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BlogGoogle’s New First Page Ranking CriteriaThursday, May 21st, 2009 Last week Google announced that they are once again changing their ever mysterious, ever changing, “algorithm “ by which they assign their top rankings. The change in the algorithm places significant weight on new information. So what does this mean? Those outdated, static, brochure-looking websites will be just that… outdated! This is why, as the Wall Street Journal reported, “ A search for a celebrity would show recent news about the person as opposed to their website.” So how do you stay with the trend? Dynamic content: blogs, articles and press releases. All of these content driven systems can be updated regularly. Not only do they help to show your expert status, but they give Google the new content they’re looking for. You can also take these posts one step further and book mark your blogs through social media sites, syndicate your articles through article syndication sites and submit your news to press release syndication sites automatically creating links backs to your site, as well as traffic, and of course, ultimately converting them to a signup on your mailing list, which you can then market to later. But that’s another conversation for another day! Either way, with Google’s recent announcement it is imperative that you stay with the trends and have one, if not all, of these features on your site. If you’re looking for a great blog platform, checkout Wordpress, it’s the best blog platform out there and has a ton of capabilities. To see some examples of some of full websites built on wordpress and all it’s capabilities visit http://www.celebritysites.com/portfolio/. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 Each month I try and share with you the latest tips and tricks for SEO, online marketing and promoting your business. This month, at the urging of my father, I decided to share with you a story instead… You always hear us talk about “people buy people” and while many of your accept that fact solely on face value, I believe it whole heartedly because I live it each and every day. My reminder comes from a well know little coffee shop named Starbucks (ever heard of it? ☺). And while the media, without fail, promotes our failing economy and $2 cups of coffee will no longer sell… I think quite the opposite. Sure sales might be down- but I believe that is a part of what we call a business cycle. With competitors like McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts now coming up with their own version of the Mocha Lattes and Frappuccinos (and at a fraction of the cost, I might add) why in the world would I continue to go to Starbucks every morning, yes every morning… especially since both McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts are also on my way to work? Because people buy people… Cynthia, Jared, April and the whole rest of the crew know me by name and know my order by heart. As soon as I walk into the coffee shop my drink is waiting. I cannot say the same for their competitors, whom, quite frankly, would not care who I was and they probably would get my order wrong! And whether they truly think about what they are doing and why, I am treated with a smiling face and a personal connection. It’s the old “Cheers” philosophy; you go “where everybody knows your name.” So yes, I spend $2.14 every day on my way to work… $556.40 per year on coffee that I could undoubtedly make at home. Why? Because people buy people… What kind of experience are you selling? What kind of person are you selling to your customers? I am reminded every day how important personal connection is and how human interaction can affect your business. And, even if this tough economy, people WILL spend money if you make it worth their while. List of Ranking Factors For Designing A High Traffic Website!Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 So I came across an article the other day that gives you an all encompassing list of SEO factors for your website and what REALLY affects your rankings and what doesn’t. I thought it was a great list and did well at explaining what each item was, so I thought I would pass it along… Check it out here: To your success! Organic or Pay-Per- Click?Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 There is always a discussion on which is better: organic rankings in the search engines or pay-per-click advertisements. My answer: what are you trying to accomplish? Like most things, it depends.
Well with stats like that, why would you ever use PPC? Here are a couple reasons: Time. PPC can be instantaneous and can jumpstart your website traffic. Organic campaigns can take 3 months (and sometimes longer depending on your competition). So, if you have a short amount of time or a seasonal business PPC might be better suited for your goals. Cost. If you are working on a tight budget PPC will always cost less. PPC allows you to limit your campaign to as much or as little as you want to spend. And by limiting your keyword and keyword phrases to those that bring the most qualified traffic you can operate your campaign on a smaller budget. Testing. PPC is a great way to test headlines and keywords to see what pulls better for your niche and your market. You cannot do this with organic SEO. By setting up different ads with different headlines you can easily see in a day which resonates more with visitors and which drives more traffic to your site. So, it really does depend what you’re looking for. For long term appeal- organic is the way to go. For short, quick tests- PPC is a better option. If you’re looking for some resources for finding your keywords and helping develop PPC campaigns here are a couple:
Derek Gehl’s Top Directory ListThursday, February 12th, 2009 I recently got my copy of this month’s No BS Report by Dan Kennedy. And as usual there was an Internet Update in there by Derek Gehl. Now- if you aren’t familiar with Derek, you should be! Here is his top directory list (and their prices): 01 Web Directory- $49 Nick Nanton Speaks About Celebrity BrandingFriday, January 23rd, 2009 For those of you still not quite sure what we do Check it out! How to Get YOUR News on the Google RadarWednesday, December 17th, 2008 Google: the great search engine mystery. How do you get your news picked up by Google News? Unfortunately, Google doesn’t publish a manual on the things they look for in Google News articles (if they did, they could make a lot of money!). However, as with everything else in business, there are trends to watch out for. Below are some tips on how to get YOUR news on the Google radar. 1. Make Your Headline “Newsy”- Unfortunately, sales copy doesn’t work here. As my father always said, “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck” it’s a duck. You have a better chance of getting included in Google News if you stay away from headlines that sound like ad copy. Instead, try and formulate your headlines so that they grab readers attention but are also newsy. To get an idea of some good headlines, take a look at Google News and see what they are currently picking up. Then, craft your headlines around those. Remember Dan Kennedy’s S & D (steal and distribute)! 2. Location, Location, Location - Each day, only the top 30 press releases are considered for inclusion into Google News. Do whatever you can to make sure that yours is somewhere within the top 30 for its scheduled day of release. To get your release into the top 30, make sure that your content is both relevant and educational. 3. Be Conscious of the Date in Your Press Release - This is something simple to look for but easy to mess up. If your press release has a date in the first paragraph, make sure it matches the date of release. Press releases that have an incorrect date are generally not considered. Fortunately, many of the press release services such as http://www.prlog.org and 4. Watch the Number of Links Within Your Release - I would try to stick to 2-3 links within the body of your release. A good rule of thumb is one link for every one hundred words. If you choose to include more than that, your release runs the risk of looking like spam and will generally not be considered for inclusion. 5. Length - Keep you release between 150-500 words. Any more or less and the chances of inclusion will get even slimmer. Unfortunately, we can’t read the Google manual, but if you follow these general rules, you’ll be better off than most! Want people from around the world bidding to design YOUR logo?Monday, November 17th, 2008 When developing your business, one of the biggest things to consider is you brand. A brand as defined by Wikipedia is “a collection of images and ideas representing an economic producer; more specifically, it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme that convey the essence of a company, product or service. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary. A brand is a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, product or service. A brand serves to create associations and expectations among products made by a producer. A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols and sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality. The key objective is to create a relationship of trust.” So when thinking of your business, how are you going to brand yourself? Your company? Your logo is probably the biggest part of branding so you want to get it right. I know what your thinking… it’s difficult to find a good designer and it costs a lot, right? WRONG! This month, I decided to share with you a little secret we use for almost all of our clients- www.crowdspring. crowdSPRING allows you to post your project (much like a craigslist or Elance), set the price you want to pay and watch as designers from all around the world actually bid for your project by submitting their designs to you! However, unlike craigslist or Elance you won’t get a proposal- you’ll actually get the logo for you to see! You can then give feedback as you go to give people the chance to tweak the design to your liking and when it’s all said and done, you just pick the best design! Better yet, crowdSPRING GUARANTEES that you will get at least 25 submissions or you get a refund! We have found that you can get fantastic results with as little as $300 dollars. Trust me for full rights to the design and people actually bidding to have the job that’s nothing! You hear us talk about celebrity branding and the philosophy that “people buy people” over and over again- having a great logo is the first step…what better way to get a great logo than to let a bunch of people pitch you! Where Do I Start When Writing Content for My Website?Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 Month after month we share our online secrets with you… well, they’re not really secrets, because we want you to know them, but I’ll stick with the “Former Wannabe Singer Reveals How to Create a Massive Fan Base and Increase Profits” story because it sounds better (and yes, that title is about me)! One of the questions I get asked is where do I start? Where do I start when writing my blog… my article… my ebook? If you aren’t a natural writer (or the though of writing makes your skin crawl) it may be hard to sit in front of a computer and stare at a blank page that says “Document 1” up at the top. To get started with any type of writing, I encourage people to write what they are thinking- don’t worry about putting your thoughts into formulated sentences or even full thoughts- that’s what editing is for! Just write what you are thinking… many times our brain moves much faster then our fingers can type (or write) so your greatest challenge, at the start, is to make sure you don’t forget any of those wonderful ideas you’re thinking about! Writing content for the online world is very much the same- you tell a story and tie it in to a benefit for the reader. If you can’t give the reader some sort of actionable content somewhere in the article, meaning some kind of content they can go take action on right after they’ve finished reading your article, then you probably won’t get much traffic to the article. Also, with every story you have a headline (or title) and then the second most important element- the opening paragraph. Since “where to start” is usually the most difficult thing when writing your online blogs or articles here are 3 tips for how to start your opening paragraph. 1. Ask a Question Asking a question might be the easiest way to get your reader involved in your writing. By asking a question you engage the reader- even if it is a rhetorical question. Although a little flippant, we have toyed ourselves with using the phrase “Does Your Website Suck?” … well, does it?? If it does… you know where to find us… If you can start your writing off with some sort of question it will not only involve your reader but immediately connect them to a pain they are having (and your services may just so happen ease that pain!) then you’re on your way! This strategy doesn’t have to evoke fear or pain- it can also just be a simple rhetorical question to get your story flowing. 2. Share a Story (be brief you only have a few seconds to grab their attention!) You have heard us say over and over again that “people buy people” well, it is no different on the web… in fact, you have to work even harder to give people that same warm, welcoming feeling that you would if they stepped into your office to meet with you. Your writing is no different and stories allow you to share a bit of you, so that your visitor can get to know you. These stories will also help to hold your reader’s attention. 3. Share a Shocking Statistic By nature, we are curious creatures. So peaking someone’s interest with an interesting/shocking statistic is always a good way to start off. Of course, you do always need to relate that interesting/shocking piece of information to the rest of your blog/ article, otherwise you will lose your reader (and very quickly, I might add) when they discover it was only a ploy and the rest of the piece has nothing to do with that statistic- bait and switch is NOT something I suggest! In general, the writing on your website is there to provide content and education for not only your visitors but also the search engines, so keep it interesting and always remember to add your keywords into everything that you write! How to Blog in ANY IndustryWednesday, June 18th, 2008 “Blog- A blog (an abridgment of the term web log) is a website, usually maintained by an individual, that has regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to web pages, including other blogs and media related to its topic.” (Source Wikipedia, June 4, 2008: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog) Knowing this, how does a blog relate to your business? Surely, your business cannot profit from a blog or can it? Blogs are conversational. The best blogs are the ones that relate to people and current events (holidays, politics), and then they relate everything back to your business. To write a good blog, you need to be able to: (1) write about your business, which I know you can do and (2) be able to see if it’s sunny outside. Can you do that? You bet you can! Why do we use blogs on business websites? Because, blogs are an easy way for your clients, prospects, and vendors to get to know you and your company. Like we have said before, people are not buying your product, people are buying YOU. Blogs are a simple way to relate to your audience and keep them up-to-date with what’s happening with you and your industry. When writing a blog, here are some tips to keep in mind: 1. As I have said before, make entries conversational and keep them short. Nowadays, people have short attention spans and will not read long blogs. Keep entries between 100 and 300 words. 2. Watch out for industry jargon. Although you may know all of the elaborate industry terms, your audience probably doesn’t. So, make sure you write for your reader in order for them to understand you. 3. Make sure that there is always a link to your website at the end of your blog. If your blog is on your website, this strategy won’t be too effective. But, this is a necessary strategy if you have submitted your blog to a social blogging site (which I suggest check out www.digg.com, www.reddit.com, www.technorati.com and del.icio.us). When someone comes across your blog and likes what they see, they will follow you to your website. 4. Make sure to have an RSS (really simple syndication) feed attached to your blog. You can find this at www.feedburner.com. This will allow your clients, prospects, and vendors to sign up to receive e-mail updates instead of having to frequently check your website for the latest happenings. Also, this is a good strategy to attach to any articles and press releases that you post on your website. Get out there and start blogging! It’s one of the simplest resources you can use to keep new, relevant content on your website. Best of all, it’s fast, easy, and will let your clients get to know you! As we always say: people don’t buy your product; people buy YOU! Social Book-Marking, Does it Work?Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 People always ask me how syndication of press releases and book marking your blog in many of the social book marking sites can possibly generate traffic to your site. Well, the other day I submitted a press release to thousands of online sources for a client. As part of my regular routine, I then put the release up on their web site. Not 20 minutes later they had a new comment on that press release: “I found your site on Technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.” So do these strategies work? You bet they do! Remember, if you don’t take the time to tell people about you and your business then no one will ever know about it. New Press Release Format to PonderMonday, January 28th, 2008 I met with a friend and local journalist the other day. As we do, we discussed business (for both parties), interestingly; she mentioned that journalists today are moving to different formats for press releases… What is this new press release format? Bullet-points. A simple bulleted list of who, what, when, where, why and how (yes- those same techniques we learned in school, now with a twist). Her reason? She said that each day journalists get so many press releases all they do is scan them and the easiest way to do that is with bullet-points. So often times, PR companies go to great lengths to get quotes and write lavish press releases. In reality, journalists rewrite the story and most newspapers require their journalists to get their own quote for the story. So, if you insist on using the standard press release format, try writing simple bulleted list of the “5 Ws” before the rest of the release to help the journalist scan and then continue reading if they choose. Remember, we want to make their life as easy as possible! Web Site Tips for 2008Monday, December 31st, 2007 It’s 2008 and as people try to commit to their New Year Resolutions. I thought it worthy to give you some tips for you to commit to for your New Year Web Site Resolutions. Here are 7 quick tips to give your web site a lift in 2008. 1. Make sure you have a “CTA” (call to action) on every page of your site. You can even use several CTAs on a page if you have multiple items to offer. 2. Place your company’s phone number and an “Email us” link in the top right corner of your web site. People read web sites like a book, left to right. They will look to the far left for the company and what web site they are one and the immediately look to the right for the company’s contact information should they need it. 3. Make sure to have a lead capture on every page. You will see on our pages we use both a mailing list signup as well as a free special report offer. You never know when someone will get the urge to give you their contact information and you want to make sure you’re there and ready to capture it! 4. GET MORE TESTIMONIALS! Third party verification, what someone says about you, is much better than you saying how wonderful your company is. When you can, post a picture with the testimonial and make sure to also post their name, company and position. Make the person as “real-life” as you can. Video and audio testimonials are even better if you can get them. 5. Cut the “fat,” make your copy short, simple and to the point. If longer copy is necessary use headings, sub-headings and bullet points to break up the longer copy. 6. Make sure the personality you use if you were selling someone face-to-face is also on your web site. There are many ways to add personality including pictures, color, BLOGs, articles, bios and copy. 7. Make it easy for readers to get the latest business happenings and content you’ve added to your site- add RSS feeds to all BLOGS, articles and press releases you put on your site. I hope 2008 is a successful and prosperous year for you all. Happy 2008! 5 Quick Tips to Getting Your Emails ReadThursday, November 29th, 2007 #1 Release Date is Key: Studies show the Monday, Tuesdays and Weekends are the best days to send your emails to your lists. If you send your email on a Wednesday or Friday- you email is least likely to get read. The #1 best day to send email blasts- Tuesdays, they typically have the highest click-through-rates. #2 Subject Lines Length: Keep your subject lines short, simple and too the point. As the old saying goes- KISS- keep it simple stupid! #3 Personalize It: Studies show that if a personalization in the subject line is the best way to improve your open rate and click-through-rate. #4 Number of Links: Again, keep it simple. Limit the number of links in your emails to only a couple. Anymore than five links, and you risk confusing the hell out of your readers (and losing their interest fast!). #5 Text vs. HTML: People still debate whether text or html based emails are better. Studies show that text emails have only a slight advantage in click-through-rates over html. However, keep in mind that an open means that the full email has to be read, so if your email is in html and the images in your email didn’t download then although your email may have been read by your client you will not get an open stat for them. |
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Check out the article below where Nick Nanton is interviewed by 
“The online world is a great place to make money and gain notoriety but it can be a tremendous waste of resources if you don’t have the right team working with you. When my previous consulting company was charging me outrageous prices and failing to deliver time and time again, I turned to Celebrity Sites™. Since then my online campaigns have turned around 180 degrees! Its great having Celebrity Sites™ on my team, helping me grow my business and my profits. Don’t wait until its too late, call them today. Trust me, you can’t afford to wait!”
Thanks Celebrity Sites™! With your help we just got picked up on a worldwide site for our music buffet option. They even put it on the front page of their site as a “breakthrough”! Our site, art and design looks fantastic. Well done! We couldn’t do it without you!”
