december 2007

This post is from from my other blog here

Yelp. What is it? In the small business world Yelp is a popular and growing local business search option, and the sound of people yelping is a very good thing indeed.

First of all, Yelp.com was started in San Francisco in 2004 as a means to share user reviews on the cities’ many gathering spots. “Yelpers,” as users of the service are known, immediately began turning to the online platform to read and post reviews of restaurants, coffee shops, nightclubs, hair salons, and other establishments.  Now, Yelp reviews cover major cities across the US, and Yelp.com receives millions of visits per month. If your business has a street address and provides a service of any kind, start out by checking to see if anyone has “yelped” about your business yet. Just go to Yelp.com and enter your business name and location into the search bar.

If one or more reviews exist, a snippet of the review will be displayed along with a Google map and flag pointing to the location of the business. Clicking on the business name brings up more user-generated content along with the street address, phone number and website. For a restaurant, Yelp would display such info as price range, if groups are welcome, parking restrictions, formal or casual attire, if the restaurant has table service or delivery, or if it is a good place to take kids.

As you might imagine, with user-generated content there is definitely a potential for a review to display inaccurate information. If you find something that needs to be corrected, for instance your hours are wrong, click on the little link under the review that says, ‘edit this business listing.’ Correct the information, and if it’s your business, you can check the box marked “Are you the business owner?”

Once you’ve got some reviews, Yelp offers a few ways to promote them. You can add a badge to your website that tells how many Yelp reviews you’ve received and links to them. Yelp’s sponsorship program lets you enhance your business’ profile with larger photo in a slide show format, an announcement section, and a featured review for that one positively glowing, couldn’t be happier customer review you want everyone to read. You can also pay for a sponsored advertisement to run on search results pages when people may be searching for your competition.

There’s also a nifty feature called “Browse Nearby…” this link is ideal for people not familiar with the area to locate a popular restaurant, then find other coffee bars, shopping, night life, religious organizations, professional services, or hotels nearby. Suppose your business is around the corner from a popular pizzeria. I would want to be in the Yelp system if I were you!

If you search Yelp and find you are not in the system, on the bottom of the search result page you’ll see a big red button titled ‘Add Business’ which leads to a form where you can do just that. I created a listing ...

This post is from from my other blog here

Chances are you’ve checked out your competition’s websites a time or two. It’s a good idea to do this every now and then. After all, if you don’t occasionally “fraternize with the enemy,” how will you know when they start plotting against you? Perhaps you want to know how often a competitor rotates their featured products, or you would like to know when they post a new article, link or other resource. But . . . it’s time-consuming to manually visit each website you want to keep tabs on, and haven’t you already got enough to do?

Enter website monitoring software. ChangeDetection.com monitors changes in text to a webpage, and it’s totally free. All you have to do is enter in the URL and your email, and ChangeDetection takes over, checking the requested webpage about once a day. This service does not monitor text from external files or text retrieved by JavaScript. It’s not always easy to tell when a webpage has changed, but this service notices any change to any text, which could include changing the date or ads being displayed on the page. ChangeDetection does not monitor changes to images or to the HTML code of a webpage, but guess what? SourceForge.com does.

Another option is WebSite-Watcher, which allows you to check an unlimited number of web sites for changes. This service lets you filter such things as banner ads, so you won’t receive notification every time they run a new ad, unless you want to. WebSite-Watcher saves the last two versions of websites to your harddisk and highlights all changes to the text, to make them easy to spot. You guessed it, this increased functionality comes with a price tag, but it’s pretty reasonable. If, after the free trial, you are hooked, it’s $29.95 to download.

Your competitors have nothing on you now!

This post is from from my other blog here

Link building is one of the most difficult aspects of site optimization. Everyone agrees that a site needs incoming links in order to gain traction in search engine rankings-especially Google. Links are tangible evidence of a site’s ‘popularity.’ The more sites you have linking to yours is evidence that your site is offering quality, relevant content that other people view as important enough to link to, which is part of the criteria a search engine uses to assess rank. But there is little agreement on how to go about obtaining links and what type of links will be valuable.

A comment on my last post asking about links motivated me to investigate link building a little more.The question, from Dennis at DenlorsTools.com, asked what percentage of deep links is ideal as far as search engines are concerned? The problem is, there is no magic formula for links, and no systematic way to go about accomplishing the link-building task. And to complicate the issue further-the Big 3 search engines-Google, Yahoo, Live Search (MSN)-factor links and other on-page content differently. Google puts more emphasis on incoming links, or ‘back links’ as they call them. Yahoo and MSN weigh on-the-page content more heavily. So to rank well in Google, link building is key, which is why links have become commodities, bought, sold and traded through ‘link farms’ and other shady sites. Used to be, links from these sites almost guaranteed high rankings, because the number of links was all that mattered in the search engines’ eyes. Now though, this strategy of paid links can get your site quickly de-valued or even banned in extreme cases. Google discusses link exchanging schemes in their Webmaster Support section.

What types of links are useful? The most valuable links are from web pages that are related to your site. Links to or from pages that are not topically related to your site are less valuable, and in some cases, too many of these off-topic links can be viewed as spam and work against you. For instance, if your site sells soccer balls, a link from a site selling light bulbs will do nothing for you, but a link from a soccer ball manufacturer or uniform company would be ideal. It’s probably OK to have a few off-topic links, but the majority of your links should be from sites in your “neighborhood.” Search engines will penalize a link scheme that looks “unnatural,” meaning that the type of links do not match up with the content on your page or if the number of links suddenly increases drastically, which suggests you paid for them.

Now–how many links is desirable? The short answer is, more than your competition! But really, much of the success depends on what your competition is already doing. If they have 50 high-quality links, you need 60. How can you find out? Type [link:www.yourcompetitorsdomain.com], then type in your own site the same way to check your incoming links. (Note that there is ...

This post is from from my other blog here

If you’ve ever wondered whether you can find technical information about your site, quickly and easily, without paying anyone to do it, the answer is yes! Google supports several Advanced Search Operators which can provide you with important site info from your search bar whenever you desire.

In your browser search bar, use these search operators -

site: Google restricts the results to those websites in the domain you enter. For instance, [FAQ site:www.mightymerchant.com] will find pages with the term FAQ only within www.mightymerchant.com. The search [FAQ site:com] returns pages with the term FAQ within all .com URLs. With all of these search operators, there can be no space between the colon and the domain.

link: Returns pages that link to your site - very helpful in determining the type and quality of incoming links you have. You may discover sites linking to you that you were not aware of. Enter your domain after the colon with no space. This can also be used to find the links of your competitors. cache: Returns the current cache of your home page. There are two ways to utilize this. The operator [cache:www.yourdomain.com] will show the version of your home page that Google has in its cache. If you include other words in the query Google will highlight those words within the cached document. For instance, [cache:www.yourdomain.com soccer] will show the cached content with the word “soccer” highlighted.

info: Returns the description Google has of your site.

related: Returns pages that are similar to your site - very helpful when you embark on a link-building campaign.

allintitle: followed by your search words (with no space) returns results with all of the search words in the title. For instance, [allintitle: FAQ Shipping] will return only documents that have both “FAQ” and “Shipping” in the title.

intitle: followed by your search words returns results with that word in the title and other words elsewhere in the document which may or may not be in the title. For instance, [intitle:FAQ Shipping] returns documents with “FAQ” in their title, and “Shipping” anywhere in the document

allinurl: followed by your search words restricts results to only those pages with those words in the URL.

inurl: Similar to allintitle: and intitle:, this returns results with the first search word in the URL but other search words elsewhere in the document and not necessarily in the URL.

Here are two other helpful search operators that can be used on Google–

define: returns definitions of whatever word is entered after, again with no space.

stocks: followed by stock ticker symbols returns results linking to stock information for those symbols.

Yahoo supports similar search operators, calling them “Search meta words.” Use these to refine your search when on Yahoo:

site: limits results to a single site. Again, no space after the colon. Find FAQ only on a certain site by typing [FAQ site:exampledomain.com]. This can also be used for .edu and .gov sites if you want to search only on ...

I'm interested in compiling a few examples of Squidoo lenses appearing highly in Google serps, such as in this search for "laptop bags." If you come across any results like this please send me a link!

This post is from from my other blog here

When a new visitor arrives on your site, you want to get them to, first of all, remember your name, and secondly, return to your site another time. A great way to achieve both goals is by enticing them to sign up for your newsletter. Here are 8 tips on increasing your email opt-ins.

1. You could buy or rent lead lists from brokers, but you really don’t have to. Just put a little effort into targeting your audience. Let’s say you sell essential oils for perfume, candle and soap making and your target market is members of craft guilds in the Pacific Northwest. If your target craft guild has its own newsletter or print publication, you could advertise in the newsletter, making sure to include not only your website address but also info about your newsletter in the ad. You could sponsor the organization’s website, or sponsor an event organized by the craft guild. Arrange ahead of time to have your marketing materials on display.

The craft guild may rent you their email addresses, and if so, you could forge your email relationships by sending an email like:

“As a member of the Pacific Northwest Candle-making Craft Guild, you indicated your interest in receiving information from related organizations.” Then, offer something of value to get them interested in your mailings.

2. Include the sign-up button on all of your pages, not just the homepage. Bonus Tip: Place the sign-up link above the fold, and ideally in the top right or left corner.

3. Explain the benefits of joining your mailing list. Write a few sentences stating why they should give you their email address. Do you offer subscriber-exclusive discounts? Tell ‘em. Seasonal info? Other exclusive content? Do you add new products regularly? Make sure they know what you’re offering.

4. Allow your newsletters to be forwarded and include a subscribe button in the newsletter, so that friends who receive the forward can get their own copy.

5. Keep the sign up form short and sweet, asking for only the first name and email address. You can always get more information later; The goal is to get them signed up quickly and easily.

6. Always include a privacy disclaimer on your sign up form. Make it clear that you don’t sell, rent, or otherwise share email addresses. Unless-ahem-you do, of course. Assuage their fears that you’re a spammer.

7. Make the call-to-action clear. Use the words Subscribe, Sign Up Now, Send Me Info, or Sign Me Up.

8. Finally, perhaps the most important tip. Provide content they can’t resist. If you make your newsletter appealing, people will want to sign up for it, and most importantly, continue receiving it.

Tags: increase, email, opt-ins, grow, permission-based, email

This post is from from my other blog here

 

Of course it does! You already know that it works in person. Say you’re out trying to grab a quick bite to eat for lunch and you’re buying a sandwich. The cashier asks you if you want a drink or chips. You say yes, even though you weren’t planning to, and then you’re getting a large drink instead of a medium. Or you’re at a nice restaurant and hadn’t planned on getting desert, but when the waitress bring ’round the dessert tray, you can’t resist the death-by-chocolate triple layer cake.

First of all, what is cross-selling and up-selling? Cross-selling is suggesting a product that is similar to what a shopper is currently looking at. It could be either a different, newer, or improved model or accessories for the product. Up-selling is offering shoppers another product that is usually more expensive. For instance, a shopper might place the ‘good’ model in their shopping cart. Up-sell suggests the ‘better’ and ‘best’ models as well.

Amazon.com is the king of up-selling. If you’re shopping for CDs (which I hardly ever do-ahem.), they “bundle” other CDs together and tell me that if I buy all of them I’ll get a discount. This is a technique that has been shown to greatly increase sales, especially with me, because if the order total is $24.95 and they tell me I qualify for free shipping if I spend $25, well, I’m on that ‘continue shopping’ button like a hobo on a ham sandwich.

A website doesn’t have a friendly salesperson to suggest that your customers buy the extra fancy lead crystal dog water bowl to go along with their rhinestone studded gold plated collar and tag, so your cross-sell and up-sell strategy steps in. The additional benefits lie in the fact that a cross-selling feature allows you to display other popular items or high ticket merchandise as the customer browses, with the hope that the customers will buy it on impulse along with his original selection. It works! Put this feature to work for your site and say hello to more sales in 2008. And yes, MightyMerchant has a cross-selling and up-selling feature :). Just ask us about it, or go here for more information.

Tags: Cross-Sell,, Up-Sell,, eCommerce,, Website

This post is from from my other blog here

It’s not too late to send out a holiday email promotion if you haven’t already. People are either still shopping or just getting started, and there’s a good chance they’re looking for something easy. Now is a great time to remind people of what you have to offer, especially if it’s a deal like free shipping or gift wrapping.

Make a list of all the things about your site that are gift-friendly and send out a postcard to your email list. Make sure to remind people that you have gift certificates, can customize something, or have guaranteed Christmas delivery. Making your holiday email look festive is part of the fun, and we touched on that in a previous blog post about using Constant Contact’s holiday email themes.

If you have some great stocking stuffer ideas or items that you know are popular gifts, point those out.  Offering a discount is a good way to get visitors back to your site this time of year. And when they get there, greet them with a site that’s ready to accommodate holiday shopping, with links to the items you featured in your email right on the front page. Don’t make them have to search for the items or deals you tempted them with in the email! If they were tempted enough by your email to click through to your site, there’s a good chance they’re interested enough to buy. So remove all obstacles and prepare for some late season sales!

Tags: Holiday, Email, Promotions, Seasonal, Emails

When was the last time you saw a Google results page with no ads?

This post is from from my other blog here

Chances are you’re aware that even print publications like newspapers and magazines utilize audio and video on their websites. Search for “New York Times” and their website returns the title, “The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia.” So, when serving only written content isn’t enough for even a print publication, maybe there’s some substance to this idea of utilizing audio and video to create a more engaging website.

I’m not talking about starting a viral marketing campaign with some wacky interactive game or videos of your employees in chicken suits doing the Macarena, but if you wanted to take your marketing in this direction you certainly could. (If you do this, make sure to send me a link, I want to see it! lol)

What I’m talking about is simply harnessing the power of video or audio clips to provide more incentive for your customers to buy your products. I can think of a number of ways this would be beneficial.

• A product that is complicated to use or install-post a video of the process. Even if you think a product is simple to use, it may not be for other people, and a visual of the process helps provide confidence to buy.
• A product that is adjustable for the user’s size-post a video of the process.
• A product that is meant to be used in conjunction with another product-post a video of the process.
• Demos of just about any type of product.
• Walk people through a more detailed description with up close images of almost any product-you guessed it, post a video.
• Are you an artist or craftsman? Post a video of yourself making your art.
• Do you sell handmade items? Post a video of the person making the item and talking about it.
• Post video of real testimonials about your products.
• How about a walking tour of your facilities? Yep, post a video!

Audio and video enrich a website and if used correctly can engage your customers on a deeper level than the written word alone. (But sites that automatically begin playing audio or video are often more annoying than effective.) Here’s an example of a site, LifeBites.com, that uses video and audio effectively. From the left-navigation menu, click on ‘Daily Bite,’ and you are rewarded with a sound clip. LifeBites.com posts video interviews, and features change. Another site, Cervelo.com, sells engineered racing bicycles. The site was not designed by a professional so it is not as polished as you would expect for a highly successful company, but a large part of their success lies in their effective utilization of thorough product descriptions, historical archives, blogs, video and images.

Have you seen any examples of good use of video on a site? If so, please share them!

Tags: Multimedia, Website, audio, video