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2013 Wisconsin State Fair Cheese Contest Winners

Announcement / By /

Congratulations to all the winners and participants in the Cheese and Butter Competition at the 2013 Wisconsin State Fair! We especially want to acknowledge the prize-winning entries from our clients.

Carr Valley CheeseSid Cook, Carr Valley Cheese, LaValle WI

  • Cave Aged Cardona, 1st place, Natural Goat Milk Cheese
  • Creama Kasa, 3rd place, Soft and Spreadable Cheese
  • Caso Bolo Mellage, 3rd place, Sheep & Mixed Milk Cheese

Bob Koenig, Carr Valley Cheese, LaValle WI

  • Menage, 1st place, Sheep & Mixed Milk Cheese

Edeleweiss Creamery Bruce Workman, Edelweiss Creamery, Monticello WI

  • Cellar Aged Grass Based Gouda, 3rd place, Open Class – Hard Cheese

Again, congratulations to all the excellent Wisconsin cheesemakers!

 

Website SEO Health Check List – 5 Important Elements

SEO, Web Development / By /

How long has it been since you reviewed your website SEO health? Here is a tried and true checklist to use.

Check markPage Title – The page title is the most important element of your page. A concise, well-written “Title” with your primary keywords at or near the beginning makes a world of difference to Google and the other search engines.

Check mark Description tag – These descriptions are often used as a part of the snippet shown in the search results. The description needs to be page specific, provide an overview of page content, and include the keyword search terms. New page = new description.

Check mark Headers – Generally, every page should have a header, coded as an H1. If at all possible, your header should contain the keywords used in the previous elements.

Check mark First paragraph – The first sentence is very important and should include your most important keywords. This paragraph may be the only paragraph your visitor reads before making that “should I stay”, or “should I go” decision.

Check mark Internal Links – When possible, your home page should include a short paragraph introducing each of the major areas on your website. Link to those internal pages using the keywords in their titles, descriptions and headers. Google loves that kind of linkage.

There you have it! Review your pages, make those changes, and enjoy improved SERPS (Search Engine Results Page) rankings.

Questions Online Shoppers Want Answered Before They Buy

ecommerce / By /

Ecommerce QuestionsMost online shoppers are wary the first time they are visiting an estore. If you have an ecommerce website, building trust should be one of your priorities. Does your ecommerce website have the answers to these questions? If not, you have some work to do.

  • Who is this company?
  • How long have they been in business?
  • Where are they located, and where do they ship from?
  • What does shipping cost? (Don’t ask for anything but my zip code before telling me.)
  • Is my credit card safe?
  • Is this product description accurate? Where are the details?
  • What happens if something goes wrong?
  • Where is the phone number (and business hours) and other contact information?
  • My Privacy. Do they respect it?

It all comes down to building trust. If your website doesn’t have the answers to the questions above, it doesn’t matter how great your products and/or prices may be. No trust. No sale!

Members of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia Visit Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, WI

Announcement, Broadband / By /

RRC Members touring Uplands CheeseMonday, May 20 UW Professor Andy Lewis, Broadband & Economic Development Specialist at the Center for Community Technology Solutions, UW-Extension, led a group visiting the facilities at Uplands Cheese north of Dodgeville, Wisconsin. The group included three members of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, who are members of the Rural and Regional Committee. They were Mr Paul Wellner (Chair), Mr Geoff Howard MP,  and Mr Andrew Katos MP. They were accompanied by Lilian Topic, Executive Officer of the Rural and Regional Committee. I was privileged to participate in this event. Mike Gingrich of Uplands Cheese graciously acted as tour guide. He was a wealth of information and ended the tour with a tasting of the multiple-award winning Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese.

The Rural and Regional Committee members were in the United States as part of their Inquiry into the Opportunities to Use Telecommuting and E-Business in Rural and Regional Victoria. After touring Uplands Cheese, the members of the committee, Andy, and I continued with discussion of the pros and cons of telecommuting and remote working. We also discussed entrepreneurship challenges in rural areas, including broadband access and costs. I related my experience of bootstrapping a small business and over seventeen years of running WebWise Design & Marketing in a small community in southwest Wisconsin. We discussed how a committee of dedicated members (including Andy and me) helped establish local dial-up Internet service availability in 1997 to nearly everyone in Grant County, WI. That local access grew from the city of Platteville only to covering nearly everywhere in Grant County in approximately six month’s time.

We concluded the day with a bit of a hike to a rocky point with a panoramic view overlooking Wyoming Valley, followed by dinner at a local restaurant, where our Australian visitors enjoyed their first taste of fried Wisconsin cheese curds. Thanks to Andy and Mike for making this wonderful exchange of conversation, information, and ideas possible.