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

In life, to make sure we are getting the most out of this life it is good to sit back look at your life and determine what activities and relationships are bringing the most into your life.

In business, it is also a great idea. Author of the Four-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss realized that out of 120 clients 5 were bringing in 90% of the profit. He put the 115 on auto pilot - "They could place orders, but I wouldn't call them to see how they were doing." Cultivating the other 5 relationships with the most profitable clients lead him to increase profit by 50% and put less time into operating his business.

This is what J. Lacey Designs plans to do. We are finding that alot of time can be put into similar new clients. Allot of potental clients call in talking big but fall flat when it comes to delivering information or details on time to meet deadlines and enevitably they are the same people who (when asked) will blame it on the designers of the world. We cherish our long standing clients far too much to allow time to be taken away from them any longer. 

To accomplish this goal we will be implementing a New Client Form. Fill it out, send in all the details and information needed to begin the project. Once it is recieved we know you mean business. We will being cultivating our win-win relationship at that point. We hope you appreciate and respect our new plan. If you are serious about becoming a client, we will work hard to give you more than you ask for!

If you learned about J. Lacey Designs by attending the Jump-N-Jax sale, let me extend a warm welcome! This years Holiday Photo Card Series was designed especially for you.

Take a look around our website to learn more about us and what we can do for you. If it's the photo cards you want to take a closer look at be sure to check out the eStore. 

If it is something more customized you are looking for, call for a free consultation and we can design something specifically for you.

From one Jacksonville Mom to another, thank you for stopping by. 

J. Lacey Taylor

Did you pick up your latest Natural Awakenings Magazine this month and see us listed there? Thank you for stopping by the website to check us out!

As our way of supporting the wonderful Alternative Health, Holistic & Natural Living industry and it's followers we are offering a special discount to you for our design services. Our way of saying thank you for contributing an alternative and natural way of life and health to our community. 

When you call for your free consultation to discuss your design needs, just mention "I saw you in Natural Awakenings" to get your special discount. We are offering a flat rate design fee for Magazine, Newspaper and Newsletter Advertisments, just $69.99! And, 10% off any of our other design services.

Expires: November 30, 2009, so take advantage of the deals now! 

Thank you again,

J. Lacey Taylor
(904)860-3309
Lacey@JLaceyDesigns.com