I wanted to point out a few details about the site, its mission and purpose and our target audience.
First off I wanted to tell you this is the first site of its kind. We are taking the lemons handed to us by the auto and manufaturing sector and making lemonade. The city is in dire need to attract tourists and day travelers but have not figured out the magic potion. So as I looked around at the things that make Windsor unique I notice no marketing towards adult entertainment. With the exception of some ads in print and some incomplete and outdated websites. The lack of a clear and focused demographic has resulted in a younger crowd with less spendable income. No one has taken the ability of the internet and presented it to the older crowd. The visitor that has disposable income and does not know about the thing we offer.
I only wondered why not promote things that may draw interest from adults from the US and expand upon them. So lets mix in our legal adult entertainment options and expand, escorts, exotic massage, nude strippers, great beer and liquor and don't forget the Cuban cigars. Mix 'em up and look at what you get. An extremely targeted audience. Who woulda thought?
To many hangups about what there is and what it is. I will tell you this, there is more interest in the way I present our city and with my unique way of branding it than you may think. Name association, community based, brand recognition, targeted audience.
How many other Canadian cities have the ability to draw such US traffic and let 'em pass through so quickly. Sometimes you need to put yourself on the map first and expand your message from there. More of the business owners are afraid of associating with our unique name because of hangups about it. But our visitors keep comming back for more, whats in a name anyway? For me its all about the visitor, if they can get beyond it and enter the site, explore it and get what they need, efficiently, my job is done.
11 June 2007
The Transition
The transition towards xhtml strict is going well and the new fluid layouts are getting indexed faster than ever. Since this site was launched I have been paying close attention to the types of devices and browsers used to surf the site. The fluid layouts are yeilding an even more diverse audience. We are also noticing more targeted traffic with far less one hit wonders or untargeted visitors. Our visitors stay and navigate through the categories in a wide and dynamic way. The new tableless layouts are also getting indexed better and we are getting awesome placements in several search engines within days in some cases. We have also noticed an increase in alternative browsers especially PDA/Phone browsers. Nice to see more moblie users checking us out!
The ability to draw a significantly large and targeted audience has allowed us to grow even more. The fact that we provide our content based upon our visitors experiences and suggestions is what sets us apart from the rest. The truth is your site does not need to be fancy to produce real results. Having a clear and focused message, presented in a visitor friendly way is the only thing that matters.
I also would like to mention that the concept of developing for multiple browsers tends to increase your website visitors and the amount of search engine crawling of your site. But it also increases the quality of your content. If you design for accessibility you will also receive a more targeted audience due to the ability for a search engines algorithm to match the users search phrase to the most relevent content.
The ability to draw a significantly large and targeted audience has allowed us to grow even more. The fact that we provide our content based upon our visitors experiences and suggestions is what sets us apart from the rest. The truth is your site does not need to be fancy to produce real results. Having a clear and focused message, presented in a visitor friendly way is the only thing that matters.
I also would like to mention that the concept of developing for multiple browsers tends to increase your website visitors and the amount of search engine crawling of your site. But it also increases the quality of your content. If you design for accessibility you will also receive a more targeted audience due to the ability for a search engines algorithm to match the users search phrase to the most relevent content.
04 June 2007
Web-Accessibility
I have recieved a few inquiries about web accessibility and some real life scenerios. Basically if you havent had the chance to read my comprehensive overview regarding accessibility I can briefly sum it up with some examples.
Common scenerio:
Your website is built with flash or relies on images or active scripts, etc.
Things to ponder:
The fact that these variables are mostly ignored in favour of the status quo, build for Internet Explorer and don't worry about the rest. Hey not to really knock IE or Microsoft but they really develop their products with themself in mind first and formost. They are a business and are for profit. The fact is that even by looking at this one site of mine, the stats tell me if I designed only for IE I would miss over 30% of my visitors. My stats show that over 30% of my visitors are using: Firefox, Safari, Netscape, Opera, Mozilla, PDA/Phone, Konqueror, and Camino browsers regularly. Plus those that utilize Linux, FreeBSD and Macintosh systems. Can you afford to lose over 30% right off the top? I can't. Sure I do get more nonconforming, older browsers that you probably do and its because I have opened the door for them. Not to mention my ever growing legion of Mac users! But the internet is designed to open up information and make iot more available, accessible to more than the old traditional marketing solutions.
Shoud an intenet user be excluded due to technical limitations or financial considerations?
To sum it up, if you have a message to convey or a business to promote, how can you not plan for an alternative, not a replacement, to your current internet marketing strategy that may be excluding potential clients or customers. How many more visitors do you really want to close the door on. We know it is rather unintentional considering you most likely have never heard of web-accessibility until now. As a business owner you know how you have the responsibility for your establishment to be accessible to those with disabilities, well guess what next on the horizon. The Internet. Its being done in many countries today and is spreading to the US and Canada, under the radar. It will only take a few more lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act and our own Canadians With Disabilities Provisions. Have you been to a Government of Canada site lately or have you looked into the US section 508 Guidelines? They are redeveloping all of there sites towards accessibility, for good reason. The question is do you want to get the ball rolling before it becomes mandatory?
Give me some feedback on this one.
Common scenerio:
Your website is built with flash or relies on images or active scripts, etc.
Things to ponder:
- What about visitors with older browser or text based browsers? (Will they see your site?)
- What about visitors with dial up or non-traditional connections to the internet? (Will your site load?)
- What if the visitor to your site disables your websites functionality features such as cookies, javascript, reloading, images, etc.? There are tons of privacy and security features for the user to install nowadays, and they use them. (Will your site work?)
- What if the visitor has a visual or physical imparement or disability? (Can they navigate your site?)
The fact that these variables are mostly ignored in favour of the status quo, build for Internet Explorer and don't worry about the rest. Hey not to really knock IE or Microsoft but they really develop their products with themself in mind first and formost. They are a business and are for profit. The fact is that even by looking at this one site of mine, the stats tell me if I designed only for IE I would miss over 30% of my visitors. My stats show that over 30% of my visitors are using: Firefox, Safari, Netscape, Opera, Mozilla, PDA/Phone, Konqueror, and Camino browsers regularly. Plus those that utilize Linux, FreeBSD and Macintosh systems. Can you afford to lose over 30% right off the top? I can't. Sure I do get more nonconforming, older browsers that you probably do and its because I have opened the door for them. Not to mention my ever growing legion of Mac users! But the internet is designed to open up information and make iot more available, accessible to more than the old traditional marketing solutions.
Shoud an intenet user be excluded due to technical limitations or financial considerations?
To sum it up, if you have a message to convey or a business to promote, how can you not plan for an alternative, not a replacement, to your current internet marketing strategy that may be excluding potential clients or customers. How many more visitors do you really want to close the door on. We know it is rather unintentional considering you most likely have never heard of web-accessibility until now. As a business owner you know how you have the responsibility for your establishment to be accessible to those with disabilities, well guess what next on the horizon. The Internet. Its being done in many countries today and is spreading to the US and Canada, under the radar. It will only take a few more lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act and our own Canadians With Disabilities Provisions. Have you been to a Government of Canada site lately or have you looked into the US section 508 Guidelines? They are redeveloping all of there sites towards accessibility, for good reason. The question is do you want to get the ball rolling before it becomes mandatory?
Give me some feedback on this one.
02 June 2007
For the SP's
I wanted to let all of Windsor's Adult SP's to check out our NEW FREE Profile layout. Just visit our independent escorts main directory page and scroll down, you will notice the new light blue bar below some of the listings. Click on the 'Read More' link and it will jump to our new style profile. Please note, not all features represent the free version. But I will say that the image gallery and viewer are included with your free profile, so make what ya give us good and give us what ya got!
Have ya seen our Google rankings lately? Contact Us for more info!
btw: I am being strongly encouraged by many vistors to expand this category and I need your help. What I need are some sponsors to add approx 5 to 10 new subcategories to make this happen, quickly. Or if you would consider a donation to our R & D and maintainance we would appreciate it very much.
We are the only site based and operated in Windsor and dedicated to the Windsor community, collectively.
Remeber this: What Happens in Windsor, Stays in Windsor! and our vistors know thats what we are all about.
Have ya seen our Google rankings lately? Contact Us for more info!
btw: I am being strongly encouraged by many vistors to expand this category and I need your help. What I need are some sponsors to add approx 5 to 10 new subcategories to make this happen, quickly. Or if you would consider a donation to our R & D and maintainance we would appreciate it very much.
We are the only site based and operated in Windsor and dedicated to the Windsor community, collectively.
Remeber this: What Happens in Windsor, Stays in Windsor! and our vistors know thats what we are all about.
Got Googled and Then Some!
Just a brief update about our newest addition, the Bars and Nightclubs Category.
Since our official 'live' launch of this new category and directory on May 20th, we have hit Google with a bang (and we havent really started,yet). How soon did Google cache this page? A few hours later check out the Answer!
For a few of the most common search terms used for this category, xxxwindsor.com has crossed into the next frontier. I cannot tell you what the search terms are or how they fit into the development , so that Google can make a few more bucks off those who pay for the terms and keep em guessing. I must also declare that our results were mainly on page 2 or page 3 so far, but hey we'll take it and we are proud of it.
As a note to those with whom I have spoken to about the development of this category, this points out the association between validated XHTML strict coding, standards-compliance and web-accessibility all rolled into one. When multiple factors are accounted for and alternatives can be developed properly, you reap many benefits. Accessible web pages show others how far your commitment to them, as a potential customer, really is.
Read more about who is affected by, the social impacts and financial benefits of why designing for accessibility with our comprehensive expaination about web-accessibility on our network partner site with the "family friendly" url: WindsorLive.com
The direct link is: http://windsorlive.com/accessibility
Since our official 'live' launch of this new category and directory on May 20th, we have hit Google with a bang (and we havent really started,yet). How soon did Google cache this page? A few hours later check out the Answer!
For a few of the most common search terms used for this category, xxxwindsor.com has crossed into the next frontier. I cannot tell you what the search terms are or how they fit into the development , so that Google can make a few more bucks off those who pay for the terms and keep em guessing. I must also declare that our results were mainly on page 2 or page 3 so far, but hey we'll take it and we are proud of it.
As a note to those with whom I have spoken to about the development of this category, this points out the association between validated XHTML strict coding, standards-compliance and web-accessibility all rolled into one. When multiple factors are accounted for and alternatives can be developed properly, you reap many benefits. Accessible web pages show others how far your commitment to them, as a potential customer, really is.
Read more about who is affected by, the social impacts and financial benefits of why designing for accessibility with our comprehensive expaination about web-accessibility on our network partner site with the "family friendly" url: WindsorLive.com
The direct link is: http://windsorlive.com/accessibility
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