Make Your Web Site Google-icious

For many Web users, Google or Yahoo are their first stops when searching the Web. And, when those search results appear, it is our goal that K-State Research and Extension sites top the list, and that our descriptions within those results are captivating enough to get users to click on our links.

So, a question we ask is how to make our sites more “Google-icious!” Here are a few tips:

-Title your site. Make sure your page has a descriptive, accurate title. It’s the first thing people will see from your site when they do a search. And keep it short. If you look at Google search results, Google only displays about the first 64 characters of a title.
-Always add descriptions to documents. When making PDFs with Acrobat, use Control D, and put a good title in the title field.
-Include alt text on navigations, graphics. Without alt text, search engines cannot “read” what your graphics represent. Adding the alt text lets a visual item be read as content.
-Create a network of links. By linking to other sites and encouraging them to link to your site, you can move up the ranking of search results.
-Add metadata. These are the descriptive words that explain what is in your site, and it also appears in the site description in a Google search.
- Register your site at Open Directory Project, a web directory of Internet resources, including Google: http://dmoz.org/add.html. Or use http://www.google.com/addurl.html

For more tips to make your site Google-friendly, check out these resources:
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/Help_Google.htm
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/Help_Google_Find_Ext.pdf
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/Help_Google_Find_Kansas_U.pdf

If you need more information on search engines, please contact Amy Hartman at 785-532-6379, or email ahartman@ksu.edu.

Make Your Web Site Google-icious

Expanding on Branding -- Who do we want to be?

In marketing, the term "branding" is used to reflect what an organization wants to be. Sometimes, however, branding is confused as being our logo or perhaps some other graphical representation of the organization.

An organization's brand is a promise -- a promise that whenever "customers" come to the organization, it will provide something of value.

K-State Research and Extension promises practical, research-based information that improves the quality of life of people in Kansas. That's the foundation of our organization's brand. From that, many "sub-brands" might represent our organization -- maybe good, maybe bad -- depending on how well we serve our customers.

For example, our customers may come to know us as having excellent customer service, friendly people, being easily accessible or something else. What we are known as depends largely on how well the entire organization consistently displays certain values.

Logos and other images become a symbol of an organization's promise. People who see our images and have a positive or negative impression often tell others about us -- a concept known as "buzz marketing" or creating "buzz."

Bottom line: When all members of an organization consistently deliver on the organization's brand promise, that's what people come to know you as.

See and share more marketing tips online at www.communications.ksu.edu/marketing.
-- Pat Melgares, melgares@ksu.edu, 785-532-1160

Expanding on Branding -- Who do we want to be?

Newsletters Appeal to Current Users

The time you spend on developing a professional newsletter representing your local office or your program seems to be well worth the effort. Marketing research continues to show the value of newsletters as an information source for people currently involved in your program.

In his 1988 doctoral dissertation, Jim Lindquist (currently the Assistant Director for Extension Field Operations), reported that 57 percent of all Kansans used newsletters as an information source. In 2007, K- State Research and Extension's statewide telephone survey showed that more than 3 in 4 Kansans consider newsletters as "very effective" or "somewhat effective" ways to find information.

Lindquist's study found that the use of newsletters was highest in rural areas and for Kansans who were already involved with an Extension program ("users"). The 2007 survey also indicates high usage among rural residents (83.3%) and current users (86.9%), but also among young adults (84.4%), non-users (75%) and suburban residents (72.6%).

Professional newsletter design and printing services are available through K-State Research and Extension's Department of Communications, and can be paid with the county allocation. For more information, contact Greg LeValley at glevalle@ksu.edu . --Pat Melgares melgares@ksu.edu

Newsletters Appeal to Current Users

Signage for Offices and Trade Shows

First impressions are critical when it comes to reaching new customers, and often your signage is the first thing people see. People often form an impression based on your signage: expectations of quality, accessibility, what type of service is provided, and cost. This applies not only to your storefront, but also trade shows and exhibitions. When you consider how many potential customers walk past your booth at a fair or trade show, think about what they perceive from your booth´s contents. Does it look dated? Does it look thrown together? Or does it look modern, top-quality, and thorough? Does it tell them what you offer and how to reach you?

One quick way to update your trade show presence is by purchasing a new display. Roller-shade displays are gaining in popularity. They are compact, easy to set up, affordable to update, and look more `hip´ than the traditional trifold booth display. There are two K- StateResearch and Extension banner displays available through Steven Graham, and a few counties have also purchased them individually. We encourage those of you have purchased and/or used this type of display to comment about them on our blog at http://ksremarketingminute.blogspot.com/. Specifically, please post about the vendor you used, the cost, and benefits or negatives of this type of display.

And, if it´s your office or storefront that needs the update, consider applying for a signage mini-grant, now available from K- StateResearch and Extension´s Department of Communications. Details are available at http://www.communications.ksu.edu/marketing. If you have any questions about signage or any other marketing-related topic, please contact Pat Melgares or Linda Sleichter at 785-532-5804.-- Linda Sleichter, lsleicht@ksu.edu

Signage for Offices and Trade Shows