Web Impakt

Web Impakt is pleased to announce the launch of the Microserv website located at ida.net. Web Impakt worked with Microserv to develop this design. Microserv is the largest Internet provider in the region. They provide Internet access services to Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Rexburg, Blackfoot, St. Anthony, Island Park, Driggs and Arco.

Mayor’s Business Day Attracts Hundreds

By Aman Chabra, Local News 8 Reporter

IDAHO FALLS - It wasn’t your everyday job fair.

Each year, Idaho Falls Mayor Jared Fuhriman holds events for businesses and job seekers to network and further their contact base.

Monday was the first time the Mayor’s Business Summit was combined with the annual Job Fair and Business Connections events.

The event started with a speech from Governor Butch Otter at the Civic Auditorium.

Business Day continued with experts from the Department of Labor and regional economists participating in a panel discussion about the current state of the local economy.

“Right now, Idaho Falls has replaced the Treasure Valley as the most stable economy in Idaho,” said Roger Madsen, Director of the Idaho Department of Labor.

Down the hall from the Civic inside the gyms of Idaho Falls High School, local businesses came out in droves for the other portion of Monday’s event.

In the large gym, dozens of businesses set up booths as part of the annual Greater Idaho Falls Camber, Area Business Connection.

“This is a really important event for us, because some businesses don’t know they may need our services until we talk to them,” said Brian Ziel, Account Manager for Web Impakt, a locally owned and operated web page design business.

Web Impakt has been in operation for the past four years, and have already created web pages for the City of Idaho Falls, and are currently working on an upgrade for Snake River Landing’s web address.

“You have to put yourself out there, and just in the first five minutes, we’ve had a lot of leads and made some great contacts,” said Ziel.

Monday afternoon saw the start of a job fair which also saw hundreds of people stop by looking for valuable face time with local businesses.

“We have had some great response, and we hope it will help is finding people jobs, and stimulating our economy,” said Mayor Jared Fuhriman.

More than sixty businesses were on hand for Monday’s event.

Given that we are mere hours away from our Thanksgiving feasts Web Impakt would like to show our thanks to all of our great clients by telling you a bit about what has been happening for us. Here is a quick run down of some of the things we are thankful for.

The City of Idaho Falls launch! This was one of our favorite projects and we are so excited that it is now out for the world to see. We love the way it turned out and the team working on this has been great.

www.idahofallsidaho.gov

Andrew Well Drilling got a redesign, this group of 5th generation Well Drillers got a great new site that will be a wonderful resource for anyone looking for information about Commercial or Residential Drilling or troubleshooting your existing well. If you have any questions contact Roger he is a riot.

www.andrewwelldrill.com

Paramount Iron gets a make over showing the amazing skill and talent of Paul and his team. It has been great to see all of the amazing things they can do with Iron.  What a fun group with a clear vision of how to keep ahead in this market.

www.paramountiron.com

Record breaking sales, in this economy any company is thankful for a steady flow of work but we have been going above and beyond every month. We couldn’t do it with out all of our wonderful clients and their vision for the future. It has been a great adventure thus far we can’t wait to see what 2010 has in store. There are many new sites right at the tail end of development that we will be showcasing the first few weeks of December.

We will also be rolling out a brand new referral program, we wouldn’t be where we are today with out our stellar clients telling their friends, families, and associates about the services we offer.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Lindsey and Ian have the pleasure of being guest speakers today in Doctor Parkers CIS 120 class this afternoon.

It is so great to be able to speak to students in our area. We will update more later.

We’ve all been there looking for ways to keep our marketing fresh and engaging while staying on top of all the other tasks in maintaining a successful business. With the advantages of having a website and utilizing Social Networking we have a new spin on how we relate to our clients, potential customers, competitors, and other businesses. These offer an outlet to interact with others throughout our communities no matter how big or small.

A businesses’ online presence both on your website and using Social Networking are an important facet of how people view your company. These set the tone of what your clients will expect when they contact you or your associates. We all walk a fine line of keeping a professional appearance yet still being approachable. To help, we put together a list of things to shy away from. No matter the size of your business you need to be aware of the perception you are giving online.

Things to AVOID…

Online Marketing Mistakes

• Forgetting to test your site across various platforms and browsers
• Not updating your site design or content, ever
• Assuming SEO will take care of itself.
• Ignoring the needs of your target audience when writing your site content
• Not including easy-to-find contact information
• Copying content from competitors’ web sites
• Not providing an informative and engaging About page

Social Networking Mistakes

• Ignoring your online reputation
• Forgetting it’s a marathon, not a sprint and cramming in too much, too fast
• Not updating your profiles regularly and keeping them consistent
• Focusing on sales instead of forming real relationships
• Overlooking the importance of conversations
• Not having a recognizable image across social media
• Not updating your blog on a regular basis

Join Web Impakt to discover How Others are Leveraging Web Tech in New and Innovative Ways on a Shoe-String Budget!

Date: Thursday, July 30, 2009
Time: 8:00am - 10:00am
Location: Shilo Inn - The Idaho Falls Room
Street: 780 Lindsay Blvd
City/Town: Idaho Falls, ID
Email: Tickets@TheAdvisoryBoardOnline.com

he small business owner. The course will primarily focus on the four hot-topic areas of: Lead Generation, Employee Management, Product or Service Deliver and Customer Retention.

The Advisory Board is an advocacy group for business owners that consists of business owners working together to improve their businesses and the businesses in the area. You’re invited to attend this class to learn about what has helped them and can help you.

You can download a flyer for more information at:
http://www.theadvisoryboardonline.com/web-class-flyer.pdf

Ticket are $35 and can be requested by e-mail at Tickets@TheAdvisoryBoardOnline.com - Only 45 Seats are Available.

When you decide its time to redo your website or create a website for the first time, there are many things to consider. For first timers, it’s great to do start with a little research. Find some examples of websites you think are great, and even some you think aren’t successful at all.

For second (or third, or fourth…) timers, a good thing to think about is what you like about your current website, what you think is successful, but more importantly what you could improve upon.

And whether you’re creating a site for the first time, or whether you’re revamping your current site, everyone needs to decide what the point of having a website is. Why spend your time, energy, and money on a website? Deciding what you want to get out of your website will help you know how to create it. By setting goals for yourself and success metrics for your site, you give yourself, or your web designers and developers a great place to start.

Some examples of success metrics might be:

• If you’re thinking “I want to see more people in our stores”, make sure your site has a clear way to show users your locations. One trend is to incorporate an interactive map that can generate driving directions.
  You could also consider offering deals to entice customers to go to the stores “If you stop by our store during the month of March, you can take advantage of our buy one get one free sale!”
  • A good way to measure this goal would be to keep an eye on how many people looked up locations on your website, and compare it and the traffic in your stores to how many people, on average, were visiting your stores before.
• If you’re thinking “I want to improve online sales”, then you need to make sure the shopping experience is as easy as possible for the customer. E-commerce can be tricky and very complicated, but one thing is for sure, if your users don’t understand the buying process on your site, they won’t be buying.
  • You can measure this goal by keeping an eye on user behavior. Are they buying more? If they aren’t, where are they exiting the site? If they exit the site on the checkout page, you know it’s your sales. If they exit on the products page, you know they’re not interested. These behaviors will help you determine what else your site, or products, might need. Another way to measure this goal is by sales numbers. Compare sales from your old E-Commerce system to your new. If there was room for improvement, you will definitely see the difference between the two.
• Or maybe you’re thinking “I’m a new company. I want to make sure people know who we are and what we are about”, then you have a lot of options. It’s best to start with a strong website that reflects your company exactly the way you want to be portrayed. Make sure your design is strong and consistent and that the company values and vision are cohesive and expressed effectively.
  You could also consider having more than a website. Other options for spreading awareness include Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Advertising, Banner Advertisements, and Page Sponsorships. All of these options will get your name, and in some cases your brand identity out there, boosting awareness and will also generate traffic to your site.
  • Measuring this goal is as easy as keeping an eye on the traffic to your site and if you decide to do separate campaigns as well, keeping an eye on Ad Impressions and Click Through Rates.

As simple as it sounds, it’s true. Setting success metrics for your online projects will help you succeed!