Is there a free site like angie's list?

Review and Proof-Read of our web site. (www.mainretail.com)

• Hi, First off, forgive me if this is long, we are selling our software trough the Internet since one year and we are not doing well. We hire a couple of companies this year to do the optimization and do the monthly maintenance with the 5 biggest Search Engines including Pay per Click on Overture and nothing happens. We read many answers from professionals like, Lot-ga, sgtcory-ga ?and we found that Serenata-ga were very professional and friendly writing. We would like to Serenata-ga answer these questions but others are welcome. After your analysis, we well hirer a Company or a person to re-submit our site and do the monthly maintenance. 1 ) ?Review and Proof-Read of our web site?. (www.mainretail.com) ? Perhaps related, it would be great if you look at how Mainretail.com rates within the Internet community as well. ? What, if anything, should we add to the site, to attract and interest potential buyers? ? What, if anything, should we modify in the current site? ? How can we improve the path a prospective buyer takes through the site, in order to make the initial contact easier? ? Suggestions on layout, navigation, color, logo, graphics, copy, information provided, information missing, would all be welcome. ? Instills a sense of professionalism and confidence. ? Appears to have the information they are looking for. ? Is easy to navigate. ? Is well written. ? Who knows, your advice could directly change the website itself. 2 ) I would like our website to rank higher for the search term "point of sale" and "pos" on the Google and Yahoo search engines. 3 ) How can I find companies related with my site, to establish Links? Retail Associations like National Retail Association, are considered valid links? Is there a site that suggests that? 4 ) DOCTYPE Declaration & Title Tags - Are we making good use of our DOCTYPE Declarations and your <title> tags? 5 ) Using your statement ?Since Google and the major search engines and directories basically ignore metatags, you need to add RICH, DESCRIPTIVE text for the search engines to index and return in answer to a searcher's queries. Make sure every page has enough text to meet those queries." Do we have good description in our keywords and description meta tags? 6 ) Can I have a suggestion on an advertising slogan for POS Software Company? 7 ) List of Companies who does ?Press Release?. 8 ) List of magazines dedicated to retailers, to send ?press release?. 9 ) How can we get seal of approval from Microsoft, Borland, magazines, etc...? ? 10 ) List of Companies who sells software to National retail chains. 11 ) Who provides the best information on price comparisons, user reviews, and ratings for Point of Sale systems for small and medium Retail Stores? 12 ) Can you suggest 6 companies to do the submission and maintenance of our site? Thank you Cesar Pinto

• Answer:

  Hi Cesar Pinto ~ Your request was daunting, to say the least, as you requested a great deal of information about a subject with which I wasn't entirely familiar. I think, however, that it may be to your benefit that I wasn't, as it gave ME an opportunity to consult with some friends in retail and food service about the subject. Of course I asked them for their opinions on your website and will include that information in this answer. Your site is also available in Spanish, but I will address this from the English perspective only, as Google does not provide facilities at this time for multi-lingual questions and answers. ======================================= General Overview & First Impression of the Main Retail Site ======================================= My initial impression to the site was confusion. 1. Color - Across the top is one color combination of black, white and red. Below that is a color combination predominantly of blue and white. It almost appears that this is taken from two different sites. 2. Name - The top part is "Applications Network", although the domain name is www.mainretail.com. A graphic "Main Retail" is located below a navigation bar, it really doesn't appear to be the name of the website or your product, but looks more like a header. 3. Focus - There is no "real" information to grasp or focus on. The first "bulleted" phrase is "The most complete package available in the industry today for retail stores." However, what package? Specifically for what? The eyes are drawn either to the Applications Network colors at the top or to the bottom where you've got images of software, ie., SQL SErver, Windows 2000, etc.. Are you selling these products? The text information doesn't state nor infer what the purpose of this site is, either, which adds to the confusion. ============================= Suggestions for Improvement ============================= Your domain name - www.mainretail.com --------------------------------------- Main Retail is the name of your product and shares the name of your domain. This should be the predominant name on your page. "Applications Network" should be relegated to a much smaller and less important position on the page. The name of your product "Main Retail" should be what your visitor remembers. You can mention "Applications Network", but I would mention it in a footnote or using an asterisk, something like: "Main Retail, a Division of Applications Network" (or whatever is appropriate) and then only once, in a footnote, perhaps. "Main Retail is a wholly owned subsidiary of Applications Network" If you want continue promoting Applications Network, then you are going to have to work harder at building the Main Retail brand, which is an entirely different issue. Color ----------- Choose one color combination for your site. You have two distinct color combinations which are not only confusing, but they don't really compliment each other at all, giving the site a "disjointed" feeling. There is some information on web safe colors on the Webdevelopers Notes.com site here: - http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/design/4.php3 Another article, "How To Select Perfectly Matching Color Combinations" by Robin Good, helps you understand the importance of colors. - http://www.masternewmedia.org/2003/04/30/how_to_select_perfectly_matching_color_combinations.htm Personally, I recommend the use of the blue and white theme. Blue is a cooler, more professional color - there's a reason they call IBM "Big Blue" - and shades of blue are pretty much "safe" no matter how bad some monitor's colors may be tuned. Color should be a sort of 'framework' for the content of your site, and not so obvious that it distracts from the site's business. I would stay away from reds, because you are wanting to market your product to businesses to whom 'red' silently says "bad news". Whatever you choice, keep to one color combination and employ that through the site. Focus --------- Every page on your website should have a purpose, and that purpose should be immediately understandable by your visitor. There should be some 'action' you require from your visitor as well, and your content should compel the visitor to perform that 'action'. I would imagine in your case it would be to contact you for more detailed information. The type of product you are offering doesn't lend itself well to either "impulse buying" or purchasing after only one visit to your site, so you should write your copy and present your information in such a way as to satisfy their curiosity, easily find answers to their immediate questions and ultimately, to contact you. Surprisingly, the visitor's eyes do not go to the upper left hand corner of their monitor, but down about an inch and to the left about three inches. Your focus or focal point should be there, and your important information should be presented at that point. Information should be grouped with white around it to make it stand out as the "important information" on your page. And you should always assume that your visitor has no idea what your product is. You wouldn't start a "sales pitch" in the middle, and your web page should not presume that your visitor knows - in this case, what "POS" or "point of sale" is or can do for them. Some Online Resources On Web Design ------------------------------------- Joe Gillespie's "Web Page Design for Designers" - http://www.wpdfd.com/index.htm Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox - http://www.useit.com/alertbox/ Jeffrey Veen's "The Foundations of Web Design" - http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/98/07/index0a.html All the above have some good basic and not-too-technical information on how to design a "user-friendly" site, including what your Visitor expects and anticipates. I don't always agree with every point in any of their advice and information, but there really *are* basics, which have been empirically noted on how people approach websites. ================= Site Specifics ================= You are proud of Main Retail, and rightly so. You have worked hard to develop a product and now you want to market it to others. Having lived with your project for so long, though, it is easy to forget that your site visitor doesn't have all that information you have. I'll try to point out "areas" where you can improve on the information you have, or add information that is lacking, in order to get your visitor to contact you. ================== 1. Home Page ================== Besides the confusion of product, color and focus listed above, there is a very "crowded" feeling about this page Your navigation bars at the top are cramped, and some are on (or in) the grey bar which fades to the right, and some below it in a smaller (shorter) bar. "Main Retail" looks more like a subject header than a product, which is the main product you are trying to promote. The graphics to the right is too vague to be connected with the content (or lack of content) on this page. A better graphic would be a photo of a happy merchant or retail clerk using a POS product, it would help define exactly what YOU mean by "point of sale". Does YOUR "point of sale" mean this? "POS (point of sale) is the physical location at which goods are sold to customers. A point-of-sale (POS) software terminal is a computer replacement for a cash register. More sophisticated than traditional cash registers, a POS (point of sale) software system includes the ability to track customer orders, process credit cards, and manage inventory." [From P.O.S. Direct "What is Point of Sale?"] - http://www.posdirect.com/whatispos.php?PHPSESSID=e6a7a226d2264eb795abe829cf42455d Or does your "point of sale" mean one of these terms as found in Google's search engine using the term "define: point of sale" (without the quotation marks. - ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=define%3A+point+of+sale&btnG=Google+Search Google's got a lot of definitions of "POS", too: - ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=define%3A+point+of+sale&btnG=Google+Search and, as you can see, they are not all related to "point of sale". Define what YOUR particular POS application is about - and not by listing a whole list of 'features'. You also cannot assume your visitor will understand the benefits to him of your POS packages, so it is your responsibility to show him how it will benefit him. The term for this, "sell the sizzle", holds here. Your customers won't buy "features", but they will understand and buy Main Retail for the benefits those features offer. Keep all your 'subjects' grouped together, too. You have a "Main Retail POS software promotion!" with "Click here to see our business proposition" in the middle of the page, and then "Online and Real Time Access" (a feature) and "Even when you are out of town, you can supervise Point of Sale, Invoices and Inventory Sold just by accessing the Internet." (a benefit) which should realistically be a part of the main focus benefits of your site as discussed above. Taking the time now to write clear, relevant copy, which contains those terms under which you want your site to be found will help your visitor understand what you are offering and consequently aid in search engine positioning. While you should indeed stress that Main Retail is Windows-oriented, the software at the bottom of the main page more properly belongs on an inside page in which you discuss the technical issues of Main Retail instead. Your 'promotion' should be that ... a promotion of some sort. If it does involve completing a survey, you should say so wherever you mention your promotion. The way it is set up could very well be interpreted to be misleading, and that is the last impression you want your visitors - which are your potential customers - to have. ======================================== Promotion or Business Proposition Page ======================================== The first thing to think about is the fact it is a pop up page. What do you have in place for those visitors who have pop ups disabled? "Applications Network is offering to you a great opportunity of winning complimentary Main Retail (Module 2) POS system. Completely FREE! No Contract, No strings attached. There will be 2 drawing every month, totalizing 24 Main Retail software (Module 2), which can be installed in a network up to 5 computers. To participate, you just have to enter the information in the forms bellow. Sooner you enter, grater will be your chance of receiving the best POS in the market today." [From your javascript:popSurvey()] Grammatically, it should read: "Applications Network is offering you a great opportunity of winning a complimentary Main Retail (Module 2) POS system. Completely FREE! No Contract, No strings attached. There will be 2 drawings every month, totaling 24 Main Retail software (Module 2), which can be installed in a network of up to 5 computers. To participate, you just have to enter the information in the forms below. The sooner you enter, the greater will be your chance of receiving the best POS in the market today." Do not miss this chance to be one of the winners! In addition to that, you make them fill out yet another SURVEY to enter your drawing ... which is overkill. You should definitely combine the condition they fill out the survey and agree to using their comments, etc., instead of requiring them to fill out another form. The object is to make things EASY for your visitor, not chase him away with a lot of information he's not ready to just give up. And what about those who don't want their information publicly paraded? Where is your privacy policy? I am certainly NOT going to do business with anyone who doesn't ensure my information is not shared or spread all over the internet. And about 90% of your site's visitors share that opinion. ========================= Navigation and Coding ========================= A check of your HTML shows a remarkable 341 (give or take a few lines) of coding in the header before we ever get to the content of your site. Most of that is for the navigation of the site. Two things to think about is that some search engines choke on that much javascripting and may never get to your inside pages. And what do you offer those who are browsing with javascript disabled? How can they navigate your site? A simple search to see which of your pages are indexed can be done on Google by typing "allinurl: www.mainretail.com" in Google's search box. There are only five pages returned. - ://www.google.com/search?q=allinurl:+www.mainretail.com&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=0 Google specifically recommends you "Offer a site map to your users with links that point to the important parts of your site. If the site map is larger than 100 or so links, you may want to break the site map into separate pages." [from Google's Design and Content Guidelines] - ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html Good design principles also include including text links on your page so those who are not seeing your page as it is designed can navigate. If you want to keep the scripted drop-down menus in your design, at least link to the script so search engines can get to the content, which is what really counts when it comes to search engine placement. ============ About Us ============ As a rule visitor expects to see information about the real PEOPLE behind a product on the "About Us" page, and not information about the product(s). The material on this page would better be a part of your product information pages, and some real information about the people behind Main Retail would be more appropriate on the "About Us" page. INformation should also involve information about your physical location and phone numbers. ============== Contact Page ============== Again, you are using the Applications Network information for Main Retail. You should use the contact page to further strengthen Main Retail's relationship to Applications Network, with Applications Network taking a lower or lesser rank. This site *IS* about Main Retail, after all. Under "Contact A Reseller Near You" are locations for Florida, Michigan and New York, with phone numbers. Unfortunately, there is no name with those phone numbers. Are these businesses? Are they individual people? If you want your visitor to call a number, then be courteous enough to tell your visitor who he is calling. =============== Support Page =============== Your support page directs users to: 1st - "the on-line help and in the User's Guide" then - "feel free to call, fax, or e-mail our Technical Support Department" You should supply a link to your User's Guide. Without that, you are forcing the user go hunting down that link. The same is true for the phone number and fax number, they should be included on this page. The email address is [email protected] ... is that your Support email? Either way, you should ensure your visitor understands who he will reach if he chooses to use that email address. Again, you are asking for comments, and payments to "Applications Network" instead of Main Retail. If you are keeping that name, Main Retail, you have to refer to "Main Retail" first, because that is the name of your product, and Applications Network second. =============== What is ASP? =============== This seems somehow to be sort of 'thrown in' as an afterthought. Bearing in mind that you cannot make the assumption that your visitor understands "POS" or "Point of Sale", he likewise may not understand what "ASP" has to do with those terms, either. This page might better be included with product information, at the very beginning ... sort of a "Beginner's Guide to Networking" or whatever you choose. It leaves your visitor wondering why it's sitting out there on your navigation all by itself. ========================== Main Retail & Formatting ========================== Since Main Retail is the focus of this website, it is necessary for this to be the very first link (after the "home" link) on your navigation. There is a perception that your links are in order of their importance. Yes, your visitors do expect to see an "About Us" and a "Contact Us" and a "Privacy Policy" page, but these are usually toward the bottom of your internal links within your site. You have a LOT of information hidden within the drop down menu: * Info * Features * Screen S hot * video Demo * Price List * User Manual * Online Help I'd seriously rethink your navigation system (as mentioned above), and in any case, this should clearly be out there for your visitors to click on, instead of relying on a drop down menu. These pages include information they need to make an informed decision whether or not to buy YOUR product, Main Retail. The rule of thumb should always be to make it easy on your visitor, not to make him dig around looking for the information he may need. The more he looks - and fails to find - the information he is seeking, the greater chances he'll click away to another site that does supply the information in a user-friendly, easy-to-find way. Two items I feel I need to mention at this time are the right justification and the graphical 'hint'. Right justification is great for print, it's really bad looking online, by nature of the way the internet is constructed. Online does not offer the letterspacing and kerning that printing does, so some lines have way too much space between words. This is irritating to someone who is trying to read the information. The word flow in your text would flow more smoothly if you let that right margin fall where it may. On some browsers at some default settings, it looks pretty bad as it is. As for the 'hints' to the right of your text, you have "The retailer can see the POS movement thru the internet". I think "on" the internet may work better for you. ============================ Main Retail Features Page ============================ Your 'features' page lists scores of Features. But features alone aren't going to induce your visitors to buy. - http://mainretail.com/web/page.asp?lang=e&id=8 You need to convert those features to "benefits" so your visitors understand why all those features are important and what they mean to him. An easy way to change a feature into a benefit is to take each feature and then add, "what this means to you is ..." after it. The part that comes after those words, "what this means to you is ..." is the benefit. For instance, you have a 'feature' under Point of Sale, "Join Invoices". So, what does that mean to your visitor? What benefit is there in being able to "join invoices"? It would be better to break this page up into the separate sections and rewrite it to point out why each of those features will or can benefit your visitor. Without helping him to understand why any of those features are important, their meaning becomes diluted. Especially when there are so many - as there are on this page. ============ Price List ============ Your price list is confusing. You have a "one time only" charge for different levels which require, first, that they have to click on each of those modules for more information; and secondly, when one gets to the information, it is based on the number of 'seats'. First of all, what are you referring to as a 'seat'? From there, it becomes more confusing. For instance, what if I have 5 seats but want the support features you offer in Module IV? Do I have to order that, even if I don't need those 5 extra seats? And why isn't the Office Manager automatically a part of it? Can it operate without the Office Manager? My friend who has 31 locations, with at least 3 cash registers in each location, and usually more (drive in and larger counter areas). He couldn't figure out, after a half hour on the site, how to order what he'd need for his chain. He lives the "buzzwords" for his fast food chain. POS and Point of Sale and most of the language you use are not foreign to him. He understands inventory control down to the price and how to order soft drink lids, and he couldn't figure out how he would begin to make a price estimate based on the way your price structure is published. His system is serviced by IBM, and it includes the whole deal from equipment, registers, computers, intranet tie-ins and everything else he needs, and he leases the system. Support and upgrades are either free or incur minimal charges and maintenance is worry-free for him. Your prices "look" good, until one starts adding in the features one needs or wants. Then there is not that great a difference. His ultimate argument is that he doesn't have to 'own' or tie up his own system. Equipment and the software he presently leases can be easily upgraded or updated, and maintenance and service are a part of his contract, greatly minimizing downtime. It might be worth it to rethink how you are list your prices in order to make it easy for even those who marginally mathematically inclined to arrive at a better estimate of the ultimate cost. =================== Method of Payment =================== You offer Paypal as a payment method, which is a popular mode of payment; why not go the rest of the way and either open your own merchant account with your bank or use a seamless third party processor. This gives you a more "professional look" and offers an immediate payment method when your visitor makes the decision to buy. Some third party processors with a good reputation are: * 2 Checkout (accept credit cards without a merchant account) http://www.2checkout.com * Internet Secure (for Canadian payments without a merchant account) http://www.internetsecure.com ============= Online Help ============= It seems that your online help closely resembles your User Manual (which is in PDF format) which is over 400 pages of information. You are relying on java for part of the online help. What do you offer your customers who have java disabled? Is there an alternative method you can use to present this information? ================ Office Manager ================ This page describes the usefulness as a user interface for all the modules of Main Retail. I assume you have it listed separately because you offer it separately as well, but it wouldn't hurt to include it in your information about Main Retail, or at least heavily link TO this page in order to help your visitor understand and fully appreciate this interface. ============ Reseller ============ This page is serving the dual purpose of recruiting resellers and provides reseller for Florida, Michigan and New York. As a courtesy to those who are reselling for you, you should list them first, along with WHO those phone numbers belong to in case. Remember, no one likes to make "blind" phone calls to gain information. Once again, you are using the Applications Network header, and the email address for Main Retail. I would repeat the need to clearly establish the relationship between Main Retail and Applications Network and be consistent throughout the site. I also noticed at the bottom of the Reseller Application a toll free number. This is the first I noticed that number and wonder why you don't offer your customers the use of that number as well, especially since you limit the amount of "free" support time. ================================== Free Trial & System Requirements ================================== Your offer to download a free trial is always a good idea, especially from a marketing standpoint. My recommendation is to combine the "System Requirements" with the download page and to give your visitors more information about the download. Is this download time limited? Is it fully functional? Does it include all the modules? Providing as much information as you can will only increase the chances that the software will actually BE downloaded and put to use. ================================ Summary of Overall Impressions ================================ You specifically asked for the following information: ? Perhaps related, it would be great if you look at how Mainretail.com rates within the Internet community as well. ? What, if anything, should we add to the site, to attract and interest potential buyers? ? What, if anything, should we modify in the current site? ? How can we improve the path a prospective buyer takes through the site, in order to make the initial contact easier? ? Suggestions on layout, navigation, color, logo, graphics, copy, information provided, information missing, would all be welcome. ? Instills a sense of professionalism and confidence. ? Appears to have the information they are looking for. ? Is easy to navigate. ? Is well written. I will emphasize the need to establish from the first the fact this is Main Retail and it is a (division, subsidiary, whatever the relationship) to Applications Network. This is to brand the Product first, since that is the domain you are using, then the company who makes it. Be consistent throughout the site with that product/company information. This method works fine with Microsoft and its products (such as Windows OS), so you should have no problem establishing the same type of information for your own visitors and customers. You should also establish on the first page what the site is about, what you are referring to as "POS", "Point of Sale" and even the "ASP" and how it relates to Main Retail. I would include graphics showing users of your system. There are many sites with royalty free photos you can adapt to the site. Here are a few for starters: * Comstock http://www.comstock.com * iStockphoto http://www.istockphoto.com * Royalty Free Photos http://www.royaltyfreephotos.com * Getty Images http://www.photodisc.com * 1 Stop Stock http://www.1stopstock.com Any of the above offer photos which you can add to your site where appropriate. Your offer of a free module, etc., in exchange for the survey should be clearly delineated as such, don't make them fill out the survey and then enter the drawing, combine the two and clearly tell them what you will do with the information. Speaking of 'information', you should also adapt a privacy policy. Not all of your customers will want their information shared or published. You should establish and publish a privacy policy. This not only lends credibility to your company but establishes trust with your visitors, who you are hoping to convert into customers. Information on drafting a privacy policy can be found on the Electronic Privacy Information Center - www.epic.org Other sites with enough information to get your started on drafting a suitable privacy policy can be found here: * Law Commerce http://www.lawcommerce.com/ * Privacy Affiliates http://www.privacyaffiliates.com/ With regard to your navigation system, there is so much information you are offering, I would again suggest adding a site map, and perhaps a site search so they can find the information they may be seeking, as well as a FAQ page. The object is to make it very easy to navigate and find the information, so you probably cannot add too many ways to help your visitor find what he is looking for. Think hard about your navigation system. Using a drop down menu forces your visitor to first, search for information and then remember where that particular menu item is. Perhaps the old tried and true method of using a text menu on the left hand side would be of more value for your visitors. Lastly, as stated, I would suggest one color scheme throughout the site. The colors should be easy on the eye and should be unobtrusive, as you do not want them to detract from the information. ================================= Addressing your other matters ================================= I'll address the further questions and information you are seeking in your questions. ==================================== Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) ==================================== You said, "I would like our website to rank higher for the search term "point of sale" and "pos" on the Google and Yahoo search engines." Everyone would like to rank highly in search engine results pages, but unfortunately, there are 10 places per page. Searching Google for the term "POS" returns over 13 million results. - ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=POS&btnG=Google+Search and searching for Point of Sale over 8 million results. - ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=point+of+sale&btnG=Google+Search Obviously, the competition is pretty strong for those choice positions. Google thoughtfully provides guidelines on how to place well in its Webmaster Guidelines, here: - ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html And explains the importance of its PageRank system in its Page Rank Information: - ://www.google.com/webmasters/4.html and in "Our Search: Google Technology": - ://www.google.com/technology/index.html From your questions, though, you were already aware of these recommendations, but you should definitely take them to heart. ===================== Establishing Links ===================== You asked, "How can I find companies related with my site, to establish Links? Retail Associations like National Retail Association, are considered valid links? Is there a site that suggests that? It is rare that software developers make good marketers. You are ahead of many others by realizing you need to establish some good links from important sites. The most obvious start would be links from your existing customers, both in the manner of testimonials on your own site and encouraging a link from their sites. If you have such a relationship established already, it is usually easy to ask them for both a testimonial and a link. It is only courtesy that you link to them as well. Business.com offers a listing of state retail associations on its site here: - http://www.business.com/directory/retail_and_consumer_services/associations/state_retail_associations/ You might want to take a close look at those state association websites and contact the key personnel from the sites which most closely match your own professionalism. Remember, though, that you do not want to merely be a part of a page full of links. Likewise, About.com has a listing of different types of retail associations which will also give you some idea on which you may want to approach and establish a working relationship with. You can find those here: - http://retailindustry.about.com/cs/org_categories/ It isn't always easy to judge which might be just the hot spot you need, so this might be the perfect time to hire a good public relations person who will have the contacts to help with both issues, establishing the links and gaining some publicity for Main Retail. ========================= DOCTYPE, char-set and Title Tags ========================= 1. DOCTYPE ----------- You asked, "DOCTYPE Declaration & Title Tags - Are we making good use of our DOCTYPE Declarations and your <title> tags?" All of the pages have an appropriate DOCTYPE declaration. 2. Char-set ------------- None of the pages, however, contain a character set declaration. The importance of using a char-set declaration is addressed by the World Wide Consortium here: - http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/charset.html as you can see, it would be to your advantage to add the encoding within your Header tags to ensure your viewers actually see what you intend them to see. I would recommend adding this one: <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> 3. Title Tags --------------- Your title tags are in all caps, which are harder to read than using upper and lower case. Every page uses the same title tag as well, "Point of Sale/ Inventory Control for Retail Sales". It is much better and adds to the ease of indexing your site if each site has a title tag that more closely represents the actual contents of that page. For instance, "What is ASP" ... instead of the title tag which you are using on every page, a better title might possibly be "What is ASP? Point of Sale Information from Main Retail" Your title tag does have some weight with most search engines, so appropriately naming each page and using key words in the Title tags is ultimately to your advantage. ==================================== Metatags - They Do Serve A Purpose ==================================== You asked, "Do we have good description in our keywords and description meta tags?" Because some unscrupulous webmasters long ago started abusing the keyword and description metatags by stuffing them, they are given little, if any, weight by most of the major search engines. Lesser directories and search engines, however, may use them for finding your site. Even Google occasionally uses a description tag for its description of a site in search engine results. On the other hand, you do not want to appear as if you are "stuffing", "spamming" or otherwise gaming the system. Keywords - Put them to good use by including those words under which you wish to be found without stuffing them with needless words. You might want to use Word Tracker which will help you determine the most requested phrases covering Main Retail to help you decide which order to place the words. Each page should have keywords relevant to the content on that page, why use the same 'catchall' set on every page when you have this ability to customize them to reflect each page's content? Word Tracker can be found here. - http://www.wordtracker.com Description - You should likewise carefully consider a one or two sentence description for each page, reflecting the page's content. Think carefully about how you would like each page's description to show up in its own search engine results listing. ==================== Advertising Slogan ==================== You asked, "Can I have a suggestion on an advertising slogan for POS Software Company?" Developing a good advertising slogan is as important to branding as the development of a good logo and your website. A slogan should take into effect your company's mission, goals, customer service policies, dedication to excellence and then transforming them to a slogan which can be stated in 6 to 8 words. In your response to my Request for Clarification, you stated your market was wide open. A realistic approach is that many of the major retailers already have a system in place, or at least portions of the system you offer. Many of those are proprietary systems with Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, NCR and others which provide the total system for millions of dollars. That leaves a considerable market for you to try to cover, from independent grocers in specific locations to small fast food operations, to business-to-business (B2B) operations, etc. It really wouldn't be appropriate until you make other major decisions, including whether or not you might want to target a specific niche market to even try to develop a good slogan which will be both memorable and serve you well. You need to make firm decisions as to direction and reach before a slogan should even be considered. =============== Some PR Firms =============== You asked for a "List of Companies who does ?Press Release?." I can recommend the following, as I am familiar with their work. * B L Ochman, author and moderator of Marketing Wonk's I-PR list. http://www.whatsnextonline.com Contact information - http://whatsnextonline.com/contact.html * Nancy Preiss - Campaigns that work http://www.campaignsthatwork.com You might also want to consider joining and taking advantage of PR Web, the free wire service here: - http://www.prweb.com Lastly, there is a great service which you may find of particular interest in Dan Janal's PR Leads: - http://www.prleads.com or consult with Dan Janal here on internet marketing strategies - http://www.janal.com/consulting.html =========================== Retail Trade Publications =========================== You asked for a "List of magazines dedicated to retailers, to send ?press release?." Starting with media & public relations: * Retail Council of Canada's "Canadian Retailer" - http://www.retailcouncil.org/media/cdnretailer * Chain Store Age - http://www.chainstoreage.com * DSN Retailing Today - http://www.dsnretailingtoday.com * Stores Magazine - http://www.stores.org * Apparel - http://www.bobbin.com/bobbin/index.jsp * About Com's retail publications lists - http://retailindustry.about.com/cs/pub_categories/index.htm A Google search for retail trade publications returns about 868,000 results. - ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=retail+trade+publications&btnG=Google+Search This is where a good PR person comes in handy as he or she will be familiar with the particular niche or trade publications you need to target for the best results. Most PR people have the lists necessary to assist you along those lines, and as a rule, their contact lists are not for sale. To try to list them all is no help to you until you decide on a niche and then look for the best publications within that niche. No company can cover every possible publication, therefore, it would help to target a certain sector and seek the publications important to that sector. ========================== Seal of Approval ========================== You asked, "How can we get seal of approval from Microsoft, Borland, magazines, etc...?" 1. Microsoft ------------- Microsoft does not give a "seal of approval", per se. They will, however, allow you to use their "made for" logo on your own software if you meet certain criteria. The information is available on the Microsoft website on "Designed for Windows Program" - http://www.microsoft.com/winlogo/software/default.mspx 2. Borland ------------ Borland's site offers a "partnership" program, and I think what you are looking for there is its Borland Solution Partner Program (BSP). You can find information about the BSP program here: - http://borland.com/partners/become/solution_partners.html and general information about its partnership programs, "Become a Borland Partner", here: - http://borland.com/partners/become/index.html 3. Magazines -------------- Each magazine you might choose will have its own information on how to achieve this goal, provided the magazine offers one. It would be necessary to check with each magazine on how to submit for such a program. 4. Online Sources ------------------- You might want to consider listing your 'free download' software with CNet Networks online. This covers both C|Net and zdnet. The site to do that is located here: - http://upload.com.com/3910-21-5.html?path=/?tag=subnav ================================= Companies that Sell Software to Retail Chains ================================= You asked for a "List of Companies who sells software to National retail chains". This, again, is a difficult list to complete. Retail chains are like any other business in how they may purchase software. Some of them order through one source, such as Office Depot's corporate sales or Business Services Group. Others use corporate supplier branches of retail outlets. Still others deal directly with hardware and/or software manufacturers for licenses and the equipment they need. Some deal with mass merchandisers such as Boise-Cascade - http://www.boiseoffice.com/ Or Office Depot's Business Services Division - http://bsdnet.officedepot.com/ and other similar business service divisions of retailers. This, too, is one of those questions that is both sector and individual retailer specific, and it would be impossible to provide a true 'list' of companies who sell software to these chains. Most will buy the best way possible. ====================== Price Comparisons ====================== Surprisingly, I was unable to find a real price and/or feature comparison of Point of Sale Software. A check on Froogle - http://froogle.google.com - produced a comparison of Quickbooks POS software, but not a lot of other offerings. I was unable to find comparisons on C|Net, ZD Net or PC World, either. Apparently, no such comparison exists at this point. ========================== Submission & Maintenance ========================== You asked, "Can you suggest 6 companies to do the submission and maintenance of our site?" I am sure you can appreciate that recommending others is not always easy to do, as it is my word saying these people are "great". As a web designer myself, I sometimes consult with the experts listed below. If you are talking about site design for user and search engine optimization, I can recommend: * Shari Thurow - SEO expert and author Grantastic Designs - http://grantasticdesigns.com/services.html * Jill Whalen - SEO expert and author HighRankings - http://highrankings.com * Bruce Clay - Search Engine Optimization - http://www.bruceclay.com/rates.htm The above are totally ethical in their approach to search engine optimization and they consistently boosting their clients' sites high in search engine rankings. There fees are high, but they are among the most recognized names in the industry. Whether or not you retain them for site maintenance or if they even offer an ongoing service will be between you and them, should you decide to engage their services. If you are talking about normal site maintenance, I can recommend Judy Vorfeld of OSS Web Services, http://www.ossweb.com. I'm sorry the list didn't include six persons, but without understanding your total needs in design, optimization and maintenance, I am hesitant to recommend someone who wouldn't do justice for you or your site.