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Are SOPA/PIPA Dead?… A Shocking Turn of Events – A SPN Exclusive Article

By David Jackson in Featured

Last November I wrote an article titled The Advent of Internet Censorship in America.

To recap:

“The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as H.R.3261, was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011 by Representative Lamar Smith [R-TX] and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. The aim of the bill is to help U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders fight online transmission of restricted intellectual property.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Opponents of the bill says it goes too far and threatens to shut down or censor legitimate websites that might inadvertently link to or display such content.

Anyway, when I wrote that article back in November, the bill was sitting in the House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet. It had yet to be introduced to the floor for a vote. At the time of writing this article, it doesn’t look like it’s going to.

Social Media – Part of Your Web Strategy?

By Robert Gibson in Featured

It depends on what you are trying to achieve with your site, but for many sites, the answer is increasingly ‘YES’.

Social media (mainly Facebook and Twitter for the purposes of this article) have become increasingly pervasive. Recently I read that one minute of every eight spent on the Internet, is spent on Facebook. If the purpose of a web site is to communicate, then identifying where other people are – is a good start.

A ‘No-Brainer’ for Charities

Charities web site Justgiving tells us that 15% of all people donating via the Justgiving site come via Facebook. Clearly, then, for a charity it should be a ‘no-brainer’ to set up a Facebook page and work on integrating it: both your web site and your Facebook presence should benefit from it. However, one shouldn’t underestimate the work involved in maintaining one’s presence. From my experience, with Tanzania Development Trust, I know that for a voluntary organization, resources can be an issue, particularly if it takes a while to build momentum. Can volunteers maintain the consistency and enthusiasm required to optimize a social media presence?

A ‘Must’ for Band, Gigs and Events

We have all heard stories of teenagers informing the world via Facebook of a planned party, with disastrous results! But it points to a truth: no sensible music event, festival or gig would dream of setting up without a Facebook presence. Bands and performers use social media to build a fan base and keep it informed of their plans and movements. It is fair to say that in these cases, social media leads the way, with the web site complementing its more ‘buzzy’, up-to-the-minute feel.

10 Ways to Improve Your Google Ranking

By Terri Seymour in Featured

Google is the world’s most popular search engine. Shortly after its creation, Google’s popularity skyrocketed and it soon became
the dominant search engine for finding information on the internet. This is why, if you own a website, you want it to be high in the Google ratings.

Google is constantly changing and evolving so you need to keep up with the changes. Their recent changes, called the Panda Update, caused many sites’ rankings to drop significantly. Google’s mission is to provide the highest quality information for each search done and in doing this, many sites get lost in the endless pages of search results.

To get your website increased ranking there are many things you can do and many things you should not do. I have tried to list some of the more effective things you should do and a couple things you should not do for better placement in Google.

1. Limit Your Advertising – If you have a hodgepodge or cluttering of advertising on your site, this can decrease your ranking. Google considers excess advertising to be a sign of a low-quality spam site. And remember, Google’s goal is to provide the highest quality sites at the top of the search results.

2. Google Toolbar – The Google Toolbar is an important tool to have because of all the features that will help you improve your ranking. The Google toolbar can help you monitor your page rank, help you find sites to link to and help you find which sites are linked to you. You can also keep tabs on how your site is doing with targeted keywords. Get it for free at Google.com.

Google’s First Page… Guaranteed! – A SPN Exclusive Article

By David Jackson in Featured

A couple of weeks ago, I visited one of the Internet Marketing/Small Business forums that I’m a member of, and noticed a new member had posted a typical newbie question in the SEO forum. The member wanted to know how she could be guaranteed to get her website on the first page of Google. As usual, members came crawling out of the woodwork with advice – including members who didn’t even own a website.

Unfortunately, that’s pretty typical on Internet Marketing/Small Business forums… members who don’t own a website instructing other members how to get on the first page of Google… members who don’t own a business dispensing business advice. So be careful where you get your advice from… but I digress.

Not surprisingly, not a single member responded with the correct answer. And what is the correct answer? The correct answer is there is NO magic bullet that will assure a first page ranking on Google. Never has been, never will be. By the same token, NO reputable SEO company will promise first page rankings.

By the way, this isn’t the first time I’ve written about this topic. In my article How to Choose a Reputable SEO Company ), I wrote the following:

“No SEO company can guarantee you a first page or top 10 ranking. I repeat: NO SEO company can guarantee you a first page or top 10 ranking. Here’s why: There are far too many variables involved in the ranking of a website – not the least of which are the age of the domain, relevancy and quantity of content, number and quality of inbound links, competition, and of course Google’s ever-changing algorithms. That’s why legitimate SEO companies don’t make those kinds of outlandish promises.”

13 Thought Provoking Business Articles That Will Alter Your Thinking – A SPN Exclusive Article

By David Jackson in Featured

I enjoy reading articles. And over the years, I would estimate, I’ve read thousands and thousands of articles. And even though I’ve also read my share of books… generally, because I’m so busy, I prefer quick-reads – and articles meet that criteria perfectly. I also enjoy writing articles. It gives me great pleasure to create information that has the potential to help thousands of people. And just like my articles have the potential to help people, many of the articles I’ve read have had an impact on my success.

Following are select excerpts from 13 Thought-Provoking Business Articles That Will Alter Your Thinking:

1. Procrastination

“What is YOUR biggest wish, YOUR lifelong dream … and what’s keeping you from going after it? Are you waiting for “everything in your life to be right?” Waiting to have “all your ducks in a row?” It’ll never happen. You’re never going to “have it all together.” That’s like trying to eat once and for all.

Follow Robert J. Ringer’s advice; “Action today! Develop the habit of living in the present. The best day really is today, so get started now, no matter what your problems are and no matter how long you’ve already procrastinated.”

Here’s the best recipe I know for getting rid of procrastination. It’s two words: DON’T WAIT!” – Don’t Do What The Pizza Man Did by Daniel G. St-Jean

5 Reasons Why You Need to Use Rel=Author on Your Content

By Jill Whalen in Featured

Have you heard of Google’s Authorship program yet? Whether you’ve heard of it or not, you’ve likely seen its fruits in the search results. You know those listings that have a photo of the author next to them? Most likely they get that extra cool stuff because they’re using Rel=Author correctly and Google has accepted them to participate. Unfortunately, it’s been a bit hit-or-miss as to whether your content gets accepted or not. I saw mine accepted for a day or two many months ago, and then *poof!* it was gone. I reviewed their new guidelines recently, however, made a few changes, and sure enough, within a week or so, my content started showing up… yay!

While you may or may not get your content into the program, the only way to know is to try, and persistence is definitely a key.

If you’re thinking it’s just not worth the trouble, here are 5 reasons why it’s super important:

The 5 Most Important Things to Consider When Doing Localized SEO

By Mo Mastafa in Featured

First of all, let us just quickly define what Localized Search Engine Optimization (Local SEO) is. Local SEO is basically the process of optimizing your website to perform better in the search engines by allowing it to be found for the keywords which relate to the area in which you’re located.

To illustrate, if you were looking to be found locally when users search for SEO services in your area, and you’re based in Wales, one such search term you may look to optimize for may be ‘SEO wales’. This would naturally vary depending on the location in which you’re situated and what users are actually looking for.

So let us take a look at the 5 most important things to remember when optimizing for local search terms:

1) Keyword Research

It all starts with keyword research. This not only involves knowing your niche but also knowing the keywords that people use to search for your niche specific products or services. One great way to establish if there is relevant traffic for a particular keyword, before optimizing your site, is to use the Google AdWords keyword tool. A quick Google search will allow you to find the tool.

Let’s assume you are a Cardiff based company that sells second-hand cars throughout Wales. The first thing you’d look to do once you’ve opened the Google keyword tool is, adjust the search settings so that they are set to display only results relevant to the UK.

Educating Your Visitors – The Power of Giving and User-Friendly Websites – A SPN Exclusive Article

By David Jackson in Featured

I’ve been involved in sales and marketing for over twenty years – half my adult life. And sometimes I still get confused when I browse the Internet and visit websites searching for information, or to make a purchase. I’m absolutely amazed at how complicated some marketers make doing business online.

Let’s talk about searching for information for a moment. After all, most people go online not to buy anything, but rather to search for information to solve a problem they have. Knowing this is important, because if you understand that the Internet is driven by information and information seekers, as a marketer, you can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

1. You can provide information seekers with the information they’re looking for.

2. You can educate potential prospects and turn them into customers.

Educate Your Visitors First

If you visit my website, you won’t see any banners or advertising of any kind. Why? Because I built my site as a free marketing resource to educate my visitors. I’m not selling anything, so the only thing you’ll see on my site is free information… lots and lots of free information.

Getting Noticed on the Web

By Jerry Bader in Featured

Website Engagement Techniques: The Caricature Effect

Marketing is all about getting noticed, getting remembered, and motivating people to action. Whether it’s a website, display ad, or video, it must first grab people’s attention, it must stop the viewer from going onto the next website, turning the magazine page, or clicking the stop button. In order to accomplish that increasingly difficult task, you must understand the Caricature Effect.

The Caricature Effect

The Caricature Effect simply stated says that what we notice is variation from the norm. Caricature artists exaggerate reality because that is how we visually distinguish one person from another. Human beings are preprogrammed to look for patterns and variations in those patterns, it’s how we recognize who people are, and it is a basic survival mechanism that helps us recognize danger and distinguish friend from foe.

By distorting an individual’s prominent facial features the caricature artist mimics the human brain’s way of remembering who’s who. Our brains are not cameras that take pictures and file them away for future reference. Our memories are malleable, they change and alter over time and experience, and as a result the things we remember best are the things that stand out, things like Bob Hope’s ski-jump nose or Albert Einstein’s wild white hair. The reason caricatures are so effective is because they emphasize the distinguishing differences that we recognize and remember. So how do we use this fundamental, hard-wired human characteristic to further marketing agendas?

Tebowing Your Small Business: Clutch Performance

By Karl Walinskas in Featured

The craze sweeping the nation this winter season comes from the NFL. Of course I’m talking about Tebowing, originated by Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, and you either love him or hate him. Purging religious beliefs from the equation, Tim Tebow along with the Broncos have strung together a series of impressive comebacks before recently bowing to the superior Brady Bunch and the Patriots. Denver was left for dead on multiple occasions through three quarters plus in games, only to rise up like Lazarus to overcome the football Reaper and stand in victory.

Is there a management lesson in this over-hyped story for small company owners, executives and corporate officers?

Tebow’s type of play has been derided as unsustainable, tagged as downright ugly, and parodied on Saturday Night Live. It’s also been applauded by evangelicals, adopted by presidential candidates, and embraced by middle-America. Yet the most exceptional thing that this phenomenon demonstrates is clutch behavior, doing your best when it’s all on the line, and it has been on display in sports throughout the decades in names like Reggie, Jordan, Montana and Gretsky. Tebow is the latest, albeit more unconventional representation of clutch production in crunch time. But is it abrupt, divine intervention, or a predictable strategy?

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