Pop-culture often seems to embed itself into our brains more prominently than other forms of art. Like the first episode of 30 Rock. Tracy Jordan asks one of the writers how he's doing and the writer answers, "I'm doing good." Tracy then replies, "Nah-uh. Superman does good; you’re doing well." This has been an ongoing joke at Totally Local for the past year or so.

Today, one of my concepts was highly hailed by a client and I confidently forwarded the praise to my colleague with an "I did good." This was mainly to pick at our regular joke, but as the words came out of my mouth, I was reassured by an instant thought. What is super? In its most elemental state, it's just a shortened version of the word superior. So as I spoke, I was correct. As in all of the design that comes from our studio is always superior and is always top-quality design.

I guess that makes us Super Designers!

After two exciting years of building fun, SEO and XHTML complaint websites for our clients, we've taken the time to update our own piece of the web. What are some steps to building an SEO website? We found these great questions on StandardZilla.com.

• Does the website work with CSS off?
• Does the website work with Javascript disabled?
• Is the website using tables for layout, instead of CSS?
• Is all essential information in the HTML?
• Is there extra code, non-essential information in the HTML?
• Is the site all Flash?
• Is there hidden content?
• Is image replacement being used?

This is a great guideline, but as with everything in life, there's more. You have to take into account that a search engine robot is unable to view all of the snazzy graphics on your website. The best way to optimize your search engine categorization is to create a fully text based website. But that isn't very fun, attractive or marketable.

That is where proper use of CSS and XHTML come into play. The CSS ensures that the website looks good and the XHTML compliance keeps the search engines happy. On top of building a website that is appealing to the masses, we always want our sites to bear the w3.org stamp of approval. Our newest design is no exception. Just proving that even the most unorthodox design is no excuse for not incorporating proper coding standards and practice.

New research suggests that internet users are increasingly relying on search to find local service businesses, possibly making traditional print yellow pages and classified advertising all-but-obsolete in the future.

Totally Local has been watching this trend for years. In fact, some consumers we've talked to won't even contact a business if they don't have a website.

Of important note from the research:

Among those who conducted a search for a local business, most didn't convert immediately:

• 35% of respondents saved the business' phone number
• 27% searched a second time
• 23% had bookmarked the service vendor's website
• 5% used a phone book to find the service vendor
• 11% did not contact the vendor a second time

54% of the respondents who'd conducted a local search reported refering that business to a friend by:

• 59% verbally recommending the business
• 38% e-mailing a link
• 3% writing a favorable review on a consumer website

So, it's increasingly important to advertise online! Totally Local can help your business create an effective online marketing plan, complete with search engine optimization strategies, paid placement opportunities in search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN, and virtual yellow pages placement.

(The information above was taken from an article by Greg Sterling at Search Engine Watch. Read the entire article here.)

In a recent national survey conducted by AllBusiness, researchers determined what women value most when starting a business and compared those findings with government data. Below are the top cities in a number of different metro sizes.

But before you purchase a one-way ticket to Utah, remember that with the right mix of marketing and business desire, you can be successful almost anywhere!

Top 10 Large Metros(population 500,000 or more)

1. Raleigh-Cary, NC
2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA
3. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD
4. Denver-Aurora, CO
5. Salt Lake City, UT
6. Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA
7. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
8. Boise City-Nampa, ID
9. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
10. San Diego-Carlsbad San Marcos, CA

Top 5 Medium Metros (population 175,000 to 500,000)

1. Provo-Orem, UT
2. Ogden-Clearfield, UT
3. Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
4. Boulder, CO
5. Fort Walton Beach-Crestview-Destin, FL

Top 5 Small Metros (population 50,000 to 175,000)

1. St. George, UT
2. Logan, UT-ID
3. Morgantown, WV
4. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA
5. Winchester, VA-WV