the internet ideas blog

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A Little Advice from Eliot


What are the words of today? 
"Last year's words belong to last year's language And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning"-Eliot

That one line, written long ago, is so appropriate when considering the words you choose to market your website to search engines.

Our culture is ever evolving. What was once a bandage became band-aid, a brand name that is now the household word for a bandage. What was once only an automobile is now more commonly referred to as a car. The same concept holds true every day of our lives. Our language is modified to include shorter words for the same things, slang that becomes common language, and brands that become household words, think "I 'googled' it," which is now included in Webster's dictionary.


This doesn't even include the shortened words used in texting and tweeting.

So when you think you've got all the right terms in place, think again. This is yet another way that search engine marketing is never "set it and forget it." Instead it's best to renew the keyword research at least yearly to assure that your site is keeping up with the evolution of our language.

Monday, December 29, 2008

If their titles, descriptions & keywords put them on top . . .


Want to be on the top of search results?
. . . then why don't I come up on top when I use the same words and similar description?

This was the question posed to me the other day by Maria during a consultation. Since many of you probably have the same question, I thought I would share the answer.

If search engine marketing were as easy as "follow the leader," there were would be thousands, if not millions, that should be "on top." There is only one top slot and someone has to be next.


Because of this, title tags, descriptions and keywords are only a part of what makes a website gain high rankings. There are many, many factors that influence how your site is ranked like these:
  • the age of the domain name and related site
  • the popularity of the website based upon the number of inbound links
  • the popularity of interior pages of the site
  • the actual content on the page that serves the visitors
  • the words used to link to your site from the outside
  • the alternative text used with images and links
  • the uniquely written (non-duplicated), quality content
and many more items that, alone, seem insignificant, but when used as part of the overall picture they all contribute to achieving high rankings for a variety of terms within your site.

On a local level, you may have so many competitors that have been online longer it may seem impossible to get your local business to come up on top.   This is especially frustrating when dealing with Google and their local mapping interface.  One way to get ahead in the local market (and overall) is to become great at social marketing.  Google in particular has made it quite clear that they value social interactions on their social site: Google+.

If you've got a question you would like to have answered in this forum, please feel free to email me: tj@myideagirl.com.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

WIIFY?


What's in it for me? 
I was reading "Made to Stick*" yesterday evening and came across an interesting "word" - WIIFY (pronounced "whiff-y") which stands for "What's In It For You." Great question! WIIFY is what you may think every time you are looking at buying new products or enlisting new services.

If every website was written for the visitor, answering the WIIFY question, a lot more people would be doing business online. Sadly, most websites are written touting the features, laudes and history neglecting the all important benefits oriented approach. Even more so, sites should show the benefit of the benefits as well. For example: This time tracking software will help you be more accurate when billing a client (benefit) , which will translate into more revenues because you won't miss a minute (benefit of the benefit).

This may seem like explaining the obvious but remember that the best way to get conversions on the internet is to tell visitors what you want them to do and make it easy for your visitors to take that action. It stands to reason then, that further explaining the benefit of the benefits will help visitors connect the dots quickly and easily, further increasing the appeal of your product or service.

So along with all the other things an ideal website should be, add WIIFY to your list!

*"
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die," by Chip & Dan Heath. It can be purchased online at Amazon.com - my favorite bookstore.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Manners Anyone?


It's not uncommon for website managers to inadvertently shun visitors with, what may look like, a fairly benign website.

For example, do you use forms that ask a multitude of possibly invasive questions? Keep to the basics and you'll find better conversions. And, if what you have to offer is appealing, they will most likely give you more information at a later point in the process.

Are you using ALL CAPS when trying to communicate your message? Keep in mind that writing in caps is the equivalent of yelling and should be done sparingly. Along these same lines, use visitor friendly phrases, avoid telling people what they "must do," instead offer options.

What about your sign up or check out process? Have you taken the forethought to explain why the information is needed and to have a solid privacy policy easily accessible to your visitors?

Although the web can be cold and impersonal, using kind and helpful words will go a long way.
The best way to determine if your site has a friendly approach to visitors, ask people outside your organization to take a look and give feedback. You may be surprised at what you can learn.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Good Idea


This one comes from Greg Call, who attended one of my webinars. Greg actually works for the Kansas Department of Commerce Trade Development Division and he took the time to give me a call to share what I think is a good idea, usually overlooked!

Here's his good idea: If your toll free number is accessible from Canada, Mexico etc. Let people know you are willing to accept their calls by stating that the number is good in those countries. (unless, of course, you don't want to do biz outside the US)

By giving that additional info it infers you already do business in those countries and it opens up the potential to people who may not have called otherwise.

If you have good ideas, let me know! Call toll free (works in Canada & Mexico) 877-644-3327 or
email me.

Friday, October 10, 2008

A Few Tips for Rocky Times


Tough times?
I received an e-news with an article by Brian Eisenberg (author, internet marketing expert) and I thought I would pass along this info and a few tips to help you through the potential storm.

Overall, conversion rates are starting to trend downward.

So what does this mean to you, your company, and your conversion rate? Can you come out of the other end of this with little to no damage? Anyone who has been in business through a recession knows it's absolutely possible to survive and, sometimes, even grow a bit (or a lot as competitors fold under pressure). But it's never easy.

For online marketers wishing to thrive, a down economy brings two big-picture lessons. First, now is the not the time to stop being innovative. Second, efficiencies are not an option.

Remember these tips...


  • Remember that people will buy value, in the absence of value they will take the best bargain price.  Be sure you are communicating the value behind your product / service.
  • People will still buy what the need and want; they'll just buy slower and more methodically.
  • Expect longer sales and lead-generation cycles. Customers won't ask you for more value, they'll just search for it elsewhere.
  • Don't be shocked by changing patterns in your metrics. Your customers may behave differently based on new found attitudes. Ask why they are doing what they are doing. Use personas to find ways to persuade them and calm their fears. Test to find the answers.
  • Don't cut back on optimizing for conversions.  Add social media to your conversion efforts.
  • Consider visiting or revisiting price-point- and shipping-cost-related offers. They are at least worth a test or two.
  • Stay focused on your customer first, not on the market.  Even though you can, don't blame the economy. It likely won't hear you, and if it does, it won't do anything about it.
  • Don't think you're immune or you may end up in the ash heap

Sunday, October 05, 2008


Some people will try anything to get first page listings in the major search engines. Unfortunately there are many companies that promise high search rankings, the vast majority of which are merely spam.

Spam for search engines includes: automatic doorway pages (not to be confused with legitimate landing pages), cloaking and false redirect codes, keyword stuffing, hidden text or links, and automated listing systems. The major search engines, especially Google, will penalize sites by either dropping the ranking of the website or removing the site from the search engine database completely.

While Google may eventually forgive and lift the penalization it is not a quick process to get back to the top. Often that process can take a year or more as Google learns to trust the site once again.

Moral of the story - don't participate in "black" search engine optimization techiques. Ask questions about how the SEO is performed and if you are not comfortable with the methods used, look for another company.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Satisfycing

People who research online before making a decision are often overwhelmed with the quantity of information and choices available. The habits of search engine users has found that 90% of searchers don't even go past the third page of results.

If you are like most people, you start with your favorite search engine, visit one or two sites that look like they may have what you are looking for, focus on a couple of sources of information, learn a bit about the product or service you are researching then make a decision. But what if there is a better site that you haven't seen? A better option that you weren't aware of?

Chances are you stop searching when you find a solution that will work, but not necessarily the best answer. This is called "satisfycing" and when you are tired of looking through the endless choices of products and solutions you'll choose one that is just acceptable.

Most people who visit your website will not want to invest time or effort to search through it for the possible answer if they don't have a strong sense that you have what they are looking for. They'll most likely leave and go with the most acceptable solution up to that point.

Make sure your site isn't ignored . . . be sure your page descriptions are accurate and the site meets expecatations. Web analytics can give you a clue as to whether or not your site is living up to expectations via the bounce rate on each page and, of course, visitor conversions are a very important indicator.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

On the Home Front


Every once in awhile I share a bit about my personal life...

I hope that people in the baja and gulf areas have come through the hurricanes largely unscathed. Being in an area that suffers the threat of tornadoes on a regular basis (and a short drive from Greensburg - the town that was wiped off the map) I can certainly understand the problems this magnitude of storms can cause.


Another reason I chose to write on this topic is that, being in the middle of the US, we usually get the end of the storms, the rainbands that are in the process of disappaiting. Normally it's no big deal. This time Lowell really caused a lot of flooding and with Ike coming in we're likely to get more.

The photo is just up the street from my home / office and in front of my daughter's school. It was a "real treat" having to carry her across the flood waters. Many streets / areas of the city were closed along with schools and activities canceled. I'm not complaining, by far we are not getting damage along the lines that the land fall areas received... merely giving a small look into the continuing effects of hurricanes as they travel upward and a small glance at my world.

Stay safe!!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Take Off & Landings



I live somewhat near the airport. It's a comfortable distance, not so close as to have the cabinets rattle when the planes go over but close enough to know that people are traveling.

All these take offs make me think of the many places people are going for business or fun. And with the Labor Day weekend coming up there will be much more travel. But thanks to the internet we don't have to go far to see a lot.

A recent survey by Pew & Associates found that 49% of the people who use the internet are using search engines daily. From the "surfing" point of view, search is the way to get from here to there, the virtual journey through the airways. From the website owner's view, these searches are the gateway to more business.

When found through search, your website is uniquely positioned to be the destination of choice for the searcher. Think about it, how often do you click a link with absolutely no intention whatsoever? Whether you are browsing for information, entertainment or to make a purchase decision, every click has a purpose.

Before you "take off" for the weekend take a few minutes to look over the destinations on your website. Giving a little attention to these "landing" pages could be just the ticket to giving you a better rate of return on your site.

Friday, August 08, 2008

A little enthusiastic inspiration. . .


This week I was asked by a web entrepreneur which markets he should get into, which products or services should he sell online. My answer was: Only those things that you are passionate about.

If you are to be truly successful, you must be enthusiastic about your undertaking. Enthusiasm and passion go hand in hand.

If you look at the companies or ideas that were truly successful you'll find an enthusiastic person behind them. Think of Thomas Edison - he says that his early attempts at the light bulb were not failures but successes in knowing how *not* to make a light bulb. Think about Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak of Apple, and even Larry Page and Sergy Brin of Google. These people were as enthusiastic when they undertook their project as they are today!

That is why doing something you love is so important, you won't always succeed right away but having the enthusiasm and passion about what you are doing will help carry you through. It is difficult to muster enthusiasm for things you don't enjoy. If you aren't excited and driven by your idea, it won't go far.


So whether you want to write a book, a blog, a business idea or anything that you want to commit your time, effort or money to be sure it's something you are really passionate about. 

Monday, July 28, 2008

Cuil - Not so Cool


Today a new search engine was launched by 2 former employees of Google. The name is Cuil (pronounced "cool"). I gave the search engine a quick try this morning with some of the search terms I watch for myself and clients. The results, not so cool.

Searches for "search engine optimization," "internet marketing," and "rubber stamps" yielded the following message:

"We didn’t find any results for “insert-term-here”
Some reasons might be...a typo. Please check your spelling.
your search includes a term that is very rare. Try to find a more common substitute.
too many search terms. Please try fewer terms.
Finally, try to think of different words to describe your search."

When I tried the industry term seo I finally got results which included, in the "Explore by Category" tab - Korean Pop Singers??? Whoa! One search term I tried brought up relevant results with a totally unrelated reference to cNet software.

The result pages are laid out completely different than "normal" search engine with a three column format. The listings often include an image although I'm not sure how they are making a determination on image selection because often the images didn't seem to be related to the company or product represented - like it was just some random image from the site.

They people behind the search engine also stated that they had more pages indexed than Google . . . well apparently not if they are serving "not found" pages to typical terms.

My analysis - maybe it was launched too soon but right now Cuil is not so cool!!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Relationships


Even though the web may appear to be a cold, distant tool to some, it's really a relationship builder and, like every other relationship, you have to tune in to the feelings and desires of the people you wish to serve.

No matter how well you express yourself on your website, the constant challenge is to do and say the right things at the right time. Giving attention to the keywords people are using to find you will help you put the most important information in the right place and on the right page. And if you don't know which phrases people will use to find you, a healthy dose of keyword research is in order.

If your visitor is looking for a certain widget, put a picture of the widget on the front page. If your goal is to develop more leads, make the process quick and easy for your visitor including a great reason to give you their information.

Treat your web visitors like your customers and work towards developing an online relationship that will make them want to do business with you.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Imagination


"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take youeverywhere."--Albert Einstein

Many times when website owners think about the design and development of their webiste they think logically - come in the front page, click a link, exit... What happens when someone comes to your site and doesn't have the same logic you have? That's where imagination becomes important. Most of the visitors to your site don't have the same mindset and it takes thinking outside the box to give every visitor the best opportunity to find what they want on your site.

Having just one link on the front page to critical information doesn't catch everyone but having an alternative link to that info gives twice as many chances to get there. Using industry terms to describe your offerings only work if your visitor is familiar with the industry, try asking your customers what words they used to find you and try optimizing with those terms.

Click here is a good call to action but can you say it better? How about "Get your free catalog here!"

Your website is a chance to show and tell - use your imagination and try something outside the box. You may be surprised with the results!

Monday, July 14, 2008

What do your web visitors really want?


Harvard Business School Professor emeritus Theodore Levitt once said, "People don't want a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole."

The visitors to your website don't want a product, they want a solution. How do you find their needs? Normally you have a dialog and ask questions to uncover their needs. On the web you may not be speaking face to face but you can still provide the answers to their questions through a "frequent questions" page or by just directly integrating those answers within your text.

It's not about what you're selling--it's about how what you're selling can help the customer. Focus on benefits. Give your visitors a reason to do business with your company by showing them the value behind your product or service.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

"The Coolest" from Google


Today I was able to attend a webinar from Google - which I think is cool just to begin with. The pros at Google answered questions that were submitted in advance and went through the highlights of Webmaster Tools, Web Analytics and Web Optimizer. Even if you thought you knew it all, there was plenty more that these tools are able to tell you and that you can accomplish with them.

At the end, each of the three moderators gave their take on the coolest features of each application. Here they are:
  1. The external links feature combined with the "what googlebot sees" in the Webmaster Tools. Together these tools not only tell you who's linking to you, they can show you what others are saying about your products or services. They give you an opportunity to comment on blogs that mention your company and manage your corporate reputaion... yep pretty cool.

  2. The "compare to site average" segment by goals report in Web Analytics. This tool helps you really focus on which traffic sources and even keywords are giving you the most sales (or leads). The visual of this report shows you in bold red and green where the best performers are... yep very cool.

  3. The "time on site" testing ability in Web Optimizer. Web Optimizer is usually thought of for the split testing toward definite goals like making a sale or getting a sign up on the site but if you just want to focus on branding your company, time on site is your major indicator that people are paying attention to what you have to say. And for retail or lead generating sites, time on site is a valuable tool when it comes to knowing that you are delivering what your visitors are looking for .. . . . way cool.

If you aren't already using these tools or you need help getting set up email or call me (877.644.3327) - I'll be happy to help!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

No One Really Cares



Sad but true, no one really cares how great your company is, how awesome the people are in your service department, the cool tagline. No one really cares about the fluffy text, fancy flash or any of the multitude of things that people tend to put on their websites.

But there is a good side to this rather negative post: When you keep the "no one really cares" in mind, you'll be more likely to write better opening statements, more creative responses to the objections you most frequently encounter, more engaging email messages - the overall reasons people should do business with your company.

The idea is to approach sales and marketing from a less egocentric angle. Be as hard on yourself as your customers are on you. Forget the fluff, the hype, just get to the point and make it a good point. Time and space are always precious commodities in advertising so using these resources wisely will help visitors to your website see the value of your product or service much faster.

Getting and keeping the attention of your site visitors shouldn't be taken for granted, it's a privileged that is afforded only to those websites that do a great job of responding to "no one really cares."

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Happy Birthday DMOZ


Hard to believe but DMOZ - the Open Directory Project - is 10 years old. This little mentioned icon to the web has remained the only totally free, totally human edited directory. The volunteers who review the sites are located, literally, all over the globe -over 80,000 at last count.

Yahoo began with a similar concept but, within a few years, added web search to compete with Google. The directory on Yahoo is not used as often and quickly became a pay for review service, which didn't guarantee placement within the directory. ($299 for review, $299 per year IF accepted)

The DMOZ directory is much like a library. The sites that are submitted, reviewed and approved are added to the collection under the single most appropriate category. There is no key word based, multiple indexing of the site. So imagine going through an old-fashioned card catalog. You won't find the same book listed in more than one category and there is only one copy of the book on the shelf.

The significance of this is simple. If someone likes the website - if the site has value in terms of information or being a resource - then the website is listed in the directory. Yes, many sites on the web are NOT listed in the directory. If your site is listed in the directory then you get a better ranking in other search engines because your site has already been reviewed and given a "thumbs up" in terms of relevance.

So Happy Birthday DMOZ - congratulations to the volunteers who work tirelessly and sometimes at risk of insult to be sure that the sites listed are worthwhile.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Links: The Web's Version of Election


It's an election year!  To celebrate here is a list of items to remember about links, the voters of the internet.

1. Think Election! 

Each link gives your site a "vote" in terms of good information, popularity, relevance etc.  The more links, the more votes and we all know that the person with the most votes wins!

2. Win the primaries in the best states.

Remember that it's more important to have links from relevant sites, sites that relate to your business. Don't participate in link farms.

3. Stay on the campaign trail - winners don't quit

Most people start link building then quit from over confidence (or exhaustion).  This is a mistake, you should always be on the look out for good linking opportunities.

4. Buying votes with money or favors isn't a good thing.

Anytime you buy a link or promise to exchange just to get the link doesn't help your overall goal.  These types of links aren't relevant and you'll get penalized when Google recognizes it's a paid link site. You're also at risk of being reported by your competitors.  Strive for high quality organic links that compliment your site.

5. Don't make false campaign promises.

If you've got pages on your site that have moved be sure you use search friendly redirects. These are on the server side and they are "permanent" telling the search engines to get the new page and do away with the old. This way, when someone clicks on the link they still get to the relevant content on your site and search engines will pass links to the correct address.

If you've lead your link campaign with integrity you'll soon reap the rewards of gaining the popularity vote and your site will gain status through higher page ranking. 

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The Press Release


I just received my monthly issue of Website Magazine. Hard to believe that I started in this industry over 10 years ago when there was literally nothing but a bunch of online geeks - now we have 2 industry magazines! But I digress . . .

This month there was an article about press releases and although I find myself telling people that press releases are a good way to promote their business, I usually don't go into why and most people don't understand how or why to use the internet for press releases. So I thought I would share this great little list with you including my personal thoughts on each idea.

1) Press releases show up in organic search results. If you have something new, exciting, newsworthy happening in your company, posting the press release on your website gives the search engines and searchers another way to find you.

2) Links. Use your online press release to link to other relevant pages of your site. These internal links give search engines a better way to organize your pages and a stronger ranking for linked pages based on the link text description.

3) Manage your company reputation. If you've ever had a disgruntled employee or very unhappy customer you may find your site negatively listed in a blog or review site. By using press releases to talk about the great things happening at your company you'll be in better control of your company's image.

4) Catch the blogger's interest. With social media becoming increasingly important on the internet, your press releases are food for the fodder! A good media area (press releases) within your site give bloggers and other interested parties something to talk about - you! And the more they are talking about you in blogs, the more links and traffic are generated.

5) The old stand by - Traditional media. Putting out a press release to journalists is still a good idea even in the internet age. While you may not always get coverage, it certainly keeps your name in front of them and they may consider calling you for a quote when writing about something relevant to your business.

There are several ways to get your press release out there when it comes to the web, from free to spendy. But the best thing to do is to get the ball rolling and start telling people what your company is up to!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Clutter Cutter


In a quest to be all things to all people it's easy to get caught up in trying to fill your front page with everything imaginable. Does too much stuff make your page undesirable to visitors? To search engines? Yahoo has applied for a patent that includes a new application that will rank pages according to their "clutter" factor. This is an excerpt from the patent application:

"It can be important to make web pages easy and pleasing to use, which can be particularly important for web pages it is desired to monetize. [...].

If such web pages are not easy and pleasing to use, the money-making potential of those web pages can be jeopardized. One conventional indication of whether a web page is easy and pleasing to use is called 'clutter.'"

According to Yahoo, here is a list of 51 ways pages are considered "cluttered" and are, therefore, may not ranked as high as we would like.
  • Total number of links
  • Total number of words
  • Total number of images (non-ad images)
  • Image area above the fold (non-ad images)
  • Dimensions of page
  • Page area (total)
  • Page length
  • Total number of tables
  • Maximum table columns (per table)
  • Maximum table rows (per table)
  • Total rows
  • Total columns
  • Total cells
  • Average cell padding (per table)
  • Average cell spacing (per table)
  • Dimensions of fold
  • Fold area
  • Location of center of fold relative to center of page
  • Total number of font sizes used for links
  • Total number of font sizes used for headings
  • Total number of font sizes used for body text
  • Total number of font sizes
  • Presence of “tiny” text
  • Total number of colors (excluding ads)
  • Alignment of page elements
  • Average page luminosity
  • Fixed vs. relative page width
  • Page weight (proxy for load time)
  • Total number of ads
  • Total ad area
  • Area of individual ads
  • Area of largest ad above the fold
  • Largest ad area
  • Total area of ads above the fold
  • Page space allocated to ads
  • Total number of external ads above the fold
  • Total number of external ads below the fold
  • Total number of external ads
  • Total number of internal ads above the fold
  • Total number of internal ads below the fold
  • Total number of internal ads
  • Number of sponsored link ads above the fold
  • Number of sponsored link ads below the fold
  • Total number of sponsored link ads
  • Number of image ads above the fold
  • Number of image ads below the fold
  • Total number of image ads
  • Number of text ads above the fold
  • Number of text ads below the fold
  • Total number of text ads
  • Position of ads on page

There is also reason to believe that flash and animation adds to the "clutter score." It should go without saying, pages that are easy to use will convert more visitors to customers so in that aspect Yahoo may be right on target. Not to be outdone, Google has a similar patent application regarding "annoying documents."

So, if satisfying the delicate balance of key phrase density (among other things) isn't enough, it is now becoming more important than ever to look at the level of usability from the visitor standpoint.

    Sunday, March 30, 2008

    Who is your target market?


    The figures just came out for home internet users in February (tracked by Nielsen Online). Over 150 million people use internet at home everyday in the United States alone. If you don't think this represents a part of your potential customer base, think again!

    Another recent survey of over 13,000 Internet users aged 18 and older conducted in February 2008 (
    by Burst Media) found that people are expanding the number of sites they are visiting and the frequency of site visits over the last year. Three out of five, 60% of respondents, are visiting more sites in a typical week than a year ago including people over the age of 55. We have every reason to believe this trend will continue.

    If you are thinking, "I only sell to businesses," remember that many of these people work for companies and can potentially influence a buying decision for b to b.

    Who is your target market?

    Wednesday, March 26, 2008

    Google - Friend or Foe


    Google's "search within search" feature has many people who use the popular search engine a bit more than concerned. On the surface, it sounds benign but the larger ramifications have people wondering just who's side Google is on.

    If you haven't seen the change on Google, in the new listings if a site has a "google search" box it now appears in the page listing. The problem is that the second search box has a Google ad that produces revenues for Google but not for the publisher (site owner).

    In addition the second search box occasionally pops up ads for the competitor. So people trying to access one site can easily get side tracked to a competitor. Google has responded to this concern on a limited basis. For example, Amazon requested that this be "switched off" on their site and Google complied.

    A third concern, from a purely positioning standpoint, is that the new "enhanced" listings Google has produced reduces the space available on the front page, above the fold, in the SERP. Sites that were once visible immediately when the page loads are not visible when below the fold and the searcher must scroll to those listings, an action many people are prone to avoid.

    Google's quest, of course, is to provide the best, most relevant and comprehensive results to searchers. Unfortunately they may end up alienating the the very people who are paying the bills.

    To get the full story - check out the New York Times.

    Thursday, March 20, 2008

    Spring has Sprung!



    If you are as excited as I am about the rising temperature, budding trees and blooming flowers then you know that spring has finally arrived!

    Now is the time for another popular spring activity - cleaning! I mean your website of course!

    Now is a great time to review the content and links on your site to make sure that everything is up to date and works properly. It's also time to give your site a fresh look - switch things up a bit.

    Monday, January 14, 2008

    Blatant Repost


    If you've read my blog before you no doubt remember that I am a follower of Seth Godin. Today he posted an interesting list so here is a blatant repost with credit to the author:

    Encyclopedia salesmen hate wikipedia...

    And CNET hates Google
    And newspapers hate Craigslist
    And music labels hate Napster
    And used bookstores hate Amazon
    And so do independent bookstores.

    Dating services hate Plenty of Fish
    And the local shoe store hates Zappos
    And courier services hate fax machines
    And monks hate Gutenberg

    Apparently, technology doesn't care who you hate.

    Friday, January 11, 2008

    What's in a name?


    The answer: Plenty when it comes to search engine marketing!

    Everything from images to links to page headlines need to have a well worded name because each of these elements can help boost your page rank.

    Images - when saving an image, be sure to give the image a name that is keyword rich and search engine worthy. Don't be afraid to use dashes to better name your image.

    Links - you can give your link a name not associated with the text on the link. If you are linking to a call to action like "click here" it's worth the time to name the link within the page code with information directly related to the link.

    Headlines - the first words on every page should be rich with keywords that are contained within the page. Sometimes this takes a bit of creativity but, when done correctly, it will help boost your position for the page.

    Page Tite: Not always seen by humans, it's hidden in the "blue bar" at the very top of your browser window, this is very important when it comes to identifying what the page is about. It's the first thing a search engine sees so make it count.

    If you haven't checked out these elements, it might be worth it to evaluate your page for the various titles and names. This little exersize can go a long way in improving search results.
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