My New Website, Need Opinions and Advice

[VaDwayne]

I just finished my website. I wanted a site that I can place on doorhangers, which I am going to order 5000, that will allow people to input information and send it via the web if they so choose. I also wanted to keep that small town feel as I live in a toWn of 18000 people. OH BY THE WAY, I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT SEO OR ANYTHING SIMILAR TO IT.

I would love to hear from you with ideas, critique, mistakes in spelling or grammer. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!

Home

 

[Guest]

Well, all in all I think the site is very pretty and will probably appeal to Waynsboro. Having attended U.Va before you were born and having driven though your town in the mid 60s on the way to Staunton or Harrisonburg, I think your message will resonate there... the Mennonite reference especially. I'm more familiar with the Old Order Mennonites who would drive their horse/buggy into Harrisonburg in 1966 to pick up supplies. They were kind and sweet people, similar to the Amish.

Of course the current Mennonite believers have modern technology and have more in common with their Pentecostal brethren than their old order.

I doubt that KennyBurger and Crompton Corduroy are still on the 250 by-pass, but they were when I used to drive through.

It's a nice website for a nice town. You should do well with it. My suggestion is to put your picture on the "Meet the Agent" page and maybe play down the religious aspect and emphasize your knowledge of financial issues. I figure that by now there are Jews, non-Mennonites, Bhakti Yoga believers (many in C'ville) and maybe even atheists in Waynsboro who might be looking for an agent and your site might scare them off. Of course if you are only looking to serve Mennonites, then there would be no reason to make any changes. It's just that even though Christians won't admit it, there is still a bit of partisanship in your Bible Belt town such that an over-emphasis on religion, as you have on your site, might limit you.

I'd "play up" the Mad Anthony Wayne (whom the city was named after) concept as opposed to the religious spin, but it all depends on whom you are trying to sell to.

Al
Preserve your memories

 

[medx]

I am no expert on websites,. but it looks good to me.

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[VaDwayne]

Well, all in all I think the site is very pretty and will probably appeal to Waynsboro. Having attended U.Va before you were born and having driven though your town in the mid 60s on the way to Staunton or Harrisonburg, I think your message will resonate there... the Mennonite reference especially. I'm more familiar with the Old Order Mennonites who would drive their horse/buggy into Harrisonburg in 1966 to pick up supplies. They were kind and sweet people, similar to the Amish.

Of course the current Mennonite believers have modern technology and have more in common with their Pentecostal brethren than their old order.

I doubt that KennyBurger and Crompton Corduroy are still on the 250 by-pass, but they were when I used to drive through.

It's a nice website for a nice town. You should do well with it. My suggestion is to put your picture on the "Meet the Agent" page and maybe play down the religious aspect and emphasize your knowledge of financial issues. I figure that by now there are Jews, non-Mennonites, Bhakti Yoga believers (many in C'ville) and maybe even atheists in Waynsboro who might be looking for an agent and your site might scare them off. Of course if you are only looking to serve Mennonites, then there would be no reason to make any changes. It's just that even though Christians won't admit it, there is still a bit of partisanship in your Bible Belt town such that an over-emphasis on religion, as you have on your site, might limit you.

I'd "play up" the Mad Anthony Wayne (whom the city was named after) concept as opposed to the religious spin, but it all depends on whom you are trying to sell to.

Al
Preserve your memories

Al, some very good points and exactly the type of feedback I am looking for. By the way, no Crompton or Kenney Burger anymore, but I do remember going to Kenney Burger, with my grandfather, in Staunton when I was a kid. I grew up in Staunton.

 

[pcdaugs]

Hello VaDwayne,

I just took a look at your website and it does have a nice look to it but it doesn't drive your would be prospect to a certain action (i.e. "request a quote"). You mentioned SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and I would tell you that your site needs some work on the following levels if you are trying to get organic traffic (i.e. someone types "Auto insurance in VA" where your site comes up in that search) to your website.

First, go to a website grader such as the one at HubSpots website (just search in google for HubSpot, I tried to post the website link but Insurance Forum won't let me as I am a new member) and enter in your website domain and input your email address so you can get their grade of your website report. This website grader gives you many things to do that will help you move towards a SEO optimized website. It will list many things that need to be included in the back ground of your website. As well as show you other online business directories to list your website on and start building your links to your website from other websites.

Second, all of your pages do not have the same setup as far as site navigation goes. It is a combersum site to navigate. You need to take your links to your 5 pages and move them up the the top of your website where they will not move from page to page. The other benefit of having them in a line across the top of the page is that is where they are expected to be.

Finally, you need to have one landing page desiged for each product you sell. This will allow you to talk specifically to each type of customer you have. In other words, design one page for Life insurance that talks about the benefits of buying life insurance and give them free information as to how to pick the right policy for themselves. Offering this information in return for their email address so that you can send them a their free report on "How to Pick the Proper Life Insurance for Your Situation" allows you to start nuturing that prospect towards a becoming a client. When you send them the free report by email you can also include a strong call to action such as, "To learn how we can save you X dollars by designing a proper Life insurance product register here!"

Building mutliple landing page such as the short example above will allow you boost your search rank in the major search engines (Google, Yahoo). Although be sure to do a little more research into the search terms people use when they look for your product so you can use langauge that mirror these search terms in your landing page content. Start learning what people use to search by asking your current customer what words they would use to search for your product or service and then go to Google Trends (Again visit google and search for Google Trends, you will find it) and look up those search terms and see how they rate for your area.

Anyway, I know that we a LOT of information but I hope it helps you drive traffic to your website and then drive those people visiting to ask for your expertise. I would interested to hear how it works out to be sure to post back how everything is working.

Best Regards,

 

[Guest]

I do remember going to Kenney Burger, with my grandfather, in Staunton when I was a kid. I grew up in Staunton.

When I was a freshman in college in 1965 (U. of Virginia) I had a girlfriend (believe it or not!) named Becky. She went to Mary Baldwin which was (is?) in Staunton. (U.Va was all men back then.) Becky, her roommate, Susan, and I used to go everywhere together. Sometimes Susan had a date, sometimes not. It didn't matter We were like the "gang of three" always going out, and doing what today would be called "good clean fun" (no dope, no hard booze, etc.)

It was a simpler life back then. Virginia was about 3 years behind the rest of the country so while other college kids were doing weed, we were still drinking beer... and happy to do that! We had dances. We had parties. We had actual dates. We had friends... and it was a sincere kind of friendship, not like it is with kids today. We had fun.

As often happens, I came to like Susan better than Becky, but of course never said or did anything about it. I could have played that role in the movie St. Elmo's Fire.... the kid who likes the girl but never says anything, just tries to hang out around her. Besides, Susan was a 10, and back then I was a skinny, very-Jewish-looking guy, too short, with bad acne, bad hair, thick glasses, and a real dumpy car. Yeah, I really liked Susan. Maybe I was "dumb looking" but I wasn't dumb. I knew Susan never saw anything in me, never would, and that was that. But there was always a little bit of hope that I carried around with me.

During semester break Becky went home, but Sue stayed at school. She called me and said we should go to dinner one night. I borrowed $20 from my roommate and made reservations at the Monticello Hotel dining room.

You don't find places like this anymore. It was "old South" elegant, semi-dark, candles, and something very special for us at that age... tablecloths. I wore a bad-fitting suit, but she had that little black dress... not to get confused with Bobbie Brooks. I'd never been out with a girl in a dress that showed what that dress showed.

In the candle light (we all look good in candle light!) I was transfixed by her beauty and her "adult-ness." It was the first time I'd ever been out with a real "woman." We talked music, politics, literature, and almost solved the problems of poverty and world peace! It was a night like none I'd ever had before.

I took her back to her dorm, gave her a friendly peck on the cheek (in that awkward teenage way) and knew that something special had happend to me that night. I became an adult myself. It's amazing what changes us.

Becky was a nice girl, sweet, but it was Sue that I really liked. However, back then, guys like me knew their place in the social order and that girls like Sue were beyond our reach. It was OK (I kept telling myself) to just be good friends. All of us. It was a great time to be alive, to be young, and to just live.

Around the middle of that year Susan met a guy... I think his name was Joel, had un-protected sex and she became pregnant.

And no, I didn't have un-protected sex. I didn't have sex at all because I drove a Plymouth Valiant and girls (especially Becky!) didn't put out in a Plymouth. I didn't get "lucky" until my junior year... her name was Donna... the body of a Playboy bunny, a face like 30 miles of bad road... and a hell of a nice girl whom I've never forgotten. Maybe she's on this list. You never know. But I digress.

Sue's boyfriend had some money (something none of the rest of us had much of) and arranged for what you would call a "back alley" abortion in Richmond. Abortion was not legal in Virginia (or anywhere else that I know of back then, except Sweden.) Becky took Susan there. I didn't go.

I wasn't there but Becky told me the story. She said the place was an apartment, dirty, and, in her words "creepy." She didn't tell me about the procedure... it wasn't something that boys and girls talked about back then.

A day or two after the procedure something bad happened. Susan started bleeding, first a little bit, then more, and then it was, as Becky said, in buckets. She was rushed to the hospital... ambulance, sirens, flashing lights, the whole thing.

She didn't make it.

The funeral was very beautiful. It was the first one I'd ever been to. The minister gave a nice speech. But, all I saw was a young girl in a casket, and I've never forgotten it. I can still feel the sadness.

It wasn't long after that that, just before the end of the spring semester that Becky and I broke up. She went home that summer and married a lifeguard at the pool she worked at. I went on to other girls (who would not have sex with me.... probably because I still had that damn Plymouth.)

No I didn't become a pro-choice zealot. And I don't pontificate on the "morals" of abortion. All I know is that a young girl that I knew and liked died needlessly.

I think about her sometimes. That night at dinner. The candlelight. I remember it so well.

She was a really nice girl and I was in love.

I wish I had told her.

Al
Preserve your memories

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Nice site. Grammar needs a bit sprucing up...but pleasant to look at. (nice if we new what the future holds )

 

[xrac]

When I was a freshman in college in 1965 (U. of Virginia) I had a girlfriend (believe it or not!) named Becky. She went to Mary Baldwin which was (is?) in Staunton. (U.Va was all men back then.) Becky, her roommate, Susan, and I used to go everywhere together. Sometimes Susan had a date, sometimes not. It didn't matter We were like the "gang of three" always going out, and doing what today would be called "good clean fun" (no dope, no hard booze, etc.)

It was a simpler life back then. Virginia was about 3 years behind the rest of the country so while other college kids were doing weed, we were still drinking beer... and happy to do that! We had dances. We had parties. We had actual dates. We had friends... and it was a sincere kind of friendship, not like it is with kids today. We had fun.

As often happens, I came to like Susan better than Becky, but of course never said or did anything about it. I could have played that role in the movie St. Elmo's Fire.... the kid who likes the girl but never says anything, just tries to hang out around her. Besides, Susan was a 10, and back then I was a skinny, very-Jewish-looking guy, too short, with bad acne, bad hair, thick glasses, and a real dumpy car. Yeah, I really liked Susan. Maybe I was "dumb looking" but I wasn't dumb. I knew Susan never saw anything in me, never would, and that was that. But there was always a little bit of hope that I carried around with me.

During semester break Becky went home, but Sue stayed at school. She called me and said we should go to dinner one night. I borrowed $20 from my roommate and made reservations at the Monticello Hotel dining room.

You don't find places like this anymore. It was "old South" elegant, semi-dark, candles, and something very special for us at that age... tablecloths. I wore a bad-fitting suit, but she had that little black dress... not to get confused with Bobbie Brooks. I'd never been out with a girl in a dress that showed what that dress showed.

In the candle light (we all look good in candle light!) I was transfixed by her beauty and her "adult-ness." It was the first time I'd ever been out with a real "woman." We talked music, politics, literature, and almost solved the problems of poverty and world peace! It was a night like none I'd ever had before.

I took her back to her dorm, gave her a friendly peck on the cheek (in that awkward teenage way) and knew that something special had happend to me that night. I became an adult myself. It's amazing what changes us.

Becky was a nice girl, sweet, but it was Sue that I really liked. However, back then, guys like me knew their place in the social order and that girls like Sue were beyond our reach. It was OK (I kept telling myself) to just be good friends. All of us. It was a great time to be alive, to be young, and to just live.

Around the middle of that year Susan met a guy... I think his name was Joel, had un-protected sex and she became pregnant.

And no, I didn't have un-protected sex. I didn't have sex at all because I drove a Plymouth Valiant and girls (especially Becky!) didn't put out in a Plymouth. I didn't get "lucky" until my junior year... her name was Donna... the body of a Playboy bunny, a face like 30 miles of bad road... and a hell of a nice girl whom I've never forgotten. Maybe she's on this list. You never know. But I digress.

Sue's boyfriend had some money (something none of the rest of us had much of) and arranged for what you would call a "back alley" abortion in Richmond. Abortion was not legal in Virginia (or anywhere else that I know of back then, except Sweden.) Becky took Susan there. I didn't go.

I wasn't there but Becky told me the story. She said the place was an apartment, dirty, and, in her words "creepy." She didn't tell me about the procedure... it wasn't something that boys and girls talked about back then.

A day or two after the procedure something bad happened. Susan started bleeding, first a little bit, then more, and then it was, as Becky said, in buckets. She was rushed to the hospital... ambulance, sirens, flashing lights, the whole thing.

She didn't make it.

The funeral was very beautiful. It was the first one I'd ever been to. The minister gave a nice speech. But, all I saw was a young girl in a casket, and I've never forgotten it. I can still feel the sadness.

It wasn't long after that that, just before the end of the spring semester that Becky and I broke up. She went home that summer and married a lifeguard at the pool she worked at. I went on to other girls (who would not have sex with me.... probably because I still had that damn Plymouth.)

No I didn't become a pro-choice zealot. And I don't pontificate on the "morals" of abortion. All I know is that a young girl that I knew and liked died needlessly.

I think about her sometimes. That night at dinner. The candlelight. I remember it so well.

She was a really nice girl and I was in love.

I wish I had told her.

Al
Preserve your memories

Thanks for sharing this personal story, Al. I do not mean this insultingly but it sounds like you suffered from sales call reluctance back then. If you don't ask you don't get the sale. You will never know what Susan might have said if you had told her how you felt.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
VaDwayne, it is a nice website. I like it!

 

[somarco]

Some quick shots.

You are a life and health COMPANY or agency?

If you died today, how would your family survive tomorrow?

If you became disabled due to accident or injury, how could you make it financially?

If you needed to go into the hospital, or visit a doctor, because you are sick or injured, how would you pay you medical bills?

These are good, thought provoking questions. If you tweak them a bit, they might be a bit more personal.

If you died today, how would your family pay their bills?

If you became disabled due to accident or injury, how long could you go without a paycheck before it became a burden to your family?

If you needed to go into the hospital, have surgery, or take expensive medication, who would help you pay your medical bills?

 

[beatuplunchbox]

Dwayne,
I love the simplicity of your site. I have found simple is much more effective when it comes to websites.

I would also suggest putting a picture of you and your family on the meet the agent page. Pictures taken outdoors in early morning or late afternoon look the best, they stand out better on websites.

Overall, very nice.