E Market Solutions

Many of our potential clients, for all their hard work and knowledge, still are unsure of how to best construct their website. This is no affront to those who don’t know, but rather an honest look at some of the sites I encounter on a regular basis. It’s common, but it is most certainly an aspect of skill that is so very easy to change. For those just looking for a few simple steps to a more effective website, I present this small list of tips. When advice like this is taken, it will not detract from your creativity with the site, and will contribute to making your internet presence work for you.

1. Text attracts more attention than pictures.
2. People start viewing your website from the top left corner.
3. Readers ignore banners. Surprise, suprise.
4. Fancy fonts are ignored.
5. People only scan the lower parts of your website.
6. Short paragraphs work better than long ones.
7. Ads, that are placed on the top or left part of your website, get the most views.
8. Ads, that are placed inside or below an awesome piece of content, get more views.
9. Big pictures attract more attention than small ones.
10. Also headlines draw attention.
11. Visitors spend more time looking at menus and buttons than other parts of your website.
12. Lists are better at keeping your reader focused than large paragraphs.
13. Some people even completely ignore large chunks of text.
14. White space is good!
15. Menu works best when placed on the top part of your website.

It’s so easy to take these things into account when building your site. They seem like such small things, but as I read the list from Dreamgrow‘s article, I found myself thinking “yeah I do that” or “menus on the sidebar annoy me; the top makes more sense.” Don’t throw your site together by only attempting to make it “pretty.” An attractive site is good; functional is good. But you must take your users into consideration, and by knowing what they are looking for in a good site, you may find a whole new demographic of clients.

“I got the opportunity to attend the Extreme Makeover Home Edition’s reveal of the first of the seven homes today. It was so heartwarming to witness the Howard family see their brand new home for the first time. Not to mention the chance to scream “MOVE THAT BUS”!!!!! I am so thankful that ABC came to Joplin to help rebuild our community and am blessed to have had the chance to be a part of it.” – Janine Craven (Joplin, Mo.)

May 22, 2011 Joplin, Missouri EF5 Tornado

Posted on an old and worn billboard just north of Ozark Christian College in Joplin, MO is a poem by Alexander Pope that many times I’ve driven by and pondered the depth of the meaning, wanting only to relate.  It reads,

“Vice is a monster of so frightful mien

As to be hated needs to be seen;

Yet seen to oft, familiar with her face,

We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”  ~ Alexander Pope

We crossed town that night following the tornado… crossing main street is when shock set in.  We realized that the one child we did have in the house might not

have stood a chance.  My husband jumped from the Suburban 12 blocks from our house and ran. I drove over electric lines, past blown gas lines, and across debris; popping the tire on our Suburban.

None of our children were injured.  We weren’t even home; we were at the new house we were moving to- right where the tornado started.  We were lucky, blessed, whatever you’d like to call it. (I say blessed.)

We did lose our house and possessions in the tornado though. Our address was 2130 S Ozark; which is now a level lot.  No more baby pictures, no more special sentiments passed through our family for generations. No more of what we’d worked our short lives to build up.

I spent the next 7 days away from my work, mostly; coming in dirty and only to handle emails and calls that were completely necessary.  Looking back at the things I do and do not remember I realize I was in shock.  (I was also nine months pregnant.)  The 8^th day I rested; the 9^th had a baby girl.

In the next months I found myself very edgy, jumpy, and wrought with questions.  We replaced possessions; we explained again and again to a young girl that her house was gone, and that she would never see it again.  I cried off and on over the sense of loss I felt.  I went back weekly to try to salvage more… whatever that was; whatever I could find.  The family pictures, sentimental baby clothes, and Christmas ornaments that had been handed down at least four generations; some more than 100 years old, were the most difficult things to lose.

Moving on… vice is a monster, “mien” is defined in the Merriam Webster as “air or bearing especially as expressive of attitude or personality”.  Westboro Baptist says that’s why God chose to hit Joplin, MO with calamity…. They believe our city carries attitudes that brought this calamity.  I don’t believe that at all.  While vice is a monster… mien has been, and always will be the carry through to battle vice.

In shock I endured.

In pity I grieved.

And in the outpouring of kindness, blessing, valor; I EMBRACED.

Praise God my Father through Jesus Christ for all the events during this tragedy and after His hand rested upon.  Thank you to all the volunteers local and nationwide that have helped, and continue to help Joplin, MO.  Your continued concern lifts our moral and spirits as we watch city become again. – Abby Kittrell (Joplin, Mo.)

Also from Mia Kaminsky…

Thought I’d share this today on the blog, even though it’s already posted on the site here elsewhere. Abby Kittrell, the owner here, was among the first to experience the effects of the May 22nd F5 tornado that hit Joplin. We were all affected in so many ways. This is without a doubt some of the best footage I’ve seen. Almost 5 months later this still brings tears to my eyes as I remember the horror of this day. But Joplin is made up of some strong, willful people, and nothing will bring us down. With help from all over the nation and even the world, we are rebuilding to be stronger than ever.

Currently the Extreme Home Makeover Crew is here in Joplin, building brand new homes for 7 very deserving families. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing one of the families, and they are so beautiful. Never in my life have I met more humble, talented, honest, genuine people who are so ready to help those in need. And now they are receiving more than they ever would have asked for.

With all the heart we have here at E Market, we thank you. We thank our clients for supporting Joplin in so many ways. We thank our community for being strong. We thank everyone who has prayed, given support, sent money, helped physically with rebuilding… It’s all so valuable.

Untitled from KOMU News on Vimeo.

The short answer is no, if it’s done the right way. Google needs your SEO to ensure that your site is a valuable tool. After all, if no one can find your website, then what good is it to you?

I have to explain my job fairly often, to clients and friends alike. Most techies know what it means, but some of them have been conditioned to look down on SEO. This is because some of the “experts” in SEO use those “black-hat” techniques, mentioned in the video below. To be clear, we do not employ the use of those spammy methods. We are true experts (no quotation marks needed here) with a desire to do it the right way for you, and get you more bang for your buck.

Yes, we do all the [good] things that he talks about in this video, and more. Basically, we are here to make your website work for you. We’ll help you with everything from the actual architecture of the site, to the graphic designs, to the SEO that makes your site more visible. Watch the video below to understand more of what we do and why.

E Market Solutions stands with individuals and small businesses, locally and nationwide. We are not afraid, as a business, to stand for the rights of the people publicly, without embarrassment. E Market is comprised of employees who are politically active in the local atmosphere, and today we’d like to share our recent story. This will serve as an illustration for the power of social media and having an internet presence. Here’ is what our General Manager, Mia Kaminsky, has been up to:

Many are aware of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the spread of this across the nation and even the globe. This week, Occupy Joplin, MO has arisen. Some of my online friends who are local to Joplin wanted to be involved in the movement, to show support for those who are Occupying Wall Street and elsewhere. So we sought out a FaceBook page called Occupy J-Town. We tried several times to get in communication with the admins of that page, with no success. Whoever organized the page was MIA.

So my friend, who is local to Joplin but has never met me in person, decided to make a move after he and I expressed the need to each other on social network Google Plus. He made a FaceBook page and began spreading the word late last night. When I awoke this morning, I saw it, liked it, and noticed that he was asking for help. He needed additional admins for the page as well as organizational help. I knew this was something I could support unabashedly, so I volunteered myself. That was around 9am this morning. I started posting some links and thoughts to the page, and began spreading the word to my friends.

Around noon I was at lunch at a local business downtown with my husband and father in law, when I began receiving messages via FaceBook Messenger on my phone. My friend who organized all this was being requested for an interview, and felt that I would articulate the cause better than he would by phone. Now, I’m not the most articulte person when I speak; I do much better writing my thoughts. I stutter and say “uh” a lot and stumble over my words. But I figured if this was how I could help, then why not?

I finished lunch and walked back to my office so I could get some thoughts together. I’m certain now that I over-prepared, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I wanted to make sure before the interview that I knew my facts and opinions. The radio station that was interviewing me tends to be on the right-wing, conservative side, and I’m pretty far left. I have never been a spokesperson or communicated with the media before, so I wasn’t sure if I should expect a debate or a simple informational interview. I am grateful that the experience so far seems to have been unbiased, and did not back me into a corner.

The interview was straightforward and quick. Though I stumbled over my words like always, I think it probably turned out ok. I had my husband, who works in my office beside me, record my side of the conversation, simply to have it for my own records and use it for Occupy Joplin purposes. When the conversation concluded, I went about transcribing the recording into words and posted them online for all to see, even before the interview was public. It is posted here, for all to see.

At this very moment, there are 46 people who have liked our Occupy Joplin page. I hope that number grows, but 46 people in less than 24 hours is pretty impressive for Joplin. We have gained the attention of local media: newspapers and radio stations, and hopefully more, in that short amount of time.

Tomorrow we will be meeting at City Hall in Joplin at noon to discuss our goals and how to attain them. It will be the first time meeting my friend who got me involved in this. It will be my first time representing a political cause publicly.

I write all of this here not to gain support for our cause necessarily, or to start a debate, but rather to illustrate the power of effectively marketing online. This movement is without a doubt one that spread through social media. It has reached global proportions. Occupy Wall Street has been a long time coming in many people’s minds, and the internet made it happen. Visibility is everything, be it political cause, local business, not-for-profit organization, or job board, or any number of other online applications. You must be seen online.

..and I have an SEO problem. You see, when you search on Google for my name, these are the first results you see:

Are you THAT Nathan Kaminsky?

To be clear, I do not now, and have never lived in London. Not even in 1885. I do not now, and have never made boots.  I am not now schizophrenic or syphilitic and hope never to suffer from either. Most importantly, I’m not Jack the Ripper. Of course, most of these things would be relatively apparent if you met me and shook my hand in person. But to a search engine, what’s important is to find the most linked and discussed instance of my name. This is what most people want from a result. They want this:

Michael Bolton, The Singer

and not this:

A man taking his rage out on a printer.

Back in the early days of the internet, it was fairly easy to get that sweet number one spot- all I had to do was start a blog with my name, and after just a bit of time, there I was. But ah, the internet, she can be a cruel mistress. The search algorithms look for what most people want to discuss and learn about. I’ve never done anything as disturbing as… the other Nathan Kaminsky… and hopefully never will. But maybe I can do something worth paying attention to, something funny enough to share. Because starting this month, my new job is to make sure that the right people are the most visible through search engines. Here’s my ambitious proposal. By the end of this month, I want this blog article to be the first result on Google. That way, when somebody thinks to search for me, they get something more timely and up to date than the foggy, terror filled  streets of London in 1885.

It’s a bit ambitious, I will admit, but at least I’m not trying to put this:

An awkward young lad from a sadly short-lived TV show.

In front of this:

George Michael, The Singer

And though every now and again why my parents didn’t name me Daniel, making me compete with this:

Born Daniel Kaminsky

I know that they didn’t have search engines to check on this sort of thing when I was born. (Moral of the story for expecting mothers and fathers: Google before you fill out the paperwork.)

So how do we get to the top? If you have a blog, share. Post a link with the name “Nathan Kaminsky” as the anchor text. This page will get a bit of link juice. Bit by bit, we can all pull together to bring it to the top, and clear my name from its insidious association.