Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Most of us put up a site because we think we ought to and with a vague hope that it will bring us more business. We may not be sure what we are doing or what to expect. This may be like getting a new puppy. You know you want it but you aren’t sure how it is all going to be.
Well much like a puppy, a website doesn’t know what to do just because you have it hosted and live. We all know that we need to train a puppy in the ways we want him to be. So it is with a website.
It does not work to bring a puppy home and expect him to know how to behave properly. You have to put effort into the training. So also with your site. It should be built properly from the beginning so that it can begin working for you immediately.
It should first be seo’d. Now what is that you say? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a big process, which we will be going over step by step. What it means is doing the things in a website that make it easily searched by the search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo.
When you put the words for the things you are searching for into a search engine and a few seconds later it comes up with pages and pages of possible matches for what you were looking, it did not go out a search all of the places right then.
When it says, “Results 1 - 10 of about 178,000″ it is giving the first 10 results that it thinks are the closest match to what you were looking for. It does that by sending robots, sometimes called spiders, out to look at pages and see what is on the pages.
These spiders scan a page and look to see if the content on the page is consistent with what the site and page titles say they are about. When it feels it understands what a page does, it indexes it, which means it keeps track of what is on that page so that it can quickly recall it if someone seaches for those things.
In our next blog we will continue explaining this process of making your website a more powerful employee serving your customers and bringing in new prospects. If you would like to talk about your site and how hard it is working for you call us at 707.528.0288.
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
Tags: Bing, Google, how does a website work, search engine optimization, SEO, website, Yahoo
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Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
Having a good looking website is a little better than nothing, but what you really need is a site that will do the heavy lifting of bringing in more business, not just look pretty. All businesses, whether in Santa Rosa or Sebastopol, or really anywhere, need to have hard-working websites.
What most people think about when putting up a website is, “How much will it cost and will it look good?” These are important concerns, however, since your site can be attractive, but not attract much business. Having a site that is pleasing to you does not mean that it will get you business.
A site might be pleasing to you and not cost very much, but if it doesn’t attract business, it is not worth it. A site might be beautiful and have cost a lot of money and still not help your business much. Having a website, no matter what it costs, is not the answer.
First things first
What you want from your website is that it work for you. Being a pretty face is not enough. Simply hanging out on the web is not enough. There are over 183,000,000 websites. What you need first with a website is to get found.
The most basic reason, in my mind, a website is put up is so that the information on it is found by those who might be interested. Most of us would not hire a person who simply looks pretty or to just show up and hang out at work. But some of us want a site so that we can say we have a site, not asking if the site really WORKS for us, beyond being there.
In the case of a website it is important what it does, not just that it be. I have reviewed many business websites in Sonoma County, most of which are not working very hard for their owners.
You can be one of the best dentists in Santa Rosa and have a beautiful site, but if it is all in flash, it only about as effective as the simplest one page website. The only people who will find you are those that are specifically looking for you. Search engines see the flash and move on, not being able to read the flash content, they don’t index it.
So if you want to talk to someone who has walked the walk and is not into just creating pretty pages, but websites that work for you and are productive, call Ajalon Printing. 707.528.0288
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
Tags: Santa Rosa, sonoma country, websites
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Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
The first question to ask a website designer is, “How hard will the website you build work for me?” They are likely to answer, “Huh?” Website designers are just not used to thinking of a website as an employee. Often they think of them as a beautiful design or creation, with little regard to how effective the site will be in bringing you new or returning business.
Your Website is an Employee
Many designers who design websites do only that. They design websites that look pretty, but do little work. Many web designers used to design for print. Some even say they will make you look as good on the web as on paper. Well, long ago we learned it wasn’t good enough to just look good. Printed materials need to turn a prospect into a client, they need to ring up sales.
We all know simply looking good in print, or an employee that is only good looking or only tries to look good, is not valuable for a business. You want an employee that actually does work, not just look good. We have not transferred that understanding to web pages.
Some years ago a pretty website might have been enough. That is no longer true. The internet has expanded your market reach, but it has also increased the number of competitors for your business. There are so many sites out there selling the same thing that you are that you have to distinguish yourself. When someone is looking for what you offer, you need to be at the top of the search results.
There is nothing wrong with having an attractive site. In fact you need one. But it must be more than good looking, it must take you to the top of the heap. It must have the content on the page, in the code and off the page that will enable people who are looking for what you are offering to find you.
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
Tags: first question, printed materials, questions, websute designer
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Thursday, March 25th, 2010
When you are planning an event, or have a program to present, it is important that you meet your goals and communicate effectively. Ajalon can help with any aspect of what you need, whether it is with posters, banners, tickets, programs or PowerPoint presentations. When you want materials that will engage your audience, or stand out from the crowd, and attract people to your presentation we are ready to help.
Posters
Posters come in all sizes and formats. You can have your posters digitally printed on a wide variety of materials. Posters can be used to advertise an event, to draw attention to a particular presentation in a booth or to let people know of a drawing for a prize. How ever you want to use a poster, we can help you design and print it.
Banners
Banner can be used indoors or outdoors. They can be part of a large display or they can stand alone. We have made banners for a company in Santa Rosa that wanted to prominently display rules for drop off that could be read from a vehicle. Social or community events often use banners to announce the event and add to the festive atmosphere.
Once again Ajalon can help with your banners. Our vinyl banners are durable, affordable, and come with finishing options that make them easy to display. We can design any banner so that you can fully customize what you need with images, photos, graphics and text.
Tickets
We have been producing tickets fund raising breakfasts in Occidental and Santa Rosa. Casino nights in Windsor or silent auctions in Petaluma. Whether you need books of tickets stapled together, pull off tabs or to have them numbered, we can handle it for you.
We have both a digital press and letterpress that can number, perforate and print, so whatever you need we are able to produce–pronto quick. Call us and find out what Sonoma County’s oldest printer can do for you and your ticket needs.
Programs
After all the planning and getting ready, you might realize that now you need to tell people who come to your event or presentation what is going to be happening and where. Now is time for your program.
Often this item is left to the end because of all the other more pressing details of the event. Ajalon can help you design and print your program quickly. We have multiple machines available that make it possible for us to meet your deadlines and create exactly what you want. You can relax knowing that Ajalon will take care of it.
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
Tags: banners, event marketing materials, event planning, occidental, Petaluma, posters, programs, Santa Rosa, sonoma county, tickets, Windsor
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Most of us got into business because we loved doing something and thought it would be cool to make a living doing it. Michael Gerber, who used to live right here in Santa Rosa, called this an entrepreneurial seizure. It befell us because of a fatal assumption: if you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that does that technical work.
What does this have to do with making money you say? Well I’m just trying to quickly get to the point that the way to make money in any business is by attracting clients who will pay for what you do. And to do that you have to market yourself. Few of us got into business to be marketers. We wanted to do work we loved.
So now that we are in business we discover that the work is to get customers, not do the thing we love.
The Good News
The good news today is that with the internet and search engines and websites, it is actually easier for your potential clients to find you and for you to meet up with your clients and not try and guess how to reach them.
They are out there searching for your type of work. You don’t have to hunt them down and try to get their attention. We all are bombarded with thousands of advertising messages each day. Traditional marketing tried to get your message out there in a way that interrupted a person’s attention long enough to get them to consider contacting you.
With the internet today there are always people out there searching for what you are offering. You just need to connect with them and follow through on helping them get what they want. This shift is an important one to recognize and take advantage of.
The Bad News
If you put the bulk of your marketing effort into trying to interrupt people’s attention, and neglect the people out there that are looking for your work, somebody else who is out there connecting with those who are looking on the web is likely to capture their business.
If you are like me, you put up a website sometime ago because it seemed to be the thing to do. You did it as inexpensively as you could. Maybe some years later you realized that this web thing was only getting bigger and maybe you went out and spent more money to put up a better site.
Now you might be hearing more about search engine optimization and social media marketing and you wonder what way to turn.
The Solution
For certain the internet is not going away. Maybe it won’t impact your business too much before you retire. If you aren’t engaged with it though, it will decrease the value of your business.
What we can offer you at Ajalon is to sit down with you and sort out what the best course of action is. We have been here in Sonoma County for over 50 years. We have survived and have helped many other businesses with their marketing by staying closely in touch with what works and what is economical.
We have gone through internet marketing. We personally have got our website to the top of Google rankings. We did it ourselves. We didn’t pay somebody to do it for us. We can help you make the educated choices to take advantage of this great new resource and to avoid the pitfalls. Call us for help in your marketing today. 707-528-0288.
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
Tags: internet, marketing, Santa Rosa, search engine optimization, search engines, social media marketing, website, websites
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Thursday, March 18th, 2010
There are some marketing materials that are particularly appropriate for doctors and dentists. These are referral forms or pads, practice brochures and welcome packets. Ajalon has been providing these for medical and dental professionals in Sonoma County for over 50 years.
Referral Pads or Forms
Some specialties such as periodontics and orthodontics rely on referrals from general dentists. Ajalon has been involved in providing attractive, effective forms for dentists from Ukiah to Petaluma for many years. Whether you need pads or individual forms. Carbonless forms are no problem. Maps and postcards are easily provided. Whatever you need is only a phone call away.
Practice Brochures
It is especially important when someone comes in contact with your office, whether it is in Sebastopol or Santa Rosa, that you have a well done brochure to explain your practice to them. Your brochure should communicate the particular focus that your practice has and provide a warm, welcoming message. We are proud of the many medical and dental professionals that we have been honored to help over the years in designing and printing their practice brochures.
Welcome Packets or Pocket Folders
When a new client comes to your office for the first time there is a lot of information that needs to be communicated and forms to be filled out. It is a good practice to have a welcome folder with the forms to fill out and information about your practice for them to take home.
At Ajalon we are experienced experts in planning and producing presentation materials that fit for your office. If you are looking to upgrade your look, and to present your practice in the best light possible, call or email Ajalon today. 707.528.0288 ajalon@ajalon.com
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
Tags: brochure, carbonless forms, dental, dentists, design, doctors, folder, maps, marketing materials, medical, orthodontics, periodontics, Petaluma, postcards, practice brochure, presentation folder, print, referral forms, referral pad, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, sonoma country, ukiah
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Thursday, March 11th, 2010
At Ajalon we do a lot of business to business printing but we also do invitations and announcements for individuals, families and families to be. Few printers in Sonoma County have the wide range of printing capabilities that we offer. With our digital, offset and letterpress printing, as well as foiling and embossing, we can create just about anything you want.
Invitations
We offer letterpress wedding invitations through our http://invitationsbyajalon.com website. We also print wedding invitations digitally and by offset, thereby meeting each person’s expectations about cost. Visit our website and see why so many are raving about our invitations.
Sakura Letterpress Wedding Invitation Design
Announcements
There are many different events that warrant announcements: bar and bat mitzvahs, graduations, births and adoptions are just a few of them. We can provide beautiful designs to match any theme you would like. From the formal to the whimsical we love helping you express your desires.
Of courses for all these events it is important to begin the process earlier enough so that your guests have adequate time to make plans to attend. And in the case of baby announcements, although it is not possible to know all the particulars ahead of time (after all, babies come on their own schedule!), basic design and format can be worked out in advance.
Baroque Letterpress Announcement
Customization and Personalization
Obviously with the vast assortment of fonts, papers, colors, printing methods, and designs it is possible to make your invitations or announcements exactly as you would like them at a price that you can afford. Call us today at 707.528.0288 or visit our site at http://ajalon.com.
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
Tags: announcements, baby announcement, bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah, birth announcement, business printing, digital, embossing, foiling, graduation, invitations, letterpress printing, letterpress wedding invitations, offset, sonoma county
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Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
Notepads are one of the most versatile and appreciated marketing pieces that people can receive. Everybody, it seems, likes to have some paper on which to write things down. I was on a hike the other day in Santa Rosa and started talking to a dentist from Guerneville, Dr. Skyrja, D.D.S. I was talking about my printing business and he said, “Oh, you are the printer who passes out note pads at the Redwood Empire Dental Society meetings. I have a whole collection of your notepads.”
There you go. Somebody who I have not really met, remembered my business because of the notepads that I had passed out. And he kept them.
What more could we want from a marketing piece. Name recognition, positioning.
Notepads are appropriate for almost any business. There are memo pads with your logo and some text, custom post it notes, a “to do list” notepad, notepads with individual’s names, graph paper notepads, and then a wide array of occupational notepads.
Persons in the medical, dental, real estate, building and contracting, professional, or services industries can all use notepads. Whether you are a carpet cleaner, florist, photographer, dry cleaners, jeweler, electrician, architect or painting contractor, it can be profitable for your business that perspective clients have a notepad with your name, phone number and web page on it so that they can easily reach you when they need your services.
Ajalon can produce any size notepad you want with any number of sheets per page. We produce top quality pads at very competitive prices. We print in one, two or full color and we offer free delivery in Sonoma County.
We can handle your artwork and design, use your graphics, do all of the printing and binding operations so that you can receive your pads quickly and at affordable prices. Give us a call today. 707-528-0288
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
Tags: business notepad, guerneville, note pads, notepads, post it notes, Santa Rosa, sonoma county, to do list
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Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Promotional materials, which are wide ranging from calendars and pocket planners to pens and computer accessories, are really part of your marketing. Almost everything that Ajalon prints is part of the marketing mix of a company. Business cards and letterhead are really business stationery which is part of what promotes your image or brand to your customers and prospects.
The same for your brochures and flyers. So you see that your printer is really helping you with your marketing. Promoting your business to the world. And promotional items are another arm of that process. Corporate apparel, custom T-shirts and personalized gifts are promotional items that extend your marketing arm.
So it is only natural that Ajalon would sell promotional items. We have had many years of helping Sonoma County businesses with their corporate gifts or awards. Truthfully there are a lot of businesses out there that who sell pens and candy with your name on it. But do you know the company you are dealing with? Can they be trusted?
What we can offer you is our experience and expertise. Our seasoned professionals can talk the graphic lingo that promotional item manufacturers speak. Since we have been doing this for over 50 years we know who is best at producing what.
We can offer you peace of mind. When we are in charge of the job you don’t have to deal with files and wonder if things are going to turn out or be the way you want them. You get what you want with no hassle.
So when you are looking for those items to promote your business, to leave behind after a sales call or something just to say thank you, Ajalon can get what you want when you want it. Give us a call today. 707.528.0288
Written by David Walrath
Ajalon Printing & Design
Tags: bags, calendars, candy, computer accessories, corporate apparel, custom T-shirts, drink ware, executive gifts, gifts, mugs, pens, pocket planners, promotional items, promotional products, trade show items, treats, wearables
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Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Labels are almost a non-ending category. Labels actually seem to have more applications than the rest of the printing industry put together. Here in Santa Rosa, centered in the great wine country of Sonoma County, we easily think of wine labels. But wine labels are only a tip of the label industry.
Here is just a short listing of the types of labels: anniversary seals, embossed anniversary seals, asset tags, bar code labels, bumper stickers, business card magnets, vinyl decals, fan folded custom labels, foil labels, hang tags, laser labels, name tags, roll labels, sheet labels, short run custom labels, tamper proof seals, security stickers, window decals. And did I mention wine labels?
In this dizzying array of offerings, it is good to have a printing business like Ajalon Printing to help you with your label printing needs. We can help you sort through the many different requirements that you have for your label and help you choose the best product that will serve your needs.
We can simplify your label shopping by helping you decide what the best solution is to your labeling needs. Applying the wrong label to a product can make the product unsellable. That can be expensive.
And we can help you with your label design. If you aren’t sure exactly what you want on your label, our designers can work with you in creating exactly what you want.
If you only need a few labels and you need them fast, Ajalon can step right up and help you. If you need thousands of specialty labels that have to be a specific size, again we can produce them for you. Sheets of labels or rolls of labels, we are ready to help you.
Tags: anniversary seals, asset tags, bar code labels, bumper stickers, business card magnets, embossed anniversary seals, fan folded custom labels, foil labels, hang tags, laser labels, name tags, roll labels, Santa Rosa, security stickers, sheet labels, short run custom labels, sonoma county, tamper proof seals, vinyl decals, window decals, Wine Country, wine labels
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