Visual Search Engine
Posted by Chip
Here's a really cool tool that I just learned about - quintura.com. It's a search engine that also displays a keyword cloud right next to the results. This is a gret tool for digging into your keywords and finding new keywords and phrases to use on your site.
Are You Not Getting All of Your Work Done?
Posted by Chip
Here's an interesting article I ran across this morning:
10 Reasons You're Not Getting Your Work Done
Are you having trouble getting all your work done? Is there a project you can't seem to find time to finish, or something you haven't been able to get started? If it doesn't seem you'll ever be able to cross everything off your "to do" list at work, see if any of the following are keeping you from getting your job done.
1. You have too many distractions.
A recent survey by the research firm NFI Research found that 66 percent of senior executives and managers say e-mail is one of the biggest distractions in the workplace, followed by the crisis of the day and personal interruptions. According to the bosses surveyed, other workplace distractions include unexpected meetings, phone calls, Web surfing, socializing, instant messages and noise.
This is a pretty spot-on list. American workers are at an all time high in productivity. But, we're all too busy to really get things done.
A Valuable Cheat Sheet
Posted by Chip
I was reading a great email newsletter this morning and stumbled onto a great article about online copywriting. When I glanced down at the bottom of the page, there was this great link: "the ultimate cheat sheet".
Check this out: Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet
And here's more: Online Copywriting 101: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet, part 2
If you've read some of my posts from the past, you know that I'm big on online copywriting. These are two great resources that help outline some of the great tips out there.
Post Your Freakin’ Holiday Hours on Your Website
Posted by Chip
To all of you in business out there - please do us consumers a favor. I have had three instances over the last three days where I went to a website to look up the hours for a business. Guess what - they were wrong.
In one case my oldest son was sick and I went to three different walk-in clinics to get him some help. I checked out the local Minute Clinic at the CVS and their site said they'd be open from 8:00am until 8:00pm - granted this was on Christmas Eve and I figured that it wouldn't be the case - but I went anyway. Sure enough there was the little sign - we're open from 10:00am until 2:00pm on Christmas Eve. So we came back - mainly because the other walk-in clinics weren't open. They didn't even update their auto-attendant on their phone systems.
Then today I desperately needed a hair cut and called the place where I go - nothing on the message - nothing on their website about holiday hours.
C'mon people this is simple stuff to keep from frustrating your customers. Think a little, would 'ya.
Great Podcasting Article
Posted by Chip
Here are some PodCasting tips from the great site MarketingProfs.com:
Lessons Learned From Podcasting
According to a study released by KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann on the emerging role of new media, over 41 percent of survey respondents claimed they had listened to podcasts on more than one occasion, and 13 percent stated that they frequently download or listen to them; and 65 percent of podcast listeners said they listen to podcasts for both personal and business interests (source: Emerging Media Series: The Influence of Podcasts on B2B Technology Purchase Decisions, July 2006).
The list at the end of the article is right on. I especially like (and recommend) #7 - no selling in podcasts. They're all about exchanging ideas and thoughts on a subject.
SEO is a Tactic That Pays Back Over the Long Run
Posted by Chip
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of those things that every website must pay attention to. However, it's one of those tactics that requires time before the return manifests itself. You need a degree these days to completely understand the ins and outs of how to organically "manipulate" search engines like Google and others in order to impact your natural rankings. With other options at your disposal, it's just no longer feasible to do so. So, what I recommend to my clients is that you put good SEO practices in place and move on, because it will pay off in the long run.
Here's a great article at MarketingProfs.com that discusses the basics: Three SEO Issues New Web Sites Face (and Five Solutions). The thing I really like is that it's geared to someone putting up a new site.
It's an unfortunate fact: No matter how good your search engine optimization company or in-house talent is, brand new Web sites have a more difficult time achieving search engine success for competitive phrases than their older counterparts, particularly on Google.
However, the worst thing that a new site owner can possibly do is presume that they are "too late to the game" and decide not to pursue this marketing channel at all. A good search engine optimization company should be able to effectively work with a new Web site; setting the foundation for a remarkable success story while still achieving steadily increasing short-term benefit.
Check it out.
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