5 Things you can do to Bring your Year 2000 Website to the Year 2010
Posted by Chris Fehrmann in All Postings, Search Engine Marketing, Website Design on July 22, 2010
So you built your website sometime before 2005 and you know it needs updated or even redesigned, but in this recovery year it might not be in your budget. Should you continue to rely on your existing website and its out-dated programming to bring you new business? The answer is “probably not”, but we still have that slight budget problem. Have no fear, there may be some solutions that will bring your website up to speed with more recent programming techniques and have your users, and search engines continue to pay some attention to you. Here is my list of Top 5 Ways To Bring Your Website Up To The Year 2010:
- Upgrade that Table-based programmed website to a CSS layout. Ok, this one is a little technical so let me explain. When programming a website and designing your pages there is a programming technique called “tables.” Tables in HTML are the same thing as tables in Microsoft Word. Do you use tables in Microsoft Word to layout your documents with graphics, bodies of text and other content? No you don’t, so why would you when creating a website? Well, tables were a very highly used website programming technique used to layout website pages because it was, in some cases, the easiest way to control the spacing and margins of the content on your webpage. Well, this technique is very outdated and has been replaced with CSS-based layouts. CSS is just another technique that allows your website to be laid-out in a pleasing manner controlling fonts, sizes, margins, padding and general spacing. So, why do you want to update your table-based layout to a “table-less” layout? There are lots of reasons, but the main reason is search engines. Search engines don’t like tables for anything else then content that would be made for tables (think Excel.) So, if your website is utilizing a table layout, you should look into what it would take to reprogram your existing website using a CSS layout and continue to grab some positive attention from search engines.
- Make sure your website can be used by as many different browsers as possible. Not everyone uses Explorer. Believe it or not, not everyone clicks on the infamous blue “e” icon on their desktop to access the Internet. Every year Microsoft Internet Explorer is losing market share to a handful of other internet browsers including Mozilla Firefox, Apple’s Safari, and the latest to hit the net – Google’s Chrome. What does this matter to you as the small-to-medium sized business owner? It means that you need to make sure that your website shows and functions in all 3 of the aforementioned browsers and in their previous versions that are still being used. Think of it like this – a Internet browser is like someone that translates a language. If you ask multiple people to translate the same text, they will most likely translate it slightly different then each other. Internet browsers will translate the programming of your website slightly different. Too many times, the translation between browsers will create errors, errors that could be costly to your business. Here is a current chart that shows you how the browser market is broken up.
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. The description on its description page there is shown below. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. You can help.
- If you want to use music on your website make sure there is an option for the user to turn it off. Ok, so you want to set the mood and create an atmosphere for your website’s users so you placed music on your year 2000 website. Well, these days people don’t want music or sounds blaring from their speakers when they just clicked on your website. Users want to control their computer themselves and do not want music to play unless they chose for it to play. So, if you want to put music on your website, then do so, but allow your users to choose whether they want to hear it or not.
- Create engagement and give your users something to do. Think about your own habits and the way you interact with websites you go to. Are you a reader, or are you always looking for your next click? Well, if you are like most you are looking for something to do on a website, something to click and something to interact with, and not paragraphs of text to read. Knowing this, look at your business website and come up with some unique ways to give your website users something to do. Photo galleries for people to flip through, estimation calculators and product preview tools are just a few examples of ways you can get your users engaging with your website, your brand and your products/services.
- Update your content frequently so users will know your website is active. It’s not the “if you build it, they will come” era of websites any more. Users have choices on the Internet, 206,956,723 sites in fact according to this June 2010 Netcraft Survey. With all of this selection and the fact that Internet users are more educated and experienced means that you need to make sure that your website outperforms its competitors. One way to do this is to show your commitment to your website and make sure that you are keeping it up-to-date with fresh content that will keep them coming back. Plus, search engines will love you for it! Search engines want to provide its searchers with the best selection of websites to meet their search. A website that hasn’t been updated since the early 2000’s typically is not the best option. One of the easiest ways to keep your site up-to-date with fresh content is through a Blog. A blog gives you the opportunity to easily update your website with fresh and relevant content without having to know html programming, nor incur any ongoing charges from your website design company.
Need Local SEO? Here Are Some Tips For Healthy Local Traffic
Posted by Chris Fehrmann in All Postings on June 13, 2010
Local businesses require different SEO tactics then businesses that are trying to attract traffic from a larger regional or national audience. Here are some tips to help you make the most of search engines and attract local traffic:
- Keywords: Include keywords on your website that your customers would use to find your business. This sometimes will not be the same words that you would use. Put your self in the shoes of your customer. Generally, if users are searching for a local business, they will typically use a geographic indicator in their search. For example, if they are looking for a local pizza restaurant, they might search for “pizza restaurant in Brentwood, TN”.
- If your business services a certain geographic area, make sure to fully describe and list out your service area throughout your website, and on your locations or contact page. List city names, regions, etc. that your users will recognize and also use in their searches.
- Get Links from local websites. We all know that the more GOOD links you have the better. When you are trying to increase your local SEO, local links will do the trick. Start with your chamber of commerce’s business directory online, then look at your local industry associations, local suppliers, local schools, etc. Remember, .edu, .gov and .org website links are typically better then .com or .net (but don’t discount these either!).
- Create Listings on Local Websites. So you know to claim your business on Google Local, but do you know that you should do the same at as many local directories as you can? Include all the major search engines, yellow page websites, niche directory sites, etc. At the bottom of this post is a list of 18 local sites to create a directory listing at.
- Encourage customers to review your business on local websites. Embrace online reviews, don’t be scared of them. The more reviews and the more good reviews you get the better your local SEO will be. Encourage and ask your customers to go to local websites and major search engines to review your business. Even provide them with the links to do so to make it easy for them.
Local Search Engine Directories
Google Business Directory – http://www.google.com/local/add
Yahoo Local Directory – http://listings.local.yahoo.com
FindItNow.com – http://www.finditnownashville.com
Yellowbook – http://corporate.yellowbook.com/products/internet-free-listing/
Yellowpages – http://listings.yellowpages.com/
Switchboard – http://advertising.superpages.com/spportal/landingpages.do?splash=50&campaignId=swbd_addedit&SRC=switchboard&tsrc=SWBD
Superpages – Same as switchboard above.
Local.com – http://advertise.local.com/
Judy’s book – http://www.judysbook.com/merchant
Insiderpages – http://insiderpages.com/advertiser
Citysearch – http://myaccount.citysearch.com
Yelp.com – http://www.yelp.com/business
Best Of The Web – http://local.botw.org/helpcenter/jumpstartproduct.aspx
ZoomInfo – http://www.zoominfo.com/Search/AddNewCompany.aspx
Infousa411.com – http://list.infousa.com/dbupdate.htm?Vendor=099842
Ask.com City – Same and InfoUSA411.com above.
msn411 – http://www.discoverbing.com/mobile/411/faq/
Local Students to Receive District Student ADDYs
Posted by BobFaricy in All Postings on March 24, 2010
We just wanted to congratulate the local students who will receive an award in the AAF Student ADDY competition. We don’t know how many total winners there were, but it sure looks like Middle Tennessee dominated the competition. That bodes well for the creative talent the area has in advertising, marketing and related fields in the years to come. Thanks to AAF Nashville for sending out the list of names, as well as the people there who put on the local Student ADDY competition that gives young people the chance to compete and learn.
Student Winners from the Nashville area are:
- Adam Baker, Nossi
- Adam Jeremy Agee, Watkins
- Ali Hilton, Art Institute
- Amanda Smith, O’More
- Amy Davidson, O’More
- Andy Gregg, Watkins
- Andy Young, Watkins
- Barbara Ferguson, Art Institute
- Christina Cooper, Art Institute
- Daniel McClain, MTSU
- Danny Summers, O’More
- Evan Britt, MTSU
- Gerald Seiberling, Nossi
- Stephen Jones, Watkins
- Holly Matthews, Watkins
- Jaana Huusko, O’More
- Jacob Rhoades, Nossi
- Jaron Jackson, Art Institute
- Jason Dodson, Nossi
- Jennifer McClarney, Art Institute
- Jessica Appel, Nossi
- Jimi Button, Nossi
- Joanna Arnold, O’More
- Josh Shearon, MTSU
- Kayce Singleton, O’More
- Kristy Buchanan, Nossi
- Ligia Teodosiu, Watkins
- Michael Bromley Jr., Nossi
- Michael Curran, Nossi
- Michael Korfhage, Watkins
- Natalie Martin, Nossi
- Parker Bowab
- Ryon Nishimori
- Scott Reeves
- Tracie Stansbury
- Valerie Hammond
Haiti and the Art of the Deal
Posted by BobFaricy in All Postings on February 25, 2010
There have been many examples of the impact of new media in the last couple of years. For some time, the news that leaked from a media-paranoid Iran after elections there via Twitter was a prime example noted by articles and blogs of all kinds. But the current example has to be the money raised through “text donations” for the Red Cross following the disaster in Haiti, reportedly more than $35 million to date. This campaign combined the ease of a text message with the viral strength of social media to spread the word. And both channels were heralded accordingly.
But what really facilitated the ability for this system of donations to work? In fact, it was the business relationships that the mobile carriers have with their customers. With that established relationship in place, there was a mechanism to bill, collect and distribute the contributions. Without it, it’s just a bunch of texts drifting into the digital ether. This system can continue to work, but now the opportunity is also leading to a new start-up to facilitate payments through Twitter, a newer version of TwitPay.
What does this mean for the rest of us? For starters, consumer relationships are more than social connections. They are about financial transactions. Your relationship with your customer can begin, grow and be nurtured by social media. But at the core will be a transaction where value is exchanged for value, and where there will have to be a way to quantify and exchange that value. Social media – and really marketing of all kinds – is what we use to get to the transaction. Successful businesses can start by understanding what relationship they have with their customers now. What value do you provide and how are those transactions facilitated? Then you can apply marketing, media, PR and social strategies to further leverage those relationships, to expand services, increase purchase frequency, get referrals and build more loyal customers.
Branded Entertainment in a New Media World
Posted by BobFaricy in All Postings on January 13, 2010
Recently The Tennessean featured a story about Rink Entertainment, a local company which has carved out a niche in branded entertainment. Getting his start with a young Taylor Swift (I mean, even younger than she is now), Jim Rink now produces vignettes that combine entertainment with brands and celebrities to deliver relevant messages in compelling ways. Of course, as marketers and consumers we’re no stranger to the creeping role of advertising in programming of all kinds.
Now comes social media, built not on entertainment, but on the connections between people. The kind of connection marketers really want to make. So instead of inserting advertising in the middle of entertainment-based programming, companies are hoping to get their messages intermingled with personal communication.
In this environment, the challenge for companies is how to build a sincere relationship with customers so their communication is appropriate and accepted. But for media professionals, and more importantly journalists, the challenge is to be ethical and honest with their audience. Marketers want the benefit of the relationship that media has with their audience, but it can’t come at the expense of that relationship.
Since the core product of the Tennessean Media Group remains The Tennessean, we deal with this directly. We’ve long had a church/state relationship between what we write about as news and what appears as advertising. Every week, more than 900,000 adults in Middle Tennessee rely on us for news and information they can trust. And that’s a relationship we value.
That said, we have a lot of content that helps readers select the products and services they choose to buy. That role can naturally be combined with the help we provide local advertisers. But it’s our job to be sure we make those connections in a way that respects the relationship we have with our readers.
Luckily, there are more opportunities to bring readers and advertisers together in a way that makes sense for both all the time. The evolution of technology has transformed not only marketing communication but the consumer. They are smart enough to know whether or not companies are being sincere, and they have the tools to filter what they want to let in. Meanwhile, companies are getting smarter about building their businesses on the true value they deliver and communicating it in a relevant way. If not, there is no celebrity, programming or third-party relationship that can help.
The Tennessean’s Sunday Circulation Still Growing
Posted by Dave Gould in All Postings on January 4, 2010
The December numbers are in and, in the core 17-counties of Middle Tennessee, our Sunday circulation grew again.
Sunday circulation was up 5,405 copies or 3%!
An Important Source of Leads
Posted by Dave Gould in All Postings on December 29, 2009
I really like this article about referrals. In our industry, we have not spent much time focused on referral business, but that needs to change. Lead generation has become a critical part of our business and referrals are a great source of leads. Just last week, we acquired a new customer based on a strong referral. We have put together a strong digital campaign for this new client as the owner is trying to expand his business. Our current lead generation program treats a referral like a “happy accident”, just as the article mentions. We will be implementing some of the suggestions made by the author to help improve our program.
http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/innovation/article/treat-referrals-like-a-sales-force-instead-of-a-happy-accident-ivana-taylor
Generating a Opt-In Email List
Posted by Chris Fehrmann in All Postings, Tennessean Media Group, email marketing on December 22, 2009
According to a 2008 Direct Marketing Association (DMA) study, commercial email ROI will hit $45.65 for every dollar spent. That combined with the stats that email marketing produces the highest response rate of any direct marketing methods makes it more and more important for you to start growing your opt-in database. Whether you are just jumping into the world of email marketing, or you are already reaping the benefits, more subscribers means more response.
This 2008 ExactTarget Customer Survey shows list growth tactics rated by customer popularity. Which tactic do you use? Is there a new tactic on the list that would make sense for your business?
It is no surprise that successful email marketers utilize more then one list growth tactic, but how many is right for you? According to this 2008 ExactTarget Customer Survey, 35% of respondents make use of 4-5 tactics to help grow their lists.
Look forward to more on Email Marketing and Social Networking in our next THRIVE Seminar Series presented by The Tennessean Media Group.
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em!
Posted by Dave Gould in All Postings on December 8, 2009
Good article from Poynter Online about how companies are spending money to create unique content for their websites to try and attract readers. The author refers to this as “below the line” spending.
Here’s an example he cited:
“PepsiCo, which spends many millions of dollars on marketing every year, is just one example. During Internet Week in New York, I helped lead a project for which we hired nine “social communicators” (some of whom were traditional journalists) and built out a suite of blogs and social media tools, including a Twitter feed, a YouTube channel and a proprietary app, to cover the week’s events and, PepsiCo hoped, reach an audience of influential people in digital media and marketing. PepsiCo has done similar projects for the SXSW festival and said it is planning more in the future.”
The representative from Pepsi went on to say, “we are going to shift the mix of dollars from what might be a hundred percent paid advertising to something less traditional.”
The author gives a couple of other examples, and there is no doubt that he has spotted a growing trend. While he sees this trend as a threat to traditional media, I see it as an opportunity.
Later in the article he says, “I believe the trend will extend to local merchants, too. What happens, for example, when a local business that might have spent a few thousand dollars a month to attract customers via local circulars or news blogs instead decides to spend some or all of that money on its own digital media, attract its own audience, and glean all that data for itself?”
The problem with this is most small business owners we talk to have neither the expertise nor the time to pull this off. If they decide to go down this road they are going to need help from credible marketing services companies that can develop and optimize websites, create copy, provide social networking services, etc. That’s where we come in. We are doing these things for scores of customers as we speak and our client list continues to grow. And from a business model perspective, it gives our company access to “below the line” marketing dollars that we have never been able to vie for in the past.
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=174032
Will New Marketing Models Change Black Friday?
Posted by BobFaricy in Search Engine Marketing, Tennessean Media Group on December 2, 2009
I keep reading that the average American is sleep deprived. Then why do so many get up at 3 a.m. to buy a TV on sale the day after Thanksgiving? Black Friday sure does inspire consumer behavior, but what do we make of it in the new age of marketing?
First and foremost, Black Friday continues to be a key barometer of the consumer psyche. This year, reports are that more shoppers came out, but focused mostly on the “door buster” deals, they each spent less, leading sales to be flat or slightly up to 2008. As for advertisers, there’s hope that marketers will come out of their spending slump to invest in the holiday season. For example, at The Tennessean we know we had more inserts than any time in memory.
Online shopping may be even more robust. According to comScore, Inc., consumers spent $595 million in online sales this year on Black Friday, making it 2009’s second-heaviest online spending day to date. On Cyber Monday, sales reached $887 million, 5% more than a year ago. Much of this is likely still driven by traditional advertising, including print and broadcast. For example, according to a study by MORI Research and the NAA, 39% are motivated by a print ad to go online in some way.
But this is really the first Black Friday of social media. In great numbers, retailers used Twitter before and during the day to post updates, and stores used Facebook to pre-promote their specials to their fans, like Sears, who held a contest for a $500 gift card and a chance to pre-shop their Black Friday deals.
Here at The Tennessean, Ms. Cheap and the Shopping Diva, Cathi Aycock, kept their followers informed and up-to-date as they shopped on Black Friday. And of course there were the millions of tweets and posts from individuals sharing their great deals and mall experiences.
So how will this change Black Friday? Historically, retailers have relied on the gift-giving tradition to drive sales, using deep discounts and loss leading “door buster” promotions to spur purchasing. All of which is marketing driven, born of the need to sell, rather than a true connection to the consumer.
The marketing model closely tied to the growth of social media is more about the connection to the customer. It’s about using your connections to learn more about the customers’ true needs and wants, to get feedback on current and potential products and services, and to create relationships with your brand so you can deliver information in a welcome manner.
Success will come more from long-term relationships than one-day sales, particularly if the great recession has created consumers that value saving as much as spending, as some have predicted. Indeed, the things we learn in the new marketing landscape will likely change the shape of Black Friday in years to come. Who knows, you might get to sleep in.
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