Web Marketing by Mark McLaren and McBuzz Communications

Web 2.0 Seminar in Seattle: Introduction to Web 2.0

Mark McLaren — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:28:44 +0000

INTRODUCTION TO WEB 2.0: SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
AND YOUR BUSINESS

WHEN: This event has been canceled.

If you would like to offer your support, we would love to add your donation to the cause. It’s easy and takes only a few minutes - not like the combined 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13 mile run we will be doing!

Search Engine Optimization for Your Blog

Mark McLaren — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:40:10 +0000

If you’re looking for search engine optimization tips for your blog, check out this interview by Shawn Hessinger at PostRanger.com: McBuzz talks Search Engine Optimization for your blog

PostRanger.com provides professional blogging services to market your business or organization on the World Wide Web.

Adding a blog to an existing website is one of the best and least expensive ways to improve the overall search ranking of your web pages! With help from companies like PostRanger.com and McBuzz Communications, you can’t go wrong!

The Meaning of Web 2.0

Mark McLaren — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:26:49 +0000

The video below by Mike Wesch conveys the meaning of “Web 2.0” in under five minutes. Thanks to Marc Schiller of RainPartners for the link.

What IT consultants like Marc Schiller and others have discovered is that one way to harness the power of Web 2.0 for marketing and communications is by using a state-of-the-art WordPress website. “Forget about information heirarchy”, Marc says. “Just create content. Tag it. Assign categories to it. Then let your WordPress theme structure the content in ways that make sense to your users.”

Forget about information heirarchy. Just create content. Tag it. Assign categories to it. Then let your WordPress theme structure the content in ways that make sense to your users.”
- Marc Schiller

As the video points out, you don’t need to know HTML anymore to create and share content online. And “online” includes mobile devices!

Next generation websites and social network home pages will all have your preferences in mind. Their content will be structured based on your selections, choices, search and user history. Custom home pages like iGoogle are already doing this. Facebook is doing the same. WordPress websites have similar capabilities: every visitor to your site can have her own username and password; private pages will only display when users login. The bottom line is that you want your website to be as flexible and responsive to user interests and preferences as possible.

Traditional search engine optimization using “universal” keywords is going to be less and less relevant. But as long as you continue to make rich, useful content available online, things will be fine.

To learn more about how a state-of-the-art WordPress website can harness the power of Web 2.0 and connect you with friends, customers and colleagues, call McBuzz at (206) 962-9119.

WordPress PollDaddy Poll - How Do You Use McBuzz.com?

Mark McLaren — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:42:10 +0000

You can create a professional-looking online survey or poll on your WordPress blog - or any website - in about 5 minutes using PollDaddy. You can customize the look and feel of the survey or poll using CSS, or pick from a set of snappy-looking prefab themes.

Polls are great for getting quick feedback from your visitors. And they are so easy to create with PollDaddy, you can start using them immediately.

Let me know if you need help installing the WordPress plugin. On WordPress.com-hosted sites, the plugin is already installed. PollDaddy will work on almost any blog, including Blogger.com, and on any website that allows you to edit the HTML. There are many great features, including the fact that you can export the data from your survey or poll as a spreadsheet or xml file.

Here’s an example:

SEO Snake Oil

Mark McLaren — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:14:40 +0000

Internet pundit John Dvorak recently called Search Engine Optimization “the modern version of snake oil”. Unfortunately, people will listen to what Dvorak says about SEO because he has tons of visibility - notoriety? - on the Web. Search Engine Watch’s Mark Jackson writes a good rebuttal of Dvorak’s article here: “SEO Snake Oil“.

I (sometimes) find Dvorak’s views refreshing. He is not afraid to speak his mind. But with that kind of authority he should act more responsibly and show some forethought. How about asking for some input from the SEO community?

Among other things, I notice that Dvorak does not understand the difference between “tags” and “metatags”. Tags are a relatively new way of classifying information on the Web. Metatags (or “meta tags”) are part of the HTML section of code in a Web page. Some meta tags are used for search engine optimization. Clearly, Dvorak does not know what he is talking about when it comes to SEO.

Had he talked to a professional like Mark Jackson or Vanessa Fox before spouting off, they would have easily cleared up any misunderstanding.

SEO has a reputation as a kind of dark, mystical art. It’s not that well understood, and there are those who prey on business owner’s ignorance by selling them shoddy SEO services without having to be accountable for poor results. But search optimization is not rocket science. It is mostly common sense stuff that any good SEO practicitioner can explain clearly and understandably - and implement with measurable results.

If you are thinking of hiring an SEO professional, ask them for references and ask to see case studies or records of results they have produced for their clients. And don’t call SEO “snake oil” until you have read a book like “Search Engine Optimization for Dummies” or talked to a professional and looked into it a bit.

AdWords & Pay-Per-Click Tip: Use a Custom Landing Page

Mark McLaren — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:40:08 +0000

When you pay for an AdWords ad, or an ad on the Yahoo or MSN search marketing networks, it’s a good idea to use a custom landing page. What’s the most important feature of a custom landing page? Arguably, it’s that the keyword that triggered the ad appear on the web page the ad takes you to.

This may seem obvious to some readers, but I’m always surprised to find major players in the online marketing space - real estate websites, in particular - that fail to apply basic search marketing techniques - like using custom landing pages with keywords placed in obvious locations.

Here’s an example. The following is a real AdWords ad:

Find a Loft in Seattle WA
Search for Condos & Lofts
Using Seattle’s Top Real Estate Search
www.TheMLSonline.com

This is a well-written ad: compelling, to the point. “Top Real Estate Search” sounds great. If I’m thinking of looking for a loft or condo in Seattle, this ad will catch my eye and might make me click.

But there’s a serious problem: no custom landing page.

Instead of taking me to a page that is set up so that I can easily find a loft or condo in Seattle, I’m taken to the generic home page of The MLS Online Seattle (http://sea.themlsonline.com/home ). The words “loft” or “condo” are nowhere to be found. The word “home” is all over the place. Are “home” and “loft” or “condo” synonymous? No way. Even if they were synonymous, “loft” and “condo” are keywords in the ad, so they should be displayed prominently on the landing page.

The AdWords ad above takes you to a generic MLS Online home page, not a custom landing page. The appropriate keywords do not appear, and it’s hard to find a loft or condo, which is why you clicked on the ad in the first place.

What’s even worse than the absence of the right keywords is that if I want to search for a loft or condo on this page, I have to scroll down to find and select the right menu options in order to do so. I don’t even see “loft” or “condo” in the menu options. Confusing! I don’t have time for this.

I guarantee that MLS Online is losing visitors immediately from this page because the page is not tailored to the people who are clicking on the ad.

But who has time to make custom landing pages? Well, I found a 4-bed, 5-bath, six-thousand-square-foot condo on this site that’s listed at $13,495,000.00. You would think MLS Online would be willing to spend 30-40 minutes customizing a landing page if it enabled them to sell that puppy!

Of course, one of the real strengths of pay-per-click and related forms of search marketing is that you can measure your results. Is it worth the time it takes to create a custom landing page? Go ahead and create one and send half of those who click on your ad to that page while sending the other half to the generic home page. Now you can use basic analytics software like Google Analytics to find out if people who go to the custom landing page are more likely to “convert” - fill out a contact form to request more information, download a brochure, pick up the phone and call (using a custom 800 number), etc. - or not. Simple as that.

Any good search marketing consultant will tell you that there are about five basic things you need to do to get the most out of your AdWords or Pay-Per-Click advertising dollars. Custom landing pages are near the top of the list.

WordPress 2.7 is Now Available for Your Blog or Website

Mark McLaren — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:26:07 +0000

WordPress version 2.7 was installed on WordPress.com blogs a few weeks ago, and it is now available for download on WordPress.org for installation on 3rd-party hosted blogs and websites.

If you haven’t checked out WordPress yet, I encourage you to go to WordPress.com and create a free blog. It takes about 10 minutes, maybe less.

McBuzz offers a collection of free WordPress tutorials. The downside of all the recent upgrades of WordPress is that many of these tutorials are done using version 2.3 or 2.5. The new version’s interface is quite a bit different from either of these. Time for some new WordPress tutorials!

In January, partner Wayne Bishop and I will begin offering our Intro seminars on Social Media for business marketing, communications and collaboration again. We always manage to talk about WordPress as part of our introduction to blogging in our Introducing Web 2.0 seminar. Please let me know what other kinds of topics you would like to see covered.

I’m also planning to offer a seminar devoted exclusively to Blogging as part of Web 2.0 - based on the same material in my recent Blogging 101 presentation.

And, if you would like to check out a state-of-the-art social-networking-for-business website, I encourage you to look at - and join - Biznik. Basic membership is free. The founders rock, and the network is awesome.

Blogging 101 - Introduction to Blogs and Web 2.0

Mark McLaren — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:57:29 +0000

I recently gave a presentation called “Blogging 101 - An Introduction to Blogs and Web 2.0″ to a Seattle business organization called The Alternative Board. You can view the slide show below. The presentation addresses the following questions and topics:

What is a blog? Why are blogs so popular? How is a blog different from a website? Why businesses love blogs. How blogs are being used today. Why blogs are part of Web 2.0. Why a blog is a prime example of a Web 2.0 tool.

What is Web 2.0? What does Web 2.0 mean to your business? Blogs as marketing tools. In addition to blogs, what are the other parts of a successful online marketing strategy? What should you consider before investing your time and money in a blog?

Examples of a typical (WordPress) blog administration interface. Free blog hosts versus paid third-party blog hosting. Steps in successful blog implementation.

The length and content of the presentation can be tailored to the needs of any group. If you are interested in having me present, give me a call: (206) 962-9119 or email using the link under the address above.

Blogging 101 - Introduction to Blogs and Web 2.0

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: blogging blogs)

Blog SEO Tip #1: Put Primary Keyword in Your Post Title

Mark McLaren — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:50:59 +0000

This is the first in a series of McBuzz Blog SEO tips. It includes a short video (below). The post and the video show how to use keywords in your blog so that people can find you in search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN/Live Search. If you only have time to do a few things to optimize blog posts, do these first! (SEO, as you probably know, stands for “search engine optimization”.)

Before you can put keywords anywhere, you have to decide which ones to use. An essential part of the SEO process is choosing the best keywords. How to do that is a topic I will address in a separate post. For now, let’s think of it like this:

To choose a good keyword, answer two questions:
1. What is my post about?
2. How would someone search for this information? In other words, what would they put in the search box? That’s a keyword.

Here’s the catch: if people aren’t using the same words you use to talk about your products or services, they won’t find you. To some, this may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s not obvious, especially not to people who use particular terms to talk about their products or services.

One example: I’m working with a client whose website sells stylish, well-designed baby clothing that acts like a baby bib. She calls it “performance baby wear”. It’s a perfect characterization, because it brands the clothing as high-end so it can be sold at an appropriate price, which is more than one would pay for a standard baby bib. The problem: no one searches for “performance baby wear”. People search for “baby bibs”.

For now, let’s assume you have picked the best keyword, or at least a good one. I’m calling this the “primary” keyword. It’s the topic of your post. Here’s what to do with it.

I’ll use my own post as an example. The title is “Blog SEO Tip #1: Where to Put Keywords”. The keyword here is “blog seo“. I put it at the beginning of my title, and I put it in the first paragraph. And (bonus tip) I used “initial caps” in my title, that is, I captialized the first letter of each word.

Does the keyword have to go at the beginning of your title? No. But it’s a good idea for a number of reasons.

Here’s where the built-in SEO features of blogging software like WordPress come in. WordPress automatically does the following with your post title:
1. It creates the page title (one of the most important places search engines look to see what a web page is about), and
2. It creates the page URL (assuming you have the “permalinks” feature turned on*).
Both of these are vital to good SEO, especially the page title. A keyword is most effective when it’s at the beginning of a page title.

THE PAGE TITLE

THE PAGE URL

BLOG SEO HAS OTHER, NON-SEO BENEFITS
Here’s another reason to put the keyword at the beginning of your title: RSS feeds are used more and more to display blog post titles in desktop widgets and on web pages. See titles of recent blog posts at Alltop Social Media for one example. If your post title is long, it may be cut off.

By putting the keyword or keywords at the beginning of the title, you ensure that the main topic of the post will be seen. What if I had titled my post “Here’s something I really want to tell you about blog SEO”. How much would that tell you about the post if you weren’t able to see the word “SEO”! Not much at all, which means fewer clicks.

Same goes for putting the keyword in the first paragraph. By doing so, you make the topic of your post obvious. Lots of feed readers and widgets on computer desktops display previews of blog posts consisting of the title and first paragraph. If you don’t get to the point of your post until the second or third paragraph, no one will see it unless they click to read the whole post. If you want to find new readers, you need to grab their attention when you have the chance.

Start putting your keyword at, or near, the beginning of your blog post titles, and in the first paragraph, today. Your posts are sure to rank higher for your keyword than they would have otherwise.

*Permalinks or “pretty permalinks” are URLs in plain English, as opposed to URLs made of strings of incomprehensible letters, numbers and other characters.
http://mcbuzz.com/2008/blog-seo-tip-1-put-primary-keyword-in-your-post-title/
as opposed to
http://mcbuzz.com/2008/index.php?p=423
URLs in plain English that contain keywords are better for SEO.

BLOG SEO TIP #1: THE MOVIE!
This is my first run at putting a blog post into a video. There’s still plenty of room for improvement! Let me know what you think. (Better recording equipment coming soon - with better screen shots.)

Use Delicious Bookmarks for Social Media Marketing

Mark McLaren — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:19:11 +0000

Delicious bookmarks are an easy and effective way to promote your business. They’re a great example of a Web 2.0 social media tool that can be used to share valuable information and insight, while at the same time establishing yourself as a resource in your field and building your brand.

In our Twitter seminar in Seattle last night, Web 2.0 Media Group colleague Wayne Bishop and I talked about identifying tools that you can learn to use quickly, and that bring a good return on your investment of time and effort. Many social media tools are free or low cost, so obviously it’s the time and engergy required to get up to speed and put them to use that you have to weigh when deciding which ones to use.

We also stressed the importance of understanding the audience you want to reach before jumping on any Web 2.0 technology bandwagon. If your ideal customers don’t use Twitter, then it may not work for you as a marketing tool. But if the articles, blogs or reviews your ideal customers read online are written by Twitter users, Twitter may well be a good place to spend some time - at least to see what those influential writers are talking about.

Delicious is an example of a Web 2.0 technology that has value for you as you use it, and it has additional value for those you share it with. Setting up an account is fairly simple. http://delicious.com/ Send me a comment below if you need help.

Be sure to use an effective username, like your name as one word in lower case, or the name of your business.

Here are two accounts I’m using. Wayne Bishop and I share access to the second account, so we can both put bookmarks there, and we use these bookmarks for the seminars we offer:
http://delicious.com/mcbuzz

http://delicious.com/web20mediagroup

You can connect one account to another by adding a user to your Network. I have added web20mediagroup to the mcbuzz Network so that anytime I save a bookmark to the mcbuzz account, I can send it to the web20mediagroup account, as well.

Anyone can visit your bookmarks online unless you mark them as “Do not share”. To share your bookmarks, just send someone a link for your account like the links above. And, you can do all sorts of other cool stuff with your bookmarks, or a particular subset of your bookmarks. You create subsets of your bookmarks by assigning tags to them.

One example: put your Delicious bookmarks into a sidebar on your blog or website. In WordPress, this is really easy to do using a sidebar widget. To see how to use WordPress widgets, check out these Business Blogging 101 tutorials:

How to Use a Text Widget to Customize a WordPress Sidebar

How to Add Flickr Photo Widget to a WordPress Theme Sidebar

There is a WordPress widget for Delicious that you can use to put bookmarks into a sidebar just like you see here on the Web 2.0 Media Group website (in the right sidebar - scroll down a bit to see them).

Since you are probably already creating bookmarks for yourself, why not put them on Delicious where you can share them with others and show people the kind of reading you are doing and what you think is important. And when you want to bookmark that Shopping Channel Jewelry Specials page, just be sure to click the “Do not share” box!