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Archive for 2012

Google Deploying New Algorithm – Will Penguin Reward You or Penalize You?

May 15

On April 24th, Google announced the launching of its new Penguin algorithm which targets webspam:

“The change will decrease rankings for sites that we believe are violating Google’s existing quality guidelines. We’ve always targeted webspam in our rankings, and this algorithm represents another improvement in our efforts to reduce webspam and promote high quality content. While we can’t divulge specific signals because we don’t want to give people a way to game our search results and worsen the experience for users, our advice for webmasters is to focus on creating high quality sites that create a good user experience and employ white hat SEO methods instead of engaging in aggressive webspam tactics.

In short, here are simple actions you need to take to ensure your site is rewarded and not penalized:

  1. Content is King – create compelling and relevant content on your site.
  2. Play Fair – don’t use questionable tactics like keyword stuffing or linking schemes.

The easiest way to tell if Penguin has affected your website is by monitoring the volume of traffic from Google Organic Search.  Has it increased or decreased?  If your site traffic has decreased, you may want to consider an audit. Envano offers Search Engine audits which identify what you can do to improve performance including keyphrase usage, website architecture, broken links and organic rankings.

Categories: All Posts, Corporate Site & eCom, Search Engine Marketing, Tech Talk


Top Ten Changes for Brands on Facebook Timeline

Mar 19

On February 29th, Facebook announced a “leap” to the new Timeline format for Branded pages.  In a nutshell, here are the Top Ten Changes for Brands on Facebook Timeline.  As visual case studies, we will reference Red Bull, UPS and our own Envano Timeline pages.  Drumroll please…

10. Customizable “About” Box: prominent placement allows admins to place custom content (we recommend a tagline and a website link)

9.  Highlight a Post: stretches a post across the entire length of your page (great for milestones in your organization’s or industry’s history)

8.  Pin a Post: locks a significant post to the top of your post listing (use for promotions or significant announcements)

7.  Admin Panel: integrates important information into a dashboard view

6.  Default Landing Page Setting: unfortunately….this functionality does not exist anymore in the new Timeline layout

5.  Tab Width Increases: allowing more real estate for custom promotions

4.  Private Messaging:  unfortunately, page admins can only send messages to fans who’ve contacted your Page

3.  New Tab Location and…2. Custom Tab Icons: higher visibility and customization for your tabs

And the #1 change to Facebook Timelines for Brands….Custom Cover Photo & Badge!  Much more real estate to work with, providing a very dynamic landing image for your fan page.

Honorable mention – these changes will automatically occur on March 30th, so update your pages and convert now!

Categories: All Posts, Social Media


U.S. Budget has more problems than politics

Mar 6

We can all argue about agreeing with or disagreeing with the recently announced U.S. Budget. Frankly I am not all that interested in that.

What I am interested in is the technology behind the budget.

First let’s applaud the fact that they released a mobile friendly version. The technology used behind this mobile version is an application called jQuery Mobile. This is what makes it act app like.

It was a good choice. One of the primary design goals behind jQuery Mobile is that it provides a consistent interface across a wide range of mobile.

Now for the problems.

First, they used a very old version of jQuery Mobile. A huge performance boost could have been gained by utilizing a more recent version. Since the budget just got released and they are not doing anything complicated, by that I mean they are using a stock theme and user interface elements, so upgrading would have been a matter of a couple of hours and a few more in testing.

While we are discussing the user interface, let’s point out that putting the navigation at the bottom is a huge user experience issue on mobile devices, especially handsets. Since the toolbar is not positioned fixed to the bottom of the viewport, it scrolls with the content. We know how long winded politicians can get. I don’t want to scroll that far to navigate back to the home page. A better choice would be to have a top navigation, positioned fixed so the content scrolls under it, with a bottom navigation for those devices that do not support position fixed.

Finally, and the most grievous offense, is the QR code in the online content.

QR codes have a place, and when implemented well can be useful to a certain audience, but the way they have this implemented makes no sense. I can’t even provide you a URL that takes you to the correct spot, because those are not implemented correctly either. If you go to the link titled “The Budget Message of The President” you will find the offending QR code.

QR codes are great for printed material. So only have it show if someone prints the page. Don’t take up precious screen space with a QR code that can not be used in this context.

A little bit of mobile experience by the developers that implemented this would have made for a much better experience, despite the budget numbers.

Budget of the U.S. Government

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Categories: All Posts, Mobile Marketing, Tech Talk


3 Tools That Make My Interactive Marketing Life Easier!

Feb 8

As a project manager for an Interactive Marketing Agency, I am always looking for ways to make my job easier.  In today’s cloud-based world, it seems like every day there are new tools available that make it easier, quicker and cheaper than their PC-based competitors.  Here are 3 tools I use on a daily basis and why I think they are swell!


Skitch

Skitch is a screenshot tool that allows you to capture, edit, and annotate images from anywhere on the web.  Here’s what I like:

  • Easily accessed from a browser plug-in
  • Quick editing tools available within the Skitch pop-up editor
  • Click & Drag to save or send, especially in Gmail or Google Docs
  • Owned by and integrates easily with Evernote
  • Mobile version that supports multiple devices
  • And lastly…It’s FREE!

Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a cloud-based light-to-medium project management tool that is like a spreadsheet on steroids. Here’s what I like:
  • The user interface is intuitive and has adaptable templates
  • Gantt Charting feature produces client-ready timelines
  • Share projects with others online or export in a number of formats
  • Can include line-item comments and attachments such as documents
  • Integrates with Gmail, Google Docs, and Box.com
  • Mobile versions for iPhone, Android and Blackberry
  • Free 30 day trial!

Google+ Hangouts

Google Hangouts is the newest tool in our interactive toolbox.  It is a video chat tool that is integrated with Google+ and is great for communicating with co-workers who work remotely or in a separate building or floor.  Here’s what I like:
  • Can see all your hangout buddies in preview thumbnails on the dashboard
  • Main viewer automagically switches to the person who is talking
  • Easily share and view screens with others in the hangout
  • Share and watch YouTube videos and use Group Chat
  • “Hangouts With Extras” integrates Google Docs and has shared notes/sketchpad

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Categories: Social Media, Tech Talk


Effective Meetings

Jan 18

With the adoption of mobile spreading faster than expected, the question lingers, is there still a need for face-to-face meetings?  Some would go to one extreme and say, there is no need for face-to-face meetings with all the new technology at our disposal, while others would say there should be a balance between the use of virtual vs. face-to-face meetings.

I am not here to tell you whether or not to meet via a mobile technology or meet face-to-face but rather to change your focus on how to make your meetings effective. Here are some general principles to remember whether it is a virtual or face-to-face meeting.

  • Define the purpose of your meeting.  What is the result you want from this meeting?
  • Make sure every meeting has a leader who is responsible for the success of the meeting
  • Provide an agenda to all attendees
  • Prepare!  Every participant should prepare for the meeting
  • Focus, there should be no multi-tasking during the meeting

At the end of the day, we all have different opinions and preferences regarding which method to use when meeting but if the meeting has achieved the goal of the meeting and is effective, that is defined as success.

Categories: All Posts