Corey Smith's Random Thoughts

A Break is a Good Thing

webmaster — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 15:51:19 +0000

I have always valued hard work. Of course, when I was living with my parents as a teenager, they would never have known it. Since I realized I was responsible for my own destiny, I found that I enjoy working hard.

I also enjoy not working hard.

Balance can sometimes be a hard thing to achieve with work. In fact, sometimes I wonder if my wife will ever figure out how my on/off switch works.

Monday Marketing - Submit Your Sitemap

Corey Smith — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 16:52:41 +0000

The most common question I hear related to web marketing is how to get higher in the search engines faster. I’ve talked a lot about search engine optimization or SEO at length.

One of the key first steps is to make sure the search engines know what content you have. Having clear paths for your content on your website with links throughout makes a big difference for the search engines. However, sometimes, that’s not enough.

Doing the Right Thing is Hard

Corey Smith — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 15:22:02 +0000

As we grow up, we learn skills and form opinions based on our experiences and personalities. We define ourselves by our thoughts, assumptions and actions.

One of the challenges that we have is that we naturally assume those around us think the same way we do. In fact, it's amazing how often we seem surprised when those around us think differently than we do.

The real difficulty comes when we are faced with hard choices that challenge our assumptions. Some of the hardest choices arise when we are asked to choose between what is right for us and what is right for others.

Milestones Not Goals

Corey Smith — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 20:22:43 +0000

At no time in my life have I been truly happy with my weight or fitness level. There have been times when I have been significantly overweight and times when I've been healthier. Usually I've just been too large for my liking.

About 15 years ago I decided to ask my doctor at the time about my weight loss. I was about 240 pounds where I've mostly hovered for the last 20 years. I asked him what I can do about it. I spent some time telling him me experiences that I had a really hard time ever getting below 220.

Monday Marketing - Link Building

Corey Smith — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 16:52:21 +0000

In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), link building is an important part of getting to the top of the search engines. When you are developing your link building strategy, it is important to be very proactive in your approach rather than just allowing it to happen naturally.

As you are considering the myriad tactics to gain links, you'll want to look at building efficiencies in your approach. It can be time consuming and ineffective if you take more time than necessary looking for links in all the wrong places.

Where Online Marketing Starts

Corey Smith — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 15:25:45 +0000

Search engine optimization (SEO) is simply the process of getting your website to appear at the top of the search engines. It is brand awareness for the web. There is a reason that marketing your website starts with search engine optimization. It is the same reason why you would start marketing your storefront with brand awareness -- if your customers don’t know you exist, they won’t buy from you.

You Think Your Website Has Problems

Corey Smith — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 20:42:02 +0000

My company, Tribute Media, has been building websites and marketing them online for better than six years. We've had clients of all sorts. Those that are spectacular to work with and those who are, well, not so much.

Sometimes we have clients that forget that mistakes happen and it's no use sweating bullets over. They will flip out if there is a pixel out of place. They will struggle to realize that just because something isn't perfect on their website, it doesn't mean that the world has to come to an end.

Monday Marketing - Website Analytics

Corey Smith — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 16:40:04 +0000

Most webmasters, for as long as the WWW has been a thing, have worked hard to increase traffic to their websites. Usually they recognize that more traffic doesn't necessarily equal more sales (hopefully) and perhaps they do know that increasing traffic at least increases the chance of a new sale.

Even when your goal is brand awareness and not sales or leads, increasing your traffic means that you increase your footprint.

Fishing Lessons

Corey Smith — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:01:55 +0000

This week I had the opportunity to take a morning to do some fly-fishing with a good friend, Jordan Allen. This was only my second time and, last year, the same good friend took me for my first fishing trip.

Monday Marketing - Get Blogging

Corey Smith — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 15:23:05 +0000

The term blog was first coined in the late 1990s. It became common in modern lexicon about 2004. Now, in 2013, it's still hard for some people to get. When I talk to businesses about blogging, I'm convinced that the most common reason why they don't blog it's because they don't like the word blog. They seem to think it's kind of hokey.