Web Savvy Marketers

Google Alerts Gives You the Latest Scoop

Find out what they are saying about you. Your latest customer reviews, product name updates, and all the articles pertinent to your business can be sent to you on a daily basis, or even as it happens, directly to your email inbox. Equally interesting is what they are saying about your competitor, so stay abreast by tracking their mentions just like you’re following your own.

Stay Tuned In Without the Hassle of Searching

With Google Alerts you don’t need to search for this information the old-fashioned way, typing in the specific keywords every time your curiosity gets the best of you. Once you create an alert, Google will track the most recent updates on your topic and email you the results. By using those clever Google search tips from my earlier post, you can streamline your topics with effective Google search queries. Try out a keyword search and see what happens. You can refine or delete an alert at any time, and you can choose to have them come through an RSS feed as well. Pick your RSS reader, although Google will suggest their own Google Reader.

Bloggers Beware!

Create a Google Alert for your blog so you will know when you are mentioned by someone else. Do each of the following alerts: your first and last name (use quotes if you have a common name), your blog’s name (not URL), and nickname if you have one, including your Twitter username. Now you will see whenever your name or blog is mentioned, even when they don’t link to you.

There’s also a way to monitor incoming links to your site. Enter your URL like this: link:www.yourdomain.com. Use the exact post’s URL for tracking a particular post. Don’t forget to do the same with your competition’s URL! They could lead the way to some links you need to know about.

Those insufferable hackers won’t escape you any longer. Discover if your site has been hacked before your rankings plummet, thanks to the unseemly spam links the hackers insert. WordPress sites in particular are being attacked, and the attackers are filling them with links to offensive domains.  Enter into your alerts:  site:www.yourdomain.com viagria, OR cialis OR otherspamword. This is not 100% effective, nor is it a preventive tool, so be sure to keep your site updated with the latest version.

Have Some Fun With Your Favorite Topics

Don’t leave Google Alerts without having some fun. Follow the latest news story, your favorite author or actor, or latest DIY trend. Let your imagination get carried away! You can set up to 1000 alerts for your scoping pleasure by starting here, and if you don’t already have a Google account, go here. For a terrific step-by-step  and a video tutorial, check out WebBizIdeas.com’s page. What are you waiting for?

 

 

Obscure Google Apps, Techniques and Tips

Google iconsGoogle as Goliath

Let’s explore Google, the search engine that has tipped the Internet scale to a Google-centric mentality with an estimated 900 million unique users every month, according to eBizMBA. Go ahead and “Google it,” and you’ll discover that there are well over 100 Google products and services. Some of the lesser known products include Google Transliteration, Google Fusion Tables, and Google Panoramio. Because they keep coming and going, there’s an aptly named Google Graveyard for those that get the axe. More widely known and used are Gmail, Google Maps, and YouTube. Yes, YouTube has gone Google. With these three Google products, we can contact someone, locate them, and potentially publish their antics for the World Wide Web to see.

The helpful infographic primer on how to Google more effectively in my last blog is a good place to begin in using Google at its most basic. Just mastering the proper “operators” is a good Google 101 lesson.

Tips to Take With You

If you want to find pages with an exact phrase, put quotes around it (“cute pygmy giraffes“). Now, try leaving a word out of the quote (cute “pygmy giraffes”), and you will find pages that contain the word cute as well as the exact phrase “pygmy giraffes.”  If you want to omit a word, put a dash sign before it (cute -pygmy giraffes), and you will find pages that contain the words cute and giraffes, but not pygmy. Use the tilde (~) to search for similar words. Type ~cute pygmy giraffes and return with words such as adorable and delightful. Use the “site:” operator to search only within a certain website.  Search for site:websavvymarketers pygmy giraffes and find pygmy giraffes only within Web Savvy Marketers.Pygmy giraffe

Whereas there are Google do’s, there is a definite Google don’t. This will be a difficult habit for some of us to break. Don’t ask Google questions. Instead, phrase your search in terms of the answer. For example, “Are pygmy giraffes real pets?” For this you could write intitle:pygmy to show only results with pygmy in the title, and use the star (*) to find the best matches for the word *giraffe, in case there are any unknown terms for this word. I tried pets intitle:pygmy *giraffe, and it worked, although it felt a bit like Neverland. If you truly believe, you just might find one.

This search with the star is called a wildcard, and is excellent for using when you are unsure of a particular word but know the rest, such as in a song lyric, a well-known quote, or verse. By the way, you can use more than one star in a search, just be sure to place a space between any consecutive stars. If it’s a definition you want, put define: in front of the word you are questioning, and save yourself a separate trip to the online dictionary.

CTRL + F, Anyone?

My favorite quick-search tip is the little-known command + F shortcut, or CTRL + F with PCs. Follow this with the word you’re searching for (see the box which appears in the screen’s bottom left), and every instance of this word will be highlighted on that particular web page or document. Need to make a calculation? Never mind opening a calculator application; simply type the equation into Google using +, -, *, /, and parentheses. Forgot your reading glasses? Increase the size of the document with command + or CTRL +. Using the CTRL – will reverse your changes.

Go ahead and Google. You know you want to.

 

Image: anankkml @ http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1674

Infographics

Infographics Goes Retro

The growing trend in infographics, due in part to the rise of the Internet and social marketing, has a historical component going back to the Egyptian’s astronomical tables of the 2nd century. Jump to the 1920s London, and data visualization is being used to regale the London Underground, enticing the erstwhile passenger to ride the Tube. Fast forward to the 21st century, where today’s buzzword encompasses the data-as-art phenomenon with modern-day information design gurus such as Edward Tufte to emblazon the way. Tufte’s vision of information graphics rests in creating order out of chaos, making sense out of the evidence, ascribing the multidimensional, dynamic world of information onto a static, flat surface.

2-D Captivity: A Prison Break

Escaping this “flatland,” a reference to Flatland, a 19th century book where two-dimensional life is the norm, is Tufte’s oft-used metaphor for the challenge faced when attempting to create an appealing and arresting presentation, whether it be for a company website, brand advertising, non-profit fundraising, or simply to promote corporate responsibility. In his books, Tufte documented what he believes are some of the best graphic illustrations, and include an 1869 map of Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia and the failure of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger launch.

Rich content, layers of detail, while maintaining simplicity and ease of navigation, are key elements in designing a successful infographic. Avoid what the “da Vinci of data” calls “chartjunk,” anything in the realm of graphic design that detracts from its informative function by diverting readers with needless ornamentation. Whereas he concedes there is such a thing as too much data – a recent estimate for the size of the Internet indicated over 5 billion gigabytes – Tufte does not believe in informational overload. Neither does the KISS principle  (Keep It Simple Stupid) carry much weight with him; assume your audience is as smart as you are. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler, as Einstein reportedly said.

Infographics This

For a view of the varied infographics ascending the World Wide Web’s horizon, meander through the strange beauty of an artistic rendering of  the history of the sci-fi genre. Learn how to use Google search more effectively; while geared toward the college student, its tips will benefit everyone.  Participate in World Water Day 2012 and help raise funds and raise awareness through Facebook sharing (hurry, ends March 30!). And for some me time, Intel’s “What About Me” will create a social media profile in a flower-motif infographic. Beware of the “socially disruptive” narcissist!

We are in an age where information demands to be not simply read, but acutely seen. Our visual world has never been more stimulating in its two-dimensional form. Think video screen, computer monitor, or piece of paper. Add information, inspiration, and really thoughtful graphic design. The sky’s the limit, or, rather, the surface is.

 

Thank you Google and Bing for validating my SEO viewpoint

SEO VoodooFor several years now, I’ve rebelled against SEO Voodoo.

What I mean by SEO Voodoo is the process of hyper-focusing on optimizing your website to the detriment of building a good website.  Folks get so caught up in the SEO hype—keywords, link building and so on that they forget that good content will cause people to naturally link to your website and will include the keywords that apply to your material.

Instead,  I’ve promoted the concept that a well-designed website with well-crafted, informative content is a far better investment than spending time and money on voodoo search engine optimization.  At times, I’ve had clients look at me as if I had two heads. Sadly, in some cases they’ve gone out and hired someone else to do the voodoo.

That’s not to say that I dismiss SEO concepts.  I employ practical SEO principles as I build and maintain  websites. I believe in classic html SEO practices like creating relevant unique page titles, using heading tags to highlight topics of the website,  and I believe in cross-promoting your business and website online with social media sites and e-mail marketing.  As a practice I create 301 redirects if I redesign a site and the urls change.

But I’ve never bought  into the practices of “guaranteed” SEO tactics — you know — things like cramming keywords into your content, artificially creating links and some of the other crazy ideas the SEO specialists recommend to my clients.

Some SEO tactics, like keyword cramming, are kind of like a guy stuffing a sock in his pants. It might entice some visitors, but they’re disappointed when they get there.

I guess I figured the search engines were smarter than that or maybe I just figured it was more important to create a website that focused on your user’s experience.  You know, spend time to create useful content that might actually sell your product or service?

It seems, Google and Bing might agree with me. Last week, Matt Cutts from Google and Duane Forrester from Bing had a conversation at SXSW about SEO.  You can listen to to their conversation here.  Among some of their points (paraphrased):

  • over-optimization is a problem that can reduce the relevancy of search results and Google is trying to solve the problem
  • if you’re not engaged socially, you’re missing the boat
  • algorithms are not static—many variables affect search results
  • search engines try to do what’s best for their constituents – the searchers
  • spend less  time on building artificial links and more time on creating news or content that other sources will pick up
  • instead of trying to beat your competitors at the SEO game, offer more compelling content than your competitors
  • don’t buy links, instead:
    1. work on social media
    2. on becoming an authority in your industry
    3. if someone is doing an article on you, ask for a link

So take the advise of some of the search engine pros and focus on creating good content for your website; it may serve you better than SEO voodoo.

Related blog posts:

 

 

Inspiration & Ideas From the Twitter Feed

Cruising through my Twitter feed last night and I came across this inspiring infographic – 22 Ways to Create Compelling Content.

Who doesn’t need inspiration occasionally? I know I do. It’s been some time since I posted any content let alone compelling  content to my blog.  Lacking time to nurture inspiration this week, I decided to  simply post @copybloggers infographic for now so I can refer to it for inspiration when time allows. I believe that makes this post a combination of #1 (using content from other blogs), #2 (group brainstorming via Twitter) and #5 (guest post).

Thank you @copyblogger for allowing me to use this infographic on my blog and to @MichelleShaeffr for retweeting it so I came across it in the feed.

22 Ways to Create Compelling Content - Infographic
Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

What’s Not to ‘Like’?

Not long ago, one of my kids was approached by a peer who asked point blank, “Why didn’t you friend me on Facebook?” The response was given with a raised eyebrow and a funny look,  “’Cuz you’re not my friend…?” with an unspoken “Duh!!” tacked on the end—not the expected response from a teenager in this media-saturated world.  10% of the 157,418,920 Facebook users in the US are between 13 and 17*—and many of those one and a half million teens (!!!) want to ‘like’ and have ‘likes’ from everyone else—I mean, who doesn’t want a lot of friends?

Well, we of the older mindset have learned with age to be more selective with what we do, when we do it, and with whom.  Call us paranoid—or just old—but it simply doesn’t seem right to have 673 friends, and we definitely don’t have the time to ‘like’ everything we see. We truly aren’t interested in what you found in the couch cushions, and we aren’t going to ‘like’ a post about what your dog regurgitated. Yes, we have become discriminatory.

However, in business we know we need to network and talk, make friends and get as many people to like us as possible–in both the real and the virtual world. We also realize that for some the word ‘like’ has become a super-sized commitment to be a part of the everyday minutia of the world–but unlike taking out the garbage and cleaning the bathroom, it’s something we can choose not to do.  So why do it?  Why should you ‘like’ us?

It’s pretty simple.

Web Savvy Marketers Facebook Page
What's Not To Like?

When we at Web Savvy Marketers ‘like’ you, it’s because:

  • We value you
  • We value something you’ve said or done
  • We want you to succeed

When you ‘like’ us, it means:

  • You value us
  • You value something we’ve said or done
  • You want us to succeed

It’s not complicated. Your newsfeed won’t be stacked with invaluable, irrelevant nonsense from us–although we will include you when we’re having fun! We will share our ideas, what works for us and doesn’t, and we’ll want to hear about what makes your business tick–your challenges and experiences.

So let’s avoid that awkward middle-school-hallway moment, “Why didn’t you ‘like’ me on Facebook?” and support each other with a click on that little thumbs-up.

What’s not to like?

*http://www.checkfacebook.com/

Avoid copyright infringement or it will cost you…

Just because you can search Google Images or other photography sites and find images online that might look good on your website, doesn’t mean you have the rights to use them on your website.

I’ve run into clients and prospects  who are under the misguided assumption that images on the web are free for the taking.  Not so.  In fact, if the stock photography companies find that your site is using pirated images you could be fined hundreds or thousands of dollars. And they will find you.  I’ve had clients who have loaded images onto their website (that were unknowingly pirated from an online source) and eventually they get a call from Comstock or some other Stock photo house demanding payment for the use of their image.

Always make sure that you have the right to use images that you place  on your website (or any marketing materials).  There are many royalty free stock photos you can purchase for use on your website for fairly low cost.  IStockphoto.com is one that we use frequently to purchase stock photography.

Music is another component that people like to pirate.  It is not legal to use a song you’ve purchased and downloaded onto your IPod as background music for a video you post to YouTube.  Sorry.  SoundDogs.com is a good source for music and sound effects.

I don’t have to tell anyone that it’s plagiarism to copy text from another site.  Do I?

Holiday Shopping Suggestions – Supporting Small Business Cyber Shops

The holiday shopping season kicked off with some distasteful Black Friday incidents last week.  Hearing about these unsavory incidents makes me glad I’ve never bothered with  Black Friday,  I’m more of a Cyber Monday kind of gal, and I  support Small Business Saturday. I think it’s important to support your local small businesses including brick and mortar and online stores.

Although the big kick-off shopping weekend is over, I’m sure there’s more shopping to be done.  If you prefer to avoid the mall hubbub and feel like staying home in your jammies and doing some on-line shopping this holiday season, here’s a list of clients who are small business owners that sell or show products online.  They’re all reputable honest people with great products.  The * indicates you may need to call to purchase.

Art

Astrology Calendar & Services

Books

Food & Beverage

Health & Fitness

Jewelry

Motorcycle & Auto Accessories

Travel Services

Museum Store

And Finally, Santa Claus

Happy Holidays!

My Secret Weapon – Google and an unknown 13-year old

Today I had a unusual call from a long-time client. (I promised not to reveal her name).   She apologized for calling me because the problem had nothing to do with her website or her online marketing but she was extremely disoriented because her computer screen had flipped upside down.

I laughed.

“How did that happen?” I asked and then I chuckled some more.

Apparently my client  had accidentally hit the combination of keys that’s the shortcut for flipping your display.  Yeah, that’s a handy shortcut. Thank you Microsoft.

“It’s not funny,” she said. “Not only is the screen upside down, but the mouse is backwards”.

I laughed again.  “Did you try turning the mouse upside down?” I asked.

Meanwhile, while poking fun at my client I did a quick Google search for “upside down display screen”  and I quickly found a forum where others had run into the problem.  Scanning the forum I saw one that  began with “I’m 13 years old and I have the answer to the problem…”

The 13-year old recommended going to the display settings where you will find the option to flip your screen.   Who knew?  I’m 53 years old and I didn’t know that option existed, but Google and the 13-year old kid made me look like a hero.  Thank you Google and unknown 13-year old (you little smartie-pants).

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