It’s a great thing when business owners come together to share their expertise. This happened at the PortTech LA Chamber in the beautiful Port of Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 13^th 2010. A wide range of businesses was represented, from Scandinavian technology imports to environmental monitoring and highway technology.

The uniting factor between all of the businesses, however, was the need for a stronger web presence. Jason’s topics included SEO, SEM, organic vs. sponsored links, and Google’s use of AdSense, AdWords, PageRank, and Analytics.  Several “real live” customer’s examples were used to illustrate to the group exactly what it looks like to attain an optimized website.

The meeting lasted just under 2 hours, but it seemed as if it went by in a flash.  The group had great questions and hopefully everyone took home one thing that will change the way they look at their website!

ALSO… we could not resist… we are now proud to announce that Golden Communications is a member of the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce!

Jason Lavin guest speaker at PortTech LA

Yes, people really do work at Google – and, we love them (especially when they work for our clients).

Pictured above: Audra Gussin (GC) and Beth Hardy (Google).

Beth heads up GoldenComm’s Account Team at Google. Basically, our advocate and advisor. We want to thank Beth, Chris and all our team members at Google who work hard for us (and our clients). You are so appreciated!

Every new president elected into office comes with the promise of change, and one of the first changes that President Obama has made is the redesign of the White House website, whitehouse.gov. The new website was launched on January 20th, at 12:01PM, moments after the Barack Obama was sworn into office as the 44th president of the United States.

“One of the first changes is the White House’s new website, which will serve as a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world,” wrote Macon Phillips, the White House director of New Media. Phillips also wrote that the new website would uphold one of President Obama’s pledges to publish all new legislation seven days before it is signed to allow the public to comment.

The newly designed website comes with all of the latest in web technology; living up to true web 2.0 standards. Aesthetically, the website is a sound example of all the best practices in graphic design: great typography, lovely usage of colors, and (thankfully) a smaller logo. In addition to all that; compared to its predecessor, the new website has a clear and concise main navigation, making the website easier to browse and more user friendly.

But even more notable than its spiffy new theme, the upgraded website boasts a blog, interactive slide shows, weekly videos and other frequently updated news on the president and administration. The new blog and media center, dubbed the “Briefing Room,” has been updated almost every day since President Obama’s inauguration, and on occasion more than once a day.

While Golden State Communications launches websites just like the new White House Website every month, it is certainly exciting to witness a presidential administration that embraces technology the way this one does.

Gallery

More great looking websites from the Barack Obama camp:
change.gov
barackobama.com

Happy Holidays, from Golden State Communications! Like some of our clients, you might also have an eCommerce website. The holidays are a great time to get sales from those last minute shoppers. We know you’re one of them too; waiting until Christmas Eve to get belated Christmas gifts for that last friend or family member on your list. And our last minute gift to you are some tips on how to boost your holiday web sales from your eCommerce website!

1. Turn the lights on. Update your site – your website shouldn’t continue to advertise summer sales in the middle of December. Get those best sellers out on the homepage, and highlight any holiday specials. Let your customers know you’re still open for business!
2. Decorate the tree. Add the “holiday spirit” to your website by doing something as simple as revamping the logo just for the holiday season, or adding a Christmas banner on the top of your website. But beware – too many holiday elements runs the risk of coming off too blatant or tacky. Find a healthy balance by adding either a holiday icon set or a themed logo, but not both. By the way – no one wants to see a mass of snowflakes floating around their browser window.
3. Send out invitations. Get old customers to return by sending out seasonally themed newsletters. As we start buying gifts and checking people off our lists, there’s always someone who’s just impossible to shop for. A tastefully designed promotional email in a customer’s inbox can be the perfect reminder that your store may have just the gift they’ve been looking for.
4. Drop some hints. Use the power of suggestion – make it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for with cleverly phrased promotions and call to actions like “Gifts for Kids” or “Get him something special this year.” Try a “Great Gift Ideas” list on your homepage to get your customers exactly where you want them to be.
5. Spell it out. Delivery times are at the top of every e-shopper’s concerns. Ease their qualms by displaying information about shipping times, order cut-off dates for holiday delivery, and express shipping options in a conspicuous place.
6. Bundle Up! Combine your best sellers into a “gift set” that shoppers can add to their carts with one click. Package them together in an attractive gift box or basket.
7. Prepare in advance. Get your shop SEO’d early. It can take a month or more for major search engines to index your shop. Some top keywords for the holidays are: gift, gift idea, unique gift, Christmas gift, holiday gift, baby git, gift for him, gift for her…
8. Keep it simple. I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of person that loves to get gift cards and cash for Christmas. Not only that, but I’m the kind of shopper that likes to give out gift cards as much as I like to receive them! Offer gift certificates for the shopper that isn’t sure what to buy, or who needs a last-minute gift.
9. Go global. Remember that the holiday season doesn’t just consist of Christmas. Spend some real estate on your website by catering towards shoppers that celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanza. Branching out can get you customers that your competitors didn’t!
10. Throw in some gifts of your own. The reason why some people prefer shopping online as opposed to going to the mall is because it’s easy and they don’t have to get out of their seats. Make it even easier for them by offering free gift wrapping or free wrapping or shipping with purchases over a certain amount.

These are just a few ways you can generate more sales this season, and even though it may be a little too late in the game to use some of these tips today, you’ll always have next year and the year after that! Of course, it helps a lot to have an eCommerce solution for your website that’s easy for you to use and manage. Golden State Communication’s weapon of choice is ASPDotNetStoreFront! Take a look at our eCommerce portfolio to see all of our great storefront sites.

As we all know, Facebook is used by millions of people everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. But did you know that Facebook can also be used by lawyers to serve legal documents?

In Australia’s capital of Canberra, lawyers tracked down a couple that had defaulted on a loan by doing a search on their email addresses. They then proceeded to serve them a legal summons through Facebook’s private messaging feature.

After a landmark court ruling, the Australian Supreme Court ruled that Facebook is a sufficient way of serving legal documents to defendants who cannot be found.

Other unconventional yet incredible ways Facebook has been used in the past are:

• Finding transplant donors for seriously ill children
• Fighting Terrorism
• Getting elected to the Maine House of Representatives

Wordpress.org has announced the official release of Wordpress 2.7 “Coltrane.” With added functionality in the back-end administration application, and enhanced AJAX features, what this means for YOU is a better overall user experience! Write entries in your blog or manage the content on your website with ease, with added features like:

• Keyboard shortcuts for comment moderation
• One-click plugin installs
• Drag and drop Dashboard customization
• Batch Post Editing
• click here for a full feature list

Watch the video to find out more!

WordPress is a state-of-the-art content management system and publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. Golden State Communications has created sites using Wordpress, like Kaikea Entertainment, SA Recycling, Axis Project Management, and the Urban Watch & Co Blog.

Strategic website design by Golden State Communications.

We have real people here, and do real roll-up-your-sleeves work. We don’t believe in expensive Flash intros (skip, please) or websites that try to entertain people. Rather we believe that the Internet is a utility where people go for information and to buy products and services.

We help our customers leverage the Internet in a way that

1. makes them more money
2. saves them time, and/or
3. better serves their customers

If it’s time to ask yourself, “Is my website WORKING for me?” then give us a call.