We kid! But seriously, people want to pay you money for your services or products. Trouble is, they don’t see you when they search on Google for that thing your company provides.

Lucky for you, inbound marketing company HubSpot has published a free, downloadable ebook on Internet marketing. We checked it out and cribbed some of the best tips for you. An Internet marketing plan can be a lot to tackle on your own. We’re here to help so feel free to contact Vital with any questions.

1. Choose Your Keywords Wisely.

Pick about five keywords that you want your business to be found for, and be sure to use them in your website content. If you are a small to medium-sized company, try to avoid widely used words like “company” and “business” when choosing your keywords. They’re so widely used that they won’t help you get found. Instead of trying to be found for “software company,” for example, try to be slightly more specific: “NH software,” “educational software” or “software for teachers” are better choices. (But don’t be too specific. Very specific keywords technically boost your SEO rating, but they don’t do anything for you if no one is searching those terms).

2. Optimize For Your Keywords.

It is great to include the keywords and search terms for which you want to rank on Google, but be sure you are still writing content for the end user, not just Google. Don’t try to squeeze in as many search terms as possible all over your site. Another way to maximize your SEO is to link your search terms to other pages of your site that relate to that search term. Also, make sure you name your images with search terms when you save the files and with ALT tags when you (or your Web developer) puts them on your site. Search engines don’t “see” images, just text.

3. Create Content.

We love business blogs. When you create lots of original content (integrating your keywords of course) you boost your SEO ranking. A blog gives you a chance to add pages to your site each time you publish a new post. Because your blog will have interesting, remarkable content (as HubSpot would say) such as industry news, company news, and community-related info, it becomes something other people will link to and share through social media. This increases your number of inbound links, which has beneficial search results. You should also use Facebook and/or Twitter and/or LinkedIn and other social networking sites to promote new blog content. Social media can help boost your page views and, in turn, your SEO.

3. Turn Clicks Into Cash.

Once you have a base of people following you on social media sites and visiting your site or blog, turn those clicks into sales. Try promoting a special offer on your site and on your social media pages—you may bring in new customers. Experiment with different ways of doing this to see what kinds of promotions help you connect with your audience. (HubSpot has lots more tips in their ebook).

4. Go Mobile.

Talk to your developers about optimizing your site for mobile so it can be viewed on smart phones and tablets. Add a QR code to your print materials so potential clients can scan it and be directed right to your site. Offer mobile-friendly offers using Facebook Places or Foursquare.

5. Analyze. Then Adapt.

Keep an eye on your analytics. How much of your site traffic is repeat readers? How many viewers are you getting, and from what sources? Who is linking to your site? If you’re not getting the results you want, you may have to make tweaks to your strategy. Would more specific keywords get you found more easily? Do you need to start posting more or better content to your blog so that other people want to link to it? It’s important to take a step back and look at your strategy and think about if there’s anything you could be doing better.

This is just scratching the surface of HubSpot’s ebook—be sure to check it out for yourself. Want some help? Vital Design can help you with all your Internet marketing needs. If it’s time to take your Internet marketing strategy to the next level, (which it is) get in touch with us by phone at (603) 766-1902 or on our website.

The team at NH website design firm, Vital Design is excited to launch Abraham & Ichabod Arts, a new website for children’s author and illustrator Joseph A. Vitterito II MD. The cheery, whimsical site introduces Abraham R. Chuzzlewit–Vitterito’s dog and literary alter ego–and Vitterito himself, a local neonatologist and “the guy who holds Abraham’s pencil.”

The site features WordPress as a content management system (CMS) and allows Joe to update the site himself. He can edit the content, add photos and create blog posts and news updates, which are great for search engine optimization (SEO – getting found on Google).

On the site, you’ll find  a new online store for Vitterito’s books, and a link to Pawz Off Threads, where Vitterito sells a variety of T-shirts, caps and print materials featuring his artwork and the slogan “Just Woof It.”

Some of Vitterito’s newest books are “Ichabod is Not a Duck” and “Theophilus, the Porcupine Who Wanted to Play Volleyball,” both of which can be purchased online. Visitors can connect to Abraham and Ichabod Arts with their social media accounts, including Facebook and Twitter social media marketing – a great strategy for keeping in touch with fans.

Vital Design used many of Vitterito’s original drawings to bring splashes of quirky joy to the new site, a sweet nod to the people Vitterito strives to please the most: kids. “I don’t want to be famous,” Vitterito said, “But if a child finds joy in my stories and my drawings, if they get the point…there’s my fame.”

The page also features a news section, which Vitterito can update with blog posts that will share stories and updates from his life as an author, doctor and dog-lover.

Vitterito said he was very pleased with the new Web page. “It really captures what I wanted,” he said. “It’s a perfect place for me to spread news, sell books and share whatever other stuff comes out of the mind of Abraham R. Chuzzlewit and company.”

What do you think? Please feel free to comment below and feel free to contact Vital Design for help with your own WordPress site – or any other kind of website.

To support the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Tournament, Vital Design is helping to facilitate the use of Twitter during the tourney. (If you’re not familiar with Twitter and want to get set up right away with an account or on your phone, click here.) If you’ll be tweeting from the tournament, include hashtag: #NHGolf in your tweets and register your Twitter name here so we know to follow you.

Golf and Twitter may seem at odds – people often turn off mobile phones on the course – but there are a lot of reasons Twitter is good for a community-oriented golf outing.

1. Real-time info

This is a scramble format and it’s mostly for fun, but teams are serious about winning. People remember your company or organization name more if you win. Having real-time scores from your competition will help you plot your strategy. (Do you go for the green in two on 17? Heck yeah, you’re three strokes back.) We also plan to display Tweets on a large screen at the clubhouse, so even if you’re not on Twitter, you’ll be able to see top scores and decide if it’s go time. Or Miller time.

Real-time info will also help tournament organizers respond quickly to any issues, such as if play is slow in a particular area or if people are confused about rules. Or if certain pasty members of the business community need sunblock stat. Anything like that.

2. Smack talk

Smack talk – good-natured ribbing of your opponents – is a part of golf, at least at our amateur level. Anytime you have a new way to poke fun at your your competition and business associates, life’s better. Feel free to use Twitter to bust on your friends, your competition, and your boss. We’re joking a bit, but these types of tweets can show a new side – for the better – of the real culture and relationships that exist in the Portsmouth business community.

2. Exposure

Tweeting about the tournament adds real-time communication to help folks who are stuck in the office to be involved in this event. Last year, Vital Design tweeted scores from the hole we sponsored and were surprised that so many people were paying attention online that they sent us direct messages days later on Twitter to find out who won. Also, each time someone tweets about the tournament, it’s like a little shout-out to the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce. Each tweet helps spread the message that the Chamber is a fun way to stay connected with your local business community and friends and helps build the brand  and identity of the Chamber as well as the city of Portsmouth.

4. Building connections

The whole point of these types of events is to establish and strengthen our business relationships and networks. While there is limited time to mingle, Twitter offers another way to connect with other members of the business community throughout the event. Is there someone you want to meet but didn’t have time to catch up with at breakfast? Let them know on Twitter. Or search for the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce hashtag: #NHGolf on Twitter to catch up with them after the event.

Get started with Twitter

By now, you’re probably either on Twitter or you’re never getting on Twitter. But if you’re still on the fence, here are a few simple ways to get started and a few apps you can use for your phone.

To set up your account, visit Twitter.com. Choose a username and password. You’ll want to use your real name if possible or something close to it. Be sure to fill out your bio and add a picture of yourself. If you’re having trouble, check out how to get started with Twitter.

To use Twitter with a smart phone:

If you have an Android, iPhone, BlackBerry or other smart phone, there are lots of free applications you can use. You probably have a Twitter app that comes with your phone. If not, here are a few that we suggest. You’ll want to visit the sites on your smartphone or go to iTunes or Android Market to download the apps.

iPhone: Tweetie or Seesmic

BlackBerry: UberTwitter

Android: Touiteur, Seesmic, or HootSuite

To use Twitter from a cell phone:

Twitter was created to be used via text messages. So if your phone can text, you can use it to send and receive tweets.

1. sign in to your twitter account
2. click Settings, then Devices, enter your cell phone number.
3. text the code/word that Twitter supplies to 40404.

You can choose which people to receive updates from if you like. Once you’ve set up your phone with the steps above, simply text your 140-character tweet to 40404 and you’ll be tweeting from your account.

There’s nothing more frustrating than filling out an Adobe PDF form then realizing you can’t save it.

Recently, one of our clients had this problem on a PDF form we’d created for him. It seems like a hiccup that should have an easy fix. But the link that should explain it on Adobe’s site was broken. (They’ve since fixed it.) But you know when we find a good solution, we try to share it. (See posts like, “Creating a Facebook Page With Custom HTML” or a “How to Rotate Photoshop Brushes.” )

After testing the template several times internally, we delivered the branded, updateable document and our client tried it out too. He was psyched. But when it came time to save a new proposal, he couldn’t save a copy of the template with his new data entered. Here is how we were able to set up his document so he could save form data – complete with colorful, easy to follow graphics:

These few short steps will enable you to save an Adobe Acrobat form in Adobe Acrobat Pro so users fill out forms and save their entered data in Adobe Reader.

1. Open your doc in Adobe Acrobat Pro.

2. Under “Advanced” on the tool bar, click “Enable Usage Rights in Adobe Reader…”

3. Click “Save Now” and save your document with a different name.

4. Close the existing document and open the new one that you just saved.

Now you too can set up Adobe PDF forms in Adobe Acrobat Professional so people with Adobe Acrobat Reader will be able to actually save them!

We recently launched a new website, http://www.portfolioluxurykitchens.com for Stratham, NH custom kitchen showroom Portfolio Luxury Kitchens. The new site features an inviting, tactile, clean design aesthetic which highlights Portfolio Luxury Kitchen’s expanded showroom and portfolio.

The site also serves as a resource to homeowners by letting them sign up for design seminars and download .pdfs of design idea galleries.

We designed and developed the new site with a Flash gallery. The site is mostly a brochure/portfolio site that serves as an information resource for new and returning visitors as well as a branding tool for Portfolio Luxury Kitchens. Portfolio owner Kevin Roy likes it.

“This is a gorgeous new site,” Roy said. “Vital Design worked well under our demanding design standards to produce a site that showcases our premium work and our style.”

If you’re not familiar with our company, check out our site and portfolio. Vital Design provides website design, graphic design, branding, copywriting, public relations, and email marketing. Some of our clients include the New Hampshire Film Festival, the One Hundred Club, the Portsmouth Gaslight Company, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Orion Seafood International, and The Stone Church. Vital Design, supports Portsmouth Community Radio WSCA-LP 106.1 FM with gratis graphic design and is a member of the Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce and New Hampshire Creative Club.

Portfolio is recognized as the Seacoast’s premier design firm for custom cabinetry and millwork. A unique professional service, established in 2006. Portfolio’s designers and builders offer years of expertise in the field of design, project management, and skilled craftsmanship.