Website Essentials

The foundation of your Internet strategy is your website. There are websites that are little more than a "web page" and there are websites that feature the entire contents of the Encyclopedia Britannica. There are sites with no functionality at all, and there are super stores like Amazon.com that feature a large degree of interaction. But there a few basics you should remember in having your site designed.

* First, make sure the site is user-friendly. What does that mean? It means that a visitor to the site ought to be able to find what he or she is looking for without too much trouble. If visitors do not know what they're looking for, the site should lead them easily and naturally to what you would like them to see. It should be easy to read with large type and plenty of space around the text and pictures.

* Your site should be graphically attractive. Since your product (legal strategies) is invisible, the package is the product. The "look and feel" of your site should reflect the sophisticated work you do. It should not look like a "do it yourself" job. That means you should probably hire a professional designer.

* Your site should be content-rich. Studies show that nothing nothing is more important than the quality of the content visitors will find on your site. Is your information useful, timely, interesting, well-written? If not, hire a professional copywriter. And don't forget to have plenty of links to related sites (for example, the AARP site might be useful to your visitors, and of course, ElderLawAnswers.com).

* Your site should be frequently updated. Surveys have shown that the Internet is littered with millions of "abandoned" websites created and then never added to nor modified. The information contained in these sites is outdated and useless. Worse yet, the sites are embarrassing. If your site has a section on "Upcoming Events" that happened three years ago, it creates the same impression as having cobwebs on your office doorframes.

* In addition, your site should be constructed to be "search-engine friendly." There will be much more on search engines below, but it is important that the person or firm that builds your site understand how search engines work, and creates a site that, at the very least, avoids search engine "no-no's." As a simple example, search engines will not recognize text that exists within a Flash file. So, that fancy animation that slides the name of your firm across the screen? It's invisible to the search engines, and thus invisible to the potential clients trying to find you. There are many more search engine dos and don'ts, and any competent website firm will know them.

* Finally, your website must contain a call to action. It is not enough that someone visits your site. You want them to take action, and you must invite them to do so. Most sites feature a page entitled "contact us" and that's fine, but it will work even better with an offer, like: Call us and schedule a free consultation; or Call us and register for our upcoming seminar; or Call us and get a free copy of our whitepaper (as you may have done to be reading this).

Visit our website for more information: http://www.smartmarketingnow.com
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By: Mark Merenda

This white paper is based on a presentation I gave with Harry Margolis of ElderLawAnswers in July 2005 to the New York State Bar Elder Law Section summer meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. The manuscript was also reviewed by Zach Katkin, internet specialist at Unique ID; Kevin O'Keefe of lexBlog , Larry Bodine of LawMarketing Portal; Matt Homann of the [non]billable hour ; and Rick Law of LawElderLaw. I thank them for their suggestions, but absolve them of responsibility for any errors.

Travel Blog

Travel Agents Event Management

It does not matter the size of the conference or where it is, travel agents can be a major help in their planning. Travel agents can be especially helpful if it is an international conference. Travel agents can have knowledge of the area as well as such things as transportation, accommodations, and hospitality issues. One of the main hassles when planning a conference is taking care of the needs of the people attending. It doesn't matter if it is a press release, convention, training seminar, or product launch, travel agents can take care of many of the needs of the attendees so that the people attending or the people running the conferences do not have to worry about those details. The larger the conference the more travel agents can be of service.

One of the main ways that travel agents can help with conferences is with transportation and travel needs. Many times if the conference is international the people attending the conference will need a way to get there. Travel agents can help with flight, train or bus information as well as procuring tickets. The larger the group travelling to a conference the more travel agents can be used and many times they can also get better deals. Travel agents are in direct contact with airlines, train lines, and bus services so they can find out if there is space available as well as the best price for the ticket. They can also contact charter services, as it may be cheaper to travel this way for larger groups. Another advantage of using travel agents is that they can be available to coordinate travel times so that it can be easier, once the people arrive, that they do so around the same time making it easier to either get to accommodations or to the conference itself.

Another beneficial aspect when using travel agents when dealing with conferences are accommodation issues. Much like travel issues the travel agent can have direct contact with hotels and inns as they can find accommodations for people that are travelling to the conference. Also much like travel they may be able to find better rates than if the people travelling to the conference booked accommodations themselves. One thing that travel agents have as well are information about package deals, which can save people, or a company, a lot of money as travel, accommodation, and transportation services can all be packaged in one deal. When people travel out of town to go to a conference they will also have transportation needs so they can get to and from the conference itself. They can also help with such things as arranging for car rentals and taxi services to and from the conference. Travel agents can also find accommodations that are closest to the conference site. If a travel agent is working with one group of people there is also a better chance that they will be staying in one location, or, at least, close to each other. This is a crucial aspect of a conference if many people from one organization or company are in attendance.

While travel agents can be used for many types of conferences one of the most important ways in which they can be used is for companies that need to have many employees in attendance. For example, if the company is having a training seminar for hundreds of employees their main goal is to make sure that the seminar runs smoothly. The company needs to find a conference site and deal with the information that will be presented at a seminar. If the company uses travel agents there is a huge amount of time and resources that can be saved that can be used in areas of more importance. Any time that the company needs to take care of the travel needs of the people in attendance travel agents should be used.

Travel agents can also be of service when dealing with hospitality issues as well. If the conference runs more than one day they can find out information such as where to eat and what there is to do in the area that people are travelling to. If the people that attend the conference do everything for themselves they will not be as informed, as if a travel agents took care of them. Travel agents can find restaurants, make reservations, book lunches, and rent out halls, just to name a few things they can do.

The hassles that can arise when travelling to conventions can be great for the people travelling to them and the people running them. By using travel agents many of those hassles are taken care of. When dealing with conferences, especially international ones and ones where many people will be in attendance, the things that travel agents can take care can be invaluable to both the company and/or the traveller.
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By: Mandy Chagger

Corporate travel for people who book business trips from all continents Tel: 08700 490002 or +44 (0)1780 484824 visit www.jigsawconferences.co.uk/ or www.jigsawconferences.co.uk/Travel

Travel Blog