Please become a Facebook fan of Graphic Design Needs to complete your free logo design contest registration. We will choose the lucky winner on the last Friday of each month, and will announce the winner on our Facebook fanpage. Good luck to everyone!

Sincerely,

Graphic Design Needs

How to Effectively Use On & Off Page SEO

SEO isn’t taking a back seat anytime soon. But with new technology and updates, search engines are better able to track spammy SEO techniques and penalize accordingly. That means that your approach to SEO must be well rounded and integrated in order to stay on the top of search engines.

SEO can be broken up into two respective categories: on-page and off-page. On-page optimization deals with techniques used on actual web pages, whereas off-page optimization covers tactics used in other areas like link building, article distribution, etc. To stay on top, you’ll need to integrate both of these categories in your marketing endeavors.

Do I really need both? YES! Keeping SEO rich content on your webpage is key, but if you don’t promote your site with off-page SEO tactics then it’s for naught. You won’t see that rise in the search engine’s like you hoped for unless you implement both categories.

So how can you effectively use both forms of SEO? Here are our top do’s and don’ts:

DO:

• Perform keyword research and testing
• Use a Meta Description tag
• Use ALT and H1 tags
• Implement an internal linking strategy
• Use keyword rich content
• Create a sitemap
• Track targeted keywords
• Use keywords in anchor text links
• Submit your website through link directory submitters (only submit to high ranking directories)
• Use deep linking
• Track all active keywords
• Use relevant keywords near your link
• Distribute keyword rich articles
• Perform online PR campaigns

DON’T:

• Use hidden text or links
• Repeat keywords
• Use mirror or doorway pages
• Duplicate title tags
• Use off-site images
• Use link farms
• Place irrelevant or random keywords near your link

With Google’s constantly changing regulations, it can be hard to stay on top of what’s considered appropriate and what can be marked as Spam. If you’re concerned that you might not be up to the task of staying updated you can outsource your websites SEO campaign to professionals who are always learning new techniques.

Need help with your SEO strategy?

Let our Miami SEO experts at Graphic Design Needs help your business achieve online success with a wide range of on-page and off-page search engine optimization services.

Graphic Design Needs Client Featured on NPR

The non-profit organization Wish of Lifetime, a client of Graphic Design Needs since 2008, was featured in a story on NPR’s “Morning Edition” on Wednesday, May 30, 2012. Wish of a Lifetime works to grant wishes for senior citizens, similar to the way the Make a Wish Foundation does the same for children with life-threatening medical conditions. Graphic Design Needs has the privilege of designing the organization’s logo and other branding material, as well as several other graphic design projects over the years.

The NPR story details the wish granted to 75 year old Dorothy Flood. Her wish was to have a meal in a train dining car, an experience denied to her and her grandmother on summer trips by train to North Carolina, due to the Jim Crow segregation laws in the South at the time. (Listen to the NPR story on video below). Wish of a Lifetime was founded by Olympic gold medal skier and former NFL player Jeremy Bloom.

Graphic Design Needs owner Michelle Schaad said “We are very proud to have been a small part of the success of Wish of Lifetime, and we couldn’t be happier to see it accomplishing its outstanding mission.” Graphic Design Needs is a boutique graphic design, branding and online marketing company based in West Palm Beach, Florida and serving clients nationwide and internationally.

If you would like more information about Graphic Design Needs, or to schedule an interview with Michelle Schaad, please call 561-444-9280 or email info@graphicdesigneeds.com.

Listen to the NPR story

Want to create an easy circular logo design for your company? Watch the video to learn some quick logo design tricks. Please leave us a comment below to let us know if this was helpful.

(Must have basic Adobe Illustrator skills.)

RighteousT.com is dedicated to providing well-made, comfortable t-shirts that make you want to wear them all the time. Almost all t-shirts are made with organic cotton and made with non-toxic, water based inks. Their designs are simple, powerful, soulful and thought provoking. This logo design reflects their “all natural” theme.

Blue Chip Fitness is home to the revolutionary new LibertyBell exercise device, similar to, but much more effective then a kettlebell or dumbbell. Their motto is “Better Design. Better Body.” A key part in this logo design was making it have an athletic feel. By combing design elements and colors that reflect the fitness industry, this logo design hits the mark.

The law offices of William M. Cavanaugh, P.A. understands that the US immigration system can be complex, filled with red tape and hurdles. They provide personalized legal representation to all immigration matters and strive to obtain successful results for their clients.

Seascape Wine & Spirits is a recently opened, family owned business in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They provide quality liquor, fine wine, and beer and pay special attention to satisfaction. With a newly renovated interior and fully stocked shelves, Seascape is ready to make your experience a pleasure.

Almost everyone has jumped on the popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. But LinkedIn is sometimes perceived as a third wheel. The benefit of LinkedIn is that it’s specifically tailored for networking professionals, so much so that it’s been nicknamed “the Facebook for professionals”. But is simply filling out the profile fields going to get you the connection and networking that you’re looking for? Maybe. But there are additional ways to amp up your LinkedIn profile.

Check out these 3 steps to create a successfull LinkedIn Profile:

1. Your Summary is your elevator pitch. What points would you try to convey to your dream client if you only had 30 seconds to talk? A successful elevator pitch should make the receiver want to know more, and it’s no different with your summary. Be memorable, descriptive, and make the reader want to know more.
2. Write your profile in first person. Third person writing is for movie stars and athletes. Write about you and/or your company’s accomplishments, in addition to your experience and background. Write about what you can do for your customers.
3. Be brief. While it’s important to be descriptive, you’re not writing a brochure. Be concise and conversational. Your trying to spark a connection, not give a presentation. Write like a real person instead of a corporate microphone.

Consult these steps when creating or revamping your LinkedIn profile. They’re sure to help you make real world connections.

Do you have a LinkedIn profile? We’d love to connect with you! Leave your LinkedIn URL in the comment section below.

About Us:
Graphic Design Needs is a full-service design and marketing company specializing in logos, branding, graphic design, website design, direct mail and online marketing, commercial printing, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), and social media marketing (SMM). We are located in South Florida and serve Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach locally. Other cities we work in are Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle.

While some may argue that it’s only common courtesy to follow all those who follow you on Twitter, there’s more to consider than simply being nice. The choice of deciding what followers you should follow back is one that haunts veteran Tweeters and newbies alike. We’ve broken down the pros and cons to both arguments so that you can decide which following style fits you.

Those who think you should follow all people who follow you have adopted the view that it’s proper etiquette and that it allows for the quickest way to increase your own Follower numbers. But, the more Followers you have, the easier it is to lose track of conversations since your Twitter feed is clogged with dozens and dozens of tweets that might not necessarily pertain to you. This method can also open you to more security threats from spam accounts.

Those who prefer to moderate and review those that they follow do so with the intention of keeping conversation and interaction more focused. They only follow profiles that really interest them. While this method gives an increased level of security and a less cluttered feed, it also limits networking opportunities.

Both have valid view points, right? We say – have a balanced approach. Look for opportunities to meet others that can help you to grow personally and professionally. Having good tools will also help to maximize your Tweeting efforts. Check out our article about the top free apps for managing your social media accounts and see which ones work for you. And lastly, have fun! Twitter is a more casual platform and really promotes one on one conversation.

What’s your Twitter strategy for following others? We’d love to hear!

About Us:
Graphic Design Needs is a full-service design and marketing company specializing in logos, branding, graphic design, website design, direct mail and online marketing, commercial printing, search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), and social media marketing (SMM). We are located in South Florida and serve Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach locally. Other cities we work in are Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle.