Brands are the solution, not the problem. Brands are how you sort out the cesspool.”

-Eric Schmidt

It’s uncommon for an SEO firm to talk intelligently about branding. Really uncommon. Domain names are a big issue for all of us.

In the case of Will Critchlow from Distilled, he’s hit a home run with his post Branding & Domain Names.

This post is something every blogger and business from mom & pops to large corporations should read.

“Brands are the solution, not the problem. Brands are how you sort out the cesspool.” -Eric Schmidt

~julian

Via Branding & Domain Names by author @WillCritchlow

Branding & Domain Names | distilled Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing

Great post from KISSmetrics – very useful examples of each area where they are showcasing awesome examples.

~ julian

via @KISSmetrics on their original blog post

Help Your Website Sell More: 11 Overlooked Page Elements That Drive Online Sales Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing

We’re moving LocalNa8ion.com back home to our mother ship at exceler8.com in the next 48 hours.

• You’ll be able to view all of our LocalNa8ion.com content at exceler8.com.
• We plan on continuing and expanding our local Internet marketing services and web design business – just under our original exceler8 shingle.
• exceler8.com will feature our consolidated content from LocalNa8ion.com and Exceler8ion.com
• We’re getting back to routine publishing. We need one voice to do that with as busy as we are. Not three.
• Expect to see a range of written and video content ranging from reviews, commentary, and how-to guides.
• We’ll cover the digital experience. It’s like what we’ve published on all our sites in the past, but more. And it’s what you think it is. What ever that is.

Like our sister blog exceler8ion.com that we started in 2005, LocalNa8ion.com has had a good run since 2006 as a specialty website for our company exceler8.

As local internet marketing and web design continue to grow in leaps and bounds, so goes our business. Our own  growth at exceler8 requires us to focus all our energy on serving our clients in that expansion and in building a smarter business.

We continue to connect with a cross section of business types, from local small business owners and startups who get their customers from around town, to companies who serve world markets, and bloggers and content marketers who know only one niche but aren’t the slightest bit confined by physical borders.

We like working with all types of people. It keeps us sharp and allows us to spot trends. We experiment every day. We’re still making it up as we go along. We can’t sit still for anything. Variety provides us…with air.

People are evolving, business is evolving. Yesterday I worked on website design, WordPress business websites, search engine optimization, copywriting, conversion rate optimization,  Google AdWords campaigns, and custom business dashboards. I interacted with my favorite contractors in the U.S. Tunisia, Bulgaria and India on skype, email and Podio. That, believe it or not, it a pretty normal day at our company.

This post is too long and there’s no time for editing. It’s the real world, the same one that you live in. Do your best, find your inspiration, make your mark. We hope to see your around exceler8.com soon – and all the places you actually hang out.

See you soon.

Julian Seery Gude
Founder and Editor LocalNa8ion.com
May 3, 2012

LocalNa8ion is moving Home to Exceler8.com Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing

All our original content on exceler8ion.com is moving to exceler8.com (don’t bother going there now, nothing to see yet).

You’ll still be able to read any exceler8ion post by selecting it as a category on the new site (once exceler8.com is setup in a couple of days).

Thanks for the learning, the sharing and the great memories!

First Overall Post
Shannon Seery Gude December 16, 2005
Title “Google Base, Optimized Job Postings and the Candidate Experience”

Julian Seery Gude’s First Post: December 16, 2005
Title: “The MySpace Generation | BusinessWeek.com”

Total Posts: 274
Grins: Too many to count
Awesome website headers that we still like years later: too many to list (a couple are shown here for old times sake).

All our best
Julian and Shannon
May 3, 2012

and no, we didn’t make the “pulling the plug” image below for the occasion, it’s an original header image and just seemed like it was made for a signing off post.  :-)

exceler8ion.com moving home to exceler8 Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing

This iPad app does look like it’s worth trying. ~julian

Via The Verge

Paper: the next great iPad app Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing

Apparently, youbiq has fixed the previous issue where removing the case was very difficult.

A 360 degree capable tripod for your iPhone is a must for panaorama shots like those Alex took of the Twit.tv studio as shown here:

http://www.360cities.net/image/twit-studio#159.95,3.26,70.0

Is it just me or is this amazing?! 

I haven’t tried one yet. How about you?

The Youbiq Gymbl http://www.youbiq.com/site/gymbl/

~julian

Via MacBreak Weekly Episode 292 from March 27th, 2012 Podcast http://twit.tv/show/macbreak-weekly/292

Gymbl iPhone Tripod for steady mobile photo and video or panoramas Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing

New Facebook page design anyone?

As Facebook says on their help page: “get the new Pages design by turning on your preview now, or you can wait until all Pages automically get upgraded on March 30, 2012.”

Either way, it’s high time we all unfurl our new page banners and images across Facebook’s main street.

Do you love a good handy reference document for new information you haven’t locked into a vacant brain cell? Me too, I especially like cheat-sheets that replace all need for memorization and thinking!

I’m updating client Facebook pages to take advantage of Facebook’s new page format so I needed just this kind of cheat-sheet.

My wife Shannon is my social media (and especially Facebook) guru and she graciously provided me with just the thing I was looking for and I’m sharing it with you here today. It’s a beauty.

Now, are you ready for some design inspiration for your facebook page?

I love what Lindsey Sanford Schmitt did with her personal Facebook page here. The interplay between her profile picture and cover photo work together to create an intriguing visual experience (another Shannon link).

Brands or business pages can and have done the same. Here’s a nice example from Hugh Briss where he incorporated a pair of scissors on a business profile picture and a dotted line on the botom of the cover photo to represent a coupon business.

Unlike a photo that just looks interesting, this makes the photo relevant and adds to what is being communicated. All business website photos should be adding to the story, otherwise they’re not helping your conversion rate.

Make sense?

Let me know if you’ve seen any good designs. Or anything that you think does a great job of adding to the story in some way. My friend Ryan suggested we look for bad examples, or ones of what ‘not to do’. Not hard at all I replied, just go look at my weeded out Facebook pages that are overdue for their refurb.

Cheers

~ julian

Via AllFacebook.com article on Timeline images

Best reference for new Facebook Timeline Page image specifications (with handy illustrations that normal human beings can understand) Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing

Two great ideas from a blogging master on how you can write compelling blog posts that generate traffic

Two great tips to generate popular blog posts straight from the lips of a blogging master.

Like you I run a small business. We share several things in common.

• no extra time
• almost all our actions must be tied directly back to revenue goals
• we’re probably the ones responsible for writing our own blog posts and posting social media updates

Here are two great ideas from Chris Brogan that I heard on CopyBlogger’s podcast called Internet Marketing for Smart People:

Chris Brogan’s Blogging Tips

• Write blog posts where your customer is the hero
• Write blog posts around the FAQ’s of your topic (sourced from your topic area e.g. Organic Farming)

Write posts where customer is the hero
When your customer uses your product or service to solve their problem in some way they become your product heroes. These stories are often compelling, especially to your audience who is likely to have a similar need or problem. Chris used an example in the podcast where a vacuum business could write about how one customer gets twice the life from their vacuum filter.

Write blog posts around the topics you’d find in a community or topics FAQ page
Chris was bumming around the bargain e-book section of Amazon.com where he was looking for markeing and writing gems when he found one. Seek out the frequently asked question page (FAQ) for sites that exist within your topic area. If you are a painting contractor pour over decorating sites or home improvement sites to study their FAQ pages. Now build blog posts that address these questions with your own voice and solution. GREAT idea.

The entire CopyBlogger episode is worth listening to. Robert Bruce and Chris Brogran cover six different topics (I featured D from the list below):

1. How to write 2,000–4,000 words a day
2. The critical importance of brevity in the digital age
3. Why every online writer should read (and study) The Shipping News
4. Two ways to find endless content ideas
5. Why it took Chris 8 years to gain his first 100 subscribers
6. Brogan’s best advice on how to create a valuable content platform

Good luck in your blog writing.

~julian
ed, LocalNa8ion.com
President and Creative Director exceler8.com

How to find traffic-generating topics to blog about for your small business Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing

~julian

Via PPCBlog.com Learn How Google Works: in Gory Detail

Understanding Google SEO and PPC in one picture Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing

http://www.seobook.com/setting-actionable-seo-dashboards-new-google-analytics…

Setting Up Actionable SEO Dashboards in the New Google Analytics | SEO Book.com Uncover the missing formula in your web design and marketing | exceler8 the web - We help connect your business with buyers or new audiences using smarter web design and internet marketing