Doug Williams SEO Services
Increasing Traffic, Increasing Conversions
Home | SEO Blog
503.389.5650

Blog Comment Guidelines

Doug Williams @ 4:47 am

This blog entry was posted on December 10, 2007.

As you begin blog marketing, you will receive comments from your readers. After all, many times the most interesting content comes from the comments. Some comments will be relevant and helpful while others will be plain junk. Establishing guidelines will help keep your blog free of comment spam and inappropriate language.

Setting up guidelines on how you will respond and what types of comments are acceptable will make decisions easier. Here is an example of a comment policy that you are free to use or modify:

Comment Policy
We welcome your comments to our blog. To keep our blog focused and to protect you and other users of the site, we have set some comment guidelines.

  1. This Blog is moderated and comments submitted will be reviewed before being posted. We reserve the right to edit or delete comments.
  2. Comment spam will be immediately deleted. This includes comments that are focused on selling a product or service or are not relevant to the posting. We do not allow marketing messages of any kind.
  3. Please keep your comments brief and on topic. Comments longer than 1-2 paragraphs make the blog difficult to use. We reserve the right to edit to make comments concise and clear. We will exclude comments not related to the subject.
  4. Relevant links that point to your own or someone else’s site that is relevant to the topic is encouraged. Comments with a link in it that has no relevance to the blog posting will be deleted.
  5. Please refrain from personal attacks or being disrespectful of others. Do not use profanities or other offensive or objectionable words. Comments may be deleted or edited that include such language.
  6. Please post only your own work and do not post words or materials that were taken from somewher else. Do not infringe on the copyright rights of others.
  7. Please respect people’s privacy. Do not share anyone’s address, place of employment, telephone number or email address.
  8. Comments that appear to violate laws that govern use of copyrights, trade secrets, etc, will be deleted. We reserve the right not to publish allegations, conspiracy theories and other information which we know to be false or unsubstantiated.
  9. If you are under 18, please get a parent’s or guardian’s permission before posting any comments.

Comment guidelines make blogging, moderating comments and responding easier on yourself and your readers. There are no surprises and all parties know what to expect. The tone and wording of a comment policy should match your blog.

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Blog Marketing



What is FeedBurner?

Doug Williams @ 4:43 am

This blog entry was posted on December 8, 2007.

FeedBurner is a true web 2.0 service that makes it easy for any visitor to subscribe to a blog feed regardless of which feed reader or news reader they prefer to use. It is a service that takes normal RSS or Atom feeds and turns (burns) them into a feed that can then distributed to readers for use in any RSS reader. It simplifies the RSS Feed.

Sometimes called a feed enhancer, FeedBurner takes your feed and adds more functionality to it without you having to modify it yourself. FeedBurner also allows your readers to subscribe via email. Published feeds are modified in several ways, including automatic links to Digg and del.icio.us, and “splicing” information from multiple feeds.

You will also be able to easily activate “Feed Flares” which are third party developer programs that add more functionality to your feed. Popular “Feed Flares” include:

  1. Google Bookmark This
  2. Bookmark With Yahoo! Bookmarks
  3. Submit item to Kontrib
  4. Rate Me On Authorati
  5. Track with co.mments
  6. My Digg Counts
  7. Alexa Rank
  8. Blog This
  9. Add to Technorati Favorites
  10. Find Related Feeds

FeedBurner was acquired by Google in June 2007. Google continues to expand into the Web 2.0 world of blogging with companies like Blogger, FeedBurner and Measure Map (blog visitor statistics). Measure Map technology has been integrated into Google Analytics.

We add FeedBurner to every blog site we produce because it definitely drives more repeat visitors back to your blog. Feedburner is an important tool in business blog marketing.

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Blog Marketing



Fired For Blogging

Doug Williams @ 4:19 am

This blog entry was posted on December 6, 2007.

Blogging provides an easy way to publish information of all types to a worldwide audience. If that writing involves information considered sensitive by employers, employees are feeling the consequences.

It is less about being fired for blogging and more about disclosing sensitive information in a public forum that is getting employees into trouble. Bloggers write about their lives, discuss hobbies and talk about their work. But complaining about co-workers, disclosing confidential information or posting inappropriate pictures have gotten bloggers fired in recent years.

Heather Armstrong
In 2002, Heather Armstrong, a Web designer was fired for writing satirical accounts of her work including coworkers on her blog titled Dooce. This is the source of the term “Dooced” which means to be fired because of comments made by an employee on a personal blog.

Ellen Simonetti
Ellen Simonetti was a Delta Airlines flight attendant who was fired for “inappropriate pictures in uniform on the Web.” Ellen apparently posted photographs of herself on her blog in her Delta Air Lines uniform aboard a company airplane. One photo apparently showed the 30-year-old with her Delta uniform blouse partially unbuttoned and was deemed suggestive.

Mark Jen
Mark Jen is a former Google employee was fired for making comments on financial performance and future Google products on his blog. Apparently in he candidly criticized Google on a variety of subjects including their intranet, his work laptop and his compensation.

Michael Hanscom
In 2003 Michael Hanscom, a Microsoft contractor, lost his job after he took some pictures of Apple G5 computers being unloaded onto the software company’s campus and posted them to his blog. Apparently Microsoft has a “no camera” rule on campus.

Blogging is a very public forum and divulging something about your employer can spell trouble at work.

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Blog Marketing



Free Copyright Licensing: Creative Commons

Doug Williams @ 4:47 am

This blog entry was posted on December 4, 2007.

A Creative Commons license allows authors / creators of writings, art and music to place conditions on the use of copyright works by others. The license amends your Copyright with the permission for others to use your work in certain ways. They can choose restrictions they wish to assign to their works, all of this free of charge. The intention is to avoid the problems created by current copyright laws.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization launched in 2001 by lawyers, intellectual property experts and web publishers. The Creative Commons website allows holders of copyright to clearly mark their work with icons that mark the work with Some Rights Reserved or No Rights Reserved. Creative works are set free for certain uses.

Creative Commons has a variety of licenses that allow copyright holders the ability to grant some or all rights to the public while retaining others through a variety of licensing and contract schemes. They supply digital documents in both plain English and legal wording. Digital codes are supplied to embed in websites according to the type of license.

Licenses are in 6 major types of licenses plus a public domain dedication. They vary between allowing commercial and non commercial sharing as well as rights to change and remix the work.

Currently Google, Yahoo have Creative Commons search for content on the web which is reusable or modifiable. You can search for photos, music, text, books, educational material, and more. Yahoo now offers a Creative Commons Search API which can be worked into web applications.

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Blog Marketing,Internet Marketing



Blog Marketing: Blogger vs. WordPress.org

Doug Williams @ 4:46 am

This blog entry was posted on December 2, 2007.

For business blog marketing should you use Blogger, the Google hosted product or WordPress.org? Blogger and WordPress.org are the two leading blogging platforms in use today for blogging.

Over and over I talk with bloggers that started with Blogger because it is free and easy to set-up. Then they realize the limitations and need to convert to the self-hosted version of WordPress. The WordPress.org product in our opinion is a much better product for business applications because it can be customized to give better blog marketing results.

WordPress.org should not be confused with WordPress.com which is a hosted version similar to Blogger.

Blogger
Blogger is owned by Google and it is free. It is an excellent tool for the beginner. Hosting is done on blogspot.com.

Advantages

  1. It is free.
  2. Set-up is easy and quick. No coding knowledge required.
  3. Pre-installed themes, templates, plugins and widgets.
  4. Software is updated automatically for you.
  5. Built-in spam controls.

Disadvantages

  1. Limited control and limited ability to customize.
  2. Design choices limited making it difficult to achieve a distinct look.
  3. Code produced is not valid W3C valid code.
  4. “No Follow” cannot be removed from comments.
  5. Lacks categories to organize posts. Uses labels instead.

WordPress.org
Wordpress.org is the free open source blogging platform that you download and run on your own hosting account.

Advantages

  1. You can completely control and customize blog functionality.
  2. Ability to organize posts by category.
  3. WordPress is built following W3C code standards.
  4. Large library of plug-ins available to add functionality.
  5. Multiple user security levels

Disadvantages

  1. Set-up and customization is more complex.
  2. Longer learning curve because of available options.
  3. Requires setting up a hosting account.
  4. Requires a separate domain name.
  5. Tech support is available thru forums and wikis.

Our recommendation for blog marketing is strongly for WordPress.org. Hundreds of independent developers regularly produce new plug-ins and customizations making this the most versatile and best performing blogging platform available. For the beginning Blogger, is easier and quicker to set-up and is a better choice for the “tech-challenged.”

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Blog Marketing



Increasing Return Traffic to Your Blog

Doug Williams @ 4:22 am

This blog entry was posted on November 30, 2007.

Having regular traffic and visitors is important to a business blog and to business blog marketing. It is even more important to develop a loyal readership and return traffic. Does your blog offer content that would give visitors a reason to return? If not, you need to get to work.

  1. Content is king: The three most important ways to develop your readership is to post interesting material, post regularly and to post often. Regular postings also brings back the search engine spiders frequently to index you site.
  2. Write to your audience: Target readers who are likely to become customers and write about topics that they want to read about. Focus on developing an interested readership that is the same as you customer base.
  3. Write with style: Keep it fresh and mix it with a little humor. Opinions and commentaries are great, they are entertaining and interesting. You need to take every opportunity to provide a good blog reader experience.
  4. Easy to subscribe: Make it easy for visitors to subscribe to your RSS feed. Add prominent RSS subscription icons or button in a prominent location. If someone reads something they like, encourage them to subscribe.
  5. Organization: Categorize your topics into logical topics and include a search box. Make it easy to find postings on subjects that interest them. Good organization entices people to read multiple postings.
  6. Watch traffic statistics: Watch which topics and postings get the best response. This will give you quick feed back on what you readers are hungry for. Writing regularly about subjects your readers are looking for, will quickly grow your loyal reader base.

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Blog Marketing



Website Design: Eye Tracking Studies

Doug Williams @ 4:30 am

This blog entry was posted on November 28, 2007.

Eye tracking studies give web designers insight into what attracts the attention of visitors. This is very important in business web design. Once you have optimized your website to bring in traffic, following a few design rules can make sure you catch your reader’s attention. After all, most visitors make up their mind to stay of go in the first few seconds.

Results from the Nielsen Norman Group’s study show that the dominant reading pattern looks somewhat like an “F”. Web visitors begin in the upper left and sweep to the right. They then drop down the page a bit and do a shorter horizontal sweep and then they scan down the left side content.

From eye tracking studies we can establish 10 guidelines for web design.

  1. Content / Images in the upper left quadrant are most likely to be seen
  2. Right side content and content lower on the page is less likely to be seen.
  3. Larger font headlines draw the eye.
  4. Shorter paragraphs are read more than large blocks of text.
  5. Smaller font body text is read and larger font body text is scanned.
  6. Numbers are read as numerals, but skipped over as text.
  7. Bigger images get more attention than smaller images.
  8. Bulleted or numbered lists hold readers attention
  9. Banner ads are ignored.
  10. Fancy fonts and fancy words look like promotion and are ignored.

The last point was well illustrated with the U.S. Census Bureau’s homepage. In a study, 86% of users failed to the country’s current population which was presented in a large red font.

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Website Design



Online Reputation Repair: 10 Step Process

Doug Williams @ 5:08 am

This blog entry was posted on November 26, 2007.

No matter how good and honest you or your company is; accusations of misconduct can quickly damage your online digital reputation. You may not be able to erase what has been said, but there are steps you can take to minimize the damage. The goal should be to push the damaging statements down in the organic search results and replace these with positive information.

  1. Research: Look at the root cause of the online discussions and what can be done to bring the conversations to an end. The repair process can only start once the controversy ends.
  2. Keywords: Settle on the targeted phrases. Keep the focus to one phrase or two at the most. This could be your name, company, brand or an event.
  3. Identify: List out articles, websites and blogs that already exist that should be moved to displace the damaging stories.
  4. Your Website: Add new material and fully optimize the primary website for the company, brand or celebrity. This is the one website that you completely control.
  5. Link Popularity: Launch linking campaigns for the identified articles, blogs, etc that you want to be found. Use the keyword phrases in the link text for the best results.
  6. Blogging and Press Releases: Launch one or more blogs where you can control the content. Use independent blog networks and have blogs written based on press release. Release traditional press releases through normal media channels.
  7. Wikipedia: For people or companies with prominent reputations, this is a key resource. If an article exists add content and make changes. If none exists, consider starting a new topic.
  8. YouTube and Flickr: Promote and publish videos and photos. Title them and tag them with your targeted keyword phrase.
  9. Monitor and do damage control: Monitor the blogosphere for negative or disparaging remarks. Address these quickly and appropriately.
  10. Measure results: Monitor the first 3 pages of the search results for Google, Yahoo and MSN. Record the positions of the articles you want to purge. You are successful when they no longer appear in the first 3 pages of results.

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Blog Marketing



Managing Your Digital Reputation

Doug Williams @ 4:28 am

This blog entry was posted on November 24, 2007.

Having to watch and manage your online reputation is sometimes thought of as the dark side of Web 2.0. Reputation monitoring and management have become a way of life for celebrities, public officials, major companies and all sorts of web related businesses.

Bad news just plain travels faster than good news. A bad online reputation can negatively affect sales, customer relations, brand names, employee retention, friendships and even families. With over 70% of the population online today and well over 90% of businesses making use of the Internet, a good online reputation is crucial for business.

Today, reputation management is becoming important to even the average person. 40% of the companies responding to a survey replied that they always or sometimes used Google or another search engine to research or learn more about a prospective hire. This means managing your own digital reputation is becoming increasingly important for those seeking key positions.

Managing your online reputation has 3 levels. Hopefully, you won’t need to move beyond the first level.

  1. Monitoring the blogosphere: Set-up tracking systems to notify as soon as a posting is made anywhere about yourself, your company or your brand name. If you were going to use only a single tool, then Google Alerts word be the most comprehensive. See more monitoring tools.
  2. Responding to criticism – damage control: Once you detect a problem. It is important to determine the best response (if any) to minimize the damage or perhaps turn around some one who is a foe into an advocate. See more on responding to criticism.
  3. Reputation repair: Once damage is done there is a process you need to follow to repair and restore your reputation. Since you can’t remove what was written (in some cases it is possible) you have to use a campaign of positive PR that focuses on your targeted keyword (usually your name) to dilute and push the negative comments deeper into the search results. (This is the subject of my next posting).

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Blog Marketing



Digital Reputation: Responding to Criticism

Doug Williams @ 4:43 am

This blog entry was posted on November 22, 2007.

OK, you are monitoring the blogosphere and someone has just slammed your company or your brand in a blog. How do you handle this? In short, diplomatically, honestly and helpfully. There are no hard and fast rules, but here are five guidelines to follow.

  1. Wait and Watch: Take a little time to watch and gauge the reaction. Jumping in and confronting the situation can take someone‘s comments who is just blowing off steam and create a major controversy. If no one is paying attention or commenting, it may be best to let the person vent and then die out on its own. Bloggers quickly move on to new stories that grab their attention.
  2. Avoid Rebuttals: A negative review of your product should not bring a strong response. Refuting or directly attacking the blogger will bring others to their defense and inflame the situation. Don’t try and take a strong position and intimidate or bully the blogger.
  3. Be concerned and helpful: You are entering as a guest on a blog so show respect; you will likely get respect in return. Avoid sarcasm and try to be genuine and helpful. A negative review should be treated as constructive criticism. Offer to help resolve the issue and listen to the complaints. How you handle the situation can convert a foe into a friend.
  4. Be Impartial. Stay away from opinions and arguments. Use objective information and if possible, third party data and statistics to show your point. Links to sites other than your own can be good convincers.
  5. Follow Thru: If you make promises and commitments, follow thru on what you have promised.

The key in dealing with situations in blog marketing is to listen and respond honestly in a helpful manner. This can go a long way in diffusing an explosive situation.

If You Like this posting please +1 it!

Filed under: Blog Marketing



« Previous Page — Next Page »