The following is an ongoing compiled list:

1. "Always date a girl with a good reputation." When buying a previously owned URL make sure it has a good reputation, as years of cached links may show up on the search engine that you don't recognize.

2. "Be yourself." Google's Panda update is cracking down on content farming.

3. "Why buy the cow, if the milk is free?" Be careful not to give away too much of your service that you should be paid for in your social media marketing.

4. "There's always more fish in the sea." Watch your ROI, if your efforts to get a prospective client's attention on social media are falling on deaf ears ... or blind eyes, move on. Social media can take up a lot of your time and money - a big picture strategy should go hand-in-hand with focus.

5. "Don't move too fast; take your time to get to know each other." A sudden influx of SEO activity can actually hurt your search engine rankings in the long run. Also, being hasty can allow mistakes to go unnoticed. It is more important to take your time to be accurate and strategic where your website's information and links will be placed.

6. "It's not nice to lead people on." Make sure the links that you post with your content on social media or websites go directly to the page with the information you are talking about. You will lose people along the way in a string of links.

7. "If you like it, put a ring on it." When liking an article by a higher profile company or individual, make sure you comment with something compelling that will result in views to come back around to your website or social media page.

8. "Beauty is skin deep." Your website may be attractive and innovative, but if it is filled with shallow content, grammatical errors and is hard to navigate, the viewer will lose interest.

9. "Stay away from Lover's Lane." Don't park your website's URL while you are building your website. Sure, you may make a few bucks, but you have no control of what is going to be linked to your parked domain by the registrar. You may have cached links and content that can harm the brand image you are trying to portray once you go live.
 
Can you think of anymore?

I had so much fun creating this website. The minute I saw a picture of the storefront of Cocoon Home Decor and Gifts, I knew I had to do something with those perfect Main St.-home town-lights over the awning. So, we came up with the idea of having a photo contest on Cocoon's facebook page to see who could take the best picture of the storefront including the top of the lights all the way down to the street, with good enough lighting and high enough quality that it could be used on a website.  Check out Cocoon's facebook page for the results, the prize was great!

I did have to do some "voodoo" magic in Photoshop to eliminate shadows and such, but I am really happy with the results.  Below is the winning picture of the storefront and the matching website.
If you get a chance visit www.cocoonhomedecorandgifts.com, and better yet if you are in the Grimsby, ON area visit their incredible store!

I really like the clean look that this website ended up with.  I haven't created a website with a mostly white background in a while. I discovered that I love the shade of green in EBN's logo and when played off with grey and blue - all kept in balance - it creates a very professional, but inviting feel.

If you are a small business in Eastern Michigan, visit them today, they offer many solutions for benefits for business owners and their employees.
www.myebn.com

Here is my newest website design project.  This website was custom made from top to bottom.  I loved experimenting with 3-D dimension and shadows.  It was so much fun brainstorming with Jeanine Kinzie on this one.  I learned a lot about insurance and finances!  She is amazing at what she does and explaining these complex matters in a way everyone can understand.  I hope her website makes you feel as much at ease she does in person.

Now on to marketing www.jeaninekinzie.com online!

I am so excited to announce the launch of my newest logo and website design for Leslie Traill's brand new venture Sexy Over Sixty.  Just when I thought I had run out of ideas for a new website design, Leslie's logo colors and beautiful pictures inspired me to come up with something new and tastefully simple to let Leslie's beauty and vibrancy shine!  Good luck Leslie!

Check out www.sexyoversixty.com!