Opps. Looks like we’ve fallen a bit behind in keeping you in the loop on this ongoing series on SEO from Stoney deDeyter over at Search Engine Guide (http://www.SearchEngineGuide.com).
The use of the word everything is an over-statement. None the less, this is a damn good round up by Stoney deGeyter to get your search engine optimization (SEO) juices flowing, as seen on SearchEngineGuide.com (http://www.searchengineguide.com).
In a nut shell: Think ahead, develop a plan, keep it simple, write it down, communicate, get and keep the rest of the team on the same page, avoid getting bumped off track by refering to the plan but be flexible.
Further proof that more often than not best practices are not rocket science.
“Frequently Asked Questions About Google Wave” by LifeHacker.com (www.LifeHacker.com). Wave – some love it, some don’t, some don’t know what to think, and finally others have yet to try it. Regardless of which category you fall into this article and associated comments (which are always insightful) should help you decide where you are, or maybe where you should be on this H2O based subject.
Another buzz service that maybe you’re familiar with is Google Voice. In short, it’s a free phone number with it’s own outgoing message. No more using your personal number for business. Or maybe you just need a special (temporary) number for a special project. Skye, Yahoo! and others do provide free numbers but more often than not they don’t allow for your own personalize outgoing message. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Intriguing, eh? From here be sure to consume “How To: Totally Overhaul Your Phones With Google Voice” by John Herrman (Gizmodo.com, 12 December 2009). That should get you started. Much like Google Wave, Voice is in limited beta. It’s invite only for the moment. But the turn around is approximately two weeks — http://www.google.com/voice.
What’s hard to say, but certain to be interesting, is how Google eventually integrates Wave with Voice. For those who have thus far underestimated Wave, the ball is still bouncing so keep your eye on it.
“Work for Change” by Alexander Stein (Fortune Small Business, November 2009). It’s always interesting how the title of an article sometimes changes from the print version to the web version. In this case, the web version is actually, “Break bad habits, make more money.” Look out Spiderman, here comes SEOman. I digress.
Change and innovation continue to be the buzz words of the moment. Add in the fact that the New Year’s resolution ritual is just around the corner and this article becomes a great way to kickoff your post-Thanksgiving week.
As we so often like to do, let’s bait you with a pull quote teaser:
There’s no simple prescription for change. But here are the first crucial steps:
Recognize that your personal history plays a central role in shaping your behavior.
Revise any prejudice against emotional inquiry. Accept the fact that fear, rigidity and avoidance are corrosive — and that reaching an understanding about yourself can reap rewards.
Admire psychological complexity; don’t let it intimidate you. Decode your mind to harness its natural ingenuity.
Respect the gargantuan force of your emotional life. Emotions can propel you to success. They can also impede and even straitjacket you. No matter what, you can’t ignore your emotions and still hope to prosper in business or in life.
Keep in mind, we’re about to enter the second decade of the 21st century. What 20th century habits and approaches do you hope to leave behind already? What do think it’s going to take to make those changes happen? Who or what — aside from yourself — is stopping you? Where else do find sources of inspiration that work for you?
“How Twitter Is Revolutionizing Business (140 Characters at a Time)” by Jason Ankeny (Entrepreneur magazine, December 2009). Jason rounds up both a history lesson as well as bits on the current state of The Art of The Twitter. Unfortunately, the Entrepreneur web site is not as current as the print version. Not to worry, just whip up a Google/Yahoo! alert so you know when they finally get around to sharing this article digitally.
In the meantime, here is the run down on the sites/services mentioned:
oneforty.com — “A Better Way to Discover Twitter Apps. oneforty is your Twitter outfitter, with tons of resources for all things Twitter. Currently tracking 2031 apps that make Twitter even better.”
ChirpCity.com — “Local Twitter search, latest tweets from and about your city… and a top user list for the cities (listed) above.”
Tweepz.com — “Search, find and discover interesting people on Twitter.”
SocialOomph.com — “Tools to Boost Your Social Media Productivity.” For example, schedule your tweets.
CalTweet.com — “Social Events Sharing Tool via Twitter & Facebook.”
Seesmic.com — “Stay connected and share information with your friends.”
Twitalyzer.com — “For Tracking Influence and Measuring Success in Twitter.”
ExecTweets.com — “Find and follow top business execs on Twitter.”
Tweetdeck.com — “TweetDeck is your personal browser for staying in touch with what’s happening now, connecting you with your contacts across Twitter, Facebook and more.”
BingTweets — “BingTweets enables you to see deeper, real-time information about the hottest topics on Twitter by fusing Bing search results with the latest tweets.”
Twidroid — “The Twitter & Identi.ca client application for android mobile phones.”
Good stuff, eh? Looks like Black Friday will have to wait. How about you? Please leave a comment to share any sites you feel should have been on this list.
“Rouse Your Silent Prospects” by Steve Bookbinder (New York Enterprise Report magazine, November 2009). Pardon the rush job but given this morning’s time constraints the focus will be to stick to the highlights. First, the sub-headline of this one is: How to craft emails and voice mails that will get a response.
Pull quotes:
There is a golden rule for getting a response from a silent prospect: If you want a response, ask a question the prospect can answer.
Avoid using emails as an opportunity to type your entire sales pitch or provide your manifesto to strangers… Just get to the point. Your Blackberry-reading receiver of this message will appreciate this more while they walk and read.
Also worth checking is, “Putting An End to Cold Leads” by Jeremy Nedelka (www.1to1media.com). Note: Unfortunately, the 1 to 1 site requires registering. None the less, here’s a pull quote to wet your whistle:
Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, says that a little research like that to get in the door is all salespeople need to stand out in the ever-growing crowd. “Today corporations get pitched by so many people that the price of admission requires additional research and a deep understanding of what that company and its employees are going through…[like] looking at triggered events that happen within or external to a company that cause it to shift priorities.”
“Staying Productive in the Information Age” by Sharon Lowenheim (New York Enterprise Report magazine, November 2009). We are all trying to do more with less. More and more work with less time and less budget to do it. Quality, value and efficiency continue to be the mantras of the moment. Doing it all might not be possible, so doing the right things becomes the next best choice.
Truth be told, there’s not much new in Ms. Lowenheim’s suggestions but a friendly reminder on the topic of productivity isn’t going to hurt either. The best bit might actually come in the last paragraph:
Don’t multitask. Every time you switch tasks, your brain has to close out one task and boot up the other, resulting in lost time. Trying to do two things at once ultimately takes you longer and will produce substandard results. Instead, use your prioritized task list to guide your activities, and work on one thing at a time.
There is a reason why a production line is a production line. The human mind does better when it’s focused on less, not more. That is, quality and completion, not quantity and loose ends. Unfortunately, multitasking is probably one of the most overrated must-haves in business.
Finally, there are two other suggestions we like to add. One, be sure to take breaks. Aside from needing focus, the brain also needs to catch its breath from time to time. Less can in fact be more. Two, find work that you enjoy. Some say you don’t have to love your job. That’s bull! In terms of waking hours a person probably spends more time at work than he/she does with their kids. Is it alright not to love them too? Probably not.
Yes, work hard — and smart. But don’t sell yourself short. Love what you do and who you do it with.
“Digital Tools: Forget Disruption. Dive Deep Instead” by Lee Gomes (Forbes Magazine, 2 November 02, 2009). True, there are a number of solutions similar for DropBox (www.DropBox.com). On the other hand, there’s something to be said for being vetted by Forbes and Mr. Gomes. As Lee mentioned, simplicity can be a beautiful thing. A free account of 2 GB is available so it’s certainly worth a look.
While the means is different, there can be times when Adobe’s online suite of Acrobat (Acrobat.com), BuzzWord (BuzzWord.com) and/or Photoshop (Photoshop.com) comes in handy. One of the nice things about BuzzWord is that it uses a secure https connection. Whether the others do or not, I’m not sure. I’ll have to check on that. That being said, what’s more likely to happen, someone breaching your internet connection, or you losing or temporarily misplacing a USB drive?
The power to simplicity ratio of wikis is amazing. When it comes to true collaboration on a project a wiki beats email just about every time. By their very nature wikis keep eveyone on the same page, literally.
To Mr Byrne’s list (at the end of his article) we’d like to add the offerings from PB Works (www.PBWorks.com) and Zoho (www.Zoho.com). These might not be the perfect fit for all projects but in terms of quickness in getting up and running, as well as simple ease of use, they’re both quite efficient.
A quick addendum to the previous post on Google and Yahoo.
First, here is the link to Yahoo’s Finance page: http://finance.yahoo.com/. And here’s Google’s: http://www.google.com/finance. As you dip your toes into Yahoo’s water you’ll notice similar aesthetics that often overshadows Google’s more utilitarian approach.
In addition, here’s a quickie from CNN Money: “Do you Yahoo? Probably” By David Goldman (CNNMoney.com, 23 August 2000). The article points out that Yahoo’s approach is less profitable than Google’s. What it fails to clarify is the time frame of this measurement. Is it the last two of three quarters? Or more? Or less? Even so, three or four quarters does not a long term trend make. It should also be noted that to some extent this is an apples and oranges comparison. These are both internet based companies but their paths in terms of focus and approach quickly diverge. There is little reason to believe they will produce similer results.
Btw, did you notice the similarity between Yahoo’s design and CNNMoney’s?
“Where Yahoo Leaves Google in the Dust” By Randall Stross (New York Times, 22 August 2009). While the Google hype machine would like you to believe otherwise, Google is not perfect. Yes, they are a damn good advertising machine but there are plenty examples of failed Google projects that were eventually sacked. If fact, that’s Google’s M.O. — if a project takes off they continue to refine it but if it doesn’t they cut their losses and move on. They don’t waste resources on ideas that fail to gain traction in the market. For some there’s a possible lesson here. I digress.
When it comes to having a successful web site it is essential to embrace the value of a great UX (user expereince), or as we at AU like to say, the all inclusive Guest Experience.
Yahoo understands that information about money — a user’s own money — presents some tricky psychological issues. James Pitaro, vice president of Yahoo’s audience group, said, “In our research with users, we found that the more information that was displayed on the page, the greater the anxiety.”
Put another way, it’s not what you say, it’s what they hear. Say too much and you run that risk that nothing will be heard. No doubt you are passionate about your business. That you want your guest to know everything about your brand and you want them to know know it all the second they meet you (i.e., visit your web site, see your ad, etc.). That’s just not practical. That’s not the way relationships work. There is a pace and rhythm to The Guest Experience and often TMI (too much information) is not part of The Guests’ expectations.
The other lesson here is that Goliath can be beat, but you have to choose your battles. You have to be willing to suspend your subjective passions for a moment. Stop, step back and be objective about what is going to maximize the Guest Experience that your brand offers. Ultimately, it is your guests who will beat Goliath, not you. Think about it…
Finally while we’re on the subject of Yahoo vs Google there is another place where Yahoo slays Google — email. Yahoo offer unlimited storage while Google is currently capped at 6 or 7 gigs. Fair enough, 6 gigs is still a lot of email but it’s not as much as unlimited. Regardless, Yahoo’s UX is much stronger (and almost a desktop experience). For example, you can drag and drop emails from one folder to another. You can even drag an email onto your Contacts folder and Yahoo will prompt you to add that person’s email address and other details to your contact lists. Simple, clean and easy.
One often overlooked bomus is that both Yahoo and Google allow you to check your other email accounts (commonly known as POP3 accounts) via their interface. So rather than have to use (for example) Verizon’s crap web mail you can use Yahoo (or Google) instead, much like you might have used Outlook to check multiple accounts. This is also handy when you’re transitioning from one email address to another. You can have your email come in via the old address and then send out via the new one, all via a single interface. Yahoo mail is also slickly integrated into MyYahoo!. MyYahoo! is great for setting up pages of RSS feeds but that’s another lesson for another day.
Btw, the Yahoo calendar is great too. You can even set up reminders to be sent to your cell phone via text message. Remembering important dates and appointments has never been easier.
The bottom line… If you have more than one email address or are looking to make your life – both online and off - easier, AU proudly dismisses the Google hype and highly recommends Yahoo email and MyYahoo. Check it out, it’s time well spent.
1. Do Your Homework — …the front end is about 30 to 45 days of fully understanding what the business needs are, what the strategy is, and what you want CRM to supplement. The technology piece is relatively simple from that point.
2. People Who Need People — Before even thinking about solutions, organizations must get down to basics, involve key stakeholders, and discuss pain points and objectives.
3. Let It Trickle — While it’s imperative that solutions and implementations deliver results in a very timely manner, a step-by-step implementation approach is prudent.
4. Think Outside the Box—Just Not Too Far Outside — So make sure that any customization is done within your organization’s known limits.
5. Don’t Be Seduced by Technology — Regardless of how new, hip, or innovative a technology may be, employees must be comfortable with it…
6. Find Sponsors That Stick — The sponsor doesn’t have to be the CEO, just someone who’s passionate about the undertaking.
7. Plan for Product Enrichment — Recognize that CRM really becomes nothing more than a Rolodex if you don’t put the add-ons to the product…
8. Audit, Audit, Audit — By paying close attention from the start, it will be possible to tweak the solution as any problems arise. Users, for example, may be approaching the tool differently than intended.
9. Pull the Plug When You Have To — It’s going to hurt a little—in some instances, maybe a lot—but if enough time has gone by and a solution has not worked, it might be time to call it quits.
10. Mind the Generation Gap — If the implemented CRM software doesn’t provide instant value, it’s likely those users will find solutions on their own that better suit their needs.
“Create and Monetize Podcasts on Any Budget” by Mark Underhill (Website Magazine, August 2009). Podcasting might not be the buzz phrase of the moment but despite it’s post-trendiness stature it’s still a great tool to have in the tool box. Audio is simple to produce and manage, as well as adds another dimension to The Guest Experience you offer. The other benefit is that guests can consume your content even when they’re not chained to their monitor.
For those who show further interest, here’s a list of podcast articles from WebsiteMagazine.com. Enjoy yourself!
“The Essentials of E-Marketing” by Sara Baker (NICHE Magazine, Summer 2009). Time is tight so let’s get right to it. For some this article is a nice overview, or others it should function as a healthy refresher.
“Project Management: 8 Steps to On-Time, On-Budget Delivery” by Ron Ponce (CIO Mag, 15 June 2009). CIO delivers the helpful good once again. We certainly believe in our 6 Universal Truths of Project Management, but Mr. Ponce’s recommendations are not going to fall on deaf ears here. In fact, his #8 is Improvement and we couldn’t agree with him more.
“Opinion: When things go wrong, the truth shall set you free” by John D. Halamka (ComputerWorld Mag, 15 June 2009). It’s never easy when things collapse. What makes it even more difficult is that as emotions increase rational thoughts get shoved aside. In short, being human isn’t easy. Lucky for the rest of us Mr. Halamka isn’t ready to give up yet. Here he offers five steps to take out some of the sting. We recommend commiting these five to memory. They will come in handy no matter what your role / profession. The bonus is, they have value off the clock as well. If necessary, look in the mirror and practice them. Because as we all agree, practice makes perfect.
