Marketing insights by one of Internet Marketing's top guru.
Small Biz TrendsJust started following this blog - the name says it all.
SEOMoz BlogInformation on the latest in the world of SEO.
Occam’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik"If you can't measure it - you can't manage it." (Drucker). Avinash tells you how to measure everything on your website.
aimClear BlogAimed at people doing their SEO and online PR 'in house' - there is a wealth of information on all aspects of promoting your site.
Copy BloggerREAD THIS if you ever get stuck writing copy
Is it just me – or is the concept of a ‘Home Page’ becoming passé?
Back in the old days, the last century for those of us using Linux, browsers only had one window. And, when you started your browser it opened up your ‘Home Page’. Fast forward to 2010 and even Internet Explorer has tabs and can restore a session.
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Have you ever tried to explain your job to someone. One of the hardest parts is remembering all those little items that have, over time, become second nature. The things you do or know without really thinking about them.
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If you have a website or you are going to get a website and you think you need some search engine optimization (SEO).
You are probably right!
This video from SEOmoz (where SEO consultants go for help) will shed some light on how to first assess your needs and second give some insight into what to look for in hiring a consultant or outsourcing your SEO work.
I will be conducting a workshop on "What Every Business Owner Should Know To Maximize Investment In A Website.". (And, no I didn’t pick the title.) With such a huge topic – I thought I had better write a resource list for the attendees. Then I thought – why not share it with everyone.
It is by no means complete – but it is a start. And, the blogs in particular will lead you to even more information.
Courtenay, BC— In the not-so-distant past, a professional business card was the primary first-impression piece—a necessity for a business to look legitimate. Now, it seems a website is the indication of legitimacy, as well as an incredible business tool that makes geography a non-issue.
Since websites open every business to a global marketplace and level the playing field for small businesses and big businesses alike, most business owners are considering or using a website, but often have questions about designing, programming and maintaining a good website to maximize their investments of time and money—to get the most out of their sites.
Google recently announced the release of their latest major update – code name ‘Caffeine’. Google has been working on the update for a number of months. The release is currently in a test stage. However, you can expect it to be rolled out across the Google network later this year.
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A few years ago I saw an article saying Google had applied for a patented on the concept of basing search results on the users response to the items. The particular application quoted in the article was to base future results on how long a user spent on a page before returning the the search engine. Since then Google has refined the technique to what we now see as personalized search.
Personalized search means your search results are based on your past searches. For example if you are trying to determine the position of your website on the search engine results page (SERP) and continually click on the page once you find it, you may see it rise to a higher position. The search engine has learned your preference for that page when used with a specific set of keywords. Now, the SERP you see has no relevance to that seen by other users searching for the same term.
This means that a high SERP position can no longer be used as the ultimate measure of a websites success in bringing traffic to a site. As personalized search becomes more refined the differences between what you see and what your neighbour sees for the same search results will become more varied.
Search engines are already doing a good job of geo-targeting search results. (see Island Pizza Beats Pizza Hut ) So, a search for a plumber here in Comox is not going to give the same results as a search for an plumber in Victoria or even Campblell River.
So, how do you measure the success of a site? Qualified traffic!
Traffic by itself is a rather useless measure of a sites success. Qualified traffic, users that remain on the site, view at least two pages or, better yet, take some action that will lead to a sale, is the only true measurement. of success.
We still need to use the tools to view the SERP position for someone who doesn’t have a history with your page or keywords. And, we still need tools to get the results of searches from different geographical areas. But, these results now have to be viewed through the lens of personalized search.
Your business name and reputation is your most important asset. Yet many small businesses fail to protect their name.
Online – hijacking a business name can be as simple as filling in a few forms. Most free online directories do liitle or no checking to see if the business name you enter really belong to you. A little SEO and a competitor shows up in searches for your business name. A disgruntled employee, customer or lover can ruin your name with amazing speed.
While you can’t completely stop this form of theft there are some things you can do to slow it down.
A potential client want to meet to discuss optimizing his website. I hadn’t been to the site before – so I decided to take a look before meeting with him. ( I like to be some what prepared.)
As usual, when I am surfing the web, I had my headphones on and working my way through my playlist. All of a sudden, there was the sound of crashing waves over top of Neil Sedaka. It took me a few seconds to figure out they were coming from the website and another couple of seconds to see that I couldn’t turn them off.
Audio and video are great was to promote your product or service. They can add a personal touch that can connect with your customer. However, there are some basic rules that you need to follow.
First – and by far the most important – they must NOT start automatically. You should invite people to listen to, or watch your presentation. A message that starts automatically when the visitor is not expecting is intrusive and rude.
Second – there MUST be a way of pausing the presentation. Everyone of us has been interrupted while surfing the Internet. From a phone call to the call of nature, there are times when you need to go and do something else. Don’t force the visitor to the site to listen to everything again — have a pause button.
Finally, the presentation MUST deal with your product or service. In this case the sound of crashing waves had nothing to do with the service. It was just background noise.
The key to any web business is repeat customers. How many times do you think someone will be returning to this site knowing they will be getting the same noise? What do you think is the first thing I will be talking about at our meeting?
Die Hard – The Keyword Myth
I was listening to a podcast interview with Vanessa Fox this morning. I don’t spend much time with podcasts. There must be hundreds of hour uploaded each day and all but a few are, in my opinion a waste of time. But, one of my clients had sent me the link and asked for my opinion.
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