Synactable's Voice

Income Disparity in America: An Economic Infographic

Brian Rogel — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:15:21 +0000

A chart/infographic I created and posted on my personal blog. It displays the income disparity in America in relation to historical capital gains tax rates. It also points out a few major economic events that have happened between 1916 and today.

Embed this on your site

<a href="http://www.brianrogel.com/capital-gains-tax-rate-income-inequality"></a><br />Source: <a href="http://www.brianrogel.com/capital-gains-tax-rate-income-inequality">Capital Gains Tax Rate & Income Inequality Chart</a>

Source: Capital Gains Tax Rate & Income Inequality Chart
Explanation of the chart: The 100 Percent Solution for the 99 Percent

Google Reader Usability Improvements

Brian Rogel — Sat, 28 May 2011 04:49:33 +0000

Not too long ago I was asked to look over Google Reader and evaluate it from a usability perspective. I noted a few areas that could be improved and also came up with an added functionality to enhance user experience.

Google Reader Navigation

The navigation structure was the first thing that jumped out at me. There’s only a minimal distinction between the section navigation and local navigation. At a quick glance it’s even hard to differentiate between the navigation and main content.

There are also a few issues in the navigation itself. The main four navigation categories are “All Items”, “People you follow”, “Explore”, and “Subscriptions”. Every navigation item leads to a page except for one. “Subscriptions” is the lone menu item that activates a function when clicked instead of opening a page. Needless to say this can be confusing. Another issue is it’s very difficult to see the navigation’s hierarchal structure.

Here’s a look at the actual Google Reader design:

I decided a good solution for the navigation would be through the use of a light color coordination.

Benefits of the New Navigation

No large design restructuring required
Creates clear separation of local navigation from both the section navigation and content
Breaks the navigation into color coordinated categories
Shows navigation hierarchy through slightly darker shaded main categories
Creates a breadcrumb effect by aligning current page colors with navigation colors while also implementing current page arrows
Aligns with Google’s brand by using the signature blue, red, yellow, and green coloring

Here’s my vision of a new Google Reader navigation:

*For better usability the “Subscriptions” tab should lead to a subscriptions hub page. Then the refresh functionality should be added into a button next to the main page title.

Ajax Blog Comments

Another Google Reader frustration is that posts can be subscribed to and comments can be subscribed to, but they cannot be linked together. Blog comments should be automatically included into the page feed when available. These comments should be collapsed using Ajax in order to reduce cluttering the reader.

RSS Live Feed

Including a live feed into the Google Reader platform would benefit the overall user experience. Here’s an example of what a live feed would look like and how it could be incorporated.

The feed could be designed similar to the current Gmail Google Chat functionality:

Here’s where the feed would be included into Google Reader:

Here’s a live feed included into the platform that’s showing no new feed items:

The feed bar would light-up once new feed items were available:

Once clicked, the feed bar would expand to show the most recent feeds:

Live Feed Application

The live feed functionality is helpful, but still constricted by needing a browser. In order to realize the full potential of the feed functionality an external “Google Feed” application should be created. This would remove the need of continually checking back to the Google Reader website.

Here’s a design based off the Google Chat application:

This would allow for a running RSS feed to be placed on your desktop.

Here’s the “Google Feed” application in action:

Even though Google has the definite advantage in creating this application, it’s theoretically possible for it to be created by a third party software company.

Google reader doesn’t have an official API, but a group of developers came together in order to create a reverse engineering of the protocol. This unofficial API could be used to pull feed information into the desktop application software.

When it comes to websites there’s always room for improvement. These were just a handful of my own ideas for making Google Reader slightly more functional and user friendly. Feel free to leave a comment with a few of your own ideas for enhancing the user experience.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Charleston Marketing Firm.
Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

How to Build Links Like a Pro by Using Blog Comments

Brian Rogel — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:19:30 +0000

Blog commenting can be very helpful for building quality backlinks and increasing your rank on search engine result pages (SERPs.) Not all backlinks are created equal, so here are some tips to help along your quest for commenting supremacy.

Overall Website Factors to Target for Link Building

Before you can find the perfect page to leave a comment, you must first find the right blog. Here are the factors you should look for on a website level.

Website Content

If you have a website that’s written about SEO tips, it won’t be very helpful to get links from a site written about knitting sweaters for puppies. Your first job is to find websites about your industry.

DoFollow

Filter through the industry related websites by ones that have pulled off the nofollow tag. These blogs are allowing authority to flow through the links created by comments. The easiest way to check this is to add the SEOmoz toolbar to your browser. Then click the “Nofollows” button which will highlight any nofollow links in pink. If they don’t light up then you’ve found a winner.

Page Rank (PR)/Domain mozRank (DmR)

The more powerful the website is, the more powerful it’s links will be. The old way of calculating link power was by using Google’s PageRank. The problem is Google only releases these updates to the public 3-4 times per year. This makes the information very unreliable. The SEOmoz toolbar you just installed has a highly correlated version of Google’s PageRank. It’s simply updated more frequently. Use the DmR calculation to get an idea of a website’s overall linking power.

Here are a few general tiers to help understand mozRank scores:

0-2 = A website that’s very small, brand new, or fairly unknown
2-4 = The average rating for a website
4-5 = A larger well established website
5-7 = A true authority website (Seen in local news websites, magazines, industry leading blogs, etc)
7-10 = Massive household name websites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Mashable, Twitter, etc)

For linking purposes the higher the better. That being said, you’ll most likely be looking through websites in the 3-5 range.

CommentLuv Enabled

CommentLuv is a plugin that automatically checks your website feed and adds a link of your latest blog post under your comments. If you register your blog on the CommentLuv website (free) it will allow you to chose from your last 10 blog posts. This is extremely helpful.

Bonus Tip: Be careful if you use FeedBurner on your blog as one of its standard settings will steal your commentluv backlinks.

KeywordLuv

KeywordLuv is a plugin that allows you to choose the anchor text for your main comment link. Try to find blogs that use CommentLuv or KeywordLuv. If you find a site that uses both plugins, that’s just a Cherry on top.

Page Factors to Target for Link Building

Once you have found a website that passes your initial checklist the hard part is done. Bookmark this blog or drop it into your RSS reader to keep track of new posts. Now it’s time to find the best pages to comment on.

Supplemental Index

The Google supplemental index does in fact still exist. Here’s a trick to check if a webpage is on Google’s main index: go to Google and search site:exampledomain.com/* (don’t forget to actually substitute in the domain you plan on commenting on for “exampledomain.com”). Pick posts that turn up in these main index results.

MozRank (mR)/Page Authority(PA)

Jump back onto your trusty SEOmoz toolbar. There are two new rankings you’ll want to use. MozRank (Different than Domain mozRank) is a rating of the individual page’s linking influence. Page Authority is the page’s overall ability to rank well in SERPs. MozRank is calculated 1.0-10.0 and Page Authority 1-100. They’re both scaled logarithmically so a 3.7mR would be comparable in value to a 37PA. It’s helpful using each as a factor in your decision, but I would give a slight edge to mozRank since it’s specifically keying in on linking power.

Keywords

The specific page content is just as important as the overall website content. This is where CommentLuv can really excel. Check the page title and read through the article to get a general feel for what keywords are being targeted. When selecting which CommentLuv link to leave with your comment, make sure to select a post from your website that’s targeting the same keywords as the article.

Bonus Tip: The CommentLuv site has a custom search engine for browsing sites that use the plugin. You can search through CommentLuv enabled blogs targeting your specific keywords. This essentially kills two birds with one stone.

Number of External Links

Let’s pretend Link Juice is actually a freshly baked cake. This would make external links all the hands sticking out trying to grab a piece. Since there’s only a certain amount of cake to go around, the more people waiting in line, the smaller your piece will be. Look for pages with a low external link count to enjoy a larger percent of the Link Juice.

Article Age

Aim for leaving comments on articles less than two years old. If the last person to comment on the post was 2006 it may look slightly suspicious to be leaving a comment now. Additionally, there’s no guessing how long it could take for search engines to recrawl the page and give you credit for the backlink. Young pages with established authority should be your goal.

My last tip and possibly the most important is: Leave a good blog comment! Whatever you do, don’t put all your effort into finding the perfect place to comment only to submit the dreaded “great article” comment and be filtered out by spam software. Take five extra seconds to address the author by name and reference a specific area of the post. It’s an easy way to let the administrator know you are a real person.

So get out there, be social, leave some comments and enjoy the boost to your SEO link building efforts.

*UPDATE*: 01-25-2011 Intensedebate has temporarily removed CommentLuv from their platform to perform an upgrade. I apologize for the inconvenience. If it takes longer than expected I will pull Intensedebate from my blog in order to get CommentLuv back up-and-running. Thanks!

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Charleston SEO Firm.
Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

Best of Charleston

Brian Rogel — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:59:46 +0000

I’m taking a quick break from writing about web design and SEO to post a few of my picks from the Charleston City Paper’s “Best of Charleston” poll. It has 290 different categories and ends January 25, so don’t forget to vote. To shorten the overall length of this article I have limited myself to only posting 30 picks. I’ve also added additional links and resources for each in case you’re interested in more information.

So, here are my picks for the best of Charleston:

Best Charleston Outdoor Event: Lowcountry Oyster Roast

Website: Oyster Roast
Location: Boone Hall Plantation
Date: January 30, 2011 from 10:30am-5pm
Reason: Live music and 65,000 pounds of fresh oysters is an explanation in itself. If you’re not an oyster person it’s ok because many restaurants set up at the event to provide other food. You should have no trouble finding what you’re looking for no matter what your taste is.

Best Charleston Festival: Food and Wine Festival

Website: Food & Wine Festival
Location: Downtown Charleston
Date: March 3-6, 2011
Reason: See a trend forming already? Charleston loves good food, and I love Charleston because of it. This event is simply massive and has been praised as one of the top five food and wine festivals in the U.S. by Forbes Traveler. In my eyes, March can’t come soon enough!

Best Charleston Fundraising Event: Lowcountry Heart Walk

Website: Heart Walk
Location: 100 Aquarium Wharf – Charleston, SC 29401
Date: September 17, 2011
Reason: It’s very important to keep an eye on your health, especially if you regularly eat enough oysters to fill up a tanker (see: Lowcountry Oyster Roast.) I have been lucky enough to participate as part of the logistics committee for this fundraiser over the past two years. The event brings the community together to raise funds to fight the nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers—heart disease and stroke. It’s a fun way to support an important cause.

Best Charleston Philanthropist: Andrew C Petersen

Website: Andrew Petersen
Facebook: Andrew C Petersen Makeup
Twitter: @andrewcpetersen
Reason: “His avid volunteer record includes work with the Ryan White Foundation, LowCountry AIDS Services, Charleston Center for Women, Charleston Fashion Week, South Carolina Association of Professionals and Advocates, as well as Leadership South Carolina. In 2009 he received statewide recognition in the form of the Unsung Hero commendation for his unparalleled work with HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.” Impressed yet? I was.

Best Charleston Progressive: Joe Quinn

Facebook: GaGa Day Event
Twitter: @quinnjoe
Reason: Joe Quinn is a Marketing intern for Charleston Magazine, Creator of GaGa Day Charleston, and Co-founder of the “I’m An Ally Campaign”. He is a constant voice of support for progressive culture and politics in the Charleston area. Don’t forget to attend GaGa Day at the Joe on Saturday, January 22, 2011 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm.

Best Charleston Church: St Stephens

Address: 67 Anson St – Charleston, SC 29401
Reason: That’s right…my mom’s Jewish, my dad’s Catholic, and I go to an Episcopal church. I’m somewhat of a religious mutt.

Best Charleston Local Investigative Reporter: Nicole Johnson

Website: The NJ Report
Twitter: @NJReports
Reason: Nicole reports for live 5 news. She does a great job reporting stories on interesting subjects around the Charleston area. She’s active on social media, and even has a personal blog that highlights the lighter side of her life.

Best Charleston Local Website: TheDigitel

Website: TheDigitel
Facebook: TheDigitel
Twitter: @TheDigitel
Reason: Come on, it’s TheDigitel. If you’ve been on the website you already know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for? They organize all the local information you would ever need all in one location.

Best Charleston Local Radio Show: 2 Girls & a Guy

Website: 2 Girls & A Guy
Facebook: TheDigitel
Twitter: @2girlsandaguy
Reason: Mike, Kelly G, and Tanya come together to create the most entertaining morning show there is. It’s filled with interesting debates, exciting contests, and hilarious phone scams. They play on 95.1 from 5:30am-10am which is perfect to liven up a morning commute or the cubicle blues.

Best Charleston Local Radio Personality: Joe Girard

Website: Joe Girard’s 95sx Profile
Twitter: @joeygirard
Reason: Joe is the afternoon host for 95sx, and you can also find him around town DJing or doing remotes. He has even recently broken into the acting industry which is a true show in being multitalented. Joe has an impeccable taste for music and classic movies (Yes, Tremors counts as a classic move.) His music is upbeat and the perfect solution to a post-lunch slump.

Best Charleston Local Interest Blog: Hungry Meets Healthy (Christina Orso)

Website: Hungry Meets Healthy
Twitter: @christinaorso
Reason: This was probably the most difficult category to choose since there are so many incredible local blogs that I follow. The key was that the category was “local interest”, so I turned my focus to blogs written in Charleston and primarily about Charleston. Hungry Meets Healthy is a fun upbeat blog about two things I really enjoy; food and fitness. Christina has some great local recipes and restaurant reviews filled with really helpful information. It’s not easy to be so thorough and keep it interesting at the same time, but she nails it.

Best Charleston Local Twitter Feed: Brandy Webber

Website: Just for Fun Promotions
Twitter: @brandy3216
Reason: When I first moved to Charleston I only knew a handful of people in town. Brandy was the first person who reached out to me on Twitter and invited me to one of the many area events she throws. She connected me to a countless number of people who I am now blessed to call close friends. If you’re on Twitter and are trying to connect to local people, events, or simply be entertained…Brandy’s feed is one of the best places to start.

Best Charleston Local Jewelry Designer: Dreamy Design Works (Laura Otero)

Website: Dreamy Design Works
Facebook: Dreamy Design Works
Twitter: @Dreamy_Design
Reason: I may not be an expert when it comes to jewelry, but I can still tell what looks good. Laura has great jewelry designs and really takes pride in her work. I think there is something to be said for handmade art work as well. I would definitely suggest stopping by her website and taking a look around.

Best Charleston Stationery Store: Dodeline Design (Sarah Early)

Website: Dodeline Design
Website: Dodeline Design on Etsy
Facebook: Dodeline Design
Twitter: @dodelinedesign
Reason: I’ve been a big fan of Sarah’s work ever since the first time I checked out her website. Her designs are clean, simplistic, and elegant. It’s not a coincidence that she’s had multiple projects hit the front page of Etsy. Sarah also has a fantastic blog where she highlights other interesting artists and designs. Dodeline Design is my new go-to for all things stationary.

Best Charleston Tire Store: Gerald’s

Website: Gerald’s
Address: 1635 N Highway 17 – Mt Pleasant, SC 29464
Reason: So far I have had two flat tires since I’ve lived in Charleston. Both times Gerald’s fixed my tire and refused to take any payment for their effort. It’s inspiring to see a company highlight customer service in their advertisements, and then actually back up the claim. I wouldn’t take my tires anywhere else.

Best Charleston Insurance Agency: Workplace Benefits (Reese McFaddin)

Website: Workplace Benefits
Facebook: Workplace Benefits
Twitter: @healthinsgal
Reason: Starting my own company has been quite the learning experience. The most important thing to realize is that you don’t know nearly as much as you think. The best way to excel is by allowing other specialist to do what they do best, and Reese is definitely a health insurance specialist. I could have jumped on a family policy, went through COBRA, started a new policy, or begun a company group policy. Reese truly went above and beyond to figure out what was the best option and then to match it with the right plan.

Best Charleston Personal Trainer: Bo Taylor

Website: Bo Knows Fitness
Facebook: Bo Knows Fitness
Twitter: @BoKnowsFitness
Reason: Every industry is different. In the personal training industry you need to be dedicated, focused, and supportive. These are all qualities that describe Bo Taylor. Bo does one of the best jobs that I’ve seen at motivating people to succeed. When you add that ability to motivate to the surplus of fitness knowledge he has, it creates the ideal combination for a personal trainer.

Best Charleston Physician: Dr. William Willson

Website: Mt Pleasant Family Practice
Address: 900 Bowman Rd # 203 – Mt Pleasant, SC 29464
Reason: Through the years I think we have all come to expect doctors to be overly busy. It’s almost assumed there will be a long wait with little actual interaction with the doctor. The first time I had to go to Dr. Wilson for being sick he sat down and wanted to find out a little bit more about me as a person before getting into anything medical. Why? Well, last time I was sick he purposefully prescribed me a nondrowsy medication because he knew I did a lot of my work at night. In the end, it’s the little things that really make the biggest differences.

Best Charleston Dentist: Dr. Kent Scott

Address: 776 Daniel Ellis Drive, Suite 2 B – Charleston, SC 29412
Reason: If you can’t already tell I’m an avid supporter of customer service. It’s an ongoing theme throughout this list. Going to the dentist isn’t everyone’s favorite activity, but Dr. Scott and his staff really know how to make you feel at home.

Best Charleston Chiropractor: Dr. John Zipp

Website: iStress
Facebook: iStress
Twitter: @DoctorZipp
Reason: Most people who know me are aware that I’m slightly overworked, overstressed, and spend an absurd amount of time hunched in front of a computer. Luckily, I have found the life coach/chiropractic combination of Dr. Zipp. He gives away extremely helpful stress information on his website, and he’s a fantastic chiropractor. Dr. Zipp genuinely cares and wants to help, and that shows through in his work.

Best Charleston Veterinarian: The Pet Vet

Website: Dog Daze
Address: 307 Mill Street – Mt Pleasant, SC 29464
Reason: Early in my Charleston years, I was doing a lot of volunteering with the Charleston Animal Society. I had no idea who to use as the veterinarian for my dog Rowdy so I decided to ask around. I received a few personal recommendations from CAS employees to go to The Pet Vet, and I’m happy to say they have yet to disappoint.

Best Charleston Restaurant: Slightly North of Broad

Website: SNOB
Facebook: SNOB
Address: 192 East Bay Street – Charleston, SC 29401
Reason: So far I have tried the duck, salmon, and crab cakes. Words cannot describe how consistently amazing the food is. If you don’t believe me, just check out the 445 happy reviews on their Google places page.

Best Charleston Wait Staff: Halls Chophouse

Website: Halls Chop House
Facebook: Halls Chophouse
Twitter: @hallschophouse
Address: 434 King Street – Charleston, SC 29403
Reason: Not too long ago I had my Saturday night plans flipped upside down. The night was supposed to start and end at a cookout so I dressed accordingly. One thing led to another and I found myself meeting up with a group in Halls Chophouse. On a busy night filled with suits and dresses, I felt out of place to say the least wearing a $5 T-shirt and Columbia jacket. To my surprise, I was eagerly greeted at the door with a big handshake and smile from the manager. He couldn’t have been nicer or more welcoming. I have since heard many similar stories of their unparalleled customer service. Well done Halls, and thank you.

Best Charleston Burger: Crave

Website: Crave Mt Pleasant
Address: 1968 Riviera Dr # O – Mount Pleasant, SC 29466
Reason: Crave has my vote for best burger in town hands down. I have yet to find a burger that has even come close to rivaling it. The meat is ground in-house which is a big benefit if you’re like me and prefer them cooked rare or medium rare. Top it with bacon and a side of sweet potato chips and you’ll know exactly why I look forward to Sunday brunch.

Best Charleston Gourmet Pizza: Mellow Mushroom

Website: Mellow Mushroom
Facebook: Mellow Mushroom Charleston
Twitter: @mellowmushchs
Address: 309 King Street – Charleston, SC, 29401
Reason: I may be slightly biased since Mellow Mushroom is the Virginia Tech alumni bar, but they really do have some outstanding pizza. They’re also one of the first area restaurants to start implementing Foursquare specific specials. If you happen to be having a very late night pizza craving I’d suggest Pizzeria Di Giovanni on North Market St.

Best Charleston Wings: Blues House of Wings

Address: 1039 Johnnie Dodds Blvd #9 – Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Reason: I love crispy wings, and there are few places that are able to make them well. Blue’s first fries their wings, then adds sauces, and finally grills them. The extra time they spend in order to grill their wings adds a flavor and crispiness that is hard to beat.

Best Charleston Coffee House: Alchemy Coffee

Facebook: Alchemy
Twitter: @alchemycoffee
Address: 11 Magnolia Road – Charleston, SC 29407
Reason: My favorite part of Alchemy Coffee is the atmosphere. The interesting artwork and friendly employees always make it a joy for some morning coffee or an afternoon sandwich.

Best Charleston Dance Club: NV

Website: NV
Facebook: NV Dance-Lounge
Twitter: @nvchs
Address: 48 N. Market Street – Charleston, SC 29401
Reason: Great DJs, many VIP sections, good sized dance floor, multiple bars, and an outdoor rooftop view are all reasons why NV is the perfect place for your next night out dancing.

Best Charleston Late Night Menu: Alex’s Restaurant

Website: Alex’s
Facebook: Alex’s
Twitter: @alexsrestaurant
Address: 302 Coleman Boulevard – Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
Reason: Two words: Charleston Twist. Order it and you’ll understand.

That will just about wrap it up. I apologize if you weren’t listed, but there were 290 total picks so it was impossible for me to include them all.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments below or vote by submitting a list of your own.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Charleston Marketing Firm.
Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

Social Media & SEO Trends in 2011

Brian Rogel — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 22:41:49 +0000

It’s the time in the year to reflect, make adjustments, and look forward to what 2011 has to offer. Changes to the online landscape seem to be larger and happening more frequently than ever before. There’s no better time to reevaluate then right after an announcement that shifts the fundamental core of SEO.

Nofollow Myth For Social Media Links is Debunked

Google and Bing have finally verified that social media influences website rankings. This isn’t actually a giant shock to people in SEO. If you’re a frequent visitor to the site you may have already read the article I wrote a little while back unofficially confirming this exact information. (Take that Google, beat you to your own punch line.)

It’s time to look a little further down the road to what this really tells us. Rand Fishkin makes a statement at the end of his article touching on something that has been on my mind lately:

“While people often link to, read and enjoy sources that link out manipulatively, very few of us will be likely to follow a Twitter account, friend someone on Facebook, or “like” something in a social site that’s inauthentic, manipulative or spammy.”

He calls it “the evolution of organic marketing” and it’s one piece to a larger puzzle currently being put together. This evolution will lead Facebook to dethroning Google for search supremacy in 2011. This will not be a gradual shift either. Facebook will launch a new search platform that will literally blow Google’s out of the water.

User Information is Nitrous Oxide For Search Engines

Search algorithms are incredibly complex, but the underlying theory couldn’t be simpler. The more information you have about a person, the more accurately you can find what they’re looking for. For many years Google has dominated information gathering because of their expansive reach (Picasa, Android, YouTube, FeedBurner, Blogger, etc.) Even though they have access to countless areas of the internet, they are still limited from the truly in depth knowledge required to perfect online search. This is where Facebook enters the picture.

Facebook Will Dethrone Google as The #1 Search Engine

Facebook has collected all of the tools needed to build the most accurate and customized search platform ever created.

Here’s a quick sample:

Partnership with Bing
The Facebook “Like” Button
Development of applications that compare and link people’s interests (Friends Pages)
The ongoing battle against privacy
Increased testing/tracking of their recommended information, links, and pictures to users

In the new world of information gathering, Facebook is king. They know what you like, what your friends like and how you group them, what you click on, who you spend time with, what events you attend, the people you’ve dated, and even what kind of information you look for depending on the time of day. Did your parents have an influence on your development and decision making process? Well guess what? Facebook knows what they like too, and I bet that connection is naturally weighted heavier. Your profile is practically a giant ongoing Myers Briggs test.

Once Facebook perfects the implementation of this info into Bing’s platform it will create the most accurate and user specific search engine ever conceived. Will it infringe on privacy? Not anymore. It’s no different than their current process of suggesting your “top news” or pointing out which of your friend’s pictures to look at in “Photo Memories”. They wouldn’t be sharing your information, but simply using it to enhance your experience. They have already successfully laid a precedent that using it is acceptable.

Privacy Policy Sleight of Hand

Did you really think Zuckerberg’s aversions to privacy came from some childhood event like his mom rustling through his sock drawer too many times? Or is it more likely that it was a strategic maneuver for what’s on the horizon? People don’t just stumble into an Ivy League school and then accidentally create a multibillion dollar company. He’s smart and he has a calculated plan.

What will this mean for SEO? Well it will eventually shift Google down to Yahoo’s current 15-20% slot in search supremacy. It will also exponentially increase the importance of Facebook’s “Like” button. This will inevitably spark half of Twitter to instantly become “Like” button optimization gurus.

Social Media Marketing = Search Engine Optimization

Just like marketing and PR have slowly merged into one industry, so will social media marketing and SEO. Your ability to excel with SEO will now hinge on your amount of social media influence. It won’t matter if you have 15,000 spam bots following your Twitter account or if you’re friends with every city monument you live by on Facebook, I’m talking about actual influence.

The factor that matters is the amount of real people you interact with and who actively share your information. Subsequently, their level of influence will become increasingly important. This will spark the need for targeted networking on social media platforms. Yes that’s right, we’ll be creating a niche of social networking networkers (my new favorite job title.)

2011 is right around the corner. We need to learn from the past, evaluate the present, and plan for the future. Knowledge doesn’t truly become powerful until you follow it with action. So stop thinking and start doing. Get out there and work on your social media influence…your SEO depends on it.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

What Web Development Tips Do Designers & Programmers Actually Agree On?

Brian Rogel — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 20:15:08 +0000

Every person who has ever built a website falls into one of two categories. We may all call ourselves web developers, but it’s time to come clean with the truth. Each “developer” knows that deep down they’re either a designer or a programmer.

Why is this the case? Well, it’s simple psychology. People rely more heavily on one half of their brain than the other. This means each person is either “right brained” or “left brained”, and there is a fundamental difference in the way these two types of people think.

Why Designers and Programmers Don’t Get Along

Right Brained Developers

Welcome to the world of designers, graphics, MAC computers, and the love of all things Adobe. These people are the artists of the internet. Anytime you open a stunning website and you’re left jaw-dropped with only the ability to mutter the word “wow”…you can thank the designer. When a designer begins a new web development project they don’t see a blank website, they see a canvas waiting to be transformed into art.

Left Brained Developers

We now travel down the path to programmers, SEO tracking, analytic trends, server-side frameworks, and caffeine addiction. These are the mathematicians of the internet and they rely on logic, coding, and functionality. Anytime you find a website quickly and get through it feeling satisfied without the hint of frustration…you can thank the programmer.

What you may not know is these two types of developers secretly hate each other. Designers and programmers rarely ever see eye to eye. This is because what’s good for style and aesthetics is often counterproductive to functionality and SEO (and vice versa.) It’s why large firms hire ~~expensive peer mediators~~ project managers to run their web development teams.

Can a designer be versed in SEO and usability? Sure. Can a programmer have an eye for the artistic? Of course. In the end though, they will always fall back on their underlying strengths.

In my last blog post I wrote about a way to decide whether or not a website change was actually beneficial. This was created as a way to keep developers honest. It forced them to consider each aspect of development before moving forward. Well, I decided to take it one step further by pointing out a handful of website features that we can all agree on. They are very beneficial, easy to implement, and should be used for every website regardless of your developmental prejudices.

Web Development Tips We Can All Agree On

Website Functionality Tips

Search Box

A search box is one of the most useful and easiest to implement website usability features. The larger your site, the more helpful they are. Most blogging platforms have search box plugins you can get running in a matter of minutes.

My personal recommendation is to go through Google’s custom search. It’s very quick and they give you the code to drop right into your website. It also gives you an endless amount of flexibility for customizing your own personal search engine..

Social Links/Share Buttons

Ideally you want to use both profile links and share buttons. The design possibilities for adding these buttons to a website are only limited by your imagination. If you don’t want to take the time to make your own, there are tons of free social media icons floating around that will fit practically any web design.

Using both links and buttons will allow visitors to either connect through social media or share the page with friends. I have run into clients who just simply don’t have the time or interest to participate in social media. At the very minimum make sure they have a Facebook like button on every page.

Facebook is the only company with the size and industry positioning to challenge Google. They have teamed up with Bing and are actively working on a few smart search engine platforms that emphasize pages by popularity and personalized trends. An eventual shift from search engine optimization to Facebook Like Optimization may not be as farfetched as it sounds.

Search Engine Optimization Tips

Alt Attributes

These have no effect on design whatsoever because they are unseen coding used to describe pictures to search engines. Using them can have a very positive effect on your SEO efforts. If you don’t want to go back through every picture one by one, I suggest a wordpress plugin called SEO Friendly Images. It will automatically add Alt attributes and title tags to all of your pictures.

Company Address/Contact Info

All website should have contact information in the footer of each page. If you have a brick and mortar store this may be the most crucial tip listed. There are two factors that make this extremely important

1.Mobile Usability – As we speak, many people are driving around with a big mac in one hand, their smart phone in the other, while steering with their knees. These people are frantically trying to figure out your company’s phone number or address. Most smart phones will allow a user to click on a phone number or address from a website’s footer and import it directly into the navigation or for making a call. Let’s decrease some cell phone related car accidents while increasing your website’s usability.
2.Google Local – If you haven’t realized it, Google has recently started pre populating your area into the search results. This means that if you haven’t changed your settings many of the results you see are influenced by your current location. This has increased the importance of local influence. Adding an address to your webpages creates a significant increase in your ability to rank for local searches…which is now more important than ever.

Web Design Tips

Reduce Clutter

Clutter hurts every aspect of web development. Clutter adds confusion which kills web usability, it overloads the server and decreases load times which hurt SEO, and it ruins the aesthetics of the design.

We’ve all gone through that plugin-happy-addiction that happens at the beginning stages of owning a blog platformed website, but are all of those plugins really needed? I challenge you to go through your website and reevaluate your plugins, widgets, buttons, and scripts to decide if they’re really adding any true value. You’ll probably find that you can eliminate half without batting an eye.

Headings

Every website needs to have content. Make sure to break your content down as much as possible. Break it into shorter paragraphs in logical sections with informative headings. It will create a clean layout and make it easy for readers to skim through and find the information they’re interested in. It also helps tip off search engines about the important concepts and keywords.

Oddball Tip

Privacy Policy

There are three great things about privacy policies:

1. They make visitors feel more protected
2. They have been known to add a small boost to SEO
3. You can use a free privacy policy generator and have one made in less than five minutes

Link your new page to the anchor text “privacy policy” (because of a random California law) and then drop it in your footer and you’re all set to go.

Best Web Development Tip Overall

Blog

This is by far the largest and most time consuming project I list. I only added it because I believe in it so much. If you are a designer it gives you the ability to showcase your work. Proud of a project or graphic? Drop it in a blog post and show it off to the world! You can get feedback, gain clients, and become known as an expert in your industry. Not to mention that blogs are unrivaled as a tool for increasing a website’s SEO and functionality.

Answer Blog Comments

Once you have created your blog it is imperative to answer people’s questions and comments. You will find that you actually build a community within your website. People will come back to your site to check on your responses and inevitably ask more questions.

Comments are also presented to search engines as fresh content. They create a great opportunity to pull in extra traffic through long tail keywords. That means you have the ability to continue targeting your keywords while you’re also interacting with your readers.

Designers and programmers may never fully understand each other, but at least we can agree on the importance of each in the web development process. Hopefully you can now uses these tips to keep the peace by finding some common ground.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable an SEO Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

10 Ways To Maximize Your Site’s Usability

Guest Post — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:47:52 +0000

When a user comes to your website, they must feel that it is comfortable and usable. Designing for web usability means that you will do everything within your power to make it simple for your customer to part with their money. This includes making it navigable, consistent, and searchable. Here are ten guidelines for increasing a website’s usability and help boost your conversion rate.

1. Consistency: Consistency plays a part in both usability and your business branding. Make each part of your site internally with the remainder so that a user always knows where they are. Keep your navigation in the same place on each page, maintain your text style throughout the site. Customers should always be able to quickly and easily search for something, so make sure you have a search box in a prominent position (typically in the top right).

2. Forms: Most users accept that forms are a website’s necessary evil – they understand that you want to have their email address and name to make your experience personal. Unfortunately, there are some websites which take the use of forms to an extreme. If your reader must complete a form, request as few fields as possible and reassure them that it will be kept private and not sold on to other companies. Do you really need to know your customer’s phone number while they are browsing?

3. Make your site searchable: Place a search button in plain view at the top of each page so that your users can find relevant information quickly and easily. Perform tests on the search function and track queries to discover the relevance of answers. If a customer is searching for size three shoes, you do not want to have the search engine’s first result be an advertisement for socks – that’s just not going to convert!

4. Keep load times fast: The vast majority of your users won’t be on a super fast connection, so large graphics and videos will take a long time to load. Do not stuff your landing page with autorunning videos and loads of Javascript because the longer that your user needs to wait for your website to load, the more likely they are to hit the back button and never come back. Your readers want to access information in seconds, not minutes.

5. Checkout should be painless: The checkout process should not be a system of jumping through hoops – it needs to be a smooth process from start to finish. The customer should receive all the information and guidance they desire, without having the chance to second-guess their decision to purchase your product. If possible, institute a no-login checkout policy, where customers can give you their secured credit card information and ship-to address.

6. Use breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs provide a mini site map of where your customer or viewer is located within your website. Let your readers know that they are in a subcategory and make each level clickable so they can get back to where they were or navigate back up the tree.

7. Encourage feedback: Feedback is important for any website – blog or ecommerce store. In order to refine your design and sales funnel you need honest suggestions and recommendations from your users. If you want to boost the volume of feedback you get, offer users assurances that their details won’t be shared and give users an incentive to participate, such as a prize or freebies.

8. Let users easily distribute your content: Let your users have every available opportunity to spread the word about your great content or products. If you run a blog, give them easy to use Twitter and Facebook buttons, and allow them to subscribe to your feed at the touch of a button. Make sharing as easy as possible and let your users know that they can share your content with their friends.

9. Taglines: Taglines are used to show visitors the purpose of your site. When your readers step through your virtual doors, they should immediately know what to expect. Create a tagline which gives them an idea of the site’s functions and purpose and place this valuable information on every page, including your site’s landing page.

10. Look at your site through the visitor’s eyes: Evaluate each portion of your site as if you are visiting for the first time. Are all of the calls to action easy to understand and fulfil? Can you easily navigate between sections? Will users find it easy to work out where they are on your site? Can you search for desired content? Each of these factors play a part in overall usability and should be addressed to make using your website easier.

There’s no doubt about it: your site’s usability plays a vital part in your sales and page views. Take time to work out what’s wrong with your site, fix it and reap the rewards!

James Adams is a writer who reviews HP supplies at one of the top printer supplies companies in the UK, Cartridge Save.

Best Web Design Tip For Changing Website Features

Brian Rogel — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:49:29 +0000

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about web development, it’s that there is no such thing as a finished website. Companies change, people change, styles change, and search engines change. Thinking it’s possible to succeed with a website that stands still is a mistake.

Every addition to a website will affect it on multiple levels. The problem is that many times what’s beneficial to one area can negatively impact another. It’s important to consider each in order to avoid putting time and effort into changes that unknowingly push you a few steps back.

I have created a simple model based on the economic value added theory combined with a cost-benefit analysis (honestly not as complicated as it sounds).

Why Should You Use This Tip?

1.) It only takes a couple minutes
2.) It numerically ranks your different options
3.) It acts as a reminder to look at the effect on each area

The Five Website Categories to Rank From -5 to 5

Usability – Will the change make user experience easier or more complicated?
(Complicates Experience) -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 (Simplifies Experience)

SEO – Will it increase or decrease your website’s search engine optimization?
(Decrease Rankings) -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 (Increase Rankings)

Programming – Will it add or subtract from your website’s functionality?
(Subtracts Functionality) -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 (Adds Functionality)

Design – Will it make the website more or less aesthetically pleasing?
(Depreciates Design) -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 (Improves Design)

Money – Will it cost money to implement or add the ability to make money?
(Costs Money) -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 (Makes Money)

The Web Design Equation

Once you’ve ranked all five it’s time to add them up. You should be looking at a number somewhere between -25 and 25. If your number is outside this area, grab the nearest calculator or middle school math teacher and try again. This number represents the total value added in making the change.

If you are only trying to decide if one change is worth making then this is your answer. A positive number indicates that moving forward with the project provides an overall benefit to your website.

Choosing Between Multiple Projects

If you are trying to decide between two or more changes then you’re not quite finished. There is one more important variable in the equation. That variable is time. Often you’ll find that options with slightly lower total values are actually better choices because of their reduced time needed for implementation.

I came up with a pretty accurate formula using standard deviations* to accomplish this section. I then realized that doing large statistical calculations completely ruined my first reason for this technique being helpful (“It only takes a couple minutes”). So I created a much simpler process. *For the mathematically inclined, I added the equation to the bottom of this post.

First, come up with an estimated amount of time each project will take. Then, (Since there’s no such thing as negative time) rate them with a number between 1 and 5. Use the project that takes the least amount of time as the base with a rating of 1. Finally, rate the rest according to how much additional time the project takes in relation to your own personal time constraints. If you’re in no rush and the increase isn’t significant then it can also be rated a 1, but if you’re slammed with work and it monopolizes your full week then it’s probably closer to a 5.

Solving The Equation

At this point each project should have two numbers. The first number which represents the total added value and the second number which represents the time required. Simply divide the first number by the second number. The project finishing with the highest number signifies the best choice.

I hope this tip is helpful in your decision making process. If nothing else, it’s a good reminder to look at the impact your changes makes on each area of the website.

The Statistical Route To Calculate Time

Time: 1 2 3 4 5

Standard Deviation

Plug In Variables to Find
Standard Deviation

Constraints

Plug In Variables & Standard
Deviation to Find Answer

Variables

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Web Design Firm in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

7 Incredible New Movies About Social Networking & Business

Trevor B Reed — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:32:15 +0000

By now I am sure that you have heard that the story of Mark Zuckerberg and how he started Facebook hit theaters October 1st. You probably have also heard “Greed is Good” coming from your TV and seen that Michael Douglas has reprised his role as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. But you probably haven’t heard about all 7 Upcoming Social Media and Business Movies you should know about.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

In Theaters Now

“Greed is good, now it seems it’s legal”

Gordon Gekko is out of prison and trying to get back to his former glory. In the trailer they poke fun at the “Zach Morris” phone and I hope to see them integrate technology and social media into the plot line as more evidence of how times have changed. With Oliver Stone directing Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeauf, this movie should prove to be a worthwhile watch and a solid follow up to the original Wall Street.

The Social Network

In Theaters Now

“You don’t get 500 friends without making a few enemies”

This movie is already being called the movie of the year by Rolling Stones and obviously fans and critics alike are excited to take a more in depth look at the founding and building of Facebook. Keep in mind that this is not a documentary and not endorsed by Mark Zuckerberg or Facebook. I bet that they take some liberties, but it should be entertaining either way.

Freakonomics

In Theaters October 1st 2010

“Six rogue filmmakers exploring the hidden side of everything”

The same guys who brought you Super Size Me and The King of Kong have now done a documentary based on Freakonomics, the groundbreaking book by journalist Stephen Dubner and economist Steven Levitt. Marketers, economists, and laymen alike should love this film that makes you rethink assumptions you took for granted.

The Company Men

In Theaters October 22nd 2010

“I’m a 37 year old loser!”

What an awesome idea to make a movie showing people overcome adversity through this recession. An upper-middle class manager is laid off and struggles to re-find his place in the economy. With Tommy Lee Jones, Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, and Maria Bello to name a few, mixed with the uplifting message of the movie, I think that this will be a hit!

Horrible Bosses

In Theaters July 29th 2011

This comedy is about three friends who decide to murder their bosses because they blame them for standing in the way of true happiness. There is not a lot of information out about the movie yet, but with Jennifer Aniston, Justin Bateman, Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx and many other A list stars, this movie worth looking for next summer.

Google Movie

Release TBD

Groundswell Production has purchased the movie rights to Ken Auletta’s bestseller “Googled: The End of the World as We Know It” and rumors have been circulating that they will turn it into a full length film. With all the controversy surrounding Google, it feels eerily reminiscent of another internet titan on this list, but only time will tell.

TwitPic

Release TBD

There have been preliminary discussions for a reality based TV show/documentary on Noah Everett and how he founded TwitPic. It is still really early in talks and no rights have been purchased, but I think it would be cool to see a documentary on such a smart young entrepreneur.

Honorable Mention: The Other Guys

In Theaters Now

If you haven’t seen it yet it is hilarious, but it also deals with some real issues of corporate greed and corruption. I don’t want to give anything away because I recommend you see it, but watch all the credits at the end. They go into some statistics and specific numbers dealing with everything from Golden Parachutes, AIG, Enron and much more.

And there you have it, 7 Social Media and Business Movies to be on the lookout for. Leave a comment below and see you at the movies!

Post image provided by: Silver Screen Shots

Trevor B Reed is the COO of Synactable Internet Marketing & PR. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @TrevorBReed

How To Keep Your Website Off Google’s Supplemental Index

Brian Rogel — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 22:37:36 +0000

There’s a scary place that many webpages go that people aren’t familiar with. This is a dark lonely place that is far from any search engine results page and rarely crawled. This place is called the Google supplemental index and it should be avoided at all cost.

What is the Google Supplemental Index?

The sheer number of webpages floating around the internet is astonishing. We all know that a large portion of these pages are filled with junk, scams, or duplicate content. Google created a second index of webpages in order to provide more accurate results and ease the load on their system. The supplemental index is filled with pages that Google crawled and indexed, but now feel are no longer important.

How the Supplemental Index Effects Your Website

Many people don’t realize how many of their pages are on the supplemental index. These pages will not rank highly regardless of how much time is spent on keyword research and placement. To top it off, the outgoing links from these pages carry little to no weight.

How to Check Which Pages are on the Supplemental Index

There is a little trick you can do to quickly check what pages on your website are in the main Google index. Go to your Google browser and type site:yourdomain.com/* and press enter. (Make sure to actually switch your website’s domain name in where it says “yourdomain.com”)

This will return the results from Google’s main index. If you see many of your webpages missing, it’s because they are actually listed in the supplemental index.

Internal Linking Won’t Keep You on the Main Index

I ran a test recently on the supplemental index. I created a webpage that was filled with unique content. I then interlinked it through every page on my site including the home page. I tracked the search engine results for certain keywords, as well as backlinks, and placement on Google’s main index.

My goal was to see if it was possible to keep the page afloat on the main index with internal linking alone. I succeeded in limiting the page to one lone nofollow external backlink. After one month I watched the page fall into the supplemental index. Every keyword this page had been ranking for immediately fell outside the top 200 on the same day it was dropped into the supplemental index.

How to Move Pages Back to Google’s Main Index

The test showed that even though internal linking and unique content are important, they’re not enough to save you from Google’s supplemental index. The only way to move back to the main index is through quality backlinks from other websites.

Blog Commenting Your Way Off the Supplemental Index

Blog commenting is one of the most effective ways to leave a credible link back to your website. Be sure to actually read the blog and leave a comment that is relevant and adds value. There are five website factors that are extremely important to keep an eye on when deciding what page to leave a comment on.

1.) Niche Industry Articles – There’s minimal benefit adding your link to a post completely unrelated to your website’s content. This signals a red flag to website owners that the comment may be spam. Even if the comment somehow makes it onto the post, Google can tell the two pages are unrelated and may devalue the link.
2.) “Dofollow” Websites – I know I just wrote an article on value being passed through nofollow links. This is true, but the fact remains that dofollow links pass much more value. Targeting websites that have removed nofollow tags will make pulling a page off of the supplemental index a much easier process. Here is a great resource for finding dofollow websites: Growmap Dofollow Resources
3.) Recently Posted Articles –Subscribe to the RSS feed of some of your favorite dofollow industry related blogs and then keep an eye on your Reader. When a new article is posted make sure to jump right over to read through it and leave a comment. Many times your backlink will be picked up on Google’s first indexing of the blog post.
4.) Pages on Google’s Main Index – If you would like to leave comments on older posts make sure they themselves aren’t on the supplemental index. Use the trick listed above to check the website you would like to comment on. Then make sure it is a page from the main Google index.
5.) Multiple Domains – Don’t leave all of your comments on different posts from the same website. Always shoot to have backlinks coming from multiple domain names. Ten links from ten different websites is astronomically better than ten links from the same website.

Take a little time to follow these steps to insure your favorite pages don’t get buried into the bottomless depths of Google’s supplemental dungeon.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

FeedBurner is Stealing Your CommentLuv Backlinks

Brian Rogel — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:52:55 +0000

CommentLuv is one of the best plugins available for WordPress. It allows any blog owner to reward the people who comment with a direct link back to one of their own blog articles.

CommentLuv is growing in popularity and many large well known blogs are starting to jump on, but there is one major hiccup that is still not very well known:

Feedburner Steals Every CommentLuv Backlink

Yes, that’s right. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you haven’t changed the FeedBurner default settings, then every one of your CommenLuv links points to Google.

Don’t Worry too much though because it’s not all doom and gloom. The problem is surprisingly easy to check for and fix. Here are the steps you’ll need to take:

How to Check CommentLuv

First you can either jump back to a comment you’ve made in the past or simply comment on this post directly below. Once the comment is submitted, scroll your mouse over the CommentLuv link. Check the bottom left-hand corner of your browser and the link should appear.

There’s a second option in case your current browser doesn’t support this feature. Use your mouse to right-click on the link and then click “Copy Link Location”.

Paste the link into any word processor to see where it points. If it’s a direct link back to your site then you’re in the clear, but if it says “http://feedproxy.google.com/……” then you’ve been losing all your linkjuice to Google.

How to Fix FeedBurner

In order to fix this issue you’ll need to log into FeedBurner. Once your account is open, click on “Configure Stats”.

You will then uncheck the box named “Item Link Clicks”. The last thing is to make sure the setting has been saved.

That’s it! You are now all set to receive real backlinks for the time you spend leaving thoughtful comments on other blogs.

One last note. Once the setting has been fixed there will most likely be a slight lag before implementation. So it’s completely normal if you go to test out the changes and you still see the feedproxy link showing up. As soon as FeedBurner’s cache is updated (normally less than 24hrs) you’ll be all set to go.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

WP Themes Review of Thesis 1.8

Brian Rogel — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:51:08 +0000

Thesis 1.8 is officially rolling out. If you are not familiar with Thesis I am happy to help explain it and offer up a review of the new features. Thesis is a theme for WordPress that is optimized for maximum SEO benefits. Normally I don’t write about software updates, but when I looked through the changes from 1.7 to 1.8 it was enough to catch my attention.

Why doesn’t every person use Thesis theme 1.8 if it is so great? There are two very easy answers. The first possibility is that they merely haven’t heard of it yet. The second is that Thesis is a premium theme and costs $87 to purchase. With all the free WP themes available they have to make something pretty special in order to warrant a price tag on it. I had some doubts about the value of using premium themes to begin with, but after using Thesis I can say it’s really worth every penny.

If you are new to the world of search engine optimization the theme will allow you to rank very highly without having to read 10 books on SEO and do in depth coding. If you are an expert at SEO Thesis 1.8 will save you a very large amount of time when optimizing each new article. Probably the best part about the Thesis theme is that once you purchase it, you receive all of their theme upgrades for free from that point forward.

There are a lot of upgrades added to Thesis 1.8 but I wanted to highlight some of the ones I am most impressed with.

Header Image Upload
One of the burdens many people go through is getting a quality header into their wordpress theme. The new header upload system allows for easy upload of an SEO optimized CSS based clickable header.

New Google Fonts
Web designers deal with font issues all the time. The truth is that there are only a handful of fonts that are compatible between different browsers. There’s no point in creating outstanding content if it will not render properly when a portion of the people pull it up. The worst part is that the handful of compatible fonts are not exactly the most aesthetically appealing ever created. Thesis 1.8 allows access to Google’s Font Directory with 28 new fonts that are completely web safe.

Unique Pages
Thesis 1.8 is now built to allow users to add unique headlines and content to every category, tag, or taxonomy page on your website. This is a huge benefit in fixing the duplicate content SEO problem that most WordPress Themes create.

Favicon Uploader
Favicons are the tiny pictures that show up in the tab above your webpage. It is also shown next to your website name when people bookmark it. It can be a pain to drop an image down to 16×16, upload it into an icon file, and then add the right coding into each page’s meta descriptions. This is why Thesis 1.8 created a system that does all the work for you. All users have to do is simply upload a picture.

Custom Loop API
This is an incredible tool created for developers to modify the specific content area of every type of WordPress page. It will allow for the creation of extensive custom templates.

Security
There are multiple security enhancements in Thesis 1.8 that enables the WordPress nonce field as well as an improved data-handling system. In short it will add an overall increase for the safety of your website.

These were just a handful of the upgrades that I felt were important to point out, but there are many other benefits and changes to read about on the Thesis site.

One of the things that intrigued me the most about the Thesis theme is who uses it. There are many very well known bloggers that rely on this platform. The most notable in terms of SEO is Matt Cutts. Matt Cutts is the head of Google’s Webspam team. This is the man who is in charge of how Google successfully ranks quality websites. He is one of only a few people in the entire world who has actually seen the full Google search algorithm and he uses this theme for his own website.

Other very notable bloggers using WP Thesis themes include:

Chris Hardwick – nerdist.com
Danny Sullivan – daggle.com
Outspoken Media – outspokenmedia.com
Bill Erickson – billerickson.net
Matt Armendariz – mattbites.com

As a very open disclosure I would like to point out that the links over to their site are affiliate links. What does this mean? Well if you decide to purchase a theme from Thesis and you arrive there from our website:

1.) You will pay the same price you normally would
2.) We will receive a small amount of money for being the referrers
3.) I will buy my dog Rowdy a brand new bone for being awesome

I would never recommend anything I didn’t believe in. I only have 3 affiliate links on this site; Thesis, BlueHost, and Amazon. All three I currently use and am extremely impressed with.

If you are interested in the Thesis 1.8 WP theme simply click this link to check it out:Thesis by DIYthemes

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

Nofollow? No Problem! Social Networking Rises Above Search Engines

Brian Rogel — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:19:30 +0000

We all know that social media is incredibly important in the world of internet marketing. The gray area arises when we try to figure out the role social networking plays regarding search engine optimization. With a majority of social media networks implementing nofollow tags to all outgoing links it is easy to be confused.

What Search Engines Understand About Social Networking

1.) Social Media is revolutionizing how information is passed and people are now using it to find answers to many of their questions
2.) It needs to be incorporated into their search results
3.) Every link regardless of importance is tagged as a nofollow link

A social media page is set up like any other website. Let’s take Twitter for example. When you create an account it will start with a PageRank (PR) of 0. The PR will begin to rise as you build a reputations and websites link back to your page. Guy Kawasaki currently has a PR of 8 because of the amount of quality websites linking back to his Twitter page.

Social Networking Nofollow Theory

Static Links
Most social networking accounts allow users to add website links from profile pages. Since these links are added to the profile page itself and not into a feed, it is a static link and will remain there until the user decides to change them.
Search engines are smart and realize Twitter profiles do not receive high PR from being run by spammers. Profile pages only receive a high authority when they are credible. Twitter pages are also only allowed one single static link. Should search engines discredit every single link from Twitter? Should a link from Guy Kawasaki’s page hold the same relevance as someone who just finished building a profile? Of course not. I know that, you know that, Twitter knows that, and search engines definitely know that.
Feed Links
Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and others allow users to share information through a feed. This is a stream of topics, links, or photos for other people to see. This enables the viral nature of social media and is how important information is quickly spread.
Let’s say the local library writes a blog about why they think social media is important. The same day Chris Brogan writes a blog about an earthshaking shift currently in the process of happening to social media. The article written by the library is retweeted 5 times while Chris Brogan’s article is retweeted 850 times. Just because all of these links are nofollowed should search engines just pretend they don’t exist? Just typing that question is enough to make me laugh. Of course they see the difference and set their ranking priority because of it. The real question isn’t if, but merely how much weight do they give to these social networking links?

The Proof Behind The Theory

SEOmoz has already done a study suggesting articles that are retweeted a minimum of 3 times become indexed up to 325% faster than articles with no retweets. If nothing else, this shows that search engines do in fact follow when they are told not to. Is it so hard to fathom that they also pass some amount of relevance through the links?
Let’s take a look at the “Links to your site” tab on Google’s webmaster tools. This is a small snippet of links that currently point to one of Synactable’s recent blog posts:
Here is a clip of backlinks found using Yahoo’s site explorer tools:
Right in the middle are inbound page links that have been tagged nofollow. These tools have Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Flickr, Digg, and many other nofollow links listed in their own backlink section.

So what does this all tell us?

1.) Google and many other search engines do follow nofollow links
2.) Social Media nofollow links are counted as credible backlinks

Do nofollow links pass pagerank? I don’t believe they do, but the thing many people continue to forget is PageRank and search engine results page rankings (SERP) are not the same thing. PageRank is only one of the hundreds of factors considered when deciding where a page is listed in Google’s search results. Just because a nofollow link does not pass PageRank does not mean it will not have a positive effect on SERPs.

Backlinks are one of the most important aspects of SEO. Creating valuable content, having a social media presence, and making the information easy to pass along is a great way to build a large amount of backlinks. If nothing else, the more people who see your site through social media, the better the chance someone will link back to your page with their own “do-follow” site.

5 Ways to be the Master of Your Domain

Blogging
Keywords & Search Engines
Link Structure & Anchor Text
Social Networking
Analytics

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

7 Twitter Tools for New Twitter Users

Trevor B Reed — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:09:41 +0000

Believe it or not, I still run into many people who don’t believe in the power of Twitter. The general consensus from non Twitter users and some new Twitter users seems to be that it’s only for nerds, groupies, or people who have too much time on their hands. I know these arguments very well because I used to believe them. I just didn’t get it. Why would I want to hear a constant stream of what random people were doing? But now I have seen the light. Now I see why Twitter is a must for every business and anyone who is interested in advancing in their job.

There are so many tools out there to enhance the Twitter experience that it can be confusing if you are new. That’s why I put together a list of the top 7 Twitter tools and applications that I used when I was new to Twitter.

Here Are 7 Top Twitter Tools for New Twitter Users:

1.) Lists – These make it easier to keep tabs on the people you’re interested in listening to. Set up lists to keep track of different interests. For example, I have a list of industry leaders, a list of personal friends, another for people in my geographic area, and lists for different facets of my company. If I find someone’s tweets worthwhile I’ll look for their blog and possibly subscribe to it on my RSS. When someone puts you on a list it’s also a great opportunity to follow new like-minded people.

2.) Twitter Grader – (http://twitter.grader.com/) – This tool answers much more than the question, “How influential are you on Twitter?” You can find out where you rank in your area, state, and across the Twitter universe while also finding tips to improve your reach, graphs of your activity, and the best people to follow in your local community. There is even a badge you can place on your website or blog to boast your score, but I would only recommend doing that if your score is in the high 90’s.

3.) Hash Tags – The # symbol is very important and can be confusing if you are a novice to Twitter. Hash tags tell readers the subject of the tweet and are also searchable. For example, if you are interested in business, search #business and all recent tweets on the subject will be displayed. This is a good starting place. As always, use a discerning eye and be careful for scams.

4.) Friend or Follow – (http://friendorfollow.com/) – This is a great website that lists who you are following, who is following you, and your friends. Many spammers will immediately un-follow you once you begin follow them. This tool gives you all the information you need to help “clean up” your Twitter account and remove those spammers from your feed.

5.) TwitPic – (http://twitpic.com/) – Once you sign up for a Twitter account you are only one step away from also having a TwitPic account. Just click the button “Sign in with Twitter” when you enter Twitpic’s site and you’re ready to go. It allows you to upload pictures to Twitter from either your computer, email, or directly from your phone. Then you are able to take each picture and tag friends, places and events.

6.) Twitter Mobile App – I also highly recommend downloading a Twitter app for your phone. With my Droid the official Twitter application seems to work best, but there are many others to choose from. This allows you to write Tweets on the go and integrate Twitter into your everyday life.

7.) Twtvite – (http://twtvite.com/) – Twtvite allows you to create an event and invite all your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or by email on one centralized site. This is very helpful with getting consistent information to your guests. I attend a weekly lunch that is completely organized through this site (by @lynnftw and @brandy3216). These weekly trips to Crave Kitchen and Cocktails (@CraveMtP) normally consist of 15-40 people. The decision to eat at Crave was largely based on their strong social media presence. This is a true testament to the power of social media . I was talking to Crave on Twitter yesterday and they told me, “Twitter has helped us with getting our name out there. Our business has increased”…and all it took them was 140 characters and a willingness to interact.

These are some of the basic tools to help new Twitter users get started. There are plenty more to dig into along the way that help manage multiple accounts, lists, and more advanced functions. So go ahead and Jump onto Twitter, use some apps, and let me know what you think.

What’s your favorite Twitter tool?

Trevor B Reed is the COO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @TrevorBReed

Nofollow Vs. Dofollow – A Nofollow Linking Solution

Brian Rogel — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:40:46 +0000

I hate nofollow links. I hate seeing incoming links nofollowed, I hate the web building selfishness they instill, and most of all I hate when I’m forced to use them in my own sites. I could spend the rest of this article on a rant about why nofollows are evil manifested in websites, but instead I chose to come up with a solution to the nofollow dofollow debate.

What Does A Nofollow Tag Do?

It’s a meta tag in the coding of a link that tells search engines to ignore the website being linked to. It also keeps the website from gaining any page rank/link juice benefits.

Why Do Web Builders Use Nofollow Meta Tags?

Link Juice – At the beginning it was because of PageRank sculpting. Each page has a certain amount of link juice it can pass along. A nofollow tag would stop link juice from leaving your page. This allowed web builders to horde their link juice and target specific places on their own sites to promote. Google fixed this by taking away the sculpting benefit. Now every link leaks out PageRank and link juice. Nofollow links are merely wasting it.
Related Content – Linking to an abundance of pages with completely unrelated content looks spammy. This will in turn lower how search engines value your page and hurt SEO. Nofollwing a link helps by warning search engines ahead of time.
Advertisements – Legitimate links are one of the biggest factors for high search rankings. Nofollowing advertisement links insures that companies are not able to buy a high search ranking by increasing the number of links they purchase.

The Nofollow Dofollow Linking Solution

I bet you think I’m going to suggest doing away with nofollow tags. Actually the solution is quite the opposite. A second link tag needs to be created and the meaning of the original needs to be changed.

Here is what each link type would tell search engines:

Links Without Tags (Dofollow) – Dear search engines, I thought you’d appreciate this page I’m linking to. It has content that’s relative to what I’m writing about. Go take a look and make sure to pass along some link juice to show my gratitude.
Nofollow Tags –Dear search engines, Information on the page I’m linking to is not really related to my subject matter so don’t worry about running over to read through it. Even though you don’t need to associate it with my page, feel free to pass along link juice because it’s still adding a benefit to my readers.
Advertisement Tags – Dear Search engines, I’m making money in some way by having this link on my page. Don’t bother checking out the page or passing along link juice.

The debate all comes down to a very simple concept. If one website links to another with no money being exchanged, the website being linked to deserves its rightful credit.

In the spirit of this article I have decided to pull all nofollow tags from our site comments. I only ask three things:

1.) Limit yourself to the main site link plus one additional link (non spam)
2.) Don’t keyword stuff
3.) Don’t use keywords from the page title in your anchor text

Besides that, you are free to comment away and enjoy the links back to your site!

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

How To: Anchor Text, Link Structure, & 301 Redirects

Brian Rogel — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:31:51 +0000

We have entered into the most crucial area of Search Engine Optimization. This is the third article in the series titled “5 Ways to be The Master of Your Domain”. As a forewarning, there is enough information regarding link structure and anchor text to write an entire book. I will be highlighting the main points in order to avoid drowning you in text.

How To: Link Structure, 301 Redirects, & Canonical URLs

Problems:

1.) Search Engines hate duplicate content and penalize your SEO Ranking because of it.
2.) Search Engines think http://yourdomain.com and http://www.yourdomain.com are different websites with identical content.

Solutions:

1.) Internal Link Structure – For a new website this is crucial. Make sure to stay consistent on how you link throughout your site. Always stick to either a www or non www format. It’s also good practice to choose a format with or without a trailing slash for each link (yourdomain.com VS yourdomain.com/), though Matt Cutts has stated in an interview that Google has become very good at looking past this discrepancy.
2.) 301 Redirects – 301 redirects are hands down the best way to tackle this linking problem. For our website the redirect states that anytime someone tries to enter the site using http://synactable.com it will immediately reroute them to the site http://www.synactable.com. Search Engines also see this redirect and credit any incoming links to the right page. The only downside is you need to have access to your server in order to accomplish it.
3.) Canonical URLs – This is the poor-man’s 301. It’s a link coded into the head tag of a webpage that acts like a flag to search engines to let them know which URL structure should be used.
4.) Webmaster Tools – Most search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing have Webmaster tools. These tools are a great medium between webmasters and search engines. Google has a specific place to declare if you would like the www or non www to be the URL used.
5.) Sitemaps – Make sure to submit an updated xml formatted sitemap to each. This will let the search engines know what pages to look for and how you prefer the URL to be seen. The easiest way to create an xml sitemap is through a free sitemap generator.

How To: Link Building

Link Building is the bread and butter of SEO. If you truly want to skyrocket to the top of your favorite Google keyword you will have to receive links to your site from other credible sources. This shows search engines that other people consider your information valuable.

Bad Habits:

1.) Too Many Directories – Submitting your website to thousands of online directories is time consuming and rarely worth it. There are only a handful of directories like Yahoo’s and DMOZ that are really worth the effort.
2.) Buying Links – This is trying to cheat the system and it will quickly end with you in Google’s doghouse.
3.) Reciprocal Links – “I’ll link to you if you link to me” sounds great in theory, but search engines account for it. The links aren’t completely discredited, but they are severely devalued.

Good Habits:

1.) Guest Post – Guest post on a well known industry blog. Though it’s never fun giving away a piece of your work, it’s a great way to tap into another audience and create a quality backlink to your website.
2.) Comment on Blogs – Most blogs have an area to enter a website when you comment on a post. Make sure you add an article or website that is relevant to both the post and your comment, or you risk looking like a spammer. Even blogs that nofollow their links can still help drive traffic to your site, and more traffic leads to more links.
3.) Social Media – Use your network to help expand your reach. Let everyone know what you’re doing and why it’s useful. It’s very likely they’ll continue to pass on the word to their friends.
4.) Create Valuable Content – In the end this is the number one way to gain links. If you create worthwhile content people will love linking to it and search engines will love crawling it.

How To: Anchor Text

Anchor Text – When you link from one article to another on your site the anchor text is vital. Anchor text is the word/words that normally become highlighted and underlined to signal a link. (This is Anchor Text) These tell search engines what to expect on the page being linked to.

Bad Habits:

1.) External Keywords – If you have a page that you want to rank high for the term “SEO” then make sure not to include the term “SEO” in anchor text pointing to other sites. This tells search engines that the site you’ve linked to is the authority for that term.
2.) Internal Keyword Confusion – Even linking to other pages on your own site with your currently targeted keywords can hurt rankings. Search engines become confused at which page should rank for that keyword. This will inevitably hurt the ranking of both pages.

Good Habits:

1.) Content Blocks – Search engines read more than just the anchor text. They also read the text that is immediately surrounding the link to see if it is relevant. It is best to link out to a page that is relevant to the anchor text as well as the surrounding information to enable the maximum benefit.
2.) Alt Attribute – If you use a picture as a link to another page it is important to realize that the Alt Attribute for that picture will then becomes the anchor text for that link.

This may seem like an abundance of information but it really just scratches the surface. If you’re left with nothing else, make sure to remember that
Good Content = Good Rankings.

Do you have your own personal favorite link building tips and tricks? Let us know by commenting below!

5 Ways to be the Master of Your Domain

Blogging
Keywords & Search Engines
Link Structure & Anchor Text
Social Networking
Analytics

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

11 Best Charleston Blogs

Brian Rogel — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:24:06 +0000

Sometimes hard work and long hours are rewarded with added benefits. Much of the time used constructing the Charleston blog search engine was spent wading through hundreds of Charleston websites. Tedious at some points? Very. Waste of time? Not even close. It gave me the opportunity to read some of the best blogs Charleston has to offer. I found so many outstanding sites that I decided to pass along a few of my favorites.

Here are 11 Best Blogs of Charleston:

The Digitel – This blog is a one-stop-shop for Charleston information. They cover an abundance of content, and they do it well. It’s the ideal resource if you like to quickly find out what’s going on in the Lowcountry during your morning coffee.
The Digitel’s latest blog post: Local artist Cary Ann Hearst’s track ‘Hells Bells’ featured…

Charleston Cycle Chic – What’s the blog about? Well it’s summed up perfectly on the front page: “It’s a movement to move, an expression of style, and a show of grace. It’s a celebration of life and the wind in your hair. It’s about getting out of your car and taking back the bike. (And looking fabulous while doing it.)” The beauty of writing is you can instantly tell the people who truly love what they’re writing about. That alone is enough to make this blog special.
Charleston Cycle Chic’s latest blog post: A Bicycle Built for Two

Charleston Today – This blog has some of the greatest insight about the Charleston arts that I’ve seen so far. Well written and extremely thorough reviews of theatre, dance, architecture, music, and more.
Charleston Today’s latest blog post: The Art of Summer

Carolina Night Life – After spending a decent amount of time in the Charleston area, I’ve noticed an unwritten city motto of “work hard, play hard”. Let’s all be honest, what would Charleston be without its exhilarating southern night life? If at any point you think you’ve seen it all, it’s time to jump on this website and browse around.
Carolina Night Life’s latest blog post: Nappy Roots Interview

CHARLIE – This is an online magazine about recognizing the forward thinking people of Charleston. The CHARLIE Magazine tagline is “Celebrating Progressive Culture in Charleston”. The site is well thought out and I especially enjoy the “Society” page that recaps many of the best Charleston events while staying short, witty, and entertaining.
CHARLIE Magazine’s latest blog Post: Tall Order for a Short Order

Charleston City Paper – This blog takes reader interaction to the next level. In a section called “Love|Hate” people are able to write and submit anonymous posts. These posts are actually mixed in with the articles written by staff. This creates a very interesting feed of Charleston news, reader rants, local deals, and random humor. With such a wide array of posts, the home page is set up to easily scan through the 25 newest article headlines.
Charleston City Paper’s latest blog post: Public Option for Health Insurance: It’s On…

Charleston Daily Photo – Charleston is one of the most beautiful areas I have ever lived. This blog holds some absolutely stunning photos of this historic city. It’s always nice to take a quick break from reading to look through inspirational pictures.
Charleston Daily Photo’s latest blog post: Church Photo in Lieu of Attendance…

Charleston Inspired – These posts are written with information useful to a wide range of individuals. One reason I particularly liked this blog is it keeps a good eye on green living in the Charleston community.
Charleston Inspired’s latest blog post: Charleston iPhone App Guides Visitors &…

Normalcy Declined – Want to take a breather from all the news and just be entertained? Then this would be a good place to start. Josh Sutherland is the former Young & Free SC spokesperson, and he posts many humorous pictures, videos, and articles. He regularly keeps up with his blog so there’s a good stream of fresh content.
Normalcy Declined’s latest blog post: My Computer

Shannon’s Scene: Take Two – Two things that impress me: 1) Charity events that are fun and exciting, 2) Physically being able to run a marathon without collapsing and begging for ho-hos. This blog is about the physical and nutritional training required as one girl prepares to run the 26.2 mile Chicago Red Cross marathon.
Shannon’s Scene: Take Two’s latest blog post: Old Runnin’ Grounds…
*Disclosure: Shannon did link to the Searching Charleston website in a blog post, but this had no bearing on her blog making this list…seriously, running 26+ miles for charity…enough said.

Charleston Mag – If you like the Charleston Magazine, then I’m sure you’ll like their blog. These 5 lovely ladies delve into fashion, art, weddings and more from all around Charleston. I won’t pretend I know an overwhelming amount about these areas, but I’d know much less if it wasn’t for their writing.
Charleston Magazine’s latest blog post: VIDEO: CFADA Palette and Palate Stroll Style

That wraps up my 11 Best Blogs of Charleston. Do you have a favorite Charleston Blog that wasn’t on the list? I’d love to hear about it. Post about which blogs you’d put in your own “11 Best” list right in the comments below.

One final note: Many of the people featured in 11 People in Charleston to Follow on Twitter have fantastic local blogs. These blogs were not added to ensure a completely fresh and unique list, but I would highly recommend checking them out.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

Synactable Launches Charleston Area Search Engine

Synactable — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:52:26 +0000

Searching Charleston, a free Charleston search engine, was launched earlier this week. Searching Charleston enables people to search thousands of local websites to find credible, relevant, and area specific information.

In addition to searching all websites in the database, Searching Charleston is broken down into News, Food, Bars, Events, and Blogs. There is even a search box specifically created to search through area restaurant menus. There are links to submit new websites to the database or to add one of the custom search boxes to a website. Searching Charleston connects local people with the information they’re looking for.

Search:

For questions leave a comment below or email info@searchingcharleston.com.

The 7 P’s of PPC – Excelling With Pay Per Click Advertising

Trevor B Reed — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:50:41 +0000

Pay-Per-Click or PPC as it is commonly referred to, is the paid results found above and around the organic search engine results. Companies either bid or pay a flat rate per click to appear under specific keywords.

Pay Per Click in Search Results

“Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance”

This military mantra was commonly recited by my Marine Officer father while I was growing up; usually, in response to my procrastination. The 7 P’s have stayed with me through the years and I thought now would be a good time to share them with you as it pertains to Pay-Per-Click.

Proper- Research, Research, Research! Know what the competition is doing. What searches are they ranking for? What keywords best describe what it is you do? What keywords are people actually searching for? Google AdWords is equipped with free tools that will help determine these. Also, understand the full concept of PPC. Know the difference between Flat-Rate and Bid Based PPC. Point is: know what is going on in your industry, but also think outside the box and find the right keywords to accomplish your goals.

Prior- Start early. Use the research (see above) to determine the right keywords and begin the process of setting up the PPC now. The fewer bidders for a keyword, the cheaper that ad will be. Added bonus, the sooner the ad is running, the sooner potential customers will find you!

Planning- Put some thought into the strategy you want to employ. Are you in a highly competitive field where there is little product differentiation? What search results are going to yield the highest return on investment? Is it better to pay more for an ad returned more frequently, or pay less for multiple ads returned less frequently? Think things through. There are systems in place to help in the bidding process. This has become highly automated so every advantage must be employed.

Prevents- My grandmother is the queen of clichés. We call them “Nanny-isms” but usually they hold true. One that comes to mind is “An ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure”. Time spent on the planning phase is well worth the benefits down the road. Think the plan through and follow it. Revise as necessary, but always remember to stay focused.

Piss- This is the emphasis part. Research, Think, Plan, Act…it is that simple!

Poor- Without that plan, your efforts will begin to wane. Investing some time and money in systems to optimize the bidding process goes a long way.

Performance- The planning is complete, the steps have been taken, and the plan is working! Continue on the path and the results will be amazing. Always adapt and shift with the changing markets and be on the lookout for the next keyword and you will be number 1 not only in search results, but in your customer’s mind.

Trevor B Reed is the COO of Synactable an Internet Marketing & Public Relations Company in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @TrevorBReed

Websites for Charleston, SC CPA and Accounting Firms

Brian Rogel — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:52:30 +0000

Finding clients can be hard for CPA firms. The majority of people find accountants through either word-of-mouth or a quick online search. There is a huge amount of missed opportunities if the proper tools are not implemented.

Life is Busy for CPAs in Charleston, SC

Let’s face it, there never seems to be enough time to get everything accomplished. Accountants and CPAs already have a full plate. Between active clients, meetings, follow up, and keeping up with new legislation it is easy to see how marketing can become an afterthought.

The Key is Ranking High in Charleston, South Carolina Searches for Accounting and CPA Firms

Search Engine Optimization – The way a website is structured and coded makes a huge impact on where it ranks when searched for. Search Engine Optimization is the key piece for bringing in waives of new clients through your front door. There are many CPAs in the Charleston area. The traffic pulled in from having a top five search engine ranking compared to outside the first page is enormous.

Accountants Can be Social Too

Social Media and Branding – The best way to spread word-of-mouth is through the use of social media. When confronted with our own dilemma of finding a Charleston accountant, we went to someone we were referred to through Twitter. We aren’t the only ones who use social networks in this way. Many people use services like Twitter and Facebook to do research on companies and find out who has a quality track record. It is imperative for companies to have a presence on these media sources especially in an industry as competitive as accounting.

CPAs Benefit From Quality Web Design

Web Design and Usability – Once people are on your site they need to quickly find what they are looking for. Your website should be structured in a way that lets users navigate easily, find useful information, and contact you with almost no thinking involved. A well structured design leads to an increased conversion ratio and more quality clients.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable an Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

The Importance of Friends and Family in Business

Brian Rogel — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 22:02:39 +0000

Your personal life doesn’t stop at work, and your professional life doesn’t stop after you clock out. The harder you try to build barriers and perfect schedules, the more blurred the line seems to become.

So what’s the solution? The first time I ever felt at peace with this concept was when I finally gave up on separating the two. It’s too hard to be one person at work and a completely different person a few hours later. Here are the three groups of people who are the reason why home and work shouldn’t be separated:

FRIENDS

Photo taken in a blizzard that dropped 2 feet of snow during my friend’s wedding

Friends: I guarantee there is at least one person who would unquestioningly drop anything if you were ever in need. True friends aren’t there for handouts or to judge you, but simply because they want to be. These people undoubtedly know you better than you know yourself. Sometimes situations come up at work that we refuse to accept for what they really are. Listen to your friends because they will always have your best interest at heart.

FAMILY

Yes, that is me as a baby

Family: Even the most loving families will have their bumps along the way. Have you ever gotten into an argument during the holidays? How about heard a door slam so loud that the whole house shook? Anyone have a group dinner in complete silence? You’re not alone, but the beauty of family is they are incredibly forgiving and want to be there to help you along your journey.

Ever since my growth spurt stopped in 8th grade and my dream to be the next great NBA power forward died at 6’0, I had time to take a step back and realized that my parents were my real heroes. I wasn’t exactly the poster child for discipline growing up, and I got into my fair share of trouble. My family never gave up on me regardless of how far I wandered off my path. Your family will be there to help you in any way they can and that includes professionally. They can help with advice, networking, recommendations, or simply to listen when you just need to vent.

COWORKERS

Village at Blacksburg coworkers who were incredible

Coworkers: Once you factor out sleep, you spend almost half of your life with coworkers (scary, I know). Don’t treat coworkers like you’re forced to interact with them, and they won’t be compelled to act like it. Here are two pieces of advice that have been invaluable to me.

In regard to colleagues, “kill them with kindness”. When someone comes at you red-faced with steam shooting from their ears, meet them half way with the exact opposite attitude. You won’t believe how often it will stop people in their tracks. Trust me, it will have them cooled off and apologizing within 24 hours. Being friendly and polite during delicate situations will save office relationships.

For your superiors, “you will be the one who gets noticed if you continually put your effort into making your boss look good.” Your services will be in high demand once upper management realizes you have a track record of improving teams and making people around you look better.

If you are a supervisor, make sure to remember that your employees are actual people with life struggles just like yours. When personal emergencies arise be graceful and allow your workers to straighten them out. We can all agree that when faced with a true friend or family crisis it is impossible to regroup and be productive until it has been resolved. It benefits your employee, your company, and your office moral if you actually allow people to be people.

Life is all about balance and compromise. There’s no reason to create additional stress by maintaining unneeded boundaries. Spend time with your loved ones and show your employers they can count on you. The rest will fall into place.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable an Online Marketing & Public Relations Company in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

Keywords on Websites Drive Targeted Traffic

Brian Rogel — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:56:59 +0000

We continue on with our “5 Ways to be the Master of Your Domain” series by moving to Keywords on Websites and URL Keywords. It’s always a great feeling to see your company’s name at the top of search results, but the best SEO won’t have benefits until it’s for relevant terms. This is where keywords come into play.

Great Keyword Usage on Websites Starts With Research

Google’s Keyword Tool is 100% free. It recommends keywords to use, shows estimated traffic, and the amount of competition for each.

Compete.com is a great tool to see which keywords your competitors rank highly for and the amount of traffic their website brings in.

SheerSEO.com is fantastic for tracking your own progress. I would suggest taking full advantage of their 90 day trial. SheerSEO tracks all of your target keywords overtime and through multiple search engines. It also follows your Pagerank and the value of your incoming links.

A Few Head Terms & Long Tail Terms Should be Targeted Per Page

Head terms are 1-2 keywords long and hold a high volume of searches. They bring great traffic but are the most challenging to rank highly for. The terms “search engines” and “marketing” would be examples of head terms.

Long Tail terms are strings of keywords 3+ words long. These bring a lower volume of traffic, but the traffic generated is more focused. An example of a long tailed keyword is “Keywords on Websites in Charleston”

Once You Have Targeted Keywords it’s Time to Place Them Correctly

Title Tags – These are extremely important so make sure your keywords are present. Keep the tags at a maximum length of 70 characters to avoid getting cut off and write them in a way that is easy for people to understand.

H-Tags – These are pieces of code that should be written into each page. They help organize your headlines by importance when search engines crawl your website. Each page can have one H1 tag and multiple H2-H6 tags. Make sure to focus on adding keywords to each of these major headlines.

Links – Anchor text (covered in-depth in an upcoming blog) is the highlighted text associated with a link. Search engines hold these in very high regard and equate the highlighted words to the page being linked to. Unless you want a page associated with the term “Click Here”, I suggest using a keyword or phrase you are targeting.

In the text – Search engines weigh words in significance from left to right. This goes for titles, tags, links, and text. Make sure to have some of the keywords you value close to the beginning of your page.

Pictures – Search engines can’t see your pictures. They rely on the file names, alt attributes, and surrounding text to paint the picture for them. It’s helpful to save pictures with keywords in their file names. An example would be saving a picture with the file name “search-engines-picture.jpg” (Google and other search engines read hyphens as spaces)and then using an alt attribute description for the picture that includes the word “search engines” and finally placing the picture in a section of the page focused on search engines.

URL Keywords – The home page for this website is synactable.com. Each subsequent page is saved in a file which shows up behind the domain name. If you click on our page about Social Media it will take you to the URL http://www.synactable.com/social-media-marketing-sm.html. The URL is formatted this way because the page is saved in a file with the name social-media-marketing-sm. These URL keywords can be helpful for both users and search engines for information about the page content.

Meta Description – This is important for the person doing the searching. It does hold some significance to search engines, but it’s more essential to write them for people. Over stuffing the meta description with keywords can make your website look spammy and will lower your search engine traffic. What’s helpful for searching is the keywords used in the meta description and webpage file name will be highlighted in the search results.

One important point to note is that each page in your website should target different keywords. If each page has the same title or keyword phrases then Google and other search engines will devalue them. If you have multiple products it is extremely beneficial to give each product its own page. This will increase your ranking for each product significantly.

With some research and a little bit of work, you’ll have your website pulling in waves of new traffic.

5 Ways to be the Master of Your Domain

Blogging
Keywords & Search Engines
Link Structure & Anchor Text
Social Networking
Analytics

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

5 Ways to be The Master of Your Domain|Blogs

Brian Rogel — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:58:11 +0000

Anyone reading this post probably realizes how important websites are for businesses. If websites are properly constructed they will give your company a voice, create sales, and build customer relationships. The process isn’t over once your website is up-and-running because even the best looking website won’t accomplish much if people can’t find it.

Search Engine Optimization is the process of moving your website up the “results list” when people search for particular terms. This is the first post in a five part series explaining the areas of SEO that are crucial for adding more traffic to your website.

Part one of this series will cover why every single website should be utilizing blogs.

Blogs For Business

There are two reasons why people use search engines. They are either looking for information or wanting to be entertained. Your blog can cover both those needs while also increasing your overall ranking.

(Ok, some subjects like SEO may be a little more difficult to keep entertaining, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.)

A search engine’s biggest goal is to get the most relevant information to the people looking for it. There are 1,000 different techniques for moving your website up the rankings. The most effective of them all is to actually create that relevant information people are looking for.

Look at Each Individual Blog Post as Its Own Website

Find a keyword or string of search terms that you would like to rank highly for and make sure to position them strategically throughout your page (keywords are covered later in this series). Don’t forget to stay in the same overall industry that your website is on. Google won’t care much about a blog written about “competitive Alaskan skinny-dipping” on a website about South Carolina knitting companies. It won’t add a bump to your base website ranking and you’ll also leave people very confused.

In the end, ranking highly is all about three things:
1. Creating Valuable Information
2. Making it Easy to Find
3. Implementing a Search Engine Friendly Format

Your blog NEEDS to be the starting point for all three.

5 Ways to be the Master of Your Domain

Blogs
Keywords & Search Engines
Link Structure & Anchor Text
Social Networking
Analytics

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

95SX Charleston 2 Girls & A Guy Discuss The Lowcountry 11 Article

Synactable — Sat, 29 May 2010 20:00:14 +0000

The fantastic people at 95SX discussed the “11 Best People in Charleston, SC You Should Follow on Twitter” on air May 28th.

Here is a Clip From The 2 Girls & A Guy radio show on 95SX Charleston Hit Music:

WSSX LOWCOUNTRY TWITTER 11

Customer Relationship Management: Not Just a Complaint Department

Trevor B Reed — Fri, 28 May 2010 23:14:08 +0000

Life has steadily become faster ever since the industrial revolution and the invention of the assembly line. Time is at a premium and consequently, business interactions are getting shorter and shorter.

Look at your own schedule. How often do you eat fast-food because you “don’t have the time”? Sadly, the level of service we expect is inversely tied with the speed we need things accomplished. As a society, our expectation of fast-food establishments and many other industries is already too low. We only seem to require the products we purchases to be made correctly and for the service to be adequate. In this fast-paced society, a business that takes the time to genuinely interact with customers without wasting their time should be hailed above all others.

There are a myriad of specific “to-do’s” and “not-to-do’s” (Discussed in an upcoming blog) but the basic point is to let customers know they are appreciated and that the company values their business, opinion, and concerns. The other side is to make sure not to waste a customer’s time. Society is not slowing down any time soon, but an individual customer will slow down in order to be properly taken care of. The balancing act that every business faces is giving a large amount of important information, while being concise and not wasting time. The best solution for your online marketing is creating a strategy that has a Usability focused Web Design and strong Social Media presence.

Web Usability
Different customers need different things and each target marked should be approached as such. With time at a premium, the easier a potential customer can navigate your website, the better. Let them find what they are looking for, when they are looking for it.

Social Media
This is where customers will be spending some time. People want to interact with businesses comprised of people who care about them. Quality interactions are a must. This is accomplished by posting real questions and responding to customer answers. A company running contests and social media specific promotions is going to get a lot more traffic on their Facebook or Twitter pages than one that is mindlessly spitting out sales pitches.

The world will continue to speed up so businesses need to make their information readily available. There is no substitute for genuine interaction. As busy as your customers are, they always have time to be appreciated!

*Handshake picture taken by AndyRob and used under Creative Commons

Trevor B Reed is the COO of Synactable an Online Marketing & Public Relations Company in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @TrevorBReed

The Death of Resumes in Marketing

Brian Rogel — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:36:17 +0000

Your eyes are hazy from the hours of tweaking, spell checking, and reviewing every detail of your resume. It’s so far past midnight you’re practically waiting for the sun to peak up over the horizon. If you hear even one more infomercial from the television quietly playing in the background, your head will literally explode.

Sound familiar? Well, we’ve all been there. So much time and effort goes into one piece of paper it’s simply mind boggling. I spent five months taking a business class that specialized in resumes and job searching while in college. My resume had over thirty different people critique it and had numerous revisions. I researched terms to use, terms not to use, formats, writing styles, and plenty of ways to bolster my experience. Why? Because my entire 16 years of schooling, 7 years of working, and countless hours of volunteering were going to be first judged from that single sheet of paper.

Resumes are already overly time-consuming. All that wasted time is spent looking back at previous jobs. Why are we forced to put so much importance on past events in an age where society is constantly looking ahead toward the future?

Two Job Search Scenarios:

Let’s say you’re the manager of an inventive up-and-coming online marketing company (haha…couldn’t help myself.) You aren’t going through a hiring freeze, but you also don’t have any positions you are actively trying to fill. This is where most companies fall into.

Job Search With a Resume:

A professionally dressed woman stops by your office looking for a job. She introduces herself, hands her resume to you, and leaves after a few minutes of talking. Even though her resume looks pristine, it’s immediately placed in a stack with twenty other resumes that were dropped off over the past month.

Job Search Without a Resume:

Another woman stops by and asks if you have a minute to sit and talk with her. She doesn’t bring a resume, but she does have a folder with a few papers. She has followed your company and has seen an area she feels can be improved. She then shows a specific example to back up her claim. Finally, she talks about how she can personally improve this area and shows you the actual amount of money that your company will save by employing her.

One of these women spent all her time formatting the perfect resume. The other didn’t bring one because she spent her time researching your company and ways she could personally provide a benefit. Which of these two women would you hire?

Future Resume and Job Search Implications:

The marketing industry is continually looking two steps down the road. Chances are, it’ll be these forward-thinking industries that will first embrace this shift. Overall, the world of human resources won’t change overnight. People will still ask for your resume. What should change is where the majority of your time is spent during your job hunt process. Focus your job search efforts on how your specific contributions will help the businesses you’re applying for. Be the first person to show these companies just how outdated resumes really are.

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable an Online Marketing & Public Relations Company in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

Synactable Featured on HunterBoone.com

Synactable — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:32:58 +0000

Synactable is a new start-up based in Charleston, SC. They offer full online-marketing support and PR. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Brian Rogel, the CEO of Synactable.com. His company’s website recently has gone live to the public and they are blogging about it. Rogel has recently listed his recommended, Top-11 Tweeters, in Charleston, SC. I was browsing through…Read More

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11 Best People in Charleston to Follow on Twitter

Brian Rogel — Thu, 20 May 2010 01:17:35 +0000

Let’s face it, Twitter is filled with many accounts being run by robots, hackers, and spammy salesmen. Sometimes it can be hard to know the real people you should be following, especially on a local level. There are many people in social media who’ve been very influential to me. These are 11 of the best from Charleston, South Carolina everyone should have an eye on. Why 11? Well, because I’m bored with lists of 10.

Here are the Charleston Twitter “Lowcountry Eleven”:

@BoKnowsFitness – Bo Taylor – “Fitness/Aquatics Manager for the Daniel Island Club & owner of Bo Knows Fitness. Certified Personal Trainer specializing in weight loss & sports performance.”

*I always appreciate other people who are interested in fitness, and Bo flat out gets it. He’s very informative and willing to answer your questions.

@noaheverett – Noah Everett – “The nice guy that finished first – founder of Twitpic”

*This is the man behind the pictures. Many people use services like Twitpic but never stop to think about where they actually come from. Noah is one of the few extremely smart programmers who still manages to keep his tweets light and humorous.

@ItsBrookeRyan – Brooke Ryan – “Brooke Ryan from the 2 Girls and a Guy Morning Show on 95SX! Bring on the TWEET!”

*Brooke is constantly on the move whether she’s radio hosting in the morning, attending one of Charleston’s many events, or spending time with her friends. She shares my love of the Ravenel bridge, and could possibly rival me for Charleston’s lack of sleep award…if there was one…which there should be.

@AshleyTCaldwell – Ashley Thiesen Caldwel – “Owner of The Modern Connection, LLC. Social Media. PR. Marketing. Generation Y-er. Philanthropy. Dog Owner. AF Wife. Colorado Native. Southern Belle at Heart.”

*Now you may be thinking, “Brian, don’t you realize she runs a competing Social Media consulting company?” Well, I’m glad you brought that up. The fact that she does and I still want her on this list should show you how much I value the information she provides. Ashley is very friendly and you can tell that she truly loves this industry.

@lynnftw – Lynn Forthewin – “Pizza makes me happy. Also, red wine, knitting, cleaning, good green, sunshine, and headshotting angry kids on XBL. I like to create things. Hi.

*Lynn is a blogger who is entertaining in every sense of the word. Don’t let her knitting comment fool you…if I could pick one person to run their own reality TV series, this would be the girl. Follow her and you’ll understand why.

@thehrgoddess – Jane Perdue – “Creative leadership consultant, coach, speaker and writer who inspires & collaborates @ the intersection of the art of leadership & the science of business”

*Her name pretty much says it. She is a HR mastermind and filled with inspiration.

@brandy3216 – Brandy Weber – “25. Preschool Teacher. @JustForFunChs . Bubbly. Happy. Smiles Alot. Loves the beach,socializing and her dog Callie. Virgo. Grew up in Pittsburgh.”

*Brandy is one of the most social and kind-hearted people I know. It’s easy to see how much she cares about everyone around her. Also, she is THE person to know when it comes to what’s going on in the Charleston area.

@joeygirard – Joe Girard – “on-air afternoons 2-7p on 95SX in chucktown! avid hoopster & supreme wearer of the v-neck. and I don’t force it.”

*To be honest, I could probably create an entire list from the awesome group of people who work at the 95SX radio station. I thought I would include one more. If you’re like me and enjoy sports, friendly people, and a good laugh than you probably should be following him too.

@HunterBoone – Hunter Boone – “Being nerdy and making a living off of it. My internet-life is @ HunterBoone.com. Oh yea, it’s official you guys. I’m edgy…”

*Hunter is a blogger and freelance designer. He does a great job to keep things interesting while passing along a lot of information about the world of web design.

@DoctorZipp – Dr. John Zipp – “Stress Management Coach, Chiropractor. I teach people how to get to the core of what is stressing them out, not just cover it up”

*In an age where everyone is stressed for one reason or another, this man found the right industry. He’s very personable and is always reaching out to help anyone he can.

@fashionfanD – Dee Marin – “22 y/o, Manager/Merchadising Specialist, LOVE fashion outspoking person! Friendly! Nice.. In Love w/ life and the people around me!”

*Dee’s someone else who really hit it dead-on with his profile. He always finds a way to brighten the lives of all his friends…period.

That is just a small sample of what Charleston has to offer. There are plenty of incredible people just waiting to meet you. So get out there, jump on your favorite social media website, and start interacting today.

*UPDATE* -This article was discussed on air by 95SX. Follow this link to hear a clip from the show: 95SX Charleston 2 Girls & A Guy Discuss The Lowcountry 11 Article

Brian Rogel is the CEO of Synactable a Marketing & Public Relations Firm in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @BrianRogel

Foursquare: It’s a No-Brainer

Trevor B Reed — Tue, 18 May 2010 14:22:39 +0000

Any bartender will tell you that their best customers are their regulars. They tend to know how the restaurant works (menu, specials, flow, etc.), tip bigger, and bring in more friends. These regulars, these social captains should be your target. Now, imagine if there was an easy way for you to:

1. find out who your restaurant’s social captains are

2. Give them an incentive to visit your establishment more often

3. Reward your most prolific patron for the duration of their reign as frequency champion

Turns out there is. The name is Foursquare and if you run a restaurant, night club, bar or similar establishment, you need to be using it now.

Succeeding With Foursquare

Once your business is set up in Foursquare, your patrons can “check in” via their smart phone every time they visit you. This tells all their friends where they are and is an automatic invitation to join. It also can be posted to the customer’s social media pages to reach a larger audience. Obviously there are great opportunities with this type of media. There could be special Foursquare only deals, parties, or other relevant events. The point behind all of this is to reward those guests who visit you most.

These guests also tend to bring their friends with them who in turn bring theirs. How profitable would your business be if your dining room was packed with your most frequent customers and their closest friends?

Reward The Foursquare Mayor of Your Restaurant

There is an honor bestowed upon the most frequent visitor to a particular place. This high honor is known as the Mayor and there should be an extra benefit given to this person. Also, the patrons can leave suggestions and recommendations for their friends when they visit you, such as the best specialty drink, best deal, coolest waitress, and more. Did I mention that this glorious service is free? By this time, you should already be looking for the website (foursquare.com), and if you’re not, I guarantee your competition is.

Trevor B Reed is the COO of Synactable an Online Marketing & Public Relations Company in Charleston, SC. Contact him by leaving a message below or tweet him at @TrevorBReed

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Brian Rogel & Trevor Reed Attend Spark Charleston – Wahlog.com

Synactable — Tue, 04 May 2010 19:10:07 +0000

Yesterday evening, I attended the open house for and at Spark Charleston:

Spark Charleston is a startup incubator in the heart of historic downtown Charleston, SC that will offer free space & office amenities to high potential startup companies & entrepreneurs.

The concept and space are perfect for this purpose…Read More

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