I must admit, SEO hasn't been a priority of mine. With the limited amount of time I've had to actually operate J. Lacey Designs and juggle the rest of my life I had just about as much business as I could handle, that is, until NOW! Time is on my side now. It just naturally happens as our children get older we have more time for our interest. J. Lacey Designs is fast approaching a more full-time operation schedule.

With all of that being said, SEO is a new priority for JLD. Like any business on the web, search engine rankings are extremely important bringing in more business without the cost of a full sales team. We have recently run more reports about our website and worked on the three key aspects of SEO until we were told, we are "100% optimized". Here are some tips to keep in mind when working on the three aspects of your SEO.

Meta Tag:
1. Title - get to the point and keep it short, include your keywords.
2. Description - location and phone numbers are important here. Copying the first well written sentence in your body copy helps with relevancy.
3. Keyword - think of words that best describe your biz, keeping in mind your ideal client. 3-4 words is perfect or at least keep it under 10. Make sure they get the most hits first by checking your keywords out at www.wordtracker.com.

And, don't forget that the body copy and the name of your images/graphics on your page play a big role with these three key points. 

We hope this helps with your SEO ranking.

J. Lacey Taylor

Generally I'm a positive person, I really dislike starting the year's blogs off on a negative note. In the end, I hope to turn this blog into a positive direction.

But first let's start off with the complaints. These typically come up when someone asks me what I do for a living, "website and graphic design", I say. I get the dreaded negative look back as if I were the last web designer they worked with. Here is what they say,

"Website Designers, ...
1. ...disappear on me."
2. ...had control of my site."
3. ...charged for every little change I needed."
4. ...don't share my style."
5. ...didn't get the job done in a timely manner."

These aren't everyones comments but there is definately a theme for some, of feeling they had no control over the situation with their web designer. To remedy the problem I offer my clients solutions upfront so they know they are in charge of the the project, knowing that I am there to assist and see the project thru to it's completion. Here are a few of my solutions to the 5 items above.

J. Lacey Designs,...
1. ...has been in business since 2006 with 13+ years of experience in Florida.
2. ...offers full website control if desired. Offering the client training, support and ability to take over all control of the website and website maintenance after the design is complete.
3. ...we are experienced, which means we are fast with our changes, which saves you money. When it comes to website maintenance, our clients generally gather a list of items that need to be changed. We charge not by the hour but by the quarter hour. If you just have 15 minutes of work, that's all you pay.
4. ...can replicate almost any look. You've heard the old adage, "don't judge a book by it's cover". The same is true for designers, "don't judge a designer by their website". Personally, I spend more time planning my clients website, than I do for my own.
5. ...provides a process and calendar for each website project so that you know when and what to expect. We help you meet your website deadlines and goals and have the experience to do it.

Lastly, if you personally have any hesitation regarding website design and/or designers, feel free to contact me. I personally sit down with each client to make sure that you get what you are looking for and feel confident in getting the job done on your terms.

J. Lacey Taylor