In my training sessions, I like to mix things up a bit with case studies, whiteboard exercises and videos. It prevents *death by PowerPoint* and stops people from becoming overwhelmed with information in a short space of time.

My favorite 3) videos to show in the Google Analytics workshops are the Google Analytics in Real Life series, developed by Google as a humorous way to understand the frustrations experienced by visitors to your web site and how these would play out in real life. These always trigger laughter around the room, but they are also a fantastic way of bridging the gap between using Analytics to monitor customer activity on a web site and knowing what to tweak to improve the customer experience.

Ready to chuckle?

1) The Online Checkout

This video highlights common problems people have with the online checkout process – from trouble logging in, to being forced to enter ridiculous CAPTCHAs and being charged confusing shipping rates:

2) Landing Page Optimization

This video demonstrates what can happen if you interrupt the conversion process by placing distractions for visitors on your sales landing pages:

3) Internal Site Search

This last funny video shows how frustrating it can be for your site visitors when your internal site search functionality is counter-intuitive or just plain broken:

Enjoy!

What? Balloon-Powered Internet? Yes. Internet access, powered by weather balloons in the stratosphere. Let me explain. We think of the Internet as a global community. But as Google points out, two-thirds of the world’s population does not yet have Internet access.

Google’s idea of Project Loon is to create a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after disasters.

What better place to launch a Beta test of Project Loon than in an area prone to natural disasters? Google has chosen New Zealand, specifically right here in Christchurch, as their launch site for specially-designed solar powered balloons to test Project Loon. As the location of thousands of devastating earthquakes in the past 2 years, which knocked out power and Internet connectivity for weeks at a time, Christchurch was a natural choice to test the project.

Today a total of 30 balloons were launched a short distance from here, to travel up 20km above the earth and beam Internet to a small group of pilot testers. The experience of these pilot testers will be used to refine the technology and shape the next phase of Project Loon.

I jumped at the chance to become a Beta tester so hopefully, I’ll be one of the first people in the world selected to test balloon-powered Internet. If I am, you can bet I’ll be reporting on the experience right here

5 Useful Google Authorship  Infographics and Cheatsheets by Ann Smarty
If your name is connected with your product then Google Authorship is a tool you should be using. This great infographic explains how it works and how to get the most out of it. Visual learners will especially love it.

14 Essential SEO Conferences and How Attending Each One Helps Your Business by Jayson DeMers
I haven’t seen a post like this one before. Jayson has gone to the trouble of listing his top 14 conferences, including details on the kinds of topics covered, location, venue, date and time! Thanks Jayson.

Facebook Takes Page From Twitter’s Book: Debuts the Hashtag by Jennifer Cowan
I noticed my teenagers were starting to use hashtags in their posts and now I know why! Facebook has embraced Twitter-style hashtags as a simple way for users to gain a broader perspective on what’s happening, or what people are talking about, at any given point in time.

How to Become a Social Media Marketing Specialist by Schools.com
Another great infographic. This one clearly illustrates different ways to become a specialist in one of the fastest growing occupations around. You could even show your boss and demonstrate the need for training.

Four Ways to Use eBooks to Grow Your Business by Collins Paris
If you have an established blog with a solid audience, the next step may be to write an eBook. eBooks add substantial value to your site and if they are well written can quickly establish your level of specialisation.

Happy reading!

Image courtesy of Threadless

1) What is the Future of the Rel=Author tag? by Adam Morgan
This video blog post is an important one for writers and all content marketers generally. Have you noticed the rise of thumbnail pictures next to some search results? The Rel=Author tag is adding credibility and enhancing the presence of some online profiles over others. Matt Cutts explains the future of personal search.

2) Case Study: How Two Artists Used Online Content to Build Their Face to Face Business by Beth Hayden
A great case study by Beth on the importance of content marketing, even for a totally offline enterprise.

3) How to Build Links to Your Blog – A Case Study by Mathew Barby
Mathew’s case study is an excellent post about how to make the most of your niche blog. Mathew includes links to useful tools, to make the most of your link building strategy.

4) The Insanely Simple Secret to Copyblogger’s Success by John Jantsch
I know this is not a recent post, but its popularity is due to the lessons contained within. John includes the headlines that have made Copyblogger so attractive to followers and why they work. A great post about writing good copy and content marketing strategy.

And for something a little different…

5) How to Execute a Successful social Media Marketing Initiative by Jayson DeMers
I know there are a lot of posts out there explaining the benefits of social media marketing, but one is too good not to share. Jayson explains the benefit of the main sites and includes links to helpful tools to chart and monitor your campaign strategy. Keep it handy in case you need to justify a new position, expansion of duties, or even a pay rise!

Happy reading!

Image courtesy of Threadless

1) How to Make YouTube Your Marketing Powerhouse by Tina-Courtney Brown
In this post Tina describes how a YouTube channel is helpful to lift your company’s profile. Even if your content doesn’t go viral, over time your YouTube catalogue will increase your SEO.  Tina also provides a list of 10 exciting ideas to explore when making a video to promote your business or organisation. Definitely one to bookmark!

2) 10 Lessons from a 100k Pageview Post by Stephen Kenwright
Stephen unexpectedly wrote a post that was viewed 100,000 times! This is not so much a how-to-do post, but a few hints and tips Stephen felt to share after he ‘sharked it’ unexpectedly.

3) How to Move Rankings Up On Older, Existing Content – Whiteboard Friday by Rand Fishkin
Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays are always worth a peak! This week Rand explains how adjusting your existing, quality content can be used to help bump your site up in the SERPs and give your site a fresh appeal.

4) Benchmarking & Analytics: How to Track the Effects of your Social SEO Campaign by Marcela De Vivo
How can we really know whether our Social SEO campaign is effective? Besides revenue increases there are lots of benefits of Social SEO and they’re worth measuring. Take note of the helpful tools and links to help track campaign effectiveness.

And finally for something different…

5) Learning How To Be A Manager by Caitlin Krumdieck
This is a little off-topic but the headline caught my attention and it referenced a similarly great post by Rand Fishkin called If Management is the Only Way Up We’re All F’d. If you’ve been thinking about moving up in your organization and want to know if you really have the desire to be a manager, or if you’re better off sticking to what you know and love, these are great posts to read.

Happy reading!

Image courtesy of Threadless.

Now public speaking is something that doesn’t come naturally to most of us and in fact a survey not too long ago found that many people are more terrified of speaking in public than they are of death itself. When asked to choose between death and public speaking, death was the preferred option! Crazy, right?

But for those of us with social anxiety, public speaking, even to small groups, can fill us with dread. As an educator and consultant, a large part of my job involves public speaking. I am called upon to present information in client meetings to senior management, I speak to large groups of students and universities via webinars, I give presentations to large rooms full of people at conferences and I run regular full and half day training workshops for industry organisations. So I regularly give presentations to groups of people ranging from 5 to 500.

I used to HATE giving public presentations. I still dislike it strongly, but after regularly forcing myself into giving them for 10 years now, I am slightly more relaxed about it than I used to be. Sure, I still find it difficult to sleep the night before a speaking gig. And if you look closely at me on stage, you’ll probably spot my legs shaking, but provided I have prepared well and know my subject matter, I’ll muddle through and generally do a good job.

Going along with the analogy “do something every day that scares you”, I think it’s important for me to put myself out there and prove to myself that I can do it. I also feel it is excellent therapy to help me deal with my social anxiety. Apart from the benefits to myself, I know I have a lot of knowledge that I can impart to others and what better way to share that knowledge than public speaking?

Anyway, after giving yet another presentation this week, it occured to me that I have built up a pretty good pre-presentation checklist that others might find useful. So here they are:

Top Tips for Making Your Presentations Run Smoothly and Stress Free:

1. Find out exactly where the venue is in relation to your accommodation and if you’ve got time, make a practice run to the venue the day before.
2. If the venue is large (e.g. a university), ask for a map showing exactly where the room is that you’ll be speaking in.
3. If you’re driving to the venue, factor in extra time for unexpected traffic jams and take plenty of coins in case you need to use paid parking.
4. Find out what technology will be available to you (whiteboard / projector / laptop / slide clicker) and adjust if necessary.
5. If you’ve arranged catering for break times, confirm details with caterers the day before.
6. Get at least 8 hours sleep the night before.
7. Have a big breakfast but no coffee if it makes you anxious. Try a decaf or hot chocolate instead.
8. Get to the venue at least an hour early so you can get comfortable, test the technology and rehearse.
9. Upon arrival, make yourself known to someone at the venue who can help you with technical and other issues.
10. Make sure you know exactly how much time you have on stage and confirm break times with the organizers and your audience before starting.
11. Wear layers. No matter what the weather outside, air conditioning can be your friend and your foe. Wear clothes that you feel comfortable and confident in, but in layers that you can easily slip on or off depending on the room temperature.
12. Wear comfortable shoes.
13. Re-read that last point. This is important! Public speaking is no place for stilettos. Especially when you are walking around on a stage that will likely have electrical cables snaking all over it.
14. Don’t assume the venue will provide you with water. Take a bottle with you.
15. Don’t assume the venue will provide paper and pens for your attendees – ask for them.
16. Bring your business cards and place them somewhere prominent for people to take.
17. Bring your presentation on a Flash drive in multiple formats (e.g. .pptx, .ppt, .odp, .pdf) just in case something goes wrong.
18. Bring your own HDMI or component cable for hooking up to a projector, just in case the venue doesn’t have one.
19. Bring a backup power source for your laptop and/or projector.
20. Bring or ask for a lapel microphone if the venue is large and you want to be sure you can be heard up the back.
21. Don’t assume the venue will provide Internet access. With large audiences, free wifi at events can often be maxed out quickly, so if you need Internet access for your presentation, take your own or make arrangements with the organizers.
22. If you have mobile Internet access via your phone, take along your phone charger and spare battery in case you need to use it.
23. Don’t assume you can use your own laptop.
24. Don’t assume you don’t need your own laptop.
25. Be prepared for the venue to run everything on Windows (take adaptors for Mac and/or Linux). Yes, I learned this one the hard way.
26. Don’t assume your laptop will recognize the venue projector/monitor. Take your own or have a backup plan.
27. Don’t assume the venue projector/monitor supports Presenter Mode. Take a print out of your notes in case you can’t see notes/slides view while presenting.
28. If you are linking to live resources on the Internet, have them open in separate windows on your laptop and test that all links work.
29. If you are showing videos, test they work and test the volume of the audio to make sure they can be heard by everyone in the room.
30. Find out how to turn the lights on/off if you need to show videos.
31. Find out where/if you can increase the temperature of the air conditioning in the room in case attendees are too hot/cold.
32. Bring deodorant, especially if you have a tendency to sweat when anxious.
33. Bring breath mints so you can feel confident networking with attendees afterwards.
34. Remember to turn off your cell phone prior to going on stage, unless you are using it for Internet access. In this case, turn the volume down or off in case your Mom tries to call mid-presentation.
35. Store some tissues in a pocket that will be easily reachable during your presentation in case your nose starts to run (air conditioning can be brutal at some venues!).
36. Smile. Even if you’re struggling or things are not going well, people will forgive you if you smile your way through.
37. Ask your audience some questions! It will take the focus off you, just for a little while and give you a chance to pause and collect your thoughts. This is a great tip if you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed or find yourself racing through your slides.
38. Work out where the toilets are before you go on stage, in case you have to slip out quickly or the attendees ask you where they are.
39. Find out the emergency exits and fire/earthquake drills for the venue before you go on stage and make sure your audience knows it too. After living in Christchurch for the past few years, this is pretty much routine at all business events now!
40. Always ask for feedback on your presentation, either from the audience directly, or via the organizer if they are using feedback forms. Good or bad, audience feedback is extremely valuable. Positive feedback can validate your hard work and reinforce your sense of achievement in standing up in front of a group. Negative feedback in the form of honest, constructive criticism can highlight areas for improvement and help you develop your presentations skills for next time. It’s a win, win!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips and perhaps they will help your next public speaking engagement run a little more smoothly. Do you have any tips not included here? Please add them in the comments.

IGM Creative Group are an interactive marketing and advertising agency in Lincoln Park. They are in search of a specialist skilled in Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Campaigns, and Content Marketing. The ideal candidate will be able to work full-time on-premise and has 2 years professional experience working within an Ad Agency.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Social Media Campaigns (SMC)

• Create content on website, YouTube, social media pages, and blog to increase quality score
• Help produce daily content for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ at scheduled times
• Produce monthly social media reports for insights
• Research social media trends and new technologies

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Execute SEO strategy with client intake
• Monitor, track and report on analytics metrics monthly
• Research and analyze competitor site and link structure
• Optimize internal link building and metadata
• Keep up-to-date on SEO strategies/tactics/algorithm shifts
• Ability to translate analysis into useful managerial reports

3. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

• Manage Google AdWord/display network campaigns and optimize using set budgets
• Good grasp of performance marketing, conversion, and online customer acquisition
• Optimize keyword portfolio through testing with ad copy, landing page quality, bidding strategies, and negative keywords

4. Content Marketing

• Create landing pages for promotions and form submissions
• Manage blog calendar
• Coordinate and publish guest blogger posts
• Compose creative blog posts using SEO keywords

5. Email Marketing

• Create, test, and deliver email campaigns on a scheduled basis
• Produce e-mail marketing campaign reports providing metrics

6. Administrative Duties

• Organize and keep track of open project plans
• Proposal and Estimate Development
• Client Accounts Representation
• Manage and Organize Invoices and Receivables

Experience and Education:

• Minimum 1-2 years working on multiple Google AdWord/Display Network campaigns (experience working with bid management technology is preferred)
• 1-2 years of creative writing experience in a social media setting
• 1-2 years of e-mail marketing campaign management
• Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, Advertising, or related field required

Skills:

• Excellent writing capabilities is mandatory
• Strong Knowledge of Social Media for Business – Experience handling Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+ is necessary
• Excellent knowledge of Google analytics
• Adobe Suite – Photoshop and InDesign
• Microsoft Office for Mac – Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Ability to learn and research new marketing programs
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to multitask and prioritize tasks effectively
• Knowledge of HTML, CSS, Web Services and CMS (WordPress or Joomla) is a huge plus

Salary range: Base Pay: Relative to Skills and Experience
Closing date: Unknown
More info about company from: http://www.igmcreativegroup.com
Contact: Send resumes via online form to: http://www.igmcreativegroup.com/contact/careers

For more search industry jobs, or to post a vacancy, visit Search Engine College Jobs Board.

1) How My Mum Thinks Search Engines Work by Rob Toledo                                             This is a good fun post to help us remember the broader perspective of common internet usage. Thanks Rob and thanks Rob’s Mum!

2) How to Integrate Google+ into Your Online Marketing Initiative by Jayson DeMers         By the end of last year, only eighteen months after it was launched, Google+ had 343 million active users. It is the world’s fastest growing social media platform, second only to Facebook. This post gives a good run down on many of the smart marketing features of Google+ and how to make the most of them.

3) An Online Resource You Don’t Want to Miss: The Matt Cutts Short Cutts by Amanda DeSilvestro                                                                                                                         Amanda’s put together a nice post describing the features of www.theshortcutts.com but as she says, it is pretty self explanatory. There plenty of SEO resources in there. One to bookmark!

4) Positioning Your Business for the Future of SEO – Whiteboard Friday by Ron Garrett Ron Garrett from Distilled gives a great video tutorial on the future of SEO in this Whiteboard Friday post. How to set goals, take calculated risks, assess staff ability – all these things can keep us competitive and adaptable in the changing world of SEO.

I like to leave the different one’s until last…

5) The Clients I Can’t Afford to Take by Bill Sebald                                                            This blog post is true of consulting and true of life. There are some gems in here about dealing with difficult personality types and how to stay focussed – as either a contractor or manager.

Happy reading!

*Image by Threadless

But it got me thinking about how things have changed over the years and how sophisticated web site audits need to be these days. From the conversations I’ve had, there is still some confusion over what should be included in a web site audit.

This prompted me to write an article What to Include in a Web Site Audit which has been published over at SiteProNews.  Let me know what you think!

The SEO industry is changing, but it’s expanding too. This week’s fast five discusses subtle and not-so-subtle industry changes, new frontiers and how to make the most of emerging opportunities.

1) Why We Just Can’t Be SEOs Anymore – Whiteboard Friday by Rand Fishkin               In this post Rand takes the bull by the horns and asks where the trend to rebrand SEO into ‘inbound marketing’, ‘online marketing’, or ‘web marketing’ has come from?  

2) Case Study: How Content Marketing Saved this Brick-and-Mortar Business by Beth Hayden                                                                                                                               This is a great blog post about the power of content marketing for just about any business! If a blog can save a failing swimming pool shop, it can become a welcome boost for many industries…

3) The 5 Cornerstone Values that Build an Authority Online Presence by Sonia Simone Ever wondered why some websites exude authority? What makes a site instantly engaging? Sonia reveals how the power of the author’s voice shines through and becomes an authentic presence online.

4) Why Does SEO Take So Long? By Chris Sparks                                                      Bookmark this post to share with a client when they inevitably ask this question. Chris takes us through the basic elements of an effective SEO strategy and why ‘time is of the essence’.

And for something a bit different…

5) How to Accomplish More by Doing Less by Study Hacks                                                   I know this isn’t strictly about SEO, but since so many of us spend our daysjuggling several things at once, this post offers some great wisdom about the creative power of focus and attention.

Happy reading!

*Image courtesy of Threadless