As of last month, over 54% of internet users use one of the many versions of Internet Explorer while roughly 38% of users use Firefox. Do these numbers indicate which browser is a better choice for you to use on a daily basis?

For the first time since the internet was created, Microsoft has competition when it comes to their browser and this competition will continue to grow as time progresses.

Firefox is praised for its download speed and a user interface that is far superior to that of IE. Its pop up blocker is also highly recommended as its fans say it’s the best out there. It offers tabbed browsing (which Microsoft soon added to their newest version of IE), which means that users can jump back and forth between different sites with only one window open and much more.

The biggestchallenge facing anyone who wants to build a case against IE is that most sites are built to be viewed on IE simply because most PC’s have it built in. That means some sites may look distorted or may not be accessible at all via a browser other than IE. Does this mean that Microsoft will forever be the monopolizer in the game of best browsers? Quite possibly but here are some compared stats on the two:

Time will only tell who will rule in browser kingdom!

We have sung the praises of Drupal as one of the top website management tools quite a lot lately, but it needs to be pointed out that the platform is only as good as the modules that you install. If you are running Drupal, there are a few modules that can really help things run smoothly and keep your site running better.

• TinyMCE - is a WYSIWYG editor that has an enormous range of functionality. It is the most powerful editor I have used, it is free and if it doesn’t do something that you would like it to do then you can likely find a third party plug-in that will. TinyMCE does not play too nicely with Drupal, but it can be made to work. Make sure that you follow the documentation and it is worth checking out the video link that they provide. This module really gives you a lot of control over how text looks and enhances your website management capabilities if your HTML knowledge is a little flat.
• SEO Checklist - as the name implies, SEO Checklist gives you a checklist that will help you optimize your website. A must for the website management of an e-commerce site.
• SPAM - this add-on will help you to filter out unwanted SPAM from your comments pages. Useful if you are running a blog on your site.
• Image - a powerful image management pack that makes it much easier to host images on your site.
• Views - Organize your content into different sets. It is a great way to give your traffic access to older material on your site and a very handy website management tool.

These are just a few of the many modules that can be found on the Drupal.org website. We all have different needs and at a later stage, we will be reviewing some other modules that can really make Drupal the most powerful website management tool that you have ever used.

Drupal is one of the most complete website management tools I have had the pleasure of using to date. It is a content management system that runs the full gamut of functions that you are going to need for a website. It is free to use, which generally means there is a lot of configuration that needs to be done. The sheer range of functions of Drupal makes it one of the more tricky setups that are around these days. Once you have it going, however, it is definitely one of the most versatile website management tools out there.

What I like about Drupal as opposed to many other website management tools I have worked with is the ease at which you can customize the appearance of the website. I am not talking about making themes here; I am talking about personalizing themes. It is very easy to take a site logo and apply it to all of your themes without going in and messing with site code. It is all done with check boxes; the most that you will have to write is the path to your site logo (you can browse for it if you want). In this way, you can very easily use a single logo and a single file for a variety of themes until you find the theme that is the best fit for your site.

Another way that you can personalize your Drupal themes is to turn various components of your theme on and off. If you hate to have text in your title bar, you can disable the site title by un-checking the box. If you don’t want your site mission or statement you do the same. Anyone that has worked with other website management tools on the market would likely have experienced no small amount of difficulty in this department.

Once you have your site personalized, you can then get to work on setting up all of the modules that you wish to include. Tomorrow we are going to take a look at some of the modules that make Drupal one of the most versatile public license website management tools you can find.

If you do not already have a blog, then you are probably considering getting one. Blogs can be an extremely powerful website marketing tool, you just need to know how to use them effectively.

Pick the right script – You want the right website marketing tool for the job. There are a few blog scripts out there, but WordPress is probably the easiest to work with. It is very widespread and there are a large number of free templates that you can modify to give your blog a great look. Drupal is another that is increasing in popularity. Drupal is a Content Management System, so offers a larger range of functions than WordPress. This can make it a bit more work, but it is a more powerful website marketing tool. If you host your site at Go Daddy, you will be able to get either of these scripts installed for free.

Post regularly – You should be posting every day. You might want to take a day off each week to rest and recharge your batteries. Monitor the traffic on your website to see which days have the least visitors and pick your day off accordingly. A blog will only be an effective website marketing tool if people are subscribing to it, or at least checking it on a regular basis.

Optimize, optimize, optimize – Optimize all or most of your blog posts. You want the blog posts to be readable, interesting and at the same time draw in as much search traffic as possible. Blogs only make useful website marketing tools if they are properly optimized to do the job that you want.

Email safelists are hands down one of the greatest website marketing tools that you can build into your website. An email safelist is simply a checkbox that allows people to opt in to receiving emails from your site. If people do not agree to accept your mail, then your messages could be viewed as spam. Spam creates all kinds of problems for businesses. Aside from the reputation damage, it can land your IP address on a blacklist and prevent your mails from reaching even legitimate targets. Tread carefully when it comes to emails and invest in the right website marketing tools for the job.

Email safe lists give you permission to send emails, as soon as your client wants to leave your list, all they need to do is to click an unsubscribe link. It could not be simpler. There are scripts out there that do all of the work for you. If you are interested, contact us at Brick Marketing, or go to GetAFreelancer.com.

Web design projects can create time management issues. It takes a great deal of time to code a site if you are not doing it all the time. There once was a time that I would do all of my site designing myself in a bid to save a few extra bucks. It usually worked out well for me, but spending hundreds of hours in front of the computer screen designing websites is not my idea of fun. I prefer to be in the trenches making sales, promoting, producing content and that sort of thing. Time is money after all, and why not spend your time doing the things that you do best? Outsourcing website design can be a massive time saver and is not all that expensive with GetAFreelancer.com and Quote Catcher.

I use Quote Catcher for times that I want a site designed from the ground up. Quote Catcher will allow different designers to bid for your site. You will get up to five quotes, you choose the one that is the best offer from your point of view. The best offer does not have to be the cheapest one. It depends on your needs, if you want a slick looking website, then it is probably wise to go with whichever site designer has the most impressive portfolio. If it does not really matter, go with the cheapest.

When I have smaller or more technical jobs, I use GetAFreelancer.com. With GetAFreelancer.com you give a specific outline of the job that you require and freelance programmers will offer you bids. It is important to distinguish GetAFreelancer from Quote Catcher. The freelancers on GetAFreelancer.com are programmers, you use them for programming related jobs. If you need a shopping cart system, or would like to make some sort of site related improvement, this is the place to go.

I must confess something to you all, I am a sucker for good computer products. I am not the sort of person that rushes out to buy the latest Sony Vaio. My needs are a little more narrow. I do a lot of typing, a lot of typing. So I do not really care for squinting at a little laptop screen. I like a monitor that is big enough to line up to A4 or at least B5 sheets of paper side by side for more writing and design work. On top of that, I also like a keyboard that offers just enough spring, has a high polling rate (because I type pretty quickly) and has keys that suit the size of my fingers. I have used just about every brand in the past, but recently I have been very happy with a particular manufacturer of gaming keyboards called Razer. Whether you have heard of Razer or not is not an issue. What is an issue is the way that they use email as a powerful website marketing tool. They have the balance down just right and their emails have brought me back to their site half a dozen times over the last week. Better still, they have managed to upsize my order to the tune of $80 by selling me on a slick looking mouse as well. How did they do it?

About once or twice a week I get an email from them. It is either announcing a new product, a new special, a new affiliate marketing deal, gift guide, gaming guide or something of the sort. The emails are all glossy and entirely HTML. They are full of deep links that pull you to one product page or another within the site. Sometimes they offer specials that are not specials at all, limited edition reruns of popular products of the past, that sort of thing. The thing is, the product that I am interested in was not in any of the emails that they sent me. I found it from one of the pages that was linked to. The emails are full of links that take you to just about every sales page on the site. Such emails are a lot of work to write, but powerful, powerful marketing tools.

A regular email newsletter is a powerful tool to promote repeat business. The entire anecdote in the first paragraph highlights just how effective emails can be. I am not easily swayed, but they had me reaching for my credit card. If you are looking at how to get started with email newsletters, come to visit us at Brick Marketing. We can give you a great deal of useful advice regarding this and many other email tools. If you are already aware of the principals behind newsletter emailing then perhaps you are interested in a reliable bulk mail delivering system. If you need to deliver large numbers of emails to your clients then we recommend Constant Contact.

Pay-Per-Click networks are extremely cost effective Website Marketing Tools that can help you to build up targeted traffic for your website. We have all heard of the usual suspects when it comes to Pay-per-click advertising, Google and Yahoo! but there are plenty more, some of them highly effective, that work behind the scenes. Have you heard of Enhance Interactive? They are a pay-per-click network that will give you access to a a number of different search engines.

With Google Adwords, you get to advertise on Google which is great, but there are people that use other search engines and sometimes it can be beneficial to enter into a less saturated market. Pay-per-click networks are great website marketing tools as long as you are able to stand out from the crowd a little bit. Enhance Interactive gives you that opportunity by placing your ads through their growing network of partner sites.

Their partners include:

If you want to take advantage of one of the most powerful website marketing tools there is, then think outside the Google box. Google is great for marketing your site, but competition makes the world go round and there are some very robust alternatives.

If you are interested in website marketing tools that can help to promote your business, please visit us at Brick Marketing.

If you are running a business on the Internet then you are presented with a range of challenges and advantages that bricks and mortar businesses never encounter. If managed correctly, with the right Website Marketing Tools, online businesses can have tremendous advantages. You are able to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week a script takes care of most of the customer service work. Your website is the most important part of your business. It is the virtual representation of your business, it is your cash register, your sales clerk and your inventory.

Web Position 4 is a software package that allows users to do the following:

It is a great way to tweak a website in order to get it functioning as it should. It puts all of your search engine intelligence in one convenient location and as it is a software package, not a subscription service, it is a one time only fee. There are two options, a Standard Edition which is great for getting started and a Professional Edition for webmasters who require expanded functionality. Check out Web Position for here, they have a free trial to get you started.

The other website marketing tool that can help a great deal is Site Uptime. Site Uptime allows you to ensure that your website is contactable. The program is a subscription service that is free for the most basic service and costs up to $10 for the most advanced. Your site uptime can be monitored through a variety of protocols:

You are not likely to need all of the monitors that are offered by Site Uptime, but, the bigger your enterprise is, the more monitors it is advisable to use. You can find more information about Site Uptime here. They are well worth checking out.

If you have any questions about these or any other website marketing tools, please feel free to contact us at Brick Marketing.

Ads make great website marketing tools, but a recent article that appeared in Marketing Pilgrim might want to make you consider how you plan your campaign. Advertising makes the web go round and quite often marketers overlook the level of annoyance that their advertising causes. Generally, I take such data with a pinch of salt, but there is some useful information that can be gleaned here.

* 55% took a “strongly negative” view of pop-ups and pop-unders.
* 31% were strongly negative on online video ads.
* 27% took a strongly negative view of “advergames.”
* 21% were strongly negative on skyscraper ads.
* 18% had a negative view of banner ads.

Most people view advertising as a necessary evil, but at the same time, site owners that make a living from selling advertising on their websites do need to realize that some forms create a level of annoyance that causes backlash. So many people automatically block pop-ups and pop-unders that they have been rendered a more or less ineffective way to advertise.

While a large number of people have a negative view of video advertising, many seem prepared to accept it. The best way to make use of video advertising appears to be what many news sites have been doing for quite a long time; running the advertisement before a video. As website marketing tools, video ads still make sense. They are not as intrusive as pop-ups and they make a fairly strong statement.

Should a website marketing site steer away from advertising because people have such a negative reaction to it? Absolutely not, advertising is a great way to get exposure for a product or website. Just remember that there is a point where it goes too far. I know of at least two popular websites that I avoid because of the advertising; I don’t care for sites that have sky scraper ads with flashing borders. I block pop-ups and pop-unders because they are annoying and I tend to skip video ads if possible. Though I skip the video ads, I invariably end up seeing enough of the ad to be able to identify the product that is being sold, so they achieve their purpose. As such video ads, despite their negative image, are incredibly useful website marketing tools.

Here at Brick Marketing, we have a great deal of experience with planning and instituting advertising campaigns. If you are interested in starting a new advertising campaign, then do not hesitate to contact us.

Repeat business is the best business. There is no way to accurately predict how many customers will enter your website each month. It is possible to get a general idea based on past performance, but nothing is certain. If you are providing a quality service, people will want to come back, the trouble is your business is on the Internet and your previous customers may just search for another business that does the same thing. Building a customer relationship is essential if you want to encourage repeat business. There are a few website marketing tools that can do this. This article is concerned primarily with your contact system.

If you’ve used Amazon before, you will be aware that you get a regular email that recommends products based on items that you have purchased before. Most of the time people discard them, but I have bought more than one product based on a recommendation, and that means that their system is working. The website marketing tools required to make recommendations are extremely powerful, but before you can begin looking at anything like that, you need to look at your delivery system, because the best things that those emails from Amazon do is to remind you that they are still around. People are lazy, if they cannot remember your URL and have not bookmarked it, they will search for someone else. A regular email with a clickable link and perhaps the occasional special offer will keep people buying from you.

Your email delivery system is one your most important website marketing tools. Make no mistake, the free email accounts that you get with a hosting account somewhere like Go Daddy, will not provide the infrastructure you need to handle a large amount of email. You will need at minimum a dedicated email account. Be careful, however, as there are often limits imposed as to how many emails you can send out in one hour. If you have a small customer base, you can get around this with a lot of mass mailing programs, by staggering your mailings. This is not ideal, if you have thousands of mails to send, on top of other communications as well, but it can suffice if you are in a pinch. In this case, there are a few dedicated mail account options from Go Daddy that are worth considering.

The cheapest option is to create your own mail server. This is not particularly easy and you may not have the time to invest in learning how to do it, but if you have the required knowledge, go for it. You will need a computer that is always on. It doesn’t need to be a traditional server, a regular desktop will do, but it needs to be on twenty-four hours per day. The best operating system for web and mail hosting tends to be Linux. Should you decide to host your own mailing system then you will need to become familiar with Linux and learn some simple commands for the command line interface. You will also need a static I.P., which may actually be difficult to get depending on the country that you are in. If you have the time to spend this makes an interesting project, but for most people, it is unworkable. If you can make it happen then it is a powerful website marketing tool that you will have for as long as you do business on the Internet. Make sure that you document your settings, in case you decide to upgrade your system at a later date.

By far the easiest option, is to go with a product like Constant Contact. They provide mass mailing services for a monthly subscription fee that is determined by the size of your user base. using their services, you are able to send out large numbers of emails in a relatively short period of time. You will also have the benefit of their customer service and a solid Internet backbone.

Once we start thinking of our email system as an essential part of our set of email marketing tools, we are able to step beyond the thinking that we should use the cheapest systems available. You get what you pay for with email, while free mail systems are perfectly good for personal communication, they are woefully inadequate for business purposes. Don’t skimp on your email system, it is the means for you to keep in touch with your customers and for driving repeat business to your site.

If you have any questions about website marketing tools, feel free to contact us at Brick Marketing.

Blogs are highly underutilized website marketing tools. Blog marketing is becoming very big business, because they provide such an easy way to drive traffic to a website. They are also a great way to improve your website search engine optimization and a means to build up regular traffic as opposed to people that just pass through.

Blogs one of the easiest website marketing tools to get up and running. You will need to ensure that it is easy to navigate from your site to your blog and from your blog to your site, that requires a lot of interlinking, which can be time consuming. You will want a well designed template and you will want to ensure that people can easily find the RSS feeds on your page, that will ensure that you get more regular readers. From then, you can work on producing the content. An article a day Monday to Saturday is a good way to start. Sundays are optional, many blogs do not update on Sunday, so if you cover it then there is a good chance that you will draw some links to your site.

Blogs are fantastic website marketing tools and a great outlet for your website marketing content, but you do need to be a little careful about how you use them. You will want a well designed template that matches the look of your site. You should try to avoid the hard sell in blogs as it will turn people off. They will think that you are only promoting your products. The blogosphere is extremely fickle, it is best to be moderate. Interlink as much as possible and don’t be afraid to quote other people or link to their sites. If you quote someone or source some information from someone, always include their URL; do it enough times and you will get a link exchange. Other blogs can help to market your own. Use website search engine optimization principals, but do not overdo the keywords. If it looks obvious, people will look elsewhere.

If you are hosting with Go Daddy, then incorporating a blog is a very simple process. Go Daddy set everything up for you, so all that you have to do is to click a link. You decide where on your site you want to have your blog and within a short period of time, it is set up. Come to Brick Marketing if you are interested in website marketing tools. We offer specialist advice on a range of options that can help your website see more traffic.

With the right website marketing tools, building you can build your email safe list easily and safely. Email marketing has gotten a bad name in recent years and there is little wonder why. The brute force emailing methods adopted by spammers have made life a lot more difficult for the legitimate email marketer. The opt-in style safe list has become a popular way for webmasters to ensure that their emails are going into the right inboxes all of the time. You may or may not know that there are website marketing tools that make setting up a check box style opt-in safe list a very simple procedure.

An opt-in list will allow your customers, or even interested visitors to sign up for email updates from your site. A sign up form that allows your customers to input their personal details and check a box in order to agree to accept emails is very simple to put into place. Of course, no one wants to manually sort through all of the data that they collect from web forms. If you are running an obscure website, it would be easy enough, but if you are dealing with hundreds or even thousands of email addresses, it becomes far too much to manage. That’s where some simple website marketing tools come in handy. Rather than go to the trouble of coding the entire thing by oneself; the best option is to install some tried and tested code. It is possible to automate the entire safe list creation and maintenance process. When someone opts-in their details are immediately added to your list and when they opt out they are removed. From there you get a list of safe clients that have solicited your emails.

If you are interested in some website marketing tools that can make the job of safe list creation and management a lot easier, drop into Brick Marketing. We have a range of website marketing tools that can make your job a lot easier.