When you add a website to Google Search Console (GSC) (formerly Google Webmaster Tools, GWT), you get an email with subject "Improve the search presence of [URL]", where URL is the URL of the site you just added. I included a screenshot of the email below. This email includes 6 steps to setting up your site in […]
Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide by John Jantsch My rating: 5 of 5 stars This guide is bursting with small business marketing strategy and tactics. It’s well-written and practical, based on extensive firsthand experience. The system advocates an expanded version of the marketing funnel, content marketing, digital marketing, and […]
Businesses often make incorrect assumptions about their websites that hurt their online success, and in turn, hurt their business. I'm reading the book Duct Tape Marketing (an excellent marketing guide for small businesses), and it has a list of common assumptions that I recognize from my conversations with businesses. Let's look at these assumptions and why they're […]
Google wants your website to be mobile-friendly. How do I know? They've been making a big deal about it, especially over the last year. Evidence: PageSpeed Insights has a Mobile tab which reports on Speed and User Experience Google Webmaster Tools has a Mobile Usability Report Google labels search results as "mobile-friendly" when you search from a mobile […]
Book review and summary of "Win Without Pitching" by Blair Enns.
Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson My rating: 4 of 5 stars This content strategy primer has both theory and application. It explains the problem, how to perform discovery, how to form strategy, and how to implement the strategy. It's well-organized and well-written, with just enough humor for this type of book. The […]
Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even If You Hate Marketing and Selling by Michael Port My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is one of the best sales and marketing books for service professionals that I've read. It walks you through how […]
How do you come up with content for your website? Whether you're creating a new website or revising your current one, the content (text, images, video, etc.) is the most important part. People visit your website for the content, not for the design or functionality. In working with our clients, we've found that this process works […]
I'm going to show you how to use keywords in links, which makes them better for readers and SEO (search engine optimization). Each link has anchor text, which is the text you click to follow the link. For example, in the link the OptimWise blog, "the OptimWise blog" is the anchor text. First, let's look at a […]
Do It! Marketing: 77 Instant-Action Ideas to Boost Sales, Maximize Profits, and Crush Your Competition by David Newman My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is an actionable, motivating guide to small business marketing. It instantly became one of my favorite marketing books. I agree with Newman’s approach; it fits the way I like to […]
"Doesn't social media replace the need for a business website?" This was one of the many questions asked at the Small Business Tech Panel at the Warehaüs, a coworking space in Holland, Michigan in March 2014. The short answer is no. Here's an expanded version of the answer I gave. These are the advantages of a business website over social […]
When I talk to small business clients about creating or redesigning their websites, I usually encourage them to include a blog. Many reply with, "We don't see why we need one," or, "We don't have anything to write about," or, "We don't have time for that." I then proceed to describe the many benefits of […]
