The unemployed and under-employed are not just thinking outside but jumping outside the box to create a meaningful and financial viable future. If this describes you, you know it’s time to move your cheese and learn how to create your own web site. By taking control of your destiny, you will reduce your frustration from applying to non-existing positions that remain posted to an extremely competitive job market.

Being out of work brings emotional and financial stress but being out of work also allows you the opportunity to reassess, discover yourself, and direct how you can not only routinely seek work but create a future that is satisfying in accordance with your own talents and dreams.

No previous experience is necessary to start and to be successful in your creating your own web site. Consider–Where are you? Where do you want to be? Have an idea of what you actually want to accomplish and how you want your web site to look. Think of web site an extension of you—your ideas, your thoughts, your creation, you hope for a brighter future; this is your story. Promote yourself professionally with online resumes, join occupation groups, develop a business, link to meaningful, related sites, start a blog or comment on blogs that relate to your topic.

Create your own web site from A-Z. As a beginner and layperson, just take a step by step approach through the whole process. Here is a snapshot of what you need to learn. Read more details about The Essential Step-by-Step Guide to Making Your Own Website.

1. Get Your Domain Name
First, get yourself a domain name. A domain name is the name you want to give to your web site. You have to pay an annual fee to a registrar for the right to use that name. Think of registering a business name in the brick-and-mortar world; having that business name does not mean that you also have the shop premises to go with the name.

2. Choose a Web Host and Sign Up for an Account
A web host is a company that has many computers connected to the Internet. When you place your web pages on their computers, everyone in the world will be able to connect to it and view them. Sign up for an account with a web host so that your web site has a home.

3. Designing your Web Pages
Next, design the web site itself. Look at well-known, successful sites to probe your imagination as well as newly-created sites created by those attempting to move out of the unemployment sector to new horizons.

4. Testing Your Website
Test your web pages as you design them in the major browsers: Internet Explorer 8, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 6, the latest versions of Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome. These browsers are free which you can install.

5. Collecting Credit Card Information, Making Money
If you are selling products or services, you will need some way to collect credit card information. You should read up on how to accept credit cards on your website.

6. Getting Your Site Noticed
When your site is ready, you will need to submit your site to the search engines, particularly Google. Promoting your website is critical.

Take a deep breathe and create your future.

This past week Boston Web Creative had the pleasure of teaching the students at Boston University Center of Digital Imaging about PHP, Wordpress blogs and the importance of SEO and Social Media Strategies.  It was great to see a class full of inspiring and very talented students eager to understand emerging social media and SEO strategies.

We often hear questions : As a company, how do I utilize Facebook, Twitter etc.  Are they right for me at this time. The simple answer is YES.   Now is the time. So many companies today have taken advantage of social networking and are benefiting from it. If you are one of those companies that haven’t, I would ask yourself why ?  Just like domain names, there are only a certain amount of www.facebook.com/________ company names available and you as a person and a company. Make it yours, reserve it today!

Did you know that last month Facebook alone had more searches than Google ?? Is it a sign that the web is becoming more sociable than searchable ??

Social networking website Facebook has capped a year of phenomenal growth by overtaking Google’s popularity among US internet users, with industry data showing it has scored more visits on its home page. Facebook’s home page recorded 7.07 per cent of traffic and Google’s 7.03 per cent.

It is the first time that Facebook.com has enjoyed a weekly lead over Google.com. The lead may be slim, but it has become inevitable as Facebook’s popularity has grown rapidly from just over 2 % of visits a year ago.

Facebook’s membership has more than doubled in the past year, passing the 200 million mark last April and 400 million in February.

The true value of social networks and Facebook should be very clear to marketers today.

You want your website to ratchet up to the top of the search heap. Without question, it’s competitive and time-consuming. Be aware that an elevated search position may not help your sales if the language in your site is not relevant to your goal.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from free search engines. When your site appears high in the search results list, the more visitors will click on your site. With the need to search for information in mere seconds, you’ve got to be on top of your game.

Sure, you can stay up to speed with recommended books on the topic.

Now, as you embark on your SEO, be realistic about your results, buckle up, and put on your thinking cap. Sit down with a cup of tea and take the time to understand your purpose, your constituents, your visitors, your buyers. How do they think, how do they click through information, what is their mindset? Knowing your visitor is essential and the keyword density checker is a tool that you can use to improve not just keyword density but keyword frequency, keyword prominence, and keyword proximity. Which keywords are relevant to your website and pages?

Keep it simple for the visitor. Have a clear purpose. Be sure each page has go-to links with your contact information. Have only useful links. Keep it easy on the eyes, graphically. These ideas and more gives your website the deserved marketing share that you are striving to achieve.

SEO can also refer to “search engine optimizers,” a term adopted by state-of-the art consultants who perform optimization projects for clients to enhance their search engine exposure. It takes understanding of the competition, a methodical approach, and tactics to get to a high ranking position.

Make SEO your priority and get started now ! If you don’t your consumers may change their minds and you will be behind the eight ball. Your website is one of the most important places where you want to be in the thick of traffic.

Below are some of the most common mistakes that businesses and people make when it comes to social media networking. Try to avoid all of these.

1. Setting up a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter page and then not providing updates. Would you send out a blank newsletter to your customers ??

2. Thinking I understand social media and I can just do it myself. It may be more cost-effective or time-effective to delegate certain social media responsibilities to a company that specializes in it or for someone else to handle.

3. Forgetting that social media is about creating interaction with your clients or customers, not just about sending out information.

4. Clicking onto a site for “business” and then getting distracted by other information or friend updates.

5. Spending too much time on sites you enjoy and not fully evaluating whether that particular site is the most effective one for your time and efforts.

So many companies and products are reviewed online by opinions of their customers. Today, more than ever people are posting their personal opinions. They are posting them – Positive and Negative.  Services like Yelp make it easy for people to review personal experiences of other customers.  Yelp has shifted the way testimonials are viewed. They are right in front of you, at the click of a mouse. You can read whether or not a restaurant has excellent, good or bad service and the quality of their food.  You can even get a full understanding of a restaurants atmosphere just by reading the reviews posted by other people that have been there.

If you are planning a vacation, Trip Advisor is a company that allows all reviews to be posted right on the site.  If you want to understand what a hotel is like in Venice or if a hotel has a view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, just click on Trip Advisor. They will let you know.  They even reveal the date and time of the most recent posts so that you can see if it is out dated.  I recently went on a trip to St. Thomas and I reviewed two hotels that I was debating on staying at.  I ended up picking the Ritz Carlton based on reward points, etc. but my point here is that the reviews were right on target.  They even instructed me which side of the hotel had the best view of the ocean, which side had be renovated and what restaurants where best to eat at off of the resort.  It was a phenomenal experience and I am so grateful that I was able to read the reviews before hand.

So my point is here, for companies.  Hug your customer- you may never know what review they might post.

I recently read an article the regarding the change in online marketing spending in 2010 thus far.  For many individuals and companies 2010 has been an interesting year. For many I believe it has been positive, customers are coming in the door, the phone is ringing and it seems as though people have some money to spend. I hope it continues.

According to the 2010 US B2B Marketers there has been a 71% increase in website sales, 68% increase in email marketing, 62% in search engine optimization and social media at an increase in 60%.