Compass Design

Marlboro Marketing Class Websites

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:07:08 +0100

A few months ago I posted about a new Web 2.0 Marketing with Joomla Graduate Course I was going to teach with Jen Kramer McKibben at the Marlboro Graduate School.

Student assignments have included doing keyword research, optimizing their sites for Google, implementing link building campaigns and developing on line advertising plans.

We have 24 students in the class, and I'd thought I take a quick opportunity to show you some of the websites that are being worked on:

D[...]

14 Modern SEO Best Practices for 2009

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:39:10 +0100

SEOMoz just posted a great list of 14 best practices for modern SEO that they are using with their consulting clients. Some real interesting tips, like the lack of importance of H1 tags and meta keywords.

Keep reading for review of the 14, with some notes about possible Joomla implications.

You can read more about these at SEOMoz: SEO Best Practices

Title Tag Format

Primary Keyword - Secondary Keywords | Brand
Or
Brand Name | Primary Keyword [...]

New Update Released to Joomla Template Inspirion

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:51:27 +0100

Joomlashack's Inspirion Joomla Template is one of the most innovative templates currently on the market. Its built using the 960 grid, a CSS system that gives you a tableless layout and a fast loading site, great for SEO!

Its one of the first commercial professional templates to validate XHTML Strict. This is a high benchmark to[...]

Joomla Day New York City

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:52:40 +0100

Coming on October 12th is the 3rd Joomla Day to be located in the US in 2009 in New York City.

This is the first time there have been so many Joomla events in the US, along with three Joomla Days, they'll be two CMS Expo's and countless Joomla training classes across the country. Its great sign that Joomla is making the move from Europe and Australia and establishing a firm foothold in the States.

What's in Joomla Day NYC?

This full day program should prove to be extremely va[...]

New Joomla 1.5 Training Video and 2nd Edition of Book Released

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:22:33 +0100

I am very excited that some great new resources to learn how to Joomla are now available, Joomla! 1.5: A User's Guide: Building a Successful Joomla! Powered Website (2nd Edition) and Fundamentals of Joomla! (Video Training)!

The second edition of the book is an update of the best selling book on Joomla, bringing it up to date with the latest [...]

Slides and Podcasts from Joomla Day New England

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 20:26:10 +0100

Although its been a few weeks now, I still have not posted about what a great event the recent Joomla Day was in Brattleboro, Vermont. The organizing team did a great job with the event, and the lunch time barbecue was great.

There are slides and podcasts of all the presentations available...

Photos of the event (Thanks, Doug Patac, for doing these for us!) Elin's review of Joomla Day at Joomla.org Mitch Pirtle's slides from his extensions talk Barb Ackemann's resources for creatin[...]

New Joomla Directory for Joomla Businesses

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:35:54 +0100

Last week a great new directory was launched at joomla.org, the Joomla Resource Directory. Its a place where those that offer Joomla services can advertise their Joomla services.

There are already many different categories, and it looks like that the listings will be free, but with an option for paid listings.

The official blurb reads:

"In response to overwhelming interest and requests from the Joomla community, the Joomla Project is pleased to announce the Joomla[...]

10 Million Joomla Downloads Reached

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:25:58 +0100

The Joomla project recently reached its 10 millionth download of its popular CMS, a great milestone for the project, and in only 4 years.

Last year I estimated that over 30 million sites use Joomla, though obviously that number must be bigger now.

Interestingly enough, last month I also did some work breaking down the trends of 1.0 to 1.5 downloads of Joomla, you can see the results in this graph.

Monthly 1.0 and 1.5 downloads of joomla

Update to Joomla 1.5.11 in under 30 seconds

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 11:35:14 +0100

Joomla 1.5.11 has been released, and it includes security patches, so its important to update. But getting your Joomla site upgraded to the new version can be tricky, especially if you are using FTP.

Fortunately, there is an easier way, check out Joomlashack's tutorial How to Update Joomla 1.5 Versions.

You'll need SSH access, and remember to back up first!

Of course, if you want to never have to bother with updating Joomla or your extensions ever again, you can try [...]

How to Set up Registration as a Google Analytics Goal in Joomla 1.5

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:18:35 +0100

Over the last week I have been talking (How to Track Offsite Links for Google Goals in Joomla) about how to use Google Analytics for your Joomla site to better track conversions, marketing efforts, and the usability of your site.

Allowing users to register at a Joomla site is very very common. It also makes a great goal to track. Discovering the URL to use in the funnel path is a little tricky, as there is a confirmation email involved. When users register on a Joomla 1.5 site, they g[...]

How to Track Offsite Links for Google Goals in Joomla

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:29:51 +0100

Google Goals. Love 'em, use 'em, make business decisions based on them.

If you didn't know what a "Google goal" is, its a feature of Google Analytics. It allows you to set up a specific and discrete goal for something on your website. Examples might be:

Making a purchase Downloading a white paper Filling out a contact form Downloading a file

I'd thought I'd share some help I passed onto students from the Web 2.0 Marketing with Joomla Graduate Course. The class[...]

What the Heck is a Google Wonderwheel

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

/boggle

If you haven't noticed, there has been HUGE change in Google's search results. The weird "google wonder wheel" is the least of it.

Are you ready for the new search landscape?

5 Tips to Promoting Your Content

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Recently I wrote an article that proved to be immensely popular. I then thought it would be good to reach out to a favorite Joomla! blog of mine: Compass Designs. Here is a companion piece to my original post on promoting your Joomla content, Five (more) tips to promoting your content.

Build relationships

Creating working relationships across your industry can only help you. Even if you don't guest blog, reach out to other site owners that focus on the same topic. Some ways you[...]

Joomlaworks K2 Raw Video Review

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

One of the more exciting new releases for Joomla 1.5 recently has been K2 from Joomlaworks.

K2 is a content construction component, which lets you create custom content types (items) for your Joomla! website. With K2, build all sorts of different types of page: news, blogs, product catalogs, work portfolio, knowledge base, download/document manager, direc[...]

Come get Trained on Joomla and get a 10 hour free DVD

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Our first Joomla training class is fast approaching, May 28th in Manchester, NH!

I am excited to announce that all students will be getting a copy of my new Joomla Fundamentals Video Training DVD. Over 10 hours of over-the-shoulder tricks and tips on Joomla.

Check out the Jooml[...]

The Ultimate Top 10 Joomla Extensions

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

When we speak at events, or do Joomla training, one of the questions we get asked again and again is:

"What are your favorite Joomla extensions?"

There have been lots of people that have tried to answer this question, and its a hard one. One thing that I think makes it hard is the question isn't "what is the best extension?" That sort of question is really focusing on a particular scenario. The questioner perhaps means something like "what is the best [...]

2 days left to get early bird training discount in Manchester

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Wed, 06 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

A few weeks ago we announced our New 2009 Joomla Training Dates. The first session is in Manchester, NH on May 28th

I am extending the early bird discount to this Friday 8th May. Get $50 off by booking your place now!

Beginner Joomla Training May 28th Manchester, NH

Chicago CMS Expo Roundup

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Tue, 05 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Just got back from a great two days at the 2009 Chicago CMS Expo. It was great to see dev's from Drupal and Plone rubbing shoulders with the Joomla regulars.

I had an opportunity to have a quick interview with SDRnews, and gave away some pre-release copies of the Joomla! 1.5: A User's Guide (2nd Edition)

Free Tweet This Plugin for Joomla 1.5

barriesuperadmin@compassdesigns.net — Mon, 04 May 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Over the last week weeks I have be preparing for my graduate class (starts Saturday!) on Web 2.0 Marketing with Joomla. I was on the lookout for a simple plugin that could provide a Tweet this link to twitter and show it in blog posts and articles.

I was surprised that I couldn't find one, apart from the Javascript "tweetmeme" script. This works well, but inserts *their* twitter name into the tweet.

So, I pinged Fotis at Joomlaworks and we collaborated on an easy sol[...]

New 2009 Joomla Training Dates

barrie@compassdesigns.net — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0100

Need Joomla training in 2009? You're in business!

Announcing the most complete tour of Joomla trainings ever- 6 sessions in 5 cities across New England.

Most of the sessions are for beginners but we are excited to add 2 intermediate classes in Boston and Manchester (NH).

Get going this spring and summer! More dates will be added, to keep coming back. It's a great time to invest in yourself and your Joomla skills

Beginner Joomla Training May 28th Manchester, N[...]