Old City Web Services

Free Tools for Content Writing

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Wait a minute… What is content?

Content is the text, images, video, graphics, as well as every additional element that isn’t part of a design. So, if you have a website, brochure, business card, social media platform, etc., then content writing should be important to you. After all, websites, pamphlets, and other marketing materials tend to have more written content than the other types of content.

We offer content writing services and can help you cross off tasks on your to-do list by creating your social media posts, weekly blogs, marketing emails, or the content for your site. Don’t hesitate to ask us if you have questions about our content writing services or the free tools for content writing below! Schedule a free consultation by clicking the button below or call us at 904-867-4112.

Schedule A Free Consultation

Free Tools for Content Writing on A Budget

We understand that small businesses have a long list of expenses. While one year, written content might be at the forefront of your mind, the next year your budget may not permit it. Therefore, we’ve comprised a list of free tools for content writing. This way your content won’t suffer if you can’t hire a professional just yet.

content-writing

You really should hire a professional.

The whole idea of marketing materials is to persuade a consumer to do business with your company. So, your content should be persuasive and convey a message. The best way to guarantee this is to hire a firm like Old City Web Services to create your website, social media posts, online blogs, etc.

A content writer ensures your content speaks to your business’ audience. The writer will make sure your content is purposeful, relevant, and structurally sound so that your reader easily flows through the text. You know how your business functions and may just not be able to put it into words.

When we design websites we encourage our clients to hire us for content writing as well. The last thing we want is for our clients to be stressed about misspellings or if their writing sounds good. In fact, sometimes when clients write their own content it delays the launch of their website because they don’t have enough time to write it or they have a difficult time putting the words on paper. Since we want our clients to have a stress-free experience with their new website, we figure it’s easier for us to write their content for them! After all, we’re sure you’d rather be running your business and doing what you love than writing content.

You really should hire a professional.

If you aren’t ready to hire a content writer, the tools above will help you write your best content yet! But when you are ready, we can help you! We use tools like these and others to write and format content for our clients. You can get in touch with us by clicking the button below or calling us at 904-867-4112.

Schedule A Free Consultation

Mission Statement

The mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success.

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OldCity Web Services – Highlights of 2017

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Check out a few highlights from our year in 2017.
From website and print designs to new content services, SEO efforts, and pro bono projects – we’ve been busy!

Advertorials

Advertising and Content

In 2017 we implemented a new type of advertising on OldCity.com, called advertorials. We now offer a 300-word blog, made-to-order for our clients. Advertisers can use advertorials to spread the word on sales, services, general awareness and more. Our first client was the franchisee of the local chain, Dunkin’ Donuts. Check it out.

Content Writing

St. Augustine Historic Inns

In other content news, the St. Augustine Historic Inns requested we create intriguing blogs for their customers, which are then published on the bottom of their Home Page. The blogs vary in topic, but all pertain to things-to-do, holidays, and events in St. Augustine. Now, when potential customers navigate to the Inn’s website, they are greeted with material that is persuasive, making them more inclined to book a trip to exciting St. Augustine!

Print Design

Bluewater Adventure

Bluewater Adventure Rack Card Design

Front and back of rack card designed for Bluewater Adventure.

Bluewater Adventure’s made a big move from the waters of South Carolina to the Old City that prompted them to redesign their rack card, which was no longer accurate. Our team decided the only way to fully capture their quality tours was by taking on the Intercoastal Waterway ourselves! We set up a Bluewater Adventure photo shoot and scored photos of the catamarans in action along with phenomenal photos of The Great Cross and Castillo de San Marcos. Now, on the front of the rack card is a proper representation of the sightseeing opportunities you have when sailing with Bluewater Adventure.

Magazine Advertisement Design

Gator Door East Inc.

Gator Door East used this advertisement for their big debut in St. Johns County Parade of Homes magazine! After learning they’d be a featured business, Gator Door sat down with our team to create an influential and compelling ad to catch the attention of shoppers! Don’t you just a-door this ad?

Business Card and Site Design

Jack Ward Fire

Jack Ward Fire, recently under new ownership, desired a brand with a haute look, reflecting their field of work. Working through fire and flames, we presented them with what is now their company’s business card. They were so pleased with the fire-hot cards, that our design team is currently working with them on a smokin’ hot site.

E-commerce Solutions

Minorcan Datil

After facing multiple issues with X-Cart commerce solutions, Minorcan owner decided to upgrade to a more modern system, WordPress. Our development team knew that WordPress’s, user-friendly, Woo-commerce theme would satisfy her desire to add new products, edit old products, and raise her customer satisfactory level. Now, Minorcan can concentrate on managing customers and products without the hassle of learning how to navigate a difficult system.

Site and Logo Redesign

Rodbender Fishing Charters

The fishing charter industry in Northeast Florida can be compared to a shark tank, it’s a competitive field and standing out in the crowd can be difficult. After a consultation, it was clear to Chuck Stearns, owner, that Rodbender Fishing Charters needed a fresh logo and easy-to-navigate site. The design team created a few mockups and Chuck decided on this creative logo and simple site. Now, the Homepage of his site subtly answers frequently asked questions and has three call-to-action charter packages. As for the logo, if you can think of a better design, let minnow.

Site Design and Launch

R.V. Cooper Construction

R.V. Cooper Construction is a local construction company servicing St. Augustine and surrounding areas. Remarkably, since 1998, the company has relied on word of mouth to reach new clients; their quality workmanship and attentiveness in guiding customers was their business strategy. However, the competitive nature of the construction field prompted them to make their web presence concrete. Ricky Cooper, the owner, desired a platform that would showcase the construction process, to ease the customer experience. Our team raised the roof by creating Cooper’s beautiful new site; straightforward, simple and user-friendly.

Search Engine Optimization

Ranking Efforts

Search engine optimization (SEO), is imperative for every business to incorporate into their business plan. In 2017, our SEO team worked with nearly a dozen local businesses, developing key-terms and strategies to gain a higher ranking in their search engine results.

Multipurpose Online Designs

St. Joseph Academy

Old City Web Services also did a few pro-bono projects in 2017. One of our favorites was creating a series of 14 athletic-banners for St. Joseph Academy’s sports teams, the Flashes. It was important that the banners could be transferred and size-well whether they were added to newsletters, emails, print media, or their site. Our team sparked the Flashes interest with a lightning bolt and bold imagery. Go team!

Logo Design

The Ponce Hotel

Upon branching out from under the franchise, Magnuson Hotels, The Ponce Hotel needed a fresh look and logo. Our design team worked with the new interior designer at the Ponce on matching the color scheme used inside the hotel. In conclusion, they decided on the simple yet elegant logo.

Love what you see? Call us for a consultation.

Check out other work we've done for clients.

Two things clients can do to push security efforts is to never trust embedded URLs or unsolicited mail. This may seem obvious, but you wouldn’t believe the number of times a client is hacked because they thought they recognized the “From:” address in a spam mail. Also, be on guard for shady apps requesting unusual permission’s – especially mobile ones!

Mission Statement

Our mission at Old City Web Services is to navigate the world of web design, web development, and advertising for our clients so that they can focus on what they do best – running their business! Our business intentions go beyond the metrics of graphics, coding, and SEO. Located on Florida’s First Coast, we run a personable home front service and consider our relationship with our clients as a partnership in their success. If you are looking to increase your business’ visibility give us a call at 904-867-4112 or contact us today.

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Disclaimer: Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information on Old City Web Services Blog.
Photo credits: Old City Web Services

How to Tell if a Company is Right for You

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are-they-right-for-you_The world revolves around relationships. Families, friends, co-workers, the barista who makes your morning (noon and night) latte. Everywhere you look, you see blogs about 10 ways to find love this year, personality tests to determine “your type,” books on how to snag your perfect match, and apps for finding your soulmate without leaving your couch.

It’s like a relationship is a scavenger hunt and everyone is trying to give you a different clue. If there was one surefire secret to flawless relationships, we’d know by now, wouldn’t we? Relationships are tricky. They’re not cut and dry. Good relationships don’t come around every day, so when they do happen, we hold onto them.

Your business relationships are just as important as your friendships and romantic relationships.

Companies you partner with should be just as committed to your business as you. But it can be difficult to decipher who wants to be committed to you because they believe in your mission and vision and those who are just in it for themselves.

So, how can you tell the difference?

6 ways to tell that if a company is right for you:

They share your values.

Our values are what motivate us. If your company's focus is to help others, you want to partner with a company who has the same mission. If you're a nonprofit whose focus is on serving others, partnering with a company that is only after money probably isn't your best bet.

They’re persistent, not pushy.

So you met for a consultation with a company, and it went well. How they communicate post-meeting can tell you a lot about their motives. Do they call aggressively every day wanting to move forward or do they politely follow up and let you make the decision? Do they spam you with emails? A company who has your best interest at heart won't bombard you; they know you're busy and have other things going on. They respect you enough to give you time and space to make the best decision for your business.

They have a good track record and reputation.

Do your due diligence and research, research, research. Look for work this company has done in the past. Read reviews of previous employees and customers. Ask people in your community if they've heard anything good or bad about this company. How was their experience? Making sure you have all the information will help you make a sound and informed decision.

They use the same style of communication.

Are they easy to contact? Or do they take three days to return a phone call or email? Do they treat you like a priority or another item on a to-do list? It's important to establish communication in the beginning before any commitments are made or projects are started. How someone corresponds at the start of a relationship is likely how they will communicate during one as well.

You share similar work ethics.

Establishing work styles is crucial for success in a business relationship. If you're going, going, going constantly, it's best to find someone who naturally flows with your rhythm, not someone who is hardly ever in the office.

You can see yourself staying with them long-term. You think you can grow with them, and you aren't settling.

Do you feel comfortable with this company? Do they make you feel like this could grow into something long lasting? Do they promote innovation and change in a positive light? It's important to visualize the future and see if you think you will be on the same page months and years from now.

The Old City Web Services difference:

At Old City Web Services, our focus is our customers. We know we wouldn't be where we are today without clients who believe in our company. As a company, we believe in:

Communication

We work step-by-step with our clients to ensure the best service possible. Have a question? Give us a call. Having a problem with your website? Stop by the office. Our door is open to you, and we are always happy to help.

Quality work

We've worked with many businesses in the community and are proud of our work. Happy clients do some of our best advertising!

Long-lasting relationships

When we form a partnership with a client, we believe in a long-term commitment. If you decide to work with us, we will work each and every day to prove to you that you made the right choice.

Fresh Start: Your Web Design Relationship Guide

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fresh-start2envelope1With a new year comes New Year’s resolutions, a time of evaluating your current life choices and seeing where improvements should be made. Whether it’s eating healthier, having a new gym routine, putting yourself back into the dating game, or improving relationships, it’s all about making the best choices for your life.

As we evaluate what brings positivity to our lives, it might be best to look and see which connections make your life better and which ones you could do without. Your relationship might have seemed like something straight out of a movie at the beginning. They might’ve seemed like your knight in shining armor when you met them, but they could’ve lost their luster. They’ve never been perfect, but you’ve been afraid that you won’t find someone who can do what they do. What if we told you there could be someone better out there for you?

Reading this you might ask yourself, “Wait a minute, is this a relationship blog or business blog?” We’re glad you asked! It’s both. Your relationship with your web development company is one of the most important relationships you have as a business owner. While you may be comfortable with your current situation, it might be time to move on to something better. New year, new you as they say.

Come along with us in our “Fresh Start” blog series as we show you what a healthy business relationship looks like and all that a reputable web design and development company can offer.

In this blog series, we’ll cover topics such as:

  • How to decide if a company is a right fit for you
  • Signs you’re in a healthy relationship with a company
  • When it’s time to break up and move on

Old City Web Services Welcomes Copywriter

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Old City Web Services Welcomes Copywriter

Natalie McElstaff-nataliewee works in copywriting and marketing here at Old City Web Services. Natalie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Louisiana Tech University in 2013. Upon graduation, she moved to St. Augustine to work as a copy editor/designer where she strengthened her editing and writing skills. From there, Natalie worked in marketing and development at a retreat center in South Carolina where she learned the ins and outs of social media, continued to write, and learned how to market in a unique environment. While she enjoyed her time in South Carolina, her love for the Nation's Oldest City brought her back to the area. Natalie has a passion for St. Augustine and the surrounding areas that shows in her work.

Natalie joins us with a unique set of skills that make her the perfect addition to our team. Her attention to detail, ability to craft copy, journalistic conversational skills and knack for social media make her a valuable asset. Natalie writes content for clients' websites and blogs, blogs for Old City Web Services and OldCity.com, handles social media for OldCity.com, helps with marketing, and works on day-to-day projects.

We’re excited to have a skilled writer join our team and are happy to offer her services to you. Is your website in need of an upgrade? Have you had it professionally designed but don’t have the right words to make it stand out?

It’s great to have a sharp looking website, but if there is no captivating content to grab someone’s attention, then what good is your website really doing? In order to have an effective website, you need to effectively communicate what your business is about, why consumers should choose you, and how you stand out among competitors.

Reasons to Hire a Copywriter

  1. A high-quality website needs high-quality text to build credibility and consumer trust.
  2. A copywriter incorporates SEO into text so consumers get the most out of online searching.
  3. You can rest assured that your copy will be the most effective it can be.

If you feel your content needs an upgrade, fill out the contact form on our website or give us a call at 904.829.2772 to discuss how we can help you with your content writing needs.

How Social Media & A Blog Correlate With SEO

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Why Your Business Needs Social Media & A Blog

Social media, Blogs and SEO compliment each other in online marketing. Posting current social media and a blog entries will help search engines recognize your website as relevant. Social media is a great outlet for driving traffic to your website, which helps boost your SEO rank. Even if your social media presence doesn't lead to immediate direct sales, it is excellent for gaining those clicks to you website. This traffic will help boost your SEO rank.

Social Media & SEO

Whenever someone shares your website or your post on social media, this is link building. Link building shows search engines that your website is relevant and interesting. This is why it's important to keep your social media current with a new post at least once a week. By posting once a week, you are giving users the opportunity to share your content more. The more content of yours that is shared, the higher your ranking will be. Google uses Twitter to discover new content; for example: what's trending. Google loves Google+. Even though Google+ might not be the biggest platform of social media,  it can improve your SEO.  If you just have a Google+ profile and post on it once a month, it definitely helps. An overlap of social media and SEO is an effective strategy; by using social media in the right way, you will reap a lot of benefits.

Blog & SEO

The purpose of having a blog for your business is to get more traffic to your website. We learned earlier this month how more traffic to your website helps your SEO. Creating a blog for your business would be another way to improve your link building. Having a blog allows you to push out fresh content about your business without having to update your website. Search engines like fresh content because it shows that you present the latest information to your clients. Having a blog also helps with being able to present your search term keywords in your website. Blogs also allow you to use your keywords naturally. Having your keywords presented naturally in your blog will not only help your search engine ranking, but it will also help you keep that ranking longer. If you are looking for that extra push with your SEO, consider a blog.

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Need to jump way ahead of your competition on Search Engines? Sign up to have your SEO done by Old City Web Services! Contact us today to get started! 

 

What Does That Mean? Internet Terms Defined

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You have your business that you know in and out. You understand everything there is to know about the services you offer and the products you stand by. You also know you need to market your business, and in today's world that means using the internet to reach customers. That is where we come in, but often you are left without knowing what WE are talking about. Here is a quick list of terms to help you understand more about what we do and how we use our expertise in this area to help your business.

Internet Terms You Need to Know:

URL: This is the address that a user types into the address bar to reach your website. Ex: http://www.oldcity.com

Browser: Examples are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. These are what platform you use to browse the internet and each is a little different, offering a unique experience for web visitors.

Landing Page: This is the page that a web user "lands" on when they arrive at your website. It's the place where you welcome a visitor to your website, share an overview of your business and provide your first impression to them about who and what you are as a company.

Content Management System: A content management system (CMS) is a back-end tool that allows publishing, editing and modifying content on a website. Using a CMS can make it easier to change the design of a site independent of the site's content or pages. A CMS doesn't require downloading software to your computer and can be used from anywhere with an internet connection, making it a user-friendly and streamlined way to manage your website.

Backlink: Links from other website pages to yours, used to increase a site's popularity with search engines and to get more people to visit your site. The quality of a backlink and its anchor text is factored into Google's algorithm when deciding how much importance to place on it and therefore where to place it in search engines.

Blog: a blog, short for weblog, is an online journal or diary and a very popular current method of sharing your thoughts with the world. It is also very popular as a marketing tool. An Example is http://oldcity.com/city-blog.php

Give us a call or email us today! Call us (904.829.2772) or e-mail us today!

The Importance of Good Photography for Online Marketing

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Your business has a web presence. You have a website, a Facebook page, Twitter, and even Instagram. The best way to maximize your exposure and increase your reach on these platforms is to use really good photography.

Your website has a great design, but there aren't enough photographs, or they are small and not the greatest quality. Believe it or not, your website being visually appealing has a tremendous impact on a site visitor's impression of your business. Large, eye-catching photographs will draw a site visitor in, and will put forth the professional image that brings consumers to you and keeps them with you.

Your Facebook page has great information, where you share what's new, what sales you have going on, what your upcoming events are, or what is on your menu. Nothing enhances or draws a viewer in to these facts and gets them to stop scrolling and actually pay attention to your words more than a good photograph.

People on social media are much more likely to share your information if there is a photo attached. This will expand your reach and influence and bring in the business you are seeking with your online marketing strategy.

Photos do a few things that make a big impact:

  • Visually appealing - Draws the viewer/reader in
  • Breaks up text - information is more easily scannable when reading
  • Shareable- users of social media are much more likely to share status updates with images than without.

All of these things will have a great impact on your online marketing and the image you present online. Consider professional photography for your website or social media presence today. At Old City Web Services, we can provide photography and photo-editing services to help boost your online appeal. Contact us today!

If you'd like for us to help you in taking your business to the next level, call us (904.829.2772) or e-mail us and we will be happy to offer our services!

Expand Your Concept of Customer Service

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There are so many ways we are told daily that will help us boost our business. Expanding your concept of customer service is key to your business model and has to be part of a larger strategy for customer engagement. It is important not just to engage customers, though, but to meaningfully engage customers while delivering excellent service.

Customer service isn't just something you have to do once - it needs to be an ongoing conversation using a variety of modes of communication. Using the web in addition to your face-to-face interactions is vital to your customer's experience. This interaction needs to be genuine and relevant - with those things you will build trust and form a positive relationship with your customers that will keep them loyal to your brand.

Use Email - Email marketing can be a very effective tool when used properly and in a way that both engages your customers and encourages them to buy your products or services. Email messages should be clear, concise and enticing. Emails should both inform and entice. Share what you are doing as a business and entice with a deal, special or freebie.

Use Social Media - You need to clarify your audience's needs, wants and challenges-not to mention where they're spending time online. You can discover these things by surveying your customers. Once you know where they are online, you can use your company's social media presence to interact with them. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or Linkedin - having a presence and interacting with your clients where they are the most is vital.

Blog - Having a blog connected to your business website will help you present a more casual yet useful and informative side of yourself and therefore your business. Share information is current and relevant, add a personal flavor to the writing you put on your blog. Even use your blog for promotions to encourage sharing on social media and shopping online or in person.

Helping you write content or set up social media accounts and train on best practices are things we can help you with here at Old City Web Services. If you want to take your customer service to the next level by engaging your customers in these ways, let us know how we can help you by contacting us today!

If you'd like for us to help you in taking your business to the next level, call us (904.829.2772) or e-mail us and we will be happy to offer our services!

What is RSS and is it still important?

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What does RSS stand for? It stands for Really Simple Syndication. Now you're probably saying to yourself, "Okay, but what is it?" Here's our simple answer: RSS feeds gives readers a method to keep up with their favorite blogs, online news and any other favorite websites. Anyone can choose the sites they wish to subscribe to and then receive updates in one centralized location. In essence, RSS allows content to come to you. Pretty neat idea huh?

How can RSS feeds help your business? Simple-- If you're a website owner or blogger, RSS is a means to gain a loyal following of internet users. It helps grow your website by keeping you in the forefront of readers mind while they're browsing their feed. As a small business, you may not update your web content as often as you should or you may choose not maintain a blog, however RSS just gives you more of a reason to do just that. You can track how many users subscribe to your feeds and focus your messages on what they want to hear.

If you sell products online, RSS will allow consumers to stay up-to-date on your newest items and specials. Who knows--these subscribers may likely be your next in-store customer! If you are a travel blogger, RSS will allow people to subscribe to your posts and increase your number of readers. If you post upcoming events, news or press releases on your site, RSS feeds will allow subscribers to view this content every time you update it.

Users can sign-up for your feeds using multiple platforms such as Google Reader, My Yahoo and various mobile apps.

Need help setting up RSS feeds on your website or blog? Old City Web Services offers training services that will teach you how to set up your very own RSS feed system to best suit your business. Contact us today to help you get started! Give us a call: 904.829.2772 or email us: letusmarketyou@oldcity.com for more information.

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We are Old City Web Services. We make it easy for small businesses to thrive online. Whether you need a professional website, help attracting more customers, or a fresh new look for your brand, we’ve got you covered. With over 20 years of experience, we specialize in simple, affordable solutions that work for businesses like yours. Let us handle the tech so you can focus on what you do best—running your business.

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