Some website owners feel that they cannot compete with the larger websites out there. This is simply untrue. Those who utilize the right SEO methods have every bit as good a chance for ranking on their given keywords as any other website. Since that is the case, we have compiled three effective SEO techniques that can and should be used for any website.

• 1.  Set Your Title Tags

Did you know that each page on your website has a space for descriptive title tags? The tags must be filled out with a brief description and a title in order for your site to reap the benefits of proper search engine optimization. These titles are found to be blue, bold and very distinct when searchers look for websites on search engines. The search engines construct the titles that come up with your brief description and link on search results from – you guessed it – the actual title tags on your pages that you set up.  So if you were trying to sell lakefront property Utah homes, you might want to put the term, ‘lakefront property Utah homes’ as a title tag for your main page. Typically, people put their main keywords as their title tags on various pages in order to receive optimal SEO value.

• 2.  Online Press Release

Why would anyone want to send out a press release? Well, basically you’ll be spreading the word. Every blogger, journalist and other type of website owner is constantly looking for new information online. So give it to them! It’s a great way to spread your presence online, to promote your products and to build backlinks to your website. Backlinks are an essential part of SEO, which means that online press releases should absolutely be incorporated into your SEO strategy. It’s simply a fantastic method for pulling in more targeted traffic to your website.

• 3.  Create a Blog

It’s been recently speculated that Google has changed their algorithms to place more emphasis on websites that have more content on them. Therefore, less is not more in this case. More is always better which means the more content you can put on your site, the better the chances it has of ranking. This can pose a problem for the smaller websites that are only promoting a handful of products. Since they won’t have pages and pages of products to list, instead they can add a blog to their website and have pages and pages of blog posts. This is a fantastic way to build up content on a website with rich (but not too rich) keyword density.

So there you have it. There are three SEO techniques that are effective, inexpensive and available to any website, regardless of their size or marketing budget. It doesn’t cost anything to set your title tags on your website’s pages. It also doesn’t take much effort to throw together an online press release about your company and products. Creating a blog will take some upkeep, but it is also free to maintain which leaves no excuse for not taking advantage of these three techniques. Put them to good use and watch your ratings rise.

Author: Ryan Chaffin

Ryan Chaffin is currently a college student majoring in Business Marketing. He loves anything technology, internet, and social media related along with sports and health & wellness.  Ryan currently specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), blogging, and social media and believes in achieving your fullest potential on and off the web.  You can also find Ryan on Twitter (@ryanchaffin).

The way you present an item, be it on the web or in a restaurant, influences the item’s future adoption. Package design can be a very peculiar source of inspiration for web designers. Think about it. Package design deals with the relationship between a product and its consumers similarly to web design; the item’s characteristics, the environment it exists in, and the people exposed to it all interact on a subconsciously perpetual level. When you understand the way a package serves a purpose for its intended product, you can better understand the underlying purpose of a website’s design for its creator and his/her intentions. Packages are designed for a target audience the way websites are. The package speaks for and about the product it contains/displays the way a website puts its content out there in a very singular manner.

I have compiled a list of five very interesting package design related sites. I am not inferring that this is the best you will find out there since I have not seen it all. These are the best results I came across while researching.

• 1. LOVELY PACKAGE – lovelypackage.com
  

This is by far my favorite site! I frequent it as often as possible. Lovely Package features amazing package designs of products from around the world and provides brief descriptions of the designers and the package’s product. Sometimes, they fail to mention the package’s intended product which poses a problem especially when the writing on the package is in a foreign language and typography; it makes the package difficult to appreciate. They have daily additions, and keep previous ones, so for those who are new to the site, you will have hundreds of archival pages to explore. Every time I visit the site, I spend at least an hour going backwards because of the massive amount of posts that accumulate in little time.

• 2. THE DIELINE – thedieline.com
  

This site/blog provides a lot of goodies for package designers. Similarly to Lovely Package, the site features internationally innovative package designs. There is also a Directory with a useful list of package design companies, organized by country location. The Dieline also has an Awards page where the site administrators choose from package designs, and extol a select few. There is a very useful Jobs page that features an extensive list of package design jobs in North America (US/Canada). This site is quite a treat.

• 3. PACKAGE DESIGN MAGAZINE – packagedesignmag.com
  

This is perfect for those who are really into the business of package design and want to know the latest info about everything. Package Design Magazine Online is basically a hub for everything package design related. This site features articles about the Industry, design, companies, package material news, etc. The articles feature pictures related to the topics of discussion, for those of you simply looking for captivating visuals. Thankfully, the articles themselves are quite illuminating in terms of Industry trends, which can have overlapping resonance in web design trends. Their Calendar announces important package design-related events, conventions, and expos. There are podcasts and newsletters, but I must admit that I am not too fond of the site’s architecture; it could use some improving and reorganizing. This is a great site for practicing package designers and hopeful students.

• 4. DZINE – dzinebites.blogspot.com
  

I stumbled across this design blog that featured a list of cool package designs. It is a lot like Lovely Package, but of a smaller magnitude. On the right sidebar, there is an interesting list of design sites under the title ‘Inspirations.’ This means more sources to discover! I am sure there are dozens of other bloggers out there posting their favorite designs on their own personal blogs too. On DZINE I also came across another blog’s link [www.payal-shah.blogspot.com]. This blog also features pretty interesting designs and ads. I was impressed by a collection of ads, made for a clothing brand called Stori, which portrayed comic book superheroes as every-day men.

• 5. LOOKS GOOD – looks.gd
  

This is an online Design Magazine that provides resources and inspiration for designers of all types. It really is a delicious site! There are so many interesting posts to explore that feature original works in their designated fields (i.e. Advertising, Web Design, Typography, etc.). What more can I say? Go check it out for yourself!

DID I MISS SOMETHING?

I may not have mentioned some sites you may know and find important. I apologize for not knowing all the good ones, but that’s why the Comment section exists! Please share any other links you know and love so that we can all benefit from the gold mines.

By Marie-Ange Audigé

MORE LINKS

“100+ Minimal & Typographic Package Designs”

“Cool Packaging”

“25 Examples of Amazing Packaging Design”

“50+ Examples of Beautiful Packaging”

“Beautiful and Expensive Packaging Design”

A great site for Designers in general

Bittbox – A blog with a lot of useful material for designers

Design Muse – A package designer’s blog

A web designer is the face and speech of a website. Now, programmers boast that they are the soul, blood and guts behind a site—they make it functional and keep it going. However, they would not go far without a pretty face. It is a hard fact most professionals still have not come to terms with: people still judge the book by its cover.

That is what makes web design not only a craft, but a vital part of Website Development. It is an art form in itself, and consists of many tasks. There are tricks and steps one can take in order to become a real certified Web Designer…

1. The Lingo

The online language is always a good place to start. When you want to travel to a foreign destination, you first think of how you will communicate with the locals, right? Well, the same goes for the internet. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the basics, the ‘matrix code’ behind a website. Although it seems intimidating, it is easily picked up. Afterward, it is all a matter of practice and repetition. It is essential to know HTML and really helps one get around site building software and all the little interface variations one may encounter. The next steps are XML, XHTML, and CSS for more advanced scripting. Further on, you can pick up PHP and MySQL to develop dynamic websites in which you design a base template for the site and edit each page instead of having to design each HTML page one by one. Be careful! Try not to bite off more than you can chew, which will only lead to discouragement and abandoned efforts. Learn each component at your own comfortable pace and take your time where necessary. For more technical details and information, check out the WikiHow.com Source Link below on how to become a web designer.

2. Applications & Software

There is a whole list of software, costly and free, that one can acquire for web design.

Free Software

* GIMP
* Inkscape
* See Links below for more

Major Software

* Adobe Photoshop
* Adobe Illustrator
* Adobe Fireworks
* Adobe Dreamweaver (for putting your website online)

3. Be Versatile

Compatibility is something many may not think of immediately, but it can be an issue in web design and development. When you decide to build and design a website, make sure your methods are compatible with all the top web browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Netscape, Google Chrome, etc. Also consider the different computer screen sizes. What may happen sometimes – especially with online content management systems (CMS) – is that you may design a page layout according to your computer screen’s size and someone with a smaller monitor will open the website and find that things are misplaced and jumbled. With the different web browsers, some web components may not function on one even though they worked perfectly with another.

4. Content & Design

A web designer needs to know how to master layout, color schemes, placement, legibility, accessibility of presented content, attractiveness of each page, navigation bar design and interactivity, among other visual and interactive website components. Knowing how to copyright is also very useful. Being the site content editor is a huge advantage because not only do you get to present and write the material, you also have the flexibility of making it fit into your ultimate design. Integrating text and art becomes much more enjoyable.

5. Tutorials & Classes

The internet is full of tutorials on HTML, Photoshop, and other such Web Design features. The trick is in finding them. Some people prefer to go the formal route, even though it is not crucial in this field. It does help to have a formal Certificate or Diploma certifying your knowledge in the field of Web Design, and signing up for programs does lead to Networking opportunities that are otherwise inaccessible. However, School programs can be quite expensive and do not guarantee you a place in the field of Web Design. Below in Links I have provided a link to a free online HTML Tutorial.

6. Observation

Another useful pass-time is observation. Surf the net, check out award-winning websites and look up the sites of leading firms for inspiration. Notice the color choices, the layout, navigation bar, the amount of information present and how it is presented. Try to notice everything, in detail.

7. Practice, practice, practice

Along with observation comes action. Learn from what you see and start by trying to re-create your favorite designs using whatever program you have access to. Try to practice one project per each program mentioned earlier, so as to ensure you cover the basics and know your way around a bit. Practicing is the only way to stay relevant and move forward in your skill development.

8. Portfolio

Practice would be nothing if it did not serve a purpose. Take what you have learned, what you have built, what you are most proud of, and put it in a special place. Build a portfolio, and keep working on it even after you have reached your Web Designer status. An up-to-date portfolio breathes more life and makes you stand out as a designer. The best way to showcase your designs is by designing a website to sell yourself! It is the ultimate project. Not only do you get to really focus on developing an identity and a style that can be associated to your name, but if done well, it will also make your portfolio look better. A lovely platform makes anything that stands on it lovelier. If anything, that is the one investment you should make. You do not have to get a diploma in web design, or buy all of the fancy software, but you should get yourself a personal domain name to showcase what you can do. Invest in yourself and others will want to as well.

9. Contractor: Freelance or Design Firm?

After you’ve learned all you need to learn in order to get your foot in the door, you can either decide to be a contractor or work for a firm. As a freelance contractor, you work on a contract-per-contract basis, and nothing is static or routine. You get clients, work with them, complete your mandate, and then take on the next job. A lot of people prefer a salary, an office, and a hierarchy. You can work for either contracting firms who find the work for you, or other type of web service companies.

10. Keep Learning!

Being a Web Designer is a continuous process. Nothing is set in stone. There are always new tricks, new designs, and new ideas surfacing out there. Also, as an artist, you need to keep an open mind about what it is people want to see and what it is people maybe have never seen. It is your job to make sure you stand out; keep in mind the growing competition in this fast-paced Industry. The only way you stand afloat is by differentiating yourself, or offering your services at a very attractive price/quality ration.

By Marie-Ange Audigé

LINKS

* HTML Tutorial

http://w3schools.com/html/default.asp

* Free Web Editors

http://webdesign.about.com/od/windowshtmleditors/tp/free-windows-editors.htm

* Free Hosting Sites

http://freehostia.com/hosting.html

http://www.110mb.com/

* Great Design Site with interesting Articles, Tips, Inspirational Content for Aspiring and Practicing Designers

http://dezineblog.com

SOURCES

http://webdesign.about.com/od/jobs/p/aa031703a.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_2222858_become-web-designer.html

http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-become-a-web-designer

http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Professional-Web-Designer-and-Programmer

http://www.digital-web.com/articles/a_recipe_for_learning_web_design

We’ve gathered up 7 inspirational web designs articles and useful design resources.
Some designers are simply amazing and ahead of their time.

Enjoy this post and please help use sharing it on your favorite social network.

#1 10 website to generate website buttons online

#2 85 tutorials and resources for designers

#3  40 inspirational web designs

#4 Mind blowing designs by Kratos

#5  The best Logos from 2009

#6 20 Photoshop tutorials

#7 Guide to website layouts

Welcome to this first roundup of all the best SEO articles published this month.
This will hopefully become the first post of a long list of SEO learning resources published each month.

#1 18+ excel function for SEO professionals

#2 Google VS Bing SEO: Link Analysis

#3 Best SEO link building guides for 2010

#4 Information architecture simplified

#5 Proper management of SEO work flow

#6 The evolution of google’s ranking signals

#7 Categorized search result on Bing

#8 How to monitor your brand and build links in the same time: Real time SEO

#9 8 Greyhat Tactics SEOs Are Using

#10 Content strategy for SEO

Upcoming SEO webinars:

Finding the Right Keywords for Your Website

Fundamentals of Organic SEO – Take Two

And finally, Yahoo will start testing this month the bing powerd organic search results