Why META Data is Important
May 27, 2008
So you’ve invested a lot of time and money in your website. You’ve got a great looking logo and professional copy. One problem though…..no one knows your website exists! Many of my clients have been in theis scenario at some point, and often the solution is (thankfully) quite simple. Once quick look at the source code of any web page reveals that there is not META data entered. Even worse, the exact same META data exists on every page of the site! Search engines look negatively upon both of these situations since they look to META data for clues as to how to index page content. In the case where there is no META information, the search engine is left to figure out what your page is all about. Without meta titles, keywords, descriptions and header tags showing search engines the way, chances are your content is not going to be indexed well. In the case where there is the same META content throughout the site, search engines look at this as spamming….an act which they look down upon and will ultimately penalize your ranking in search results pages.
Phaseous Phact: Don’t leave indexing up to the search engines. Provide accurate META content each time your website is updated.
Is Social Networking Right For You?
May 19, 2008
With booming sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, etc., many of my clients have asked for my help in the social networking space. Many are surprised when I suggest that they shouldn’t do anything at all. Sure, its a very powerful area to participate in, and has far-reaching capabilities. The ability to build online communities and manage them from central locations is truly something marvelous. However, to truly take advantage of the benefits that these sites and services offer, it takes time. More specifically, its not enough to just create a MySpace or Facebook profile and say you’re an active participant in the social networking world. Quite simply, you have to live in it and make it a part of your daily routines in order to see the benefit of that space. Nobody wants to see an abandoned MySpace or Facebook profile. No one is going to follow you on Twitter if you never post. No one is going to subscribe to your RSS feeds if you don’t have anything to say. So before you take that leap into the social networking space, consider for a moment if you’re willing to shift the way you work and communicate.
Phaseous Phact: If you want to dive into social networking, designate one person in your company to monitor the pages daily. This is an ideal task for interns!
Invent a Word and Own the Space
May 12, 2008
As traffic and the resultant competition on the internet is growing exponentially each day, we need to devise new and creative ways to make our content stand out. Regardless if you’re engaging in organic or paid SEO tactics, if you’re offering the sames services that everyone else is, it will become increasingly expensive to play in that space. If you invent your own space, you own it.
Phaseous Phact: When coming up with new products and services, or even when naming your new business venture, invent a new word that doesn’t appear anywhere else on the net.
Building Your Own Content Cloud
May 5, 2008
Today I judge a new website or platform by its ability to extend beyond itself. I don’t want to have 10 different sites just so folks can learn about me. However, sites like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc, do offer some really great services. The key is leveraging the capabilities of these sites all in one place. Whether its through the use of RSS feeds, javascript applications or other means, each of the aforementioned sites provide ways in which I can highlight the content that I have in each of these different places in one centralized location. So whether its your own personal blog or a Facebook profile, each of these sites provide highly effective ways in which to build your own content cloud across the internet and drive traffic to your website.
Phaseous Phact: It might seem like a lot of clubs to join, but consider getting an account with all the aforementioned websites to further your content cloud. Then streamline all of them!