53 Essential Terms: Internet Marketing and SEO Glossary

On January 7th, 2011, wrote:

In my experience with Internet Marketing and SEO, I have come across a multitude of Internet marketing  and SEO terms.  A lot of these terms usually have very vague or technical definitions that leave you confused and frustrated.  I know how you feel, trust me, I have been there. Fear not, I have compiled a list of internet marketing and SEO keywords in layman’s terms for you people that are new to SEO and internet marketing. 1. Anchor text , anchor link – When you are reading content, and a word is clickable and contains a link. 2. Backlink, back-link – a link from an outside website (outside source) that points back to a website.  (i.e. all the links that connect back to your blog) 3. Broken link – a link that fails to connect to it’s intended destination 4. Cloaking – When a website presents one version of itself to the user and another version to the search engine. – Read the full article

What You Should Know About Video Email Marketing

On December 30th, 2010, wrote:

We all know that E-mail is one of the most potent tools for Internet marketing. And, thanks to the growth of mobile Web browsing, E-mail marketing is now bigger than ever. We’ve written about E-mail marketing before, focusing on things like: Starting your E-mail campaign How to write irresistible subject lines And E-mail marketing etiquette in the time of social media …but there’s something we haven’t yet touched on: video. That’s right. The Web has evolved well enough to more fully enable E-mails with videos – and we’re not just talking about 25 GB WMV attachments that take forever to download. There are a number of E-mail marketing-related products out there today that allow you, for example, to embed your YouTube videos so that recipients can watch it from inside the E-mail message. E-mails with videos significantly boost your click-through rates Not only does video E-mail marketing introduce new creative possibilities (no longer will marketers be limited to text and – Read the full article

Your Guide to Creating a Twitter Archive

On December 26th, 2010, wrote:

According to a scene in the acclaimed movie, The Social Network, “the Internet is written in ink – (and) not in pencil”. But if that’s really the case, how come it’s close to impossible to browse and search old tweets on Twitter? How come our 140-character text updates seem to have expiration dates on them? Note that we say, “close to impossible”: operative word is ‘close’.  Because surely, there must be a way, right? There must be a way somehow to archive your tweets (or someone else’s) so that you could read, search, share, and store them all in one place. And there must be a way to access those precious tweets whenever the Fail Whale pays Twitter servers a visit. Worry not. There is a way. Or ways. Here’s Lakeshore Branding’s quick guide to creating your very own Twitter archive. (While you’re at it, be sure to check out our own Twitter archive!) Twitter archive via WordPress Thanks to – Read the full article

Awesome for Search, Too: Simple SEO Tips for Tumblr

On December 24th, 2010, wrote:

Tumblr is easy to fall in love with – especially if you’re looking for a light (and awesome) blogging platform. It’s going to be even easier once you’ve read the reasons why you should “Tum-blog” and taken note of the fact that the company has significant plans to expand next year. If you’re big on SEO, however… umm. Okay. So here’s the thing: Tumblr isn’t exactly the best blogging platform to support your SEO (search engine optimization) campaign. Unlike WordPress sites or even blogs hosted by Google’s own product, Blogger, Tumblr sites don’t rank well on search results. Which isn’t to say that Tumblr never ranks well – because with a few tweaks, tips, and tricks, you can position your Tumblr blog in a way that gives you an edge in the search rankings. Optimize your page titles: Here’s one good thing about Tumblr: it allows you to modify the HTML of your posts. HTML! Isn’t that a form of – Read the full article

Are You Ready for HTML5? 11 Websites That Showcase What the Buzz is About

On December 15th, 2010, wrote:

As mentioned here last week, 2011 is about to bring lots of hotness on the World Wide Web. One of the things that we mentioned was the emergence of HTML5, a new markup revision of the HTML standard, and which is expected next year to extend its reach even wider. While HTML5 is still under development, developers, programmers, and tech companies are already adopting a number of its features. Even some of the world’s most popular websites are enabling support for HTML5. How fast it will replace Adobe Flash – if HTML5 will replace it at all – remains to be seen, but just in case you’re keen on checking out what the HTML5 buzz is all about, we’ve compiled a list of websites whose HTML5 features you can test-drive – right now. Dive into HTML5 Authored by Mark Pilgrim, this book explains and demonstrates HTML5 in a no-BS language that’s easy to understand. In the introduction, Pilgrim notes how – Read the full article

How Google Plans to Reinvent the Web

On December 4th, 2010, wrote:

It is no secret that Google has become a dominant influence in the way the Web is accessed and used. The word “Google” itself has become a verb, and people will often begin their web sessions with Google, even if they know the exact URL of the site they want to access. From E-mail to search to maps to shopping, Google dominates the Web experience of millions of Internet users. Google, however, is not just a passive player. The search engine giant extends its influence over every aspect of the Internet it touches and has aspirations to reshape the whole Web in its image. The purpose here is not to determine whether those goals are good or bad, but to highlight the many ways in which Google has already changed the web and what might be on the horizon over the next few years. Searching for Anything and Everything Google’s bread-and-butter is still search, and they have systematically nurtured their – Read the full article

7 Best Practices for an Effective Homepage

On November 27th, 2010, wrote:

First impressions last. That’s why, when it comes to marketing yourself through a website, your homepage will have to be love at first sight. And while the other pages of your website deserve equal attention, they aren’t necessarily of equal importance. A homepage, by its very nature, will typically have a unique set of design goals, content objectives, and mood in order to catch and sustain the attention of visitors. Here’s a list of seven best practices for a more effective homepage: Communicate concisely who you are, what you do, and what your site is for. Don’t leave people in the dark – show them the light, and show them the light in the first five seconds upon arrival. Your company’s name is Charlie’s Tees, and you sell funny shirts and vintage shirts, and your online store is the source of sartorial awesomeness. See? Concise and clear. Do that and you’re off to a good start. (Bonus tip: Make sure that these – Read the full article

The Top 5 Tools for Self-Publishing Your Book

On November 20th, 2010, wrote:

Ever heard of NaNoWriMo? If you’re an aspiring novelist, it’s a safe bet that you have. The acronym stands for “National Novel Writing Month”, which is marked every November as a creative writing project encouraging participants to write 50,000 words of fiction in one month. If you haven’t heard of NaNoWriMo, but you have plans someday of self-publishing your own book – be it a novel, short story collection, poetry, memoir, corporate souvenir, e-book, children’s book, cookbook, picture book, guide or how-to book, vampire anthology, etc. – then you might want to read on. Of course, you can always work on finding an agent and attempt to have your manuscript edited, printed, distributed, and marketed by traditional publishers. But that takes a lot of guts – and, possibly, money. (Besides, one can only take so much rejection letters.) So in case you choose to do-it-yourself, or have no choice but to do-it-yourself, below is a list of the top five – Read the full article