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Once you’ve accepted the importance of analytics, the question becomes how best to begin gathering data.

Fundamentally this comes down to installing tracking code on every page of your site. Yes, every single page.

The Trouble With Static Sites

This quickly reveals a major flaw with static websites. On a typical static site, every page is maintained manually, so any structural changes to a page have to be done individually.

This means if you haven’t installed tracking code yet, or you want to change what you’ve got, you’ll probably need to go into every page, one by one, change the code, and hope you don’t miss anything.

For all but the simplest of sites, this is a real pain.

With A Blog, Analytics Are Easy

With a blog, you copy and paste the analytics tracking code in one location, and it is immediately placed in every page of your site, and in all future pages, automatically.

This allows you to move quickly beyond the technical aspects of setting up your site, and focus on creating content and using the data you collect to improve your business.

Action Item:

Take a few minutes to check out Google Analytics, and read a little about the information it will provide you… for free.

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Most new Twitter users quit before the end of the first month.

This is pretty understandable once you try it for yourself. Here are some thoughts you may have after using Twitter for a couple of weeks:

• Not knowing who to follow;
• Following uninteresting people;
• Not having many (any) followers;
• Feeling like your tweets aren’t doing any good;
• Feeling Like You’re Wasting Time!

For many, many people, this leads to leaving Twitter forever, never discovering the benefits it can bring to you and your business.

Let’s not allow that to happen to you!

What To Tweet

In the next few posts about getting started with Twitter, I’m going to give you a few ideas for things you can tweet about that will build a foundation of interaction and value. I’m going to start by covering:

• Tweeting your thoughts/actions;
• Asking open questions;
• Sending comments/questions to specific people;
• Sharing resources;

I’ll also be covering just how long your tweets should be. There’s a little more to it than just keeping it under 140 characters.

If You’re Reading This, You’re Not Tweeting!

The only way to start making sense of Twitter is to start using it.

Take just a few minutes each day and engage people using the techniques I’ll show you. Before long you’ll start coming up with techniques of your own. (I hope you’ll leave a comment and share them!)

Stick With It

At some point, you’ll probably to think this isn’t going anywhere or making any sense.

Stay with it.

Building a following takes time, but it’s time well spent.

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Before I write about the reasons to have a blog for your business, or how to create one, you need to understand one important rule:

Your Blogging Must Be Consistent

No matter the content, length, or style of your writing, above all else you must be consistent in posting to your blog.

Consistent blogs aren’t always good, but good blogs are always consistent.

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A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Yelp, a major player in local business reviews.

What’s the story, and does it warrant boycotting the company?

The Lawsuit

Basically, the allegation is that Yelp was extorting small businesses, claiming to feature positive reviews and lower or remove unfavorable reviews if they advertise on Yelp.

What’s Really Going On?

Recently, Business Insider looked at the facts to determine if Yelp is extorting companies. It’s a great article that’s worth a read, but here’s a quick summary:

It’s About ‘Favorite Reviews’

Yelp allowed advertisers to select a ‘favorite review’ which would appear as the first review for the business.

This indeed pushes negative reviews down lower, and if the favorite review is a long one, it can move everything else significantly down the page.

Was There More To It?

Past this, I can’t say what may have gone on between individual Yelp sales reps and small business owners. If the favorite review feature was pushed repeatedly or the claims were exaggerated, there could easily be an ethical if not a legal problem.

It’s certainly possible that individual employees crossed the line towards the promise (or action) or removing negative reviews. I have no idea. We’ll see what the lawsuit determines.

But in the mean time the question becomes, was this a wide-reaching policy at Yelp, or an isolated incident, and how will Yelp respond to the situation?

Yelp’s Response

Yelp’s response has been to make two major changes:

1. Show all reviews, even ones previously filtered for being suspected as fake.
2. Discontinue the ‘Favorite Review’ feature.

How If Affects Your Business

I’m inclined to agree with Business Insider. While there there may have been questionable practices, it doesn’t seem that Yelp is a sufficiently evil company to warrant a boycott.

They’re taking steps to recover from this situation, and we’ll see what the results of the lawsuit or further complaints are.

Reviewers Are Still Reviewing

For now, reporting has mainly been limited to sites covering internet business news, and consumers remain largely unaware of the situation.

So, consumers are not going to stop using Yelp, and you need to be where your customers are.

You Don’t Have To Advertise

There’s a great deal you can accomplish on Yelp as a business owner without advertising. Actually, the most important opportunities for engaging customers and responding to reviews are available for free.

Am I Missing Something?

• Are there any major facts I missed?
• Do you have personal experience with Yelp sales reps?
• Will this affect your use of the site?

Leave a comment and let me know!

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It’s frightening how many small business owners do not know the most basic numbers about their websites. This information is freely available if you go and get it, and invaluable if you learn how to use it.

Analytics can tell you:

• How much traffic you are getting;
• Where your traffic comes from;
• Which traffic sources lead to the most sales;
• Which pages bring in the most visitors;
• How many pages are viewed, and for how long;
• Which pages result in the most people leaving the site;
• The percentage of visitors who sign up for your mailing list;

The most important questions are:

• Are these measurements getting better or worse over time?
• Do the changes you make improve the numbers?

Online Marketing Is A Numbers Game

If your online strategy is a guessing game, you could be (probably are) exactly wrong about how the changes you make affect the results you’re getting. The first step to making objective improvements to your online marketing strategy is to have the right numbers. You’ve got to know your numbers!

Tracking Leads To Testing

While just seeing numbers for the first time will be enlightening, the real power comes from testing changes over time. It’s an ongoing process: make a change, watch the numbers, refine the change, repeat. Once you’re on this path, your site, and your overall online marketing plan, will be on a steady climb to better results.

This includes:

• More and better traffic;
• More interesting content for your visitors;
• More subscribers for your mailing list;
• More prospects contacting you;

and most importantly:

• Consistent testing leads to consistently higher sales!

Success Is In The Process

Small, simple changes, one at a time, will take your site from average to extraordinary. You can have an online presence that doesn’t merely compliment your business, but drives it forward, ever improving, ever more profitable.

You’ve got to know your numbers.

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Darren Rowse at ProBlogger asked readers to submit a short video describing a favorite blog tip.

His hope is to get readers thinking about what has helped us in our blogging, and bring the community together to learn some new techniques from each other.

My Video For ProBlogger:

Here’s my submission, on the importance of design, in the form of a clear, inviting, and consistent style for each post.

What Do You Think?

Am I succeeding so far with the design of my posts? What could be improved?

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This is the third part in a series about getting started with Twitter. It takes at least a month to start making sense of Twitter. You don’t want to jump in and start using it for business before you’ve gained a basic level of proficiency.

Use A Personal Account First

I recommend you start by creating a personal account. It’s a low-pressure way to get familiar, learn the logistics, and start to appreciate Twitter’s potential. If you’re not yet comfortable or seeing the value in using it personally, you’re probably not ready to jump in with your business.

Have Your Photo Ready

If you haven’t watched my video about organizing your brand’s online image, watch it now! The first thing we’re going to do after creating the account is to set your profile image. This is extremely important in the Twitter community, even before sending your first tweet.

If you have your image ready, it’s now time to setup your account, and really see the value in having your photos prepared ahead of time. It’s a huge time-saver as you create numerous accounts online.

(As a reminder, if you’re using my system for organizing your image online, don’t forget to add this Twitter account to your list of places you’ve used to photo.)

Let’s Get Started!

So, your photo/image is resized and ready to go. Follow along with this videos below.

First, Sign Up

Then, Configure

Let Me Know How It Goes

There will be many posts to come about getting started with Twitter, as well as more advanced topics on using Twitter for your business.

Once you’ve created your account and started tweeting, leave a comment here with any questions you have, or share your experiences, good or bad, as you explore Twitter.

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If you’re following along with this series on getting started with Twitter, you’ll want to be sure to have your account image ready before signing up.

Be A Real Person, Not A Default Icon

Having a photo from the beginning will make you more personable and help your community to grow. There are many people on Twitter who won’t even pay attention to an account that still shows the default icon. Using a personal photo or image is a small sign of respect. If you show you take the community seriously, people are more likely to return the favor and read what you have to say.

Watch The Video

So before you sign up, make sure you review my recent post about organizing your brand’s online image.

It covers:

• Choosing An Image
• Editing It To Common Sizes
• Keeping Track Of Where It Is Used

Take Action

This is a small project that shouldn’t take very long (10-15 minutes), but goes a long way towards establishing your credibility in this new environment.

So go prepare your photo, and you’ll be ready for my next video showing how to sign up for your new Twitter account and initial configuration. More importantly, you’ll be ready to jump in and participate!

UPDATE: Just three days after posting this, HubSpot ran some numbers showing that Twitter accounts with a profile picture have 10 times more followers than those without. Have your photo ready!

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Two Fundamental Internet Marketing Guidelines:

1. Build Your List

Always be building and engaging your mailing list. I recently covered what makes an email list so valuable.

2. Use Video

This is what I’ll cover today. Whenever you’re building your online presence, if you can use video, use video!

Video Makes The Difference

Imagine two businesses. One simply writes about their business and products… the other one shows you with video. Which one will you feel a more personal connection to, like you actually know them? Which one are you more likely to buy from?

What To Include In Your Videos:

This is the easy part. You record the things your business does. You tell its story. It can be anything!

If you own a pizza place, show exactly how you make a pizza and why yours is better. If you run a used book shop, show exactly how you take in a stack of books, determine the price, organize them, etc. Give a tour of your shop. Talk about one product in particular that has a special meaning. Talk about the satisfaction you get from serving your customers.

Include anything, the more personal and genuine, the better.

Your videos should be just like an old friend has come to visit and wants to see exactly what you do, how you do it, and what makes it special.

Isn’t Video Too Technical? How Much Learning Will There Be?

First of all, creating, editing, and publishing online video does not require that you learn an endless series of new skills. If anything, it requires that you learn how to hire a local teenager for a couple of hours. Seriously, high school kids know how to do this stuff, and they’ll be thrilled to death to get paid for it.

To put your mind at ease, here are the basic steps of putting a video together:

1. Plan what you’re going to say.
2. Film it. (Not much different than a home movie.)
3. Edit it. (This is where the local high school student comes in.)
4. Post it. (This is no more difficult than putting up a blog post.)
5. Promote It (You’ll already be used to this with Twitter, Facebook, your blog, your mailing list, and your current marketing activities… easy.)

Action Item

For now, think about the elements of your business you could put on video. (Don’t just think… write it down!) Ask yourself:

• What do your customers find interesting?
• What are the most common questions you get?
• What’s the one product/service most people don’t know you offer?
• What made you decide to start the business?
• What kind of employees do you hire?

Get Started

These are just a few starting points to get you thinking. When you are used to the process of creating videos and see what it can do for your business, you’ll realize that video is one of the best ways to engage with your customers and attract new ones.

If you can use video, use video!

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One of the best ways to strengthen your brand online is using a single image across the internet: on various websites, forums, profiles, and comments.

In this post I’m going to cover choosing and editing your image, and keeping track of where it’s used so you can easily update it across the internet.

Choosing The Image

If you’re creating a personal profile, the best choice is to use a photo of yourself. Nothing makes people more at ease and open to making connections online, than to see a natural, genuine photograph of a real person. It should be of good quality and project the sort of image you’re after, be it friendly, serious, casual… whatever.

If you’re promoting the image of your business, the logical choice is to use your logo. While this is certainly acceptable, you might still consider using a photo, particularly if you work alone. One of the strongest methods to market a small business is by promoting it as accessible, friendly, and personal. A photo demonstrates these qualities more than a logo ever could.

See How It’s Done

The rest of this post will describe the process I use. The easiest way is to watch me go through the steps in this video. It only takes 5-10 minutes, and the steps are outlined below for reference.

Resizing Your Photo

The next step is to edit your image to the most common sizes you’ll use online. Having a couple sizes ready can make it quicker to fill out new profiles (no need to upload a huge file if it’s going to be reduced to a small thumbnail anyways) and lets you choose exactly what it looks like, instead of having a website crop the photo automatically.

Create a ‘brand’ folder where you will save the original, as well as four other sizes:

• Large – 800×600
• Medium Rectangle – 300×200
• Medium Square – 200×200
• Small Square – 100×100

For the squares, crop the photo (you can usually hold the shift key while you drag a new selection to keep it a perfect square) trying to fill the square with your face as much as possible. You want your face to be clearly visible and not leave a lot of empty space. The smaller the image, the more important this will be.

Keep A List For Easy Updates

Next, start a simple text file, and write down the name of each site your photo is used on. This will make it very easy to update your files in the future. You’ll be sure you changed them all, and maintain a current and consistent image across the web.

Just get in the habit: any time you open the branding folder to upload your image, open the text file as well and add the site’s name.

Let It Be!

Finally, don’t change your photo for at least a year! You want to maintain a consistent image, and expose that image to people multiple times. This will never happen if you’re constantly changing it!

This Is Only Preparation

The real action comes when using these photos to set up the online profiles that will be used to market your business! To learn how it’s done,

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