addition to a creatively designed website. Each piece of the Internet marketing puzzle is tailored to client needs to ensure that their business goals are met.

Xcellimark’s clients are reaping the rewards of this unique approach to Internet marketing and experiencing unprecedented success online and offline.

"There was an audible ‘ahhhhhh’ in the audience when we pulled up our new website," said Kevin Higgins, International Director, Global Teams. "To work with a team of people that bring the right experience, the right gifting, the right talent pool in to play at the right time was incredibly helpful. And perhaps the most helpful thing, which can be easily overlooked, is the wisdom to know how to ask the right questions to get us moving in the right direction, to prod us to think about things we would never have imagined."

About Xcellimark:
Xcellimark is an award-winning Interactive Agency that creates and delivers customized strategies to enhance customer growth and branding through proven Internet marketing solutions such as creative design, digital marketing, consulting, technology and performance optimization. For more information on how Xcellimark can help you improve your bottom line, contact Scott Lambert at 407-678-3062 ext. 210 or visit www.xcellimark.com

A lot of websites tend to waste more money than they make. That is because the majority of websites are thought to be nothing more than little electronic brochures gathering dust in cyberspace according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

The problem actually has its roots in the phase prior to launching a website. It starts with the 5 most common misconceptions business people should avoid when launching their website.

Mistake #1: An amateur website production will render professional results
Your business website is not the place to publish an amateur representation of your services. You are not just presenting your business to the local and surrounding communities, but to the entire world! Obtaining the services of a professional Internet Marketing Consultant can save you thousands of dollars in the development of your site.

Mistake #2: Developing a "Bargain Basement" site will make you rich
Ask any business owner who's ever purchased a cut-rate website if they were happy with their results. Focus on finding quality service at a reasonable rate rather than the absolute lowest price. Remember the saying "you get what you pay for".

Mistake #3: You're going to make thousands of dollars in your first month
Steer clear of anyone who proposes a statement like this. The truth is, once your site goes online, a good marketing strategy will result in a steady increase in traffic and growth each month. This is partly due to the time delay for search engines to visit your site, capture data, and index it. Only Internet marketing strategies that are tried and true will help make you successful for a long time.

Mistake #4: If you build it, they will come
One of the biggest mistakes today is the failure to recognize the importance of Internet marketing programs such as search engine optimization and online internet advertising. Obtaining a high volume of visitors to your site is a must for success. There is absolutely no "luck" involved in the process. Your website needs to be designed and developed with Internet marketing plans in mind from the beginning.

Mistake #5: All you can do is put up a site and hope for the best
Do not be satisfied with a service that only hopes for the best. A successful website is the result of a website marketing strategy that outlines how and where the website will deliver business results. Some Web designers never give much thought to your success once they have built your site.

Monthly detailed activity reports are essential for your success. The report should at least show detail on the number of visitors to your site, (not hits!) most popular pages, most popular search engine keywords, top-referring URLs, as well as top entry and exit pages. If search engine optimization is important to your success, then you should also have reports detailing your standings in each search engine.
 

Pay per click (PPC) is actually a form of advertising but it accomplishes results similar to search engine optimization. With pay per click programs, you bid on key phrases to determine your ranking. Normally, the more you are willing to spend on a bid, the higher you can rank in the search engines in the PPC listings, which are also sometimes labeled as Sponsored Results.

However, Google Adwords and other search engines also take other factors into consideration such as the quality of your ads and landing pages. Expenses are generated when someone actually clicks on your listing - hence the name "pay per click".

SEO is a more permanent form of optimizing your Web site without paying for your rank position. Both PPC and SEO will allow you to obtain high rankings. It's simply a matter of how you want to go about it.

In Part 1 and Part 2 of Increase Your Website Traffic with Links, I talked about attracting quality incoming links and the sources you can use to get those kinds of links. In this third and final post of the series, it's important to know about other ways to build links to your website such as online press releases, blogs, and blog directories.

Build Links through Press Releases, Blogs and Blog Directories

Press releases and blogging are quickly becoming some of the most popular and talked about methods to build high-quality links to your website. When you distribute a press release online announcing interesting company news, people who read your press release and want more information will click on the link that leads them directly to your website.

The same thing is true with blogs and blog directories. Who is better equipped to talk about your product or service than you? Creating and writing a blog where you talk about your industry, products, services, and more is the perfect way to continuously update content on your site. In addition, you can submit your blog to reputable blog directories which will provide you incoming links to your site.

In Part 1 of this 3 part series, I talked about attracting quality incoming links. The second part of this article discussed sources you can use to gain premium links to your website.

Increase Traffic With Link Popularity

Link popularity is an example of the move by search engines towards off-the-page-criteria (outside of content optimization) to determine quality content. By adding off-the-page-criteria to their algorithms, search engines feel this adds the aspect of impartiality to search engine rankings.

Incoming links from other websites help define a site's reputation. In theory, great sites will naturally attract many links, and content-poor sites will have difficulty attracting any links.

Link popularity assumes that not all inbound links are equal. For example, an incoming link from a major directory carries more weight than an inbound link from an obscure personal home page. There are many sources from which you can draw incoming links, including:

•    First-class directories
•    Industry portals
•    Content-rich industry websites
•    High-quality related websites
•    Premium press release and blog directories

Specialized directories, portals and press release and article directories typically provide a one-way inbound link. While reciprocal links with related directories and websites can help in building link popularity, one-way inbound links are of greater value to increase your link popularity.

Check back next week for the third and final part in this series. 

Improving the link popularity of your website should be the key component of any SEO program because the quantity of premium incoming links to your website is critical for effective SEO efforts. One way of doing this is to implement a link strategy that produces high-quality incoming links.

Attracting Quality Incoming Links
Not all incoming links are equal so it is important that you obtain high-quality incoming links that are considered by search engines to be valuable. The major search engines factor link popularity into their relevancy algorithms, so you need to evaluate your link structure to ensure overall SEO effectiveness.

Your link strategy and implementation accounts for at least 50% of the factors that search engines take into consideration when ranking your website. Understanding the different types of links, and the importance of each, is critical to effective website optimization and ultimately to increasing high-quality sales inquiries.

There are 3 types of links related to your website structure: incoming links, internal links, and outgoing links.

Measuring link popularity will help you determine the quantity and quality of sites that link to your website. Since link popularity is a critical element of any search engine optimization effort, you want to make sure your search engine optimization program includes a link popularity plan.

Learn another way to improve the link popularity of your website in Part 2.

Orlando, FL - Xcellimark, an award-winning web design and Internet marketing  firm headquartered in Orlando Florida, presents the latest in real estate website technology with its recently launched website for Melinda and Paul Sullivan, Southwest Florida REALTORS®: www.SouthwestFloridaWaterfrontProperties.com. The website provides visitors with a comprehensive, fast and effective way to search for waterfront properties in Southwest Florida.

Visitors can conduct detailed property searches based on property type, view, number of bedrooms, amenities, area, community, square footage, price range, target price and so much more. For those who want to find waterfront properties in less time, there's a "Quick Search" option that locates properties by address, MLS ID, city/area, community or sub-division. From the home page visitors can quickly find home or condo listings by city either from a drop down menu, quick search buttons, or from a map showing where each city is located on the Florida coastline.

"We believe this website will become the leading waterfront real estate website for Southwest Florida. It is unique in that it specifically targets waterfront properties by area, offers enhanced presentation of MLS real estate information and has many features that make it easier for the user to research and find properties that fit their interests. The website is also built to be very search engine friendly and comes with a unique admin area that makes it easy for Melinda and Paul to manage the website themselves. This will save them considerable time and money both in the short and long term. If you are interested in buying or selling a waterfront property in South Florida this is the site that someone will want to check out. It is the best real estate resource in its market," said Scott Lambert, President of Xcellimark.

The website also provides visitors with all the information available about each property including features, photos, video tours and instant city or property viewing via interactive Google maps.

"Our new website is more than we even dreamed of. It's a fully customized website with sophisticated programming and every custom feature we asked for, designed by the web specialists of Xcellimark. In addition to being completed in a timely manner, the website looks beautiful and is exceptionally functional. We can't wait for people to experience the ease and degree in which they can find the waterfront home or condo of their dreams from the convenience of their own computer," said Melinda Sullivan, Southwest Florida REALTORS®.

About Xcellimark
Xcellimark is an award-winning Internet Marketing firm based in Orlando, Florida with clients throughout the US and Canada. Xcellimark specializes in web design and development, search engine marketing and rich media, providing clients with the means to receive qualified sales leads using a skilled online conversion process. Through their unique approach to Internet marketing, Xcellimark has significantly increased their client's qualified sales inquiries and has helped clients grow their business. For more information on how Xcellimark can help you improve your bottom line, contact Scott Lambert at 407-678-3062 or visit www.xcellimark.com.

Orlando, FL -  OrlandoTravelHotels.com is a new destination travel site launched by Xcellimark in partnership with WCT, a division of Travelocity Partner Network. OrlandoTravelHotels.com provides everything visitors need to plan their vacation or travel to the Central Florida Orlando area such as information on hotel accommodations, favorite restaurants, local insight into events, local activities, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, theme parks, beaches, spas, recreation, transportation, parks, museums and science centers, water parks, tours and sightseeing.

"Xcellimark designed OrlandoTravelHotels.com with the unique needs of the travel consumer in mind. Visitors can book a room online using an intuitive hotel search widget to help them select the best hotel option based on price, rating, proximity to landmarks and more. There is also the option to search by type of hotel such as Family Friendly, Luxury, Disney, Universal, Orlando Airport, and Downtown Orlando hotels. For price conscious travelers, Hot Deals and Last Minute Deals in Orlando are available and updated continuously to help travelers save even more on their travel plans or vacation packages," said Scott Lambert, President of Xcellimark. "Visitors can also purchase tickets to local attractions without ever leaving the site. This makes for a convenient and personalized vacation planning experience."

Once visitors secure their flight to Orlando and Orlando hotel, they can look around at the comprehensive information listed on the site to plan the rest of their trip. OrlandoTravelHotels.com provides everything travel consumers need to know about hotels, car rental companies and local area attractions with complete contact information including an address, telephone number, and map to make getting around Orlando as convenient and easy as possible.

"When travel consumers book their Orlando vacation package online, they want a comprehensive travel website that has everything they need in one location. From the beginning, Xcellimark set out to create a travel website that would be a one stop destination website for anyone looking to travel to Orlando Florida. From the blog that features highly recommended, top rated restaurants, luxurious spas, popular attractions, thrilling entertainment, and more, to being able to purchase tickets to theme parks online, OrlandoTravelHotels.com offers every feature travelers desire," said Nancy Lambert Vice President of Xcellimark.

In addition to providing travel and vacation planners with everything they need to plan a trip to Orlando on one convenient website, OrlandoTravelHotels.com is also backed by a 110% Best Rate Guarantee from WCT. What this means for vacation planners is that if they find a lower rate on another website for the same room, at the same hotel, on the same dates, within 24 hours of booking, a price match is guaranteed, plus the traveler gets paid 10% of the difference in price.

Orlando, FL - Xcellimark, a leading provider of Internet marketing and web design services headquartered in Orlando, Florida, today announced that it has been selected by Goldline Research as one of the leading Web Designers of the Eastern United States for 2009. The list of leading Web Designers of the Eastern United States is scheduled to be published in the August 24th issue of Forbes Magazine.

"Those selected provide extensive client service that exceeds the industry standard," said Dana Mahoney, Analyst, Goldline Research. "We believe that they are setting the benchmarks for the industry as a whole."

2009 marks the 3rd year in a row that Xcellimark has been recognized as one of the Leading Web Design Companies. Over the last few years, the market has changed dramatically in what is required for Website success. Great website design is simply no longer good enough. In order to achieve online success, a business must also have a well run online marketing program, compelling copywriting that is optimized for search engines, and the online analytic capabilities to optimize the website on a continuous basis to continue to drive better performance.

"All of our clients are in a competitive marketplace, and the success of their Internet marketing initiatives has become a very important component of their overall corporate success, especially in these difficult economic times. Our employees specialize in each of the critical areas for online success. We fuse that talent and expertise into an integrated but cohesive plan that delivers upon the objectives that are set by our clients," said Scott Lambert, President of Xcellimark.

Whether it is an international company with thousands of customers or a small business, Xcellimark goes beyond the basics of SEO and landing page optimization by helping businesses take their website performance to the next level through innovative search marketing, creative web development and extensive web analytics.

"Xcellimark combines skilled website design with advanced Internet marketing principles to help our clients improve their bottom-line. One way to measure this is through an increase in website traffic and online conversions," said Nancy Lambert, Vice-President of Xcellimark. "Even in these tough economic times, our clients' businesses thrive online with help from our creative team and the innovative tools we use to harness the power of the Internet."

About Xcellimark
Xcellimark is an award-winning Internet Marketing firm based in Orlando, Florida with clients throughout the US, Canada, UK, and Barbados. Xcellimark specializes in providing clients with exclusive, qualified sales leads using a skilled online conversion process that includes design, search engine marketing strategies and copywriting. Through their unique approach to Internet marketing, Xcellimark has significantly increased their client's qualified sales inquiries. For more information on how Xcellimark can help you improve your bottom line, contact Scott Lambert at 407-678-3062 or visit www.xcellimark.com

About Goldline Research
Goldline Research (www.goldlineresearch.com) is an independent market research firm that specializes in evaluating professional services providers to help consumers identify and select leading services firms. Goldline Research's proprietary research process includes market analysis, individual company interviews and, in many industries, interviews with consumers of those services to gain feedback on market conditions and provider service levels. Goldline Research's lists have been published in leading publications including local, regional and national magazines.

Orlando, FL - Xcellimark has been selected again by Goldline Research as one of the 10 Most Dependable™ Web Design Firms of the Southern United States. The list of the 10 Most Dependable™ Web Design Firms in the Southern United States was published in the April issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. It is also scheduled to be published in the June issue of Delta Sky Magazine.

"We are pleased to have Xcellimark on this list" said Ryan Kluft, Publisher of Goldline Research. He also said, "They exceeded all of our industry criteria and had outstanding client references." Over 700 Web Designers were contacted regarding the list and the response was overwhelming.

Goldline Research is a list research and publishing company specializing in investigating the credibility and performance of companies in a variety of professional services industries for selective inclusion in their published The Most Dependable™ lists.

"The website design industry has a reputation of producing 'pretty' sites that 'don't work,' meaning sites look fancy but are not profitable for businesses" said Scott Lambert, President, Xcellimark. "The key to success is finding an Internet Marketing Company that understands everything that goes into creating and marketing a website so it not only looks good but drives in quality traffic with high conversion rates. Xcellimark merges the best of design elements, sound online marketing practices and SEO target marketing to create a strong online presence for each of our clients. It is a privilege to be considered one of the top 10 Web Design Firms of the South."

Xcellimark provides exclusive high-quality leads for businesses through their unique and targeted Customer Xcelleration Program. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Xcellimark's custom internet marketing plans not only incorporate advanced techniques to attract customers to a business's marketing website, but also uses persuasive copywriting and innovative web design to help convert visitors to customers. What distinguishes Xcellimark from other SEO companies is that their clients only pay when they receive qualified sales leads and the client determines their own criteria for their leads.

Xcellimark has helped local, national and international businesses expand through the development and implementation of a personalized Customer Xcelleration Program.

For some of Xcellimark's clients, the proof is in the quality of their lead generation program."Xcellimark has been a valuable partner for DirectBuy since 2005. Whether it's generating high-quality leads, search engine optimization, or website development, they have always found the right ways to help us grow our business. Additionally, the team at Xcellimark is dedicated to providing the highest level of customer service. They always respond to issues in a timely and efficient manner. We truly value our relationship with Scott and Nancy Lambert and the entire Xcellimark team," said David Lee, Director, Marketing, DirectBuy, Inc.

Goldline Research is a list research and publishing company specializing in investigating the credibility and performance of companies in a variety of professional services industries for selective inclusion in their published The Most Dependable™ lists. Goldline Research works closely with leading professionals in professional services industries to develop criterion for each industry, which forms the basis for its selection process. Goldline Research's lists have appeared nationwide for over 4 years in a wide variety of print publications such as Southwest Airlines SPIRIT Magazine, Texas Monthly, San Diego Magazine, United Hemispheres Magazine, Delta Sky Magazine, Forbes, Fortune, LA Magazine and Phoenix Magazine. In order to be selected to a Most Dependable™ list, firms must meet all of Goldline Research's industry criteria, have no consumer complaints, lawsuits or disciplinary actions and provide client references that are checked and scored based on a proprietary scoring system. 

Orlando, FL - It's been almost one year since the kidney transplant and Xcellimark employee, Brittany Shelley, is still going strong. On Mother's Day of last year, Shelley donated her left kidney to her mother, Deidra Pittman, who had been on dialysis for ten years.

"I feel great!" said Pittman, the spunky 50-something, single mom. "I mean who wouldn't with a 26 year-old kidney? Brittany has always been a wonderful daughter and a blessing to our family. She was never a problem child but the one time I tell her not to do something – she goes against me and does it anyway. But that was good for me because in this case it was giving me a kidney!"

Pittman is referring to the hesitancy she felt about her only-child donating her kidney. But after getting advice from local transplant physicians, both Pittman and Shelley were put at ease.

"Everything went so smoothly. I checked into the hospital on a Friday, Mother’s Day Weekend and was released that Sunday. Mom was in the hospital for another week or so but we both recovered extremely well and Mom is living the life she truly deserves," said Shelley. "All of my life, my Mom has done for me and this was my chance to give back and show her what she means to me. We are very close and now - we are even closer since she has one of my kidneys!" joked Shelley.

Shelley is a Copywriter for Xcellimark and her bosses and co-workers were very supportive of her during the entire donation process, recovery and even the volunteer work she currently does to spread the word about organ and tissue donation.

"Xcellimark is honored to have such a wonderful and gracious person working for us. We have the privilege of knowing Deidra too and they are both very special and courageous people who exemplify what family is all about," said Scott Lambert, President of Xcellimark.

Orlando, FL – Xcellimark has been selected by Goldline Research as one of the 10 Most Dependable™ Web Design Firms of the Southeast. The list of the 10 Most Dependable™ Web Design Firms in the Southeast is scheduled to be published in the March issue of Delta Sky Magazine.

"An effective Internet marketing strategy has become a critical success factor for all businesses today. Each business, no matter how small, must determine how to make the web work for their business. The website design industry has a reputation of producing website designers who are here today – gone tomorrow," said Scott Lambert, President, Xcellimark. "Finding a reputable website marketing company that understands and can effectively merge the different disciplines of design, persuasive content, programming and marketing into an overall winning business strategy is difficult. Xcellimark unites all of these critical disciplines into a coherent and effective business marketing plan that produces the appropriate image for each of our clients. We are honored to be considered one of the most dependable in our industry."

"We are pleased to have Xcellimark on this list" said Ted Paff, Publisher of Goldline Research. He also said, "They exceeded all of the industry criteria and had outstanding client references." Over 2,000 companies were contacted regarding the list and the response was overwhelming.

Xcellimark provides high-quality leads for businesses through outstanding web design and advanced Internet marketing. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, Xcellimark's custom web designers and expert search engine optimization strategies combine to create the ideal website marketing strategy for your business. Xcellimark has helped numerous businesses achieve excellent results through the development and implantation of a personalized website marketing plan.

"Xcellimark rebuilt our website with outstanding time-saving features and functionality that allows us to work more efficiently and effectively. We now have an easy-to-use content management system that is search engine friendly and provides a platform for us to quickly update our website on a daily basis.  Xcellimark also helped us promote our business and our website by programming our proprietary Hawk Stock Pick Game, which has become a huge hit and is attracting new users to our website. In addition, the professional staff at Xcellimark is exceptionally responsive and a pleasure to work with," said Julie Marshall, President, Hawk Associates.

Other clients could not stop raving about the tremendous impact Xcellimark has had on their website. "Xcellimark designed our website and Internet marketing strategy from the ground up and it has been a great success. We have been able to expand our market area and grow our business through our eCommerce website system. In addition, whenever we need help, we call Xcellimark and they help us right away. They are very reliable and provide outstanding customer service," said Andre Nehme, Owner, ANE Designs.

Goldline Research is a list research and publishing company specializing in investigating the credibility and performance of companies in a variety of professional services industries for selective inclusion in their published 10 Most Dependable™ lists. Goldline Research works closely with the leading professionals in professional services industries to develop criterion for each industry, which forms the basis for its selection process.

Goldline Research's lists have appeared nationwide for over 4 years in a wide variety of print publications such as Southwest Airlines SPIRIT Magazine, Texas Monthly, San Diego Magazine, United Hemispheres Magazine, Delta Sky Magazine, LA Magazine and Phoenix Magazine. In order to be selected to a Most Dependable™ list, firms must meet all of Goldline Research's industry criteria, have no consumer complaints, lawsuits or disciplinary actions and provide client references that are scored based on a proprietary scoring system.

About Xcellimark:
Xcellimark is an International Internet Marketing company based in Orlando, Florida with clients throughout the US, Canada, UK, Barbados, and Argentina. Xcellimark specializes in providing clients with complete Website Marketing Solutions such as custom website designs, search engine marketing, expert search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing and lead generation programs. Xcellimark has helped many businesses not only establish themselves on the Internet, but also improve business results through professional website marketing strategies. For additional information on how Xcellimark can help you improve your bottom line, contact Scott Lambert or visit www.xcellimark.com. 

Orlando, FL - Xcellimark, a leading Internet Marketing firm in Orlando, Florida, has launched a new informational website designed to educate people on the latest developments in search engine marketing and website services.

Search Engine Marketing has become a driving force in business in the last few years. Over 62% of small business owners feel that Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and email are important to the success of their business. Search Engine Marketing is ranked the #1 website promotion method used by commercial websites and the most cost-effective method of increasing online revenues.

“Our new website offers information for companies looking for a better way to market their business on the Web. Visitors can read about our different web services that we have used to help businesses grow in ways they never imagined before they became tuned in to Internet marketing.” said Scott Lambert, President of Xcellimark.

According to The Dieringer Research Group, even offline spending is being greatly influenced by Internet research. In 2004, over 180 billion dollars in offline spending was influenced by online product research. And over 106 billion was actually spent buying products online.

Xcellimark’s website also features new services such as pre-packaged website marketing plans that are a cost-effective and easy way for many small and medium sized businesses to get a jump start on the Web. The new affordable small business website packages are available with everything needed to get started on the web including over 1200 website design templates, an easy to use content editor, and a long list of advanced features, all for one low price. Customized website solutions and advanced e-commerce solutions are available for larger businesses ready to take full advantage of Internet profits.

“The Internet is changing every business and industry. You can no longer sit on the sidelines and ignore it. Even locally-focused businesses are impacted by the development of search engines surpassing the printed Yellow Pages and Newspaper Ads as marketing tools. Every business simply must have a website at some level that is effectively marketed whether your market is local, regional, national or international. Our website addresses these business needs and solutions as they continue to evolve,” said Scott Lambert, President.

The Xcellimark website continues to be used as an intranet for clients to receive their performance reports, view work-in-progress, and allow 24/7 information exchange. A document management system improves Xcellimark’s ability to provide their clients with a more efficient exchange of information, files and improved customer service.