Why the Development of Your Website Matters

June 17, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

Whenever consumers decide to purchase something new, quality is usually a concern. The expression “they don’t make them like they used to” has never been more true when you look around at many items these days that are mass produced or, due to rigorous production timelines, simply aren’t rewarded the amount of attention they deserve.

With CMS (content management system) frameworks popping up everywhere and blog platforms making it as easy as 1,2,3 for practically anybody to have an online presence, consumers need to be aware that not all website development is the same.

The accessibility of your website and the semantics of the (HTML/XHTML) markup can make or break your search engine exposure.
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The Complete Google Analytics Power User Guide - VKI Studios Blog

June 11, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

Looking for an easy to digest users guide on Google Analytics? Check out the power user guide from VKI Studios.

Here’s a quick look at the sections of the guide:

  1. Introduction: Setup
  2. The Site Overlay Report
  3. Visitors: Map Overlay
  4. Content: Top Content
  5. Ecommerce: Overview
  6. Content: Site Search
  7. Identifying and Setting up Goals
  8. Goals and Funnel Visualization Report
  9. Traffic Sources: All Traffic Sources
  10. Traffic Sources: AdWords
  11. Tracking Error 404 Pages and Broken Links
  12. Tracking Slow Loading Times

Complete Google Analytics Power User Guide

Check Browser Compatibility, Cross Platform Browser Test - Browsershots

June 5, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

As internet marketers, SEOs, developers and designers we need to constantly be aware of how other people view our sites. Sure we can view our sites in the three or four browsers we have installed on our own machines, but that doesn’t nearly come close to the rest of the browsers in the world that people use. Not to mention all the different versions of each browser.

Browser Shots is the tool for you. A free service that allows you to review your site in dozens and dozens of different browsers and specific versions of each browser.

Next time you need to test the way your site looks across the board, go to Browser Shots.

Check Browser Compatibility, Cross Platform Browser Test - Browsershots

Layer Tennis

May 15, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

Ever find yourself goofing off on a slow Friday? Check out some layer tennis by Coudal Partners.

Here you can watch designers go head to head battling on the holy grounds of photoshop and illustrator.

They have matches every week so be sure and check’em out. Always a good source of inspiration.

Check out some Layer Tennis.

Optimizing Your Social Media

May 6, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

The last few weeks I have attended numerous meetups, spoken at multiple presentations at Jackson-Dawson, and worked with many people to demonstrate the value of social media and how it can be optimized for business purposes.

Social media is all about getting involved with other members of the community and interacting with them. Whether you’re a cyclist, fortune 500 CEO, or candle maker…social media has a place for you.

The confusion comes when people don’t know how to optimize their social media campaign. Remember that, in the vast majority of situations, the main purpose of social media is to drive traffic back to your website, not your twitter account.
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5 Pixel Popping Techniques - Tutorial9

April 28, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

Looking for ways to make your designs “pop” a bit more?

Take a look at a few of these easy examples and learn how to bring depth and detail into your next website.

I have been using these techniques for many years and their all super simple. Once you incorporate them into your arsenal you’ll wonder how you ever designed a site without them.

5 Pixel Popping Techniques

How to Analyze and Improve Bounce Rates

April 19, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

Ever looked at your analytics and wondered how to improve your bounce rate?

Avinash Kaushik from Google goes over some easy ways to look at your website’s analytics and immediately discover which pages are causing your bounce rate to increase.

Once you know which pages are bringing you down, you can adjust your campaign accordingly.

How to Analyze and Improve Bounce Rates

Top 10 Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn’t Tweet

April 13, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

This is great info for any company that thinks they want to get involved with social media, but wants to control the message.

Top 10 Reasons Your Company Probably Shouldn’t Tweet

How URL Shortening is Affecting Your SEO

April 7, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

If your following me on Twitter (and why wouldn’t you) or anybody else for that matter, I’m sure you’ve noticed that long URLs get shortened because of the sensitive character limit.

What you need to also know is that some URL shortening services are better than others when it comes to your SEO.

Check out Danny Sullivan’s review of 15 URL shortening services to find out which ones can benefit you the most.

Greenville Social Media

March 27, 2009 // Drew Stauffer

Yesterday at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce there was a business jumpstart workshop on Social Media. Speakers included: Olivier Blanchard, Chad McMillan, Geoff Wasserman, Trey Pennington, Adam Landrum, Jay Handler, and Amy Wood. They discussed how to use social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to leverage your business.

All the presenters did a great job and the audience was very enthusiastic which always makes a workshop more enjoyable. For more info and pictures check out The Brand Builder.

For all you SEO’s out there, Amy Wood gave a great tip on how to get the news to cover your stories. On the WSPA website there is a section called “You Write It” where you can submit your own stories and if deemed worthy can get covered. Keep in mind it might not make the 6′oclock news, but the staff and crew  have many various platforms that they publish news on including news blogs, personal blog and of course social media arenas.

Now for a Bonus

Anyone who comments on this post will also get another free tip from me on how to use Flickr to generate more traffic and buzz to your website. Just comment below and I’ll send you an email.

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