This section of 4specs is intended to help the marketing and sales manager of a construction product manufacturer increase their knowledge of how to get their products specified by architects, engineers and specifiers. Most of our newsletters are listed here, categorized by the information they contain.
About 4specs - and some information about how to better optimize your web performance. We use these slides to explain about 4specs and to show screen shots of Google Analytics and basic search engine optimization
Our 2012-2013 Series on Questions to Ask Your Web Designer
Our 2009-2011 Series on Website Design for Building Product Manufacturers
This series of newsletters is based on "What I would do if I were your employee" providing step by step actions to bring your website under control and make it easy to maintain in the future.
Starting to Think About Your 2010 Website? - August 2009
Five Tools to Diagnose Your Website - September 2009
People and Tools to Use - October 2009
First Steps to Take in Your Website Redesign - November 2009
Favicon Images - December 2009
Using the Google Sitemap Program to Improve Your Website - March 2010
What Are Your Actual Key Words? - May 2010
Speed, Speed, Speed and more Speed - June 2010
Speed Up Your Images - July 2010
Server Setup - September 2010
Move Your Business Email to Google Aps - February 2011
Can a Website Be Too Simple - April 2011
Start Tracking and Optimizing Your Business Today! - August 2011
Related Newsletters
Influencing Specifications: The 5 Costliest Manufacturer Mistakes - December 2011
Local Product Shows – More Than a Sales Opportunity (January 2011)
The Construction Market Landscape (November 2011)
A summary of our talk at the CSI Convention in 2004. It sums up what we think a marketing manager needs to know to effectively use the Internet in marketing to architects, engineers and specifiers.
Are you planning a major revision or update to your site? I look at a 1,000 websites a month and see lots of websites that could be easily improved.
What Should You be Planning for 2008 Web Site Revisions?
Make Your Next Web Site Easy to Maintain
Set up Google Analytics in 20 Minutes - or less and it is free
Basic Search Engine Optimization - get more free users from the search engines.
Our 2008/2009 Website Updating Newsletter Series
Improve Your Website's Performance - 10/2008
What Does Your Server Say to The Search Engines? - 11/2008
Landing Pages - 12/2008
Page Titles & Descriptions - 1/2009
If you do not know how your visitors got to your website, how can you increase the number? Otherwise stated, unless you know your website stats, you are shooting in the dark and probably wasting your advertising dollars.
How to Understand Your Web Site Activity
Bruce Clay: Web Analytics
Set up Google Analytics in 20 minutes or less
4specs' Server Statistics - our actual website stats from last month. 4specs uses a simple and free tracking program for most of our stats. This page will give you an idea of what is available for your site. Talk with your web consultant or IT department.
4specs Summary Spreadsheet - you need to have one like this for your stats.
Your Website Stats - a sample of the spreadsheet you need to build to track your site activity and to analyze the cost per referral of driving users to your site.
4specs Overview - from Google Analytics for October 2006. Google purchased Urchin and is providing the analytics for free. One of the best around.
Tracking Website Stats - another newsletter article
Your Website Is Up. What's Next? Our perspective about using the Internet for marketing to architects and engineers. These articles formed the basis for my talk at the CSI Convention at Chicago in April 2004.
Site Maps - an easy way to get more search engine visitors
How Does a Specifier Use Your Website?
What is the Purpose of Your Website?
What Does an Architect or Engineer Want to Find on Your Website?
Get Specified - Information for manufacturers wanting to get their products specified by architects and engineers.
Getting Your Products Specified on LEED Projects
Glossy Brochure or 3-Ring Binder - which does your user want?
WebFormat™ - our suggested website design.
Marketing in the Future - The Next 5-10 Years
Part 2 - What is Driving The Changes
Part 3 - Hot, Warm and Cold Mediums
Part 4 - Getting Your Rep in Front of Architects and Specifiers
Winning Through Faster Website Updating
Winning through OODA - November 2006 Newsletter
Complete List of 4specs Newsletters and Articles
Paid advertising can be expensive. Through effective design (or redesign) of your website, you can substantially increase the number of free visitors. For one advertiser, several simple changes (costing perhaps $500) increased the number of free referrals from Google from 100 per month to 100 per day!
Jakob Nielsen - UseIt Column - 3 or so newsletters a month and a great archive of past newsletters.
Search Engine Watch - a free website covering the search engines
SearchEngineNews - Subscription based newsletter covering the latest in Search Engine News. $97 for 6 months.
WebmasterWorld - A good general resource
Web Page Analyzer - Web Page Speed Analysis
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards - This is a great monograph on specifications, written as continuing education to help architect understand specs including their formatting. The opening line is: "Everyone knows that nobody looks at a spec until there is a problem in the field, right? The contractor is doing something questionable, the harried architect opens the spec, hoping that the spec writer has written the language they need to back them up, and voila, there it is!"