July 12,
2006
In This Issue:
1. Package Deal vs. Custom Quote
2. In the News - AdWords Quality Score, Watermarking,
Google #1
3. More News Headlines
4. Wrapping It Up
_________________
Package Deal vs. Custom Quote
Back in the day, we used to offer several "web
packages" for new clients. A package would
include web hosting, domain registration, and
a business web site for one lump sum. The packages
differed mainly on the web site part of that --
a 5-page site would cost X, a 10-page site would
cost Y, and a 20-page site would cost Z.
From the client's perspective, these packages
were probably attractive because it took any mystery
out of the budgeting. You knew exactly what your
web site would cost.
From OWT's perspective, these packages were unattractive
because it meant we had to force our clients to
fit into a pre-determined mold. If you paid for
five pages, we had to fit your online business
into five pages -- sometimes, even if that meant
doing things the wrong way. It was, at times,
like trying to fit the proverbial square peg into
a round hole.
We don't offer packages anymore; instead, we give
every prospect a custom quote based exactly on
their needs. If your business demands eight pages
or 80 pages, that's what we quote. What we do
different, though, is provide a tremendously detailed
cost proposal. I've never written a bid/estimate
that's less than three pages long. Most run 4-5
pages, with every feature/tool/milestone broken
out and described in some detail with an hourly
range for each. Hopefully, that takes the mystery
out of the costs.
Still, there are packages available from other
developer shops, and plenty of places to find
templates for your web site, your shopping cart,
or whatever. The cost is less, but you probably
end up with something that looks generic (if you
buy a template) or doesn't quite fit your needs
(if you buy a package). What you have to decide,
if you don't have a web site yet or are looking
for a new one, is which option is best for your
current situation. If your business is really
small, and you're just starting out, the package/template
option might be the way to go. But we think in
most cases, a detailed, custom quote makes more
sense.
_________________
In The News
Lots of stuff going on in the month since the
last Net Gains came out, so here are a couple
items worth nothing. And be sure to check "More
News Headlines" below for some recent Google
announcements and such.
AdWords Updates Quality Score
If you use Google AdWords, be on the lookout this
week for changes to how Google scores the quality
of your landing page. Google says this will only
affect a small number of advertisers, but if you're
one of them, it means your minimum bids will automatically
be raised -- possibly to the point of not being
cost-effective. There's more information about
this week's changes on the AdWords blog.
Landing
page quality update
Google: Landing
Page and Site Quality Guidelines
Image Watermarking Software
Last week I updated our OWT article, Macintosh
Web Developer's Toolkit. <http://www.owtweb.com/resources/mac-toolkit.html>
The addition was for a cool tool called iWatermark,
which simplifies the process of adding watermarks
to your photos. And it's compatible with both
Macs and PCs.
iWatermark
Google Still On Top
This one goes back about a month, but a quick
heads up about the latest stats measuring search
engine usage. All three major rating services
show Google way ahead of Yahoo and MSN, with Google's
share of searches ranging from 43% to 59%. You
can see the charts at Search Engine Watch.
Hitwise: Google
Nearing 60% Of Queries In US
_________________
More News Headlines
Here are a few news headlines worth your time
to read. These are just some of the headlines
we've posted to OWTweb.com in recent days.
25
ways to add quality content to your web site
July 05, 2006 - Search Engine Guide
Google
launches Checkout, not the rumored GBuy
June 29, 2006 - Search Engine Watch
Google
adds dayparting to AdWords
June 16, 2006 - ClickZ.com
More headlines: http://www.owtweb.com/news/
_________________
Wrapping it Up
That's all for this week. Thanks for reading!
Thanks for reading,
Matt McGee
The OWT Newsletter is a weekly service
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