Website Magazine

Twitter, SERPs and Chicago Hot Dogs

2009-07-02T20:50:00Z

Conduct just about any search and you will likely find some information stemming from a Twitter profile. Businesses have learned that leveraging Twitter is not only a good way to make your company accessible, but also to reach out to consumers and to help boost overall rankings on the major search engines.

But just how much are search engine results pages (SERPs) influenced by Twitter?

In March, 2009 we explored this territory with part one of a series, "Twitter as Google SEO." We searched a few terms, found Twitter accounts and their respective websites, and noted how Google rankings were affected. We also started a new account and decided to track its progress through Google. Now, three months later, we take another look. This time, we expand our search but use the same terms and examine the changing results. Twitter may be deemed a waste of time by some, but there's no denying that its impacting search. Read part two of this three-part series now.

SEO Ultimate for WordPress (Plugin)

2009-07-02T17:20:00Z

If there's one complaint about WordPress, it's the strictness of the platform when it comes to SEO. Sure, you can do quite a bit with the software right out of the box, but there's a lot more that 'could' be done. Fortunately, plugins such as the All-in-One SEO Pack have helped to fill the void, but others are fast entering the marketing including newly released SEO Ultimate), an "all-in-one" WP Plugin that is really very powerful.

The plugin enhances a site's native Wordpress theme and custom settings. By leveraging the power of theming and siloing, relevant naming conventions, unified tags, and titles the plugin should be a serious consideration for WP bloggers.

Features of the SEO ultimate plugin include:

Title Rewriter - Lets you format the <title> tags of posts, pages, categories, tags, archives, search results, the blog homepage, and more.
Noindex Manager - Lets you add the noindex meta robots instruction to archives, comment feeds, the login page, and more.
Meta Editor - Lets you edit the meta descriptions/keywords for your posts, pages, and homepage. Also lets you enter verification meta codes and give code instructions to search engine spiders.
Canonicalizer - Inserts tags for your homepage and each of your posts, Pages, categories, tags, date archives, and author archives.
404 Monitor - Logs 404 errors generated on your blog.

What other SEO related plugins do you currently run on your WordPress installation?
Comment below and share with other readers.

Change Feedburner Email Subject Lines

2009-07-02T15:46:00Z

Feedburner is, hands down, the dominant RSS managment provider. Since its acqusition by Google however, few changes have been implimented on any notable scale.

That changes today as some new capabilities have been brought to the Email Branding section of FeedBurner's Email Subscriptions feature.

Users of the service are now able to display the title of the latest post in the subject line of their email to subscribers. Feedburner users posting more than one item per day and want to provide more descriptive subject lines will also enjoy the update as they are able to check the "Change Subject..." box and reveal a secondary subject line to use when 2 or more feed posts are delivered in a single email.

To deploy the new feature, simply sign in to your Google Account on FeedBurner and then click your feed's title, then Publicize > Email Subscriptions > Email Branding.

Here is an image of how it will look within your Feedburner account:

SEO: Do You Link Three-Ways?

2009-06-30T21:36:00Z

Hopefully by now you've come to the realization that the more links you have pointing to your website the higher it will be positioned on search engines. Getting links (or earning them) however is a time consuming and often complicated and costly undertaking - even for the most noteworthy professionals.

Having an SEO strategy is clearly important - despite the fact that Google and others frown upon any manipulation to improve rankings. SEO (just like running a business) requires some trial and error, meaning you'll need to experiment some if you intend to move up the search return lists and ultimately turn a profit. The result of relying on links as the determing factor is that search engines have forced many website owners to pursue links at any cost. One of those tactics gaining in attention is three-way linking.

Three way linking is a back link acquisition method. If you have two websites that want to share links and they directly link to each other, search engines may cancel out some or all of the page ranking power (two way linking: A->B and B->A - so it clearly looks like a reciprocal link.) But by linking three sites (A->B and B->C and C->A) you can avoid direct reciprocal back links (and the supposed penalties that go along with it) and ensure all three sites are getting a link even though no site links back to the site that linked to it.

Here's the question - do you leverage a three-way linking strategy? If yes, do you fear you might receive a penalty (or have you already)? And if no, will you consider it in the future? Please share your thoughts with other Website Magazine readers in the forum now. Continue to the forum to discuss three-way linking...

Jivox Adds Geo-targeting, Ad Creator, and Subscription Plans

2009-06-30T18:12:00Z

Local online video advertising service Jivox released several new features including map-based geo-targeting, QuickStart video ad creation templates, and new subscription plans for advertisers.

The automated map-based geo-targeting displays targeted cities on an interactive map and allows users to expand the targeted geography around a city by a 5, 20, 15, or 30-mile radius and save it for a future campaign.

Jivox' QuickStart Ad Creator (a template-based offering) enables advertisers to create video ads by completing a series of prompts for text and logos. Any ad created in the Jivox service can be saved as a QuickStart ad to be customized by other users, and unlike other template-based approaches which do not allow further changes to the ad, Jivox QuickStart ads can be further edited by using Jivox advanced video ad creation tools.

Finally, Jovox has made available subscription plans. Plans are designed around typical geographies, including local, metro, regional and national, and can be combined with subscription periods, including one, three, six and twelve months allowing advertisers to spend as little as $225 per month or set custom spending levels based on their marketing needs.

Lift Revenue With Ad Price Prediction

2009-06-30T18:03:00Z

Ad revenue optimization technology provider Pubmatic has made available Ad Price Prediction, enabling a real-time comparison of ad network and ad exchange pricing. Global publishers with more than $5 million in annual online revenue could increase revenue an additional 70% using the solution.

Ad Price Prediction optimizes how each impression is sold through secondary ad channels such as ad networks and exchanges on behalf of publishers, providing an additional layer of insight into how much non-guaranteed ad inventory is valued. For example, PubMatic can compare the price difference between behavioral targeting and contextual targeting on a single ad impression, and then serve the higher paying ad.

"PubMatic's real-time optimization means that more ad networks are competing for every impression," said Joe Luna, Director of Digital Advertising Operations at Mansueto Ventures (Inc.com, FastCompany). "In this climate, with a limited ad operations staff, getting the most money for every ad impression vs. daily optimization makes a big difference."

New Adwords API from Google

2009-06-30T17:13:00Z

Google has created an entirely new Adwords API (v2009) that, if you're a developer, is going to rock your socks off.

Google has created new web services for managing campaign targeting options and campaign-level criteria. All Web services share a consistent, data-centric interface with two operations (get and mutate). In addition, a secure authentication token replaces the login credentials required in v13 request headers.

The following table shows side-by-side differences between the web services provided in v13 and v2009.

AdWords API v2009 does not currently provide web services outside the scope of campaign data management. Utility services (ReportService, InfoService, AccountService, etc.) will be added in an upcoming release. Until then, continue using v13's utility services alongside v2009's campaign data management services.

Online Social Data and Relationship Cultivation

2009-06-30T15:56:00Z

Reid Hoffman, founder of business-oriented social networking site LinkedIn, says that the massive amounts of social data available on the Internet will change the business world by allowing for the development of products that yield analytics from user relationships and identities.

A video interview was conducted with Hoffman on IdeasProject discussing how new products will be created from social data. "Once you have all these piles of data, people will build products out of the synthesis of this information," explains Hoffman. "I think the Web 2.0 platform concerning actual identities and relationships is really just at the beginning stages of its growth--we're not close to even the midpoint of this development."

"As the founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman redefined online professional networking, making a seminal contribution to the rise of social media," said Valerie Buckingham, Director of Technology Marketing, Nokia. "Now Hoffman is once again setting his sites on the future, exploring how companies will use the growing base of online social networking information as a foundation for business innovation."

Open PaaS from Sullivan Systems

2009-06-30T15:53:00Z

Sullivan Software Systems has launched an Open Platform as a Service (also known as OPaaS or Open PaaS), which aims to correct the shortcomings of the traditional Platform as a Service (PaaS) model and take the market to the next level with a more logical application ecosystem.

Developers can now use any programming language, any operating system, any development tools, any database, any infrastructure, (e.g., private server, the OPaaS server, Amazon Web Services, Google, or any other cloud) to develop and deliver applications and systems. Developers are no longer limited to creating closed, proprietary applications for a particular limited platform or "walled-garden" as is the case with current Platform as a Service offerings such as Force.com, Amazon EC2, Google App Engine, etc.

From the release: "Open Platform as a Service brings all the pieces together seamlessly for programmers and users in a self-sustaining ecosystem. Also, because Open Platform as a Service works over standard HTTP, developers can easily incorporate existing scripts, applications, web services etc. There are no longer limits on application creation. If it can be imagined, it can be created and delivered instantly on a scalable platform."

"We've come so far on the Internet, but yet have taken a great leap backwards in terms of Platforms as a Service offerings which, thus far, have been very limited" said Kwok Lo, lead developer at Sullivan Software Systems. "Under any other circumstances, nobody in their right mind would pick a platform where the vendor dictates the single or proprietary programming language, the operating system, the server, the database and limited proprietary application programming interface (API) and sets the price as well as the rules and can change them at any point and put you out of business after or even before they go out of business."

Stay up to date on advancements and developments like this, with a professional-level subscription to Website Magazine.

Twitter Perks Done Right

2009-06-29T15:49:00Z

By now, every website owner has heard every argument as to why Twitter is a necessary part of your online strategy. Using Twitter can certainly drive traffic, but perhaps its greatest potential is to build a loyal following, expand your audience and encourage consumers to convert.

One such way to reach these goals is by offering perks to new Twitter followers. Eli's Cheesecake, a Chicago legacy, has a long history but is clearly wise to the times. I recently decided to follow them on Twitter, and then received a direct message in return.

The offer works on several levels:

It's targeted - sent as a direct message to someone with a clear interest in their product.
It's defined. The offer's terms are clearly stated.
The call-to-action is focused. The coupon is intended for use on elischeesecake.com - driving traffic to the website and opening up a channel for conversions.
It's limited. The coupon is only good for a set amount of time, so the user is urged to take immediate action.
It's trackable. The coupon code (hidden) means that Eli's can track every conversion from this coupon to optimize future campaigns.

Twitter is a good way to extend your business presence online and drive some traffic to your website. But as Eli's shows here, it can also be a powerful way to encourage brand loyalty and generate revenue.

Ifbyphone Virtual Call Center Released

2009-06-29T15:46:00Z

Ifbyphone introduces its virtual call center service that will appeal to those who travel, have various offices or want to appear every bit as professional as a large corporation. The call center allows users to route calls to any phone no matter the location. According to the press release, users won't have to sign up for long-term contacts and will only pay for minutes used. In addition, it includes a detailed dashboard so users know who called as well as other important call information.

The call center service works with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, landlines and smartphones. Because the product works with all phones, anyone can use it - thus, small businesses can appear as professional, organized and managed as large corporations.

“Whether they’re considered big regional companies with multiple locations, or the popular sandwich shop around the corner at lunchtime, businesses of all sizes need high-power, low-cost, web-based and configurable tools for optimally managing their call volume,” said Ifbyphone's CEO, Irv Shapiro in the release.

Bing vs. Google: Ad Performance and User Behavior

2009-06-29T14:39:00Z

Catalyst Group conducted a study pitting Bing versus Google and found some interesting results directly relevant to Web professionals. In the study, a search for "digital cameras" resulted in far more time on-page for Bing than Google. Bing users also spent 150 percent more time viewing the area directly under the ad space (see heatmap below).

While one could argue that the increased time spent looking at that area would result in increased exposure for the ad, a look at the heatmap suggests the ad is not being viewed as heavily, but the options below the ad. This includes sorting options for cameras and facilitates direct shopping through Bing. Google has a similar area, although it is four results below the ad, and links point to one camera with several different vendors, rather than several different cameras.

(article continues after the image)

For the Web professional, this suggests a significant incentive to getting your products listed with Bing Shopping. Another interesting finding from the study is that Bing users spent less time on page with Bing than Google, when searching "digital cameras" and "hotels" (two control search terms.) For "digital cameras," Bing users spent 10.5 seconds on the results page (15.7 seconds on Google) and "hotels" saw Bing users spending 10.6 seconds (14.8 for Google.) An earlier survey in the study also found that Bing users found the search experience more organized and offering more helpful information than Google. Piecing the two together, it can be argued that users spent less time on Bing because they were finding what they needed faster.

The bad news for Bing is that users are not feeling compelled to make a switch from Google. Reasons cited were familiarity and the integration of other Google apps. A positive for Bing is that users found search results equally relevant between Bing and Google. Although users are saying they are not likely to switch, if the results are just as good, Bing stands a good chance at eating away market share from Google once users become more familiar with the new search, or as new users come online. You can read the entire Catalyst Group Study.

Don't miss Website Magazine's August issue, where Dante Monteverde's SEO Corner focuses on optimization for Bing. Not a subscriber? Get your subscription now!

Exclusive Free E-commerce Software for Website Magazine Readers

2009-06-26T19:39:00Z

Web-based software developers Interspire have developed Big Commerce, a shopping cart that combines ease-of-use with powerful functionality. And it's free. The shopping cart will not be available to the public for a few weeks, but Website Magazine readers can get it now.

Big Commerce was developed with a few goals in mind, one being it's ease of use. What jumps out right away is the ability to customize your shopping cart with drag-and-drop functionality. So, if you wanted to test a new position of a featured product, that could be done by simply dragging it to any area of the page. This ease of use, combined with built-in integration with dozens of payment gateways, and any number of analytics providers and CRM softwares gives merchants a fully-functional shopping cart without a steep learning curve or the need for outside help. In short, Big Commerce is made to fit in with your existing website and business. And for that reason, the cart would also make a nice add-on for website developers to offer to their clients - the less support clients need, the more a developer can focus on new business.

Big Commerce was also developed from the ground up with SEO in mind, tapping some of the leading SEO experts in the business during development. The shopping cart automatically includes optimization for meta and title tags, as well as a very clean CSS structure, allowing for easy customization.

Some other features of the Big Commerce cart include:

Recommendation functionality for "related" products to increase cross-selling opportunities
Refund and store credit abilities
Flexible discount rules
Re-orders from previous purchases
Coupon codes and bulk discounts

Visit http://BigCommerce.com and enter "websitemagazine" for a free, exclusive beta invite to the new shopping cart and explore all its possibilities.

Opera's State of the Mobile Web

2009-06-26T15:43:00Z

Popular mobile browsing software provider Opera released their State of the Mobile Web report, and it shows that mobile is, unsurprisingly, on the rise. Users of the Opera Mini mobile browsers increased 136 percent from a year ago. Perhaps the most interesting numbers come in the form of page views. Users are not just getting on the mobile Web more, but viewing more content. Overall, users viewed 227 percent more pages on the mobile Web, compared to one year ago.

A large section of the report focused on Southeast Asia, where overall page views in the top nine countries increased a whopping 459 percent, and overall users increased 119 percent. In the U.S., the numbers are less, but still impressive. Overall page views are up 151 percent from 2008. The top 10 mobile sites visited by U.S. users of Opera Mini are:

Google.com
Facebook.com
MySpace.com
Wikipedia.org
YouTube.com
Yahoo.com
NYTimes.com
My.Opera.com
CNN.com
Accuweather.com

It's hardly surprising that Google is leading the way. However, in Russia and China, Yandex and Baidu lead the way, and Yahoo! is a close second in India - one of the fastest growing mobile countries with a stunning 531 percent increase in page views and 128 percent increase in unique users.

An increase in mobile usage is often attributed to more smartphones on the market, making faster and easier mobile browsing. It's interesting to note that Opera users are using BlackBerry handsets the most. In fact, in the U.S., 7 of the top 10 handsets are BlackBerry.

Mobile browsing continues to rise. Website owners should take note of the increase in page views. It means that users are spending more time on mobile, and expanding their browsing. While this study is limited to Opera Mini users, it's a good indication that a website's reach is growing. And to take full advantage of this, pages need to be optimized to handle this mobile traffic, and a mobile presence needs to go beyond a landing page - users are digging deeper.

Cross-Browser Compatibility Testing Tool

2009-06-25T14:27:00Z

Web application "experience" management service provider Gomez, Inc., just introduced a free Web-based tool that automatically tests how Web sites look in four commonly-used combinations of browsers and operating systems. After entering a URL, the free Gomez tool returns screen captures of the Web page in each browser/OS combination, revealing content-rendering issues such as missing graphics, function buttons or text. The Gomez Cross-Browser Compatibility Test can be accessed at: http://instanttest.gomez.com

New popular Browsers like Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer 8 and Google Chrome use a lot of client-side processing and have different ways of handling dynamic content such as JavaScript than their prior counterparts, increasing the risk of performance issues for Web pages and transactions. Testing Web application compatibility across every browser type, version and OS however can be time-consuming and expensive, but it's an increasingly important practice you must engage in. While few organizations have the infrastructure or resources to build and maintain their own testing environment, a free tool like that provided by Gomez’s will help identify content-rendering issues.

“Web pages can look and perform differently from one browser to another,” said Eric Schurr, Gomez’s SVP of Marketing. “In today’s economy, businesses can’t afford to risk losing even one customer or one dollar of revenue because their Web applications don’t work properly on a browser or mobile device. Gomez’s Cross-Browser Compatibility Test reduces this risk while also saving time and money.”