Much of what the SEO industry as a whole has proven true (or at least partly true) over time is that content is king. The verdict is still out on the degree that search engines currently rely on manipulate-able elements such as meta tags, page names, even keywords in the URL for the purpose of ranking websites, but what about website size? Does it really matter to rankings?

To find out, let’s study one highly competitive search phrase (free ringtones), the top 20 search results on two search engines (Google and Bing), and the number of pages each returns using the site: command (e.g. site:domain.com).

Keep in mind that these results are only from one data center and at one period in time. While it may not be a perfect method, it does provide a relatively accurate representation for our purposes.

What we learned will probably surprise you: the size of the website does not have any direct bearing on how well a website ranks. The term “direct” is very important as there are many other factors included in ranking a site in a competitive position – authoritative links for example. Website size however is important, but not for the reasons you may think. We’ll get to that in a minute. For now, let’s just take a quick look at the data:

It is not a coincidence that many of the websites you will see at Google and Bing for the particular keyword used (a highly competitive one) have thousands of pages in each engine’s respective index. In some cases, these sites have been around for years and had the opportunity to build out their “portfolio” of pages. But as is clear in the chart/graph above, the number of pages (on each engine and for each site) vary wildly, regardless of the position. In fact in certain cases, some sites have ten times as many pages indexed and still don’t crack the top three positions (this is more the case for Bing than Google).

This leads us to believe that it’s not the size of the website, but rather how you use it (“it” being the opportunities afforded to sites with large content footprints). So how do you use a website with thousands of pages to your advantage? What large websites have going for them in terms of SEO is that they are able to create deep silos of content in a way that will influence rankings for a particular search term.

Developing silos is a process wherein you create containers of related, topical content. To have success with content silos requires that the entire process of optimization start with the creation of an overarching theme and then supporting that theme with adjunct topics, which are then optimized on their own for the primary (and most competitive) keyword phrases. This is not unlike organizing a site by category but silos require that we establish and rigidly maintain that thematic focus to truly excel.

What we are after ultimately is to have each content section support the theme with related topics in its own sub-silo. Using our “free ringtones” keyword for example, we might want to put all of the “rock-and-roll” ringtones in one section and all of the “reggae” ringtones in another. Again, this is not unlike structuring a site appropriately, but where it differs is how we optimize the content within individual silos. Structuring content in this way, and interlinking the pages, help to build authority for the site.

Achieving success with silos requires that we think in advance about page naming conventions, create sitemaps for thematic sub-silos, make sure pages do not have duplicate titles, and most importantly use strong anchor text when linking to supporting pages – those being optimized for the most competitive search terms ( in this case “free ringtones”).

Using silos in this way provides us a very structured way to move the ranking needle in our favor.

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Original article found here: http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2010/02/09/seo-research-website-size-study.aspx

Hire a Daughter is a company that specializes in helping the elderly or home-bound.  They needed a site that was basically passive marketing, just to have someplace to point potential clients to so they could get some more information.  That’s what we gave them.

The design is fully customized to incorporate the look of the business cards and other marketing materials the company already had made.  The site, as it is, is very simple, but also very welcoming and almost makes you wish you had an elderly parent that needed the service once you take a look.  :)

Website Magazine is here to bring you some pre-holiday cheer with a Top 50 list of the Web’s premier virtual product shelves — e-commerce engines and online shopping tools where you will want to have your products appear.

Keep in mind that the sites on this list are not an acknowledgement of their effectiveness but rather their popularity among Web professionals, the business community and consumers.

What is most unique about this list is its variety. From top-tier engines to comparison engines, and deal sites to social shopping providers, there is no shortage of resources for consumers to learn about and be exposed to products. And that’s a good thing.

ClearSaleing Inc. and Vetra Analytics published an Internet retail version of its American Attribution Index in September that measured the effectiveness of various online media sources and their influence factors on online consumer conversion. The study showed that many types of media sources contribute to and influence a consumer’s purchase decision. According to the AAI news release, “branded and non-branded SEO, branded and non-branded paid search ads, comparison shopping engines, email, display and affiliates all play an important role in influencing purchase decisions among retail customers.” That almost makes you want to branch out from paid search campaigns exclusively on Google, right?

The top few positions on this month’s list are filled with the product-side interfaces of major search engines and large product networks like Amazon. But the real action happens further down the list. Comparison shopping engines such as Nextag.com, Bizrate.com and Shopzilla.com present major opportunities for e-commerce merchants looking to acquire more traffic and vital impressions from consumers.

Social shopping engines and tools are also noteworthy. As social media continues its rapid rise, these resources are becoming an integral part of the online experience for researching and buying products. Kaboodle, StyleFeeder and ThisNext make their mark in shopping circles and, as a result, increasingly importance to merchants.

Deal sites may be your best bang for the promotional buck. Pronto, DealTagger, Sortprice and Dealtime established modest followings with serious shoppers. Price-sensitive shoppers are aware of their existence, and so should you.

It may be difficult to ensure your products appear on each and every one of these virtual product shelves, but doing so may be what makes this holiday season a festive one.

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http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2009/11/19/top-50-virtual-product-shelves.aspx

The Webby Awards, handed out by New York’s International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, have announced their list of the top 10 Internet moments of the decade. With just a quick scan, the list is impressive and underscores the incredible impact the Internet has had on most every aspect of our lives. For our purposes, let’s take a look at how these innovations have changed the business world, and what they might lead to in the future.

Craigslist online classified site expands outside San Francisco (2000)
Craigslist is one of the most heavily-trafficked sites on the Internet. It’s also a prime example of how a website doesn’t have to be beautiful to be highly effective. While design is important, craigslist shows us that functionality rules supreme. The site has also become a major online revenue generator for many businesses. Craigslist also drastically shortened the space between buyers and sellers while, at the same time, forces good old fashioned person-to-person sales.

The launch of Google AdWords (2000)
Perhaps nothing changed the online economy more than Google AdWords. What started as a search curiosity suddenly became an economic boon to Google, and thousands of online businesses. In fact, many business owe their entire existence to AdWords. Look for Google to keep innovating and never underestimate their power to make lightning-fast changes to the online business world.

The launch of online encyclopedia Wikipedia (2001)
Wikipedia was arguably the first major online success built by volunteers. It also showed that even the best intentions can be sullied – Wikipedia quickly came under fire for being a pool of innacuracies and marketing ploys. However, Wikipedia is solid proof that, given the oppportunity, users will take the time to contribute just because they can.

The shutdown of file-sharing site Napster (2001)
Napster taught us that the Internet might be untamed, but it is not without law. Napster also showed how quickly business plans can be changed and implemented online and that no online business is ever down and out, unless the business owner decides so.

Google’s initial public offering (2004)
Perhaps one of the most fascinating companies in the history of business, Google is here to stay. With a $180 billion market capitilization, the loyalty of millions, and a dedication to and track record of producing stellar products and services which support its advertising initiatives, Google is the standard by which all exceptional businesses will be measured for decades to come.

The online video revolution led by YouTube (2006)
YouTube is amazing. For the first time, John and Jane Doe could be seen and heard by millions with the click of a mouse. YouTube has revolutionized our public eye. For online businesses, YouTube is an opportunity to add life to just about any product, and gives the chance for exposure that used to costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Facebook opens to non-college students and Twitter launches (2006)
The social media and networking revolution officially took hold in 2006. While the creases continue to be ironed out, social media is not a trend – it’s become a major part of the online economy for those who work it properly. in fact, an entirely new workforce has been built around it. Businesses are realizing the power of social sites and should be getting involved, starting with a solid strategy. Social media has given businesses the ability to reach farther, faster. It’s also forced businesses to be responsible for the quality of what they produce – the people have been empowered like never before, and they are using it to demand accountability.

Apple’s iPhone debuts (2007)
The iPhone was a tremendous leap forward in mobile technology that has yet to be surpassed. Users have never had more power in the palm of their hands. It’s also structuring a new industry, from apps to mobile banking and beyond. “Mobile” has finally arrived – and it all started with the iPhone.

The use of the Internet in the US presidential campaign (2008)
Barack Obama won the 2008 election in large part due to his campaign’s mastery of the Internet. “Yes We Can” rang true – the public’s voice was never stronger. Politics changed forever in 2008 and it also proved that grass-roots movements had a most powerful ally in the Internet. One of the lessons we can learn from the 2008 race is that success online is not free – Obama spent more than $7.5 million advertising on Google. And millions more on multiple other online channels.

The use of Twitter during the Iranian election protests (2009)
The Iranian protests are just one example of how Twitter can spread a message to millions of people in a matter of seconds. Where Facebook relies on friends, Twitter relies on loosely connected associations. But while loose, these connections have the ability to influence millions. Twitter also shows us how quickly businesses need to understand new technologies – before they are used against us.

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http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2009/11/20/the-decade-s-most-influential-internet-moments.aspx

This is a post I found from a website designer’s magazine to which I subscribe.  It’s a pretty long post, but it has a point.  I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest version here, but I suggest you read it to get the full impact.

Basically, if you’re going to do something, do it right.  (Didn’t Aesop say that a few times too?)

Here’s how this idea applies to Fotan and our clients, potential clients and even Joe down the street.  If you have a great idea that you think would benefit from a web presence, by all means, let us help you create that web presence.  We LOVE being part of a successful project!  However, be aware that having a great idea and a beautifully designed web site that shows up on the first page in the search engines won’t automatically guarantee you success and riches.  Like most anything else in life, you get out what you put in.

In other words, don’t come to a web developer with an idea and a $500 budget expecting to get rich.  There are many pieces to the puzzle, links in the chain and players in the game.  If any of them are missing, they all fall apart. Fotan will ALWAYS give you the best that we can for the budget that you have (Often far more than the budget that you have).  However, we’re just one piece of the puzzle and, while we’re pretty smart over here, we can only really attest to what we know, which is making web sites.  We’re not marketing professionals (although we know some damn good ones) and we’re not supply chain managers (although we know some) and we’re not computer repair guys (although we’re always happy to tell you to buy a Mac because that fixes every Windows problem we’ve ever seen).  What we are is professional web developers.  We excel at taking your vision and bringing it to life on the web, but we suck at most of that other stuff.  You see, at Fotan, we feel that our time is best spent doing what we’re good at and makes us money.  Not spinning our wheels trying to figure out how to save a few bucks doing something we don’t know how to do but could pay someone who does.

Holy smokes!  That may be the longest Reader’s Digest version ever.  So, here’s the Reader’s Digest version of the Reader’s Digest version of the original story (by the way, I still think you should read the original story).

1. Don’t expect to get rich just because you have an idea and your web site comes up in Google.
2. Hire professionals to do what they’re good at.  Don’t waste your time trying to do what the professionals can do for you.
3. Understand that there are no legitimate ways to get rich quick.  It takes work and consistency.  If you’re going to be on again off again, you’ll get flaky results.
4. Buy a Mac.  Your life will instantly be better and everyone around you still foolish enough to get excited about the latest version of Windows will be jealous when your computer doesn’t crash every 5 minutes.

Now, on to the original story.

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Brown’s Chicken is in need of a revival. Although a Chicago institution, the restaurant chain suffered major damage in the wake of a horrific mass murder at one of their locations in 1993. Recent news has brought that painful memory back to the spotlight – Brown’s just can’t seem to move past it. So it makes sense that a rebranding effort be launched.

The words “chicken” and “viral” aren’t exactly pleasant bedfellows. Of course, we’re talking about viral marketing here, not a deadly epidemic. But when Brown’s Chicken recently tried their hand at a viral marketing campaign, the results were downright toxic.

About a month ago, an @ message landed on one of my Twitter accounts. It came from @SNiHatching: *bzzt* *bzzt* http://bit.ly/15ii70 *bzzt* *bzzt* (something new is hatching)

My first thought when seeing this update was … SPAM. There is no indication who this tweet is from, nor where the link will lead. But in the spirit of investigation (and because it’s my job) I clicked the link. But I can’t be sure that most people would take the risk of clicking a cryptic link from an unkown sender. This was the first indication that this viral campaign was off to a rocky start.

The link leads to this YouTube video, announcing the SomethingNewIsHatching.com website and campaign. At the end of the video is the campaign URL and the Brown’s Chicken logo. Naturally, the URL was my next destination. So far, I have no idea what this campaign is all about.

Over at the website, I am presented with the landing page seen here. Now, I’m ready to discover what’s behind the campaign.

1. see for yourself. This leads to a page with four videos. Each is a variation of the video linked from Twitter. None, however, explain anything about the campaign, the restaurant, or what to expect whenever this new thing “hatches.” Also lacking is any indication of what to do next – no call to action.
2. what is hatching? This leads to a brief explanation, including this: “Over the next year, Brown’s is hatching new changes from the ground up. We’re not certain exactly what all the changes will be.” Also, “Chicago has been with us since 1949 and it’s time we give back. Something new is hatching. Brown’s is changing. And we’re changing for the better.” At this point I’ve come to understand something is going to change. However, I have no indication as to what it will be, and apparently neither does Brown’s. That doesn’t exactly instill confidence or excitement in me. It could be anything. And frankly, I’ve already clicked enough times through this campaign that I’m losing interest … in nothing.
3. tell a friend. Let’s say I was so intrigued, that I want to share this campaign with a friend. Fine – click the link and enter a friend’s e-mail address. The only problem? It doesn’t work. No e-mail was received.
4. what is new? Here’s what you get when that link is clicked: “Coming Soon!” Well, thanks for nothing … again.
5. At the bottom of the landing page, you’ll notice a few links for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Of course, this must be the path to discovery. Let’s look at those three touch points.

Twitter: The Twitter page has exactly nine total updates, starting with one from September 14 and ending with one from September 24. None of the updates give any useful information. Also, the Twitter account has 15 followers, and they follow just 14 people.

Facebook: The Facebook page has exactly one update, from September 14. There are 35 fans (somehow) and no further information.

YouTube: The YouTube channel has one subscriber and two videos – that’s two fewer videos than the number of videos available from the SomethingNewIsHatching.com landing page. That’s a lack of consistency and a lost opportunity for maximum viewership.

Brown’s Social Media Meltdown

Social media can be a powerful viral marketing tool. But it is not a “set it and forget it” medium. Success depends on several factors, three of which are consistency, activity and strategy. The Something New Is Hatching campaign appears to have failed in all areas.

You don’t want to give everything away at once with these promotions. Teasers are good – you want people to have a feeling of anticipation so they look forward to the next piece of the puzzle. But Brown’s offers nothing more than “something is hatching.” Through every channel where this campaign exists, there is absolutely nothing that compels the user to check back for updates, subscribe to updates or  – most important – share with a friend. The only real option to share is the e-mail function … that doesn’t function.

A successful viral marketing campaign through social media requires grooming. This campaign seems to have involved a miniscule two weeks worth of work – and not much work at that. Success on Twitter requires updates, and something of value that other Twitter users will want to “retweet” to their followers. And every Twitter marketer needs to follow some people to get the ball rolling. Brown’s could have started following thousands of people (targeted by city) and provided incentive to get more followers, such as coupons.

Another Chicago restaurant with a rich local history is Superdawg, a hot dog drive-in. They also use social media for branding and campaigns. Superdawg’s Twitter account has 1,737 followers (as of this writing) and they follow 1,721 other Twitter users. Their last tweet was just 19 hours ago. And, their updates are timely and useful, like this:

http://twitpic.com/npi6j – 4th generation Superdawger celebrating Halloween as an @superdawg.

And this one: If you come by @superdawg counter in a costume today, say trick or treat & we’ll give you a free order of fries.

That’s quite a difference from *bzzt* *bzzt* http://bit.ly/15ii70 *bzzt* *bzzt* (something new is hatching). Superdawg’s tweets are interesting; they include photographs of actual customers. They are timely and useful; they tweeted a Halloween special, on time.

Brown’s Chicken has a problem. Perhaps what’s most damaging about this failed campaign is the now total loss of trust. Everything indicates that Brown’s strong suit is not following through – can I trust that these “changes” will actually occur? As a user, I also got the feeling that my time was being wasted. And at no point did I feel compelled to share that someting exciting was coming from Brown’s. Instead of building buzz, Brown’s has given me the impression of a lazy, incompetent franchise.

In all fairness, perhaps they are simply understaffed or their big changes have been delayed. Either way, this campaign should not have been launched if it wasn’t “all systems go.” Or, if a snag did come up, at least communicate with the public.

If you want to launch a viral marketing campaign, it’s imperative that it’s well-planned and you’re ready for the work that comes with it. Huge successes can be had. But damage can ensue if you don’t follow up on your promises. You must provide value and you cannot waste users’ time.

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Original story link:  http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2009/11/04/anatomy-of-a-viral-marketing-failure.aspx

It’s no surprise that Google kicks everyone’s butt in the search engine game.  It is a little surprising that they’ve slipped to only (Only?  Really?) a 65% share of searches.  Google has always impressed me as the company to hitch your horse to.  I’ve used Google Apps for several years now, including email for my domain and a couple hundred of my clients, Apps, like spreadsheets, documents and everything else, maps…  The list goes on.  I know, Yahoo and MSN (now Bing) offer some of those too, but Google has always offered them better and gives you all the premium features for free.

Reading the rest of the article, Bing does have a very cool sounding “Visual Search” feature available, but, in true Microsoft fashion, they require you to download and install a proprietary application that will undoubtedly open your computer up to a zillion new viruses and other threats within minutes of installing.  Thanks, but no thanks.  I’ll pass. (Well, I use a Mac, so they couldn’t really hurt me anyway, but I’ll still pass.)

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While Google remains far and away the leading search engine (with a 65% share of searches), Bing, at least according to Nielsen, is the fastest growing search engine.

Bing’s search market share in August rose 22.1% to 10.7% of all searches up from 9.0% in July. It is important to note also that these numbers don’t reflect Bing traffic alone, but rather MSN, Live and Bing combined.

So if Google (2.6%), AOL (1.8%), ASK (2.9%) and even Local.com experienced month-over-month search growth, was there an engine that didn’t fare as well? You bet – Yahoo! – whose traffic in August fell 4.2%. Proceed to make assumptions on the reason(s) why, but it might have been caused by the full-scale introduction of Bing.

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See the original article at http://bit.ly/3hri8U  Website Magazine Online

One of our oldest clients happens to be a property manager in Roseburg.  Now, in a lot of ways, property management sites seem like they should be pretty simple.  Throw up a few pictures, a small database so they don’t have to re-type listings every time a tenant moves out, some PDFs for applications and stuff.  No sweat, right?  Well, not quite.  You see, property managers are VERY interested in being #1 in Google when someone searches for a house for rent in ‘insert-city-here’.  They also really like to have listings and photo slideshows that look the way they want them to look.  You can’t really do a cookie-cutter site for a property manager.  Most everything has to be custom.

That’s what Fotan is really good at.  Doing everyday, typical things in creative, custom ways.  While a lot of the code on the back end is already written, tested and true, the way that code is implemented is different for nearly every one of our clients.  That’s what custom means to us.  There are only so many ways to write a program, but there are an infinite number of ways to display the information.

If you have a property management company, you’re a real estate broker, or you’re trying to market your very own widget online, give us a call (an email is actually better, but call sounds cooler ) and let us show you what we can do for you.

So, you may have noticed, if you’re reading this on my site (fotan.net/blog) that it looks remarkably like my main site.  But, you say, “This is Wordpress.  How can this be?”  :)  Enough with the theatrics, huh?  One of the things we have recently started doing is developing blogs to integrate seamlessly, or almost, into your current website.

Our portfolio has several examples.  None quite as good as our own, but still good examples.  Just hit the “Blogs” link in our portfolio list on the right side of practically any page on our site (www.fotan.net).

Some of the special features of our own blog, that might be of interest, are:

• Custom slideshow on the right hand side
• The “Tweet This” button that automatically tweets our posts
• The “Share / Save” button that allows anyone to share the post via damn near any method they like, such as email, facebook, twitter, google reader…

A couple things I haven’t added, but could, are ads, such as Google Adsense or Yahoo Ads to monetize the blog, the ability to post to my blog via email, including images and just about a million other things that I haven’t even thought of yet.  So, if you think you would like a blog, but you need some pretty specific features, or you just want it too look a certain way, but they don’t have a template that you like, let us know.  We’ll do it!

I have to admit.  Twitter has always seemed like a pointless waste of time.  I think it’s hard to argue that it has become huge though.  There are a lot of people out there using it in creative ways to help build their business.  Here’s some info on that that I found and thought I would share.

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Twitter marketing is a new phenomenon. Thanks to the huge success of Twitter, it has become not only a social tool but also a marketing tool. By building up a huge numbers of followers on Twitter, you can create your own market for your products. Even better, by focusing on your niche, you know that your followers are genuinely interested in your products. But you have to be careful, Twitter is not supposed to be used as a sales platform, so your marketing on Twitter must be subtle.

Like other social networking platforms, Twitter is not a marketing platform. But due to its huge success, a lot of people have recognized the marketing potential of Twitter. By having a huge number of followers you have created a market for your products and services. But like other Internet marketing tools, you need to know how to get the most out of your Twitter campaigns. Just creating a Twitter account and hoping to get followers who will buy your products will not be good enough.

Marketing on Twitter is fairly straight-forward but there are a couple of pit falls you must avoid. First make sure that you do not upset Twitter. If you try to build up your number of followers too quickly by following hundreds of new users every day, Twitter may disable your account. In order to avoid being labeled as a spammer by Twitter, limit the number of people you follow to 200 a day and do not keep on following new users every single day.

You also want to avoid looking like a spammer to your followers. Unless you are well known in your niche, you need to give your followers some interesting and useful information on a regular basis. Some people try to use Twitter to increase the number of visitors to their web pages with CPM ads, that is, they get paid for every visit to their web pages. But unless the web page you want your followers to visit has some real information, you will quickly start losing followers.

Like all other Internet marketing campaigns, Twitter marketing campaigns should be planned in advance. By using Tweet Later you can schedule your tweets, so you do not need to manually log in and tweet. Twitter can be addictive, so you should have a specific time when you are online and tweet. Otherwise you may find yourself spending far too much time on Twitter and not having time for other activities.

Twitter marketing has the additional advantage of that it can become viral. If your tweets are interesting, your followers will often re-tweet them to their followers. Not only does this increase your market but having others promoting you will also give you more credibility.

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Original Post: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/Twitter-Marketing—The-Easy-Way-To-Online-Wealth/779955

MoVelocity.org is a site that I have enjoyed being a part of quite a lot.  For those who don’t know, it’s a free site started by a local group whose only goal was to get people up and moving.  The site, in idea, is very simple.  Allow people to log in, post exercise or other activities they do (Yard Monkey is my favorite), convert those activities to miles and try to get enough people doing it to reach 1,000,000 miles.  On the back end, it’s not really all that simple.  There is a lot of calculating and database work taking place behind the scenes, but I learned a lot designing the back end of the site.  Then, I got to watch as it continued to count up the miles.

MoVelocity.org has been gaining miles very slowly lately.  Not sure why.  Perhaps people have forgotten about it.  We’re nearing 680,000 miles, but an article in the News Review last week about a man walking across the USA kind of got me thinking about it again.  I emailed the man and he said he would be happy to talk to MoVelocity about letting us track his movements across the USA.  I’m hoping that we’ll get a reciprocal link with his site and, as he progresses on his trip and talks to people all across the land, we get more members and finally hit that million mile mark.

You should check the site out.  There’s nothing to buy.  Only motivation to go.