Website Title – This is located in the Sidewide Settings area of the web editor. It’s somewhat of a mystery regarding how many characters Google and other search engines actually index, but it’s probably around 70 – 150 characters. The website title is one of the first things that the search engines will index for your site. It also displays as the link in the search engine results (see example image below).

Page Names – This is located in the Page Editor area for each of your pages on your site. The Page Names would be considered as an extension to your Website Title. What this means is that if you use a long Website Title, your Page Names might only partially get indexed by the search engines. To compensate, you may want to have a shorter Website Title, maybe something that you feel is relevant to be on every page, and then put the bulk of the information in the individual Page Names on your site. You can also opt to leave the Website Title completely blank, and just add information into each of the Page Names on your site. Each of your pages should have unique Page Names, and they should not be exactly the same on multiple pages (see example image below).

Image Descriptions (ALT Tags) – Whenever you upload images to your website, you can give them descriptions. This is also known as an ALT Tag, which generally means the alternative tag. ALT Tags are the HTML tag that tells search engines about the images since search engines cannot read text in actual images. To add Image Descriptions to your current images on your site, go the Content Manger, and then click on the Edit link for an image, and then add the text in the Image Description field.

Meta Tags – Meta Tags help search engines find out important information about your website. For example, related keywords or a description of a specific website page. You should add unique Meta Tags to each of your individual website pages. This is contrary to our previous advice to add Meta Tags to the Footer of your site so that the same Meta Tag information would display on all the pages of your site, which has been found out that Search Engines actually do not like repetitive Meta Tag information on multiple pages of the same site.

- Description Meta Tag – This should be an actual description of what is on your particular website page. It’s a short pitch where you can put strong keywords to entice viewers to click on your site in the search results. Again, it is a mystery here as to how many characters that the search engines will index for your Description Meta Tag, but it should be fairly short (around two sentences) and should be somewhat readable like a sentence, as opposed to just random keywords (see example image below).

- Keyword Meta Tag – This can be random keywords that can help the search engines determine what’s on your site. It’s a rumor that Google’s crawlers may totally bypass the Keyword Mata Tags, since oftentimes, website owners would just load this area up with 100’s or even 1000’s of keywords. Whether that’s true or not, the idea for keywords would be relativity versus quantity. They can just be random keywords that are separated by a comma (i.e. custom apparel, imprinted apparel, screen printed shirts)

Here’s how to add Meta Tags to your site:

- Go to the Websites menu and select Add/Edit Websites
- Click on the Edit link for your website
- Click the Add/Edit Web Pages tab
- Edit a page for your site (i.e. the Home page)
- Add a Block to your page
- For the content type for the block, select Meta Tags
- Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your meta tag block

Additional Tips

- Heading Tags - The <h1> to <h6> Heading tags are used to define HTML headings. <h1> defines the most important heading, and <h6> would define the least important heading. Heading Tags are important for on-page SEO purposes. Furthermore, H1 tags should be used only once per page. The opening heading should be an H1 tag that describes the whole theme of the page. Any sub information or more specific topics should go under separate headings in the form of H2 Tags, filtering down appropriately.

Here’s how to add Heading Tags to your site:

- Go to the Websites menu and select Add/Edit Websites
- Click on the Edit link for your website
- Click the Add/Edit Web Pages tab
- Edit a page for your site (i.e. the Home page)
- When adding text to your site in the Written Content area, you can highlight the text that you want to make a heading, and then select a heading from the Format drop-down menu (see example image below)

- Add actual text to your site – Search engines will index the text on your site, so be sure to add descriptive text along with strong keywords to the individual pages of your site.

- Create a WordPress blog – And then blog like crazy about particular promotional products, and all the different ways about how they can be used. You can then feed that blog into your website using our RSS News Feed tool (see example image below).

Here’s how to feed you blog into to your site:

- Go to the Websites menu and select Add/Edit Websites
- Click on the Edit link for your website
- Click the Add/Edit Webpages tab
- Edit a page for your site that you’d like to have the blog display (i.e. the Home page)
- Add a Block to that page, and then select RSS News Feed from the content drop-down menu.
- Next, enter in the blog feed URL (you can also adjust how many records to display and length of the descriptions)

- Create Product Specific Websites – It’s been proven that if you create a website in your DistributorCentral account that caters to a narrow niche in the Promotional Product Industry, that those sites get organically indexed far better than sites with 1000’s of products or our standard All Products Catalog. When you think about it, this makes perfect sense. For example, if you create a site that just has Eco Friendly Tote Bags, when someone searches in Google for those particular products (which they will), your site (if you follow the techniques above), will have a more likely probability of displaying higher in the search engine results. Your DistributorCentral account makes it easy for you to create custom catalogs with specific products that you can add to a site that you’ve created. Click here for information on how to create a catalog with specific products for a site. You can even customize the website to have your own products using our Fulfillment Account feature. Click here for more information on Fulfillment Accounts.

 - Have your domain name include keywords – When you purchase a domain name for your site, it’s good idea to have keywords related to your site in the actual domain. For example, if you are going to create a site in your DistributorCentral account that focuses on Eco Friendly Tote Bags, it’d be logical for you to purchase a domain name such as EcoFriendlyToteBags.com, or Eco-Friendly-Tote-Bags.com, or EcoFriendlyTotes.com, etc.

DistributorCentral does not provide assistance with Search Engine Optimization, but following the steps above to apply unique and relevant content to your site will most definitely improve your organic search results in Google and the other major search engines. If you don’t have time to do the research for unique content to add on your site, you can hire a SEO specialist, but be prepared to spend a considerable amount of money. Also, be cautious of hiring a SEO specialist since there are literally 1000’s of sites that claim to know how to get your site organically ranked in the search engines, but they may not provide you with the results that you want, since variables that affect SEO can be relative to different Search Engines (i.e. techniques that might help you in Google, may not help in Yahoo or Bing). Furthermore, the rules (by the search engines) are constantly changing and virtually impossible to keep up with…so what gets you organic results today, may not tomorrow. If you feel that you’ve developed a great site, don’t be afraid to try Google AdWords.

Click on the links below for a good overview of the top Internet browsers.
http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

Click here to download Google Chrome
Click here to download Firefox

Internet Explorer has recently released a brand new version of their browser, IE9. From our review, IE9 browser did not seem to be a good upgrade, specifically when it came to using the DistributorCentral program. If you have updated to the IE9 browser, and find yourself not liking the upgrade, click here for instructions on how to uninstall the upgrade to go back to IE8.

When it comes to MAC’s, the Safari browser is recommended for use with the DistributorCentral program. However, Firefox on a MAC should also work fairly well. We have not tested Opera thoroughly.

Click here to download Safari for the PC or MAC.

You’ll come to find your favorite Internet browser, however when it comes to using DistributorCentral, we feel it’s beneficial to have multiple browsers installed on your computer. For example, you can be logged in to your DistributorCentral account on one browser, and then go and test your DistributorCentral website on another, without getting your cookies (Internet Cache) crossed.

Keep in mind, that it’s a web designers worst nightmare to try and configure a website to appear exactly the same in all browsers, and furthermore operating platforms. When it comes to creating a website, it’s best to target a specific browser, and focus the design for it, but also make sure that your site does at least function properly on all major browsers.

Why are there so many browsers and how to do they make money? Click here to see what Google says.

Watch the short video below to learn some advanced written content techniques that you can apply to your website!

Here’s how to view them: 

1. Click on the Browse link in the Email Blast section located in the lower left portion of the Home page in your account (see example below).

2. Once you have conducted a product search within your account, click on the Email Blasts tab. This will then display the Supplier email blasts that pertain to the search criteria that you have entered (see example below).

Previously Distributors depended solely on Suppliers to enter in data for freight so that the correct amount is added to the shopping cart on an order. Now, each Distributor can make that decision for themselves.

There are 9 different options that each Distributor can choose between to have freight calculated to suit the needs of their sites.

A distributor can do many things starting with adding a percentage to calculate in cases where the Supplier doesn’t offer freight or even turning off the freight calculation completely.

Below is a quick list of the preferences offered:

• Use the Supplier-provided freight data
• Set a flat shipping rate per item
• Set a flat shipping rate per order
• Add a flat fee to existing freight
• Add a percentage markup to existing freight
• Use the Supplier freight if available, if not available, use a flat fee
• Use percent of order total only (total of products)
• Use Supplier freight if available, if not available, use a percentage of product total
• No Freight – do not include freight on orders

To get to this preference:

1. Go to Account Menu > Preferences> Website Preferences
2. Click on Preferences to the right of the DC Site that you would like to modify the settings
3. Click on Shipping in the left box
4. Scroll down to the question titled, “How should shipping be calculated on orders?”
5. Select the option that you would like to use (see the guide below for an explanation of each option) and if needed enter your % in the field provided
6. Save your changes

See this guide to get instructions and a more detailed explanation of each option.

Watch the short video to learn how to do this, or click here to download the Product Presentation Guide.

•  Once an order is submitted from your website, you’ll receive an email noting that there has been an order placed. Go to the Account Maintenance area in the Account menu to verify your email address. A notice will also display on the Home page in your DistributorCentral account (see figure below).  

•  Once you have located the order within your DistributorCentral account, you will be able to see who your customer is on the Order Summary page. You’ll also see  when they placed the order and any payment information they have provided (see figure below). 

DistributorCentral does not process any payments for you. Also, payments between you and your customer, and you and the supplier are separate. The payment information that your customer provides would need to be processed by you. You would then need to also provide your payment information separately to the supplier.
To access the payment setup area in your DistributorCentral account, Go to the Account Menu >> Payment >> Payment Setup.

•  On the Order Summary page, you’ll also be able to see who the supplier is for that product as well. Orders are never automatically sent to the supplier, and you will have control over when/if you would like the order to be sent to the supplier. (see figure below). 

•  Once you verify the order, you have the ability to create and send the PO to the supplier through the DistributorCentral system. If you prefer, you can also print out the order and fax it to the supplier, or you can save the order as a PDF and email it to the supplier with your standard email client (see figure below).  If it the first time placing an order with a supplier, you will need to contact them to setup an account and business relationship.

Watch the short video learn how handle orders from your DistributorCentral website. 

Click on the links below to access brief guides that can help you get your account setup and ready for business.

Checklist
Order Management Guide

To do this:

- First, on the home page in your account, go the the Order Search section
- Then key in the Order Number that you would like to place the reorder for (you can also search by PO Number, Cutomer Name or Phone Number – see step 1 below)

Reorder Step 1

- Next Click on the Reorder button at the top right portion of the page (see step 2 below)

Reorder Step 2

- You will then be prompted to specify which type of reorder it is, such as An Exact Reorder (same product and no changes in imprint or artwork), A Reorder With Changes (same product, but has changes in artwork or other options) or Rework Of Previous Order (generally used if there was an error on the previous order)
- Then review your order and Save or Send it

Reorder Types

Reorders can be created for any orders in your DistributorCentral account. However, it is only considered a Reorder if the order is for the same Customer. If the order is for a different customer, then you should always enter the order as New Order as opposed to a Reorder.

An exact reorder – This indicates that there are no changes needed to the artwork/printing of the original order. Even if the quantity, shipping information, etc. will vary on the new order, it’s still considered an exact reorder if the artwork/printing remains the same.

A reorder with changes – This indicates that you will need revisions made to the artwork/printing of the original order. For example, if there needs to be a change in the imprint color(s), a change in the imprint, etc.

Rework of previous order – This indicates that there was a discrepancy or mistake with the original either on the Supplier end or on the Distributor end. For example, if the Supplier printed the wrong artwork, the Distributor indicated the wrong shipping address, etc. Oftentimes, the Supplier and Distributor parties involved will agree to a reduced price for Rework orders.

We’ve just added a feature that allows you to adjust the print size on your Customer Orders, Invoices, and Supplier POs. This will allow you to fit all of the order information on one page if it happens to overflow to the second page.

It’s located in the upper left hand area of the Summary Page for your orders.

They are from Microsoft Small Business but there are some great unbiased tips available here:

http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/marketing/small-business-advertising-branding.aspx#marketing,advertisingbranding