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A huge component of the content marketing puzzle is determining how the content is ultimately packaged and presented to the target audience. According to a recent New York Times article written by Nick Bilton, one current graphic design trend involves flat design. The flat design movement is quite possibly most obvious in Microsoft's unveiling of the Windows 8 interface, which features a layout of vibrantly colored rectangles.
Another prime example of flat design is the ...
Effective paid search marketing starts with understanding why someone is searching. As search marketers our goal is to not only drive traffic to a site, but to drive relevant traffic that generates conversions. Let’s take a look at why people search and how that comes into play when planning your search marketing strategy.
In general, there are three main types of search queries.
• Navigational query: A searcher knows the site they are looking for and usually has a designated task in mind. For example, you need to check your bank balance online with Wells Fargo but you are uncertain of the exact URL for Wells Fargo. You would search for “wells fargo” or “wellsfargo.com.”...
Reports – webShine launched new monthly reports for our search engine marketing customers. The reports provide a one-page executive overview along with supporting data on a custom basis for each customer. Download a sample report and let us know what you think.
Infograph & Case Study – webShine's infographic on 2012 customer results is now available. Also, we recently released a...
Learn more about webShine including services, industries served and a summary of search engine marketing results for our customers in 2012 via our annual infographic. Download the infographic as a PDF or view it below.
It is almost a given at the this point in time that whenever the phrase content marketing is dished out, it will be followed up by something like “content is king”. Yes, I do agree that on the web content is king, but only to a certain degree. However, the visual component to content, a huge one being web typography, can also be considered king depending on your bias. Having even a modicum of web typography education is vital when distributing content on the web.
Web fonts are the clothing that adorns content. Since content communicates a brand's message, then content's...
Is your organization a non-profit? Did you know that you could be eligible for up to $10,000 a month in free advertising from Google?
The Google Grants program was started in 2003 with the mission of helping non-profits increase their reach by providing access to free ads on Google.com and free use of Google products. The Google Grants programs is part a larger program within Google called Google for Nonprofits, which also includes YouTube for Nonprofits, Google Earth Outreach Grants, and Google Apps for Nonprofits.
To be eligible to participate in the program, your organization must be a 501(c)(3) and located in the United States. Your site cannot display revenue-...
Browsing through a blog's archive is one way to determine what topics are important to a business. After a quick review of webShine's blog archive, I determined that we like to write about Drupal, SEO, Google, and "search".
However, after plugging in webshine's blog URL into Wordle, the popular word cloud generator developed by Jonathan Feinberg, the results were, if not considerably more visually appealing, somewhat different from my observations of the blog. Words like algorithm, techniques, and hat appear to be major word choice winners.
Though creating word clouds is not a new approach to...
As a web content writer, one question that is almost always on my mind is, “How many people will actually read this new content?” The speed and frequency with which content in all forms is published on the web is startling. Contemplating the sheer quantity of content that web users are faced with elicits yet another question, “Facing the sometimes overwhelming quantity of web content, how should I modify my content writing strategy to make it more relevant and valuable to readers?”
To simplify, “What makes a web content writer successful?”
As this is a post about questions to consider as a content marketer and content writer, here is another question I...
Learning to write content for the web requires a knack for storytelling, the reason being that the internet is a hub of ultimate distraction. With an intriguing story, a writer can win over an audience. In my recent foray into reading about writing content for the web, the significance of weaving a story into the content stands out. Quite often, in pieces of writing that captured my undivided attention, the writer baited the reader with a carefully phrased introduction, emotional hooks, and personal stories, each of which support the creation of an attention-grabbing narrative.
Though, learning to write an intriguing narrative can be difficult. However, the...
One of the great things about Google AdWords is the ability to optimize and tweak nearly every aspect of your campaign. However, for a new user all the bells and whistles are a bit overwhelming. Below are some of the top mistakes new users make when starting their first campaign.
1.) Not understanding the default campaign settings.
When you first create a new campaign, you have the option of running ads on “Search & Display Networks”, “Search Network only”, or “Display Network only”. The first option listed in the pull-down is for both the Search & Display Networks. Be careful with your selection here. Spanning a campaign over both networks is...
At webShine we use Google Analytics on all of our customers websites' to better manage organic and pay per click campaigns. Why? We could go on forever, but here are our favorites features of Google Analytics.
Innovative – Google is constantly investing in ways to improve Google Analytics. Recently Google announced Universal Analytics which changes the way data is collected and organized in a Google Analytics account. Currently in beta, Universal Analytics integrates data across devices and platforms, improves lead generation, allows for the...
Earlier this month, Google announced a new algorithm change aimed at preventing webspam which is often the result sub-standard search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. Google Distinguished Engineer Matt Cutts refers to these undercutting SEO techniques as black hat. Web publishers manipulate good SEO practices when using black hat techniques to improve their webpage's ranking in Google search. However, these backhanded techniques are infamous for filling webpages with meaningless, low quality content. Keyword stuffing is one of these black hat SEO techniques, and as its name...
After months of hard work and late nights, we are excited to announce that The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords is in print and shipping. Co-authored by Bart Weller and Lori Calcott, The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords is a beginner to intermediate guide to creating AdWords campaigns. Order your copy here - http://www.apress.com/9781430240143.
While webShine is not a web development shop, we do occasionally build websites to ensure that we are up to date with the latest in various content management systems. Understanding the major CMS platforms is essential for the implementation of SEO tactics.
Climbing and Safari Adventures in Tanzania – Joel Siao is a Tanzanian safari and climbing guide based in Moshi. webShine built a website for him using Drupal Gardens so that Joel can share information and photos of his latest adventures.
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Years ago search engine marketing was a relatively stand alone form of internet marketing. As the search engine algorithms have become more sophisticated and search engine marketers more well versed, the nature of search marketing has changed dramatically. It necessitates collaboration and action across multiple channels. Through webShine's custom search engine marketing campaigns we establish where in the sea of internet marketing we need to partner with a company to increase traffic from Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The answer is never quite the same as each business is unique. As part of the needs assessment, it is...
On Wednesday I spent the afternoon at the annual Aspen Business Expo listening to three panels about social media. A big thank you to the Aspen Chamber and all of the speakers for a great event, and to the St. Regis Aspen for hosting.
Sitting in the audience being reminded of the fundamentals of social media and hearing from industry experts about the perceived direction of different social platforms, I felt juxtaposed between being in the search/social industry and also a small business owner in Aspen. I didn't need to be convinced that social media is...
Over the course of our first tens months in business, we've been faced with a long list of operations questions. From service lines, pricing, and sales, to phones, email, website, customer relationship manager, and more, the list of questions has at times been overwhelming. Along the way, we've consulted with other small to medium sized businesses asking for advice and exchanging ideas. Fortunately, after much research the answer to our questions continues to point to one definitive resource – Google.
Yes, we frequently turn to www.google.com for research, but more specifically to Google has offered tools and solutions...
One critical search engine optimization task is verifying your website with Google, Yahoo, and Bing Webmaster Tools and submitting an XML site map to their feeds. Completing these tasks improves the crawlabilty of your website and allows for communication and reporting with the search engines. Ever wonder what old URLS are creating 404 errors or ponder which pages are creating duplicate content, look no further.
For Drupal websites the process of generating an XML site map and submitting it to Google, Yahoo, and Bing is straightforward.
Site Verification
1. Install and enable the ...
At Drupal Camp Colorado in June, I decided to start blogging and creating video casts which demystify Drupal SEO. For the past three years, I've specialized in Drupal SEO on sites small and large, D5-D7. The common theme of the online literature is a lot of talk about which modules to install and activate, but not enough discussion about how to configure them to actually improve your website's rankings. Sure, there is no standard configuration which will work for all websites, but there are certainly some best practice which will work for most.
With the risk of repeating the basics of the far more thorough...
In recent years, local search has become a critical marketing initiative for businesses with a local presence. From a plumber who services a geographic area, to restaurant owners with multiple locations within a city or state, and everywhere in between, local search engine marketing is an effective tool for driving new sales and increasing revenue.
As residents of the Roaring Fork Valley, webShine's owners, Lindsay Reither and Lori Calcott, have noticed that many local businesses aren't making the most out of local search. Google Place pages are unclaimed, Yelp...
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Client Testimonials
Lindsay is extremely knowledgeable and therefore able to be very helpful in addressing areas of concern in a forthright and concise way. She is a pleasure to work with.
michael ernemann, architect.