Using every applicable tool possible to produce high quality web, brand and marketing solutions.

A common scenario is when a company has a vision for a website, but they are confused or simply lack the technical knowledge to pull all of the different elements together into a cohesive strategy for implementation. Because we are a not an agency but rather a collection of many internet professionals, we are extremely knowledgeable and flexible enough to pull together the right group of professionals to first identify and then ultimately fulfill any online need.

Every client has a unique web presence with specific business needs and objectives, so rather than provide a boring laundry list (located below, if interested) of any and every type of service we can provide . . . what we’d like to do instead is walk you through some examples of what an online business needs in terms of website design and functionality and also internet marketing. At the end, you can decide if you have additional needs.

The first example is an ecommerce website

Any website pushing products online is going to have to be secure. Finding the right hosting package with enough server space will be key as well. Getting into the actual website development side of things, it will often be necessary to setup some sort of ecommerce shopping cart or other product purchasing mechanism. And because revenue is such an important performance indicator, it will also be necessary to track all purchases from the site along with tracking how and from where did the visitors make it to the site. These items and more are taken into account when we develop an ecommerce website.

Build it right by using a CMS

Now, most ecommerce website owners want to be able to control the actual content on the site. Moving, removing and adding products and updating features and benefits is usually vital to the ongoing success of these types of sites. Today’s website content management systems (CMS) like WordPress and Drupal make this job much easier. The right CMS will also help the marketing efforts online and in the search engines. All content management systems used by us are open source, meaning they are free and open to a development community who continue to build the structure and integrity of the CMS.

Market the store through the search engines, on the cheap

Search engine optimization (SEO) is important for ecommerce sites because the search engines are where the majority of online users will start. SEO is very popular today because it is 100% measurable and because the barrier to entry is usually low considering the projected ROI. Plus, SEO probably offers one of the highest residual values of any internet marketing technique because maintaining organic search engine listings long-term is typically very inexpensive. A well developed, search engine friendly ecommerce website will also benefit from multiple listings in the search engines for all products offered – this is something we take pride in being able to accomplish.

Don’t forget the social media websites for increased targeted traffic

So you know about Facebook and Twitter and Youtube and so on . . . but how do you really take advantage of these technologies? What does it mean to be successful with social media marketing?

For an ecommerce site, there are many advantages of social media marketing. To begin with, social sites allow you to expand beyond your website, in effect increasing your scale of presence online. This in turn increases awareness and helps you syndicate your content and products. Social sites also allow you access to the exact market you need to target your message to, creating a direct 2-way communication channel. This way you’ll get valuable insight into hot topics and trends and it allows you greater flexibility and control of your reputation. Like SEO, social media campaigns can have a relatively low cost to entry with potentially high ROI. All social media campaigns for ecommerce sites should include a comprehensive market analysis to determine where the best opportunities for success lay. This is what many ecommerce clients first ask of us.

The second example is a local service-based website.

Most service-based websites work in specific geographical markets. Having the ability to target the customers in any local market who are looking for your service is job number 1 for us. This goes beyond local business listings online and in the search engines. It involves a thorough look at your website design, architecture and functionality. The ultimate gaol is to drive leads and this usually means specific content development and message targeting.

Keyword research tells us what your customers want

Keyword research along with in-depth market research will tell us what your market is searching for. This in turn will be used to maximize your website’s layout. The graphical design will further help to sell the concept and we will help you develop your brand, your logo and your voice online.

Start blogging and start seeing increased search engine rankings

Blogging for service-based websites is about one thing only. The potential customer. Many website owners do not wish to blog because they have no idea what to write about, don’t think they know how to write, and or feel they would be giving away information that they should be charging for. We will help you with these and all other issues. The search engines rank blogs well because they are usually the best place to add content and claim authority for any particular market. Blog platforms we recommend for service-based websites include WordPress and Drupal.

Build links, build authority

Basically links are like votes for your website. However unlike votes, having the most links does not always mean the best rankings in the search engines. It’s about the quality of links we are able to build for your local service-based business. This SEO technique can often mean the difference between a second page listing in Google for example, and a first page listing.

Use social media to generate local buzz

Social media sites offer the best place to learn valuable real-time information about what services people in your area need. People in this space are often in the buying cycle and if you are able to create a relationship before your competitor does, than you’ll usually win the business because of the direct communication channel this realm naturally creates. Cognizant will help you explore all these areas and give you the knowledge you need to succeed long-term as social technology continues to evolve online.

So what needs does your web operation need? Contact us today for a free website analysis and we’ll help you put it all together.

The boring laundry list of what we do:

WORDPRESS theming

DRUPAL theming

ECOMMERCE online sales

SEO reputation + adwords + organic

CONTENT creation

DESIGN web + branding

CONSULTING business dev

HOSTING websites

PROJECT management